We did something scary!

We bought an unseen 2016 Jayco Eagle Outback. That is right, we handed over a wad of cash for something we had only seen on the internet.

For some time now we have been wanting to upgrade from a soft floor camper trailer. We loved our camper trailer and it served us well but it was time to move on to an easier setup.

We were searching on gumtree and looked at a few campers. Then bam, Coronavirus hit. To be honest we thought we might get a good deal during the pandemic but the opposite happened.

In Western Australia, the state was split into zones and we were limited to where we could travel. Once the restrictions to these areas were relaxed the secondhand and new caravan market went crazy!

With International travel off the cards, people were ready to explore their own state. As soon as caravans were listed on Gumtree they were sold that same day.  We didn’t even get a chance to inspect any as people were snapping them up straight away.

I spotted a 2016 Jayco Eagle Outback on Caravan Sales and it ticked all the boxes. The problem was it was located 420 km away in Albany. My parents live in the region and they kindly looked at it for us. They gave us the green light as it was in good condition.

Dixie and I talked it over and made the decision to buy it. The Jayco Eagle was delivered to us in Perth. It sat in our driveway for several days before we even opened it up as it had been raining.

Once we finally set it up and inspected the camper we discovered there was mould on the canvas. My parents said the canvas was in good condition when they looked at it. I contacted the dealer and they said it may have been damp when they packed it up!

We were guttered that it was delivered to us with mould.

I tried to clean the mould by using a soft brush to dust off the mould spores. In a spray bottle, I mixed 1 part vinegar with 10 parts water. Sprayed it on the canvas and wiped it with a cloth.

I have cleaned it with the vinegar mixture three times and the marks are lighter but I would say the canvas is stained. Jayco recommended a product called Mildew Stain Remover but I am reluctant to use chemicals on the canvas.

If you have any tips on how to remove the stains please leave me a comment below.

Taking it on the Road

We did a trial run in the Jayco Eagle to a pretty little coastal town called Guilderton. Everything went well and we had no problems setting it up. In fact, it was much easier than our soft floor camper.

The main issue we had is where to store everything. The camper felt very disorganised. It was fine for a weekend away but if we travel for an extended period of time we need to work out some storage solutions.

The previous owners had made some improvements like adding shelves into the wardrobe and pantry racks.

Since being back home we have joined a Jayco Camper Trailer Owners page, watched lots of YouTube videos and read numerous blog post to get lots of tips and tricks. Don’t you just love the power of social media to give you ideas and advise?

Slowly we are making improvements to our Jayco Eagle. The more we travel the more organised we will be.

Once we have owned it for a while I will report back with all the changes we have made to our Jayco Eagle Outback. I will also keep track of the money we have spent. Hopefully, our budget doesn’t blow out too much!

Don’t be shy, please leave me a comment as I would love to hear from you with any tips and tricks you might have.

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