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1982 Jamboree Fleetwood RV Restoration - Before Restoration Process
Posted by Jeff on June 12, 2008I did it. I bought a 1982 Jamboree by Fleetwood RV. I have been looking to buy a used motor home for about 5 years now and finally found the one I wanted. The price was right, the layout was outstanding and the timing in my life was amazing. Overall, I have to say, amazing doesn’t even sum up the complete package. And - just like my tent trailer, this RV needed some cosmetic TLC (but not as much as the tent trailer).
When I walked inside I immediately looked to the left, because I was interested in the rear sleeping arrangements (since this is a 24 foot motor home). I found two bunk beds on the rear left and instantly said to myself, “this is the style I need”. I have seen so many floor plans of RV’s. I have toured hundreds in RV lots and peoples personal RVs - I have rarely seen bunk beds in an actual motor home. Usually the pull trailers / 5th wheels would have bunks. As you can see, I have children. I actually have 3. But two bunks is fantastic for my two older girls (they will enjoy the “cubby” sleeping arrangements of the bunks.
OK - let’s get down to specifics. This is a 1982 RV with 100,000 miles on it. It has a Chevy front end with a 350 engine and an Edelbrock manifold. The coach also has a Turbo 400 Automatic transmission. I have to say this motor home was well cared for mechanically. Even though it has 100k miles under it’s belt, it has regular maintenance on it with brand new tires. These are the things that matter to me because I am not a mechanic, but I can fix cosmetic things.
On the mechanical items I need I will prolly shop at Auto Zone and Auto Parts Warehouse.
I determined that this Recreational Vehicle could use these inside updates:
- New flooring ( the carpet was nasty - and for camping, I would rather have something easy to clean than high pile carpet)
- Minor cosmetic fixes to cabinet corner bead
- New laminate edge strips for the dinning table and other surface edges around the coach
- A thorough detail cleaning
- A serious cushion shampooing
Outside:
- There were minor cracks in portions of the outside walls. This can be repaired with JB Weld
- The access doors to the outside storage compartments could use replacing
- The awning mounts needed re-enforcing
- A complete re-caulking of seems is also in order
I will be shopping at Walmart, Camping World and Al’s RV for all of my RV replacement parts and materials.
I know what you are thinking at this point. How much did you pay for this?? Well, I picked up this motorhome for about $3,000. I figure I will put about $400 into it for the updates I listed above. All in all, my family is really going to enjoy this.
I am in the process of writing a series of step by step articles (with pictures!) about my restoration process. The first article will be about replacing the carpet. If you would like to be notified about that series then tell me your email address:
Here is the photo album for you to enjoy. If you have any questions or comments, post them here!