Jayco Swan - Packing away bed end flys

[Pathfinding]

Hi all,

We just returned from a trip down south yesterday and I timed myself for the pack up.  Not including packing up inside the camper it took me and my wife 50 minutes from beginning the outside pull down to getting in the car.  It was a light rain and most of the work was done by me alone while the mrs looked after the kids.  The awning and bed end flys were out aswell.
What I noticed was the most time consuming part was trying to roll up the bed end flys and get them tied up and zipped away.  Without any sort of structure to them we found they just flopped about and bunched up and were generally an absolute pain to roll away.  Naturally it didn't help that by this stage my fingers were going numb and the rain was getting heavier.  Even on a previous trip we've found that it's a two person job to get the things tied up and the bag zipped.
Anyway, I just wanted to know is it just us (we are relatively new to this) or are the bed end flys a real pain to deal with?  And more importantly, are there any tips, techniques, etc that people have that would speed this process up and generally make it easier to pack these things away?

Cheers

[briann532]

We had the same trouble when we started.

Now we've got it down to a fine art.

It takes 2 people, but pull the ends out and fold the sides in like an envelope. Sides in the excess on an angle forming a triangle.
Make sure the middle is tight so there is no excess hanging out to the side. We found this is what creates havoc......

Then roll together at the same speed till you get to the top.
After a few goes like that it will be really easy.

We also found lower the roof down so there was about a foot above the beds then hopping in and pulling the curtains and walls gently to the centre made packing up much much easier.

Absolutely no lies, we can do a full pack up in less than 20 mins including awning, cgear and chairs etc.

Good luck with it all
Brian

[Pathfinding]

Wow, 20 mins! That's awesome and shows just how much more practice we need to improve.
You're right, it's the mesh privacy screens that create the problem. I was thinking getting a small bungy cord and hooking the corners together.
Cheers for the tips
 

[Swannie]

I have the prestige Bed flies so they have a middle top spreader bar, I have found that I use this as the starter to role the ends up and it makes it a lot easier, it also then allows more room in your pole carrier.

Swannie

[POD]

We had a similar problem when we had our Eagle. Our solution was to sell it and buy a Discovery! No more bed ends or flies!!!! Not much help, I know.

BUT - you will get better at it. Pull them out and have a go at home when the weathers nicer and get your process sorted out for what works for you or you two. Practice in peacetime, not when you're under heavy fire from the elements.

[GUEY]

I have the prestige Bed flies so they have a middle top spreader bar, I have found that I use this as the starter to role the ends up and it makes it a lot easier, it also then allows more room in your pole carrier.

Swannie

We do similar. Roll the 3 support polls up in the flys. Much easier to roll, less space in the pole holder and stops the bags from lifting as much at speed.

[Pathfinding]

And that all fits in the one fly bag? Man, I seriously need to go play in the backyard!  Not this week though, big storm coming our way apparently....

[Swannie]

And that all fits in the one fly bag? Man, I seriously need to go play in the backyard!  Not this week though, big storm coming our way apparently....

Mate, it depends on who made the flys. If its the standard Jayco then yep it will be tight but if they are a 3rd party then generally they make the bags bigger so its easier.

Swannie

[Topender]

Hi Pathfinding,

We are also in Perth and I assume you purchased your Jayco locally(Caravanland?).  Do your bags have Jayco on them?  If so ours are the same (well the front one does anyway)and I can assure you that you can fit both bed end and all the poles on the bags together.  What we do is fold like Brian suggested and roll up the bed end(pretty tight), then we tie it into the bag with the strings/straps provided (the key is making sure when you roll it is tight and no wider that the white part of the bedend so no mesh hanging out the ends). We then get the spreader pole (the pole that goes from our roof to the centre support / upright pole and spread the pole so it is the full width of the bag ( this reduces the amount the bad can fold up and flap during travel) Finally we place the remaining three poles into the pole bag and also fit that into the bag end bag. Zip it up and fasten the bag straps. It is tight, but saves room in my pole tube so I can now take more fishing rods.  If I get a chance I take a photo of ours packed up so you get the idea.

Regards Dave

[Topender]

I just noticed the rear bag doesn't have Jayco on it, but the Front does and so do the bed ends.  Anyway here is a couple of shots of the rear.

Dave

[Pathfinding]

Cheers Topender. Yes about the same, same poles but different coloured pole bag is all.
So for (hopefully) my last dumb question, which way do you guys rolls the fly?  Do you roll it over which would mean inverting the mesh prior to folding.  Or do you roll it under so the mesh would hang down? I know it seems logical to roll it over but when we first got the camper they came with the flys rolled under.
So to clarify, looking at the front fly from the door side rolling over would be a clockwise direction and rolling under would be anti-clockwise.

Cheers
again.

[Swannie]

Cheers Topender. Yes about the same, same poles but different coloured pole bag is all.
So for (hopefully) my last dumb question, which way do you guys rolls the fly?  Do you roll it over which would mean inverting the mesh prior to folding.  Or do you roll it under so the mesh would hang down? I know it seems logical to roll it over but when we first got the camper they came with the flys rolled under.
So to clarify, looking at the front fly from the door side rolling over would be a clockwise direction and rolling under would be anti-clockwise.

Cheers
again.

anti clockwise, roll under. Also if you can lower the roof down low enough and you have a couple of small steps you can lay it out on the roof and just roll it up. works great
swannie.

[GUEY]

We roll over as it is easier. I think the correct way is to roll under though. The idea is if the bag leaks the the rolled up fly doesn't fill up with water. Same applies with the annex windows and doors when up.

[Topender]

Cheers Topender. Yes about the same, same poles but different coloured pole bag is all.
So for (hopefully) my last dumb question, which way do you guys rolls the fly?  Do you roll it over which would mean inverting the mesh prior to folding.  Or do you roll it under so the mesh would hang down? I know it seems logical to roll it over but when we first got the camper they came with the flys rolled under.
So to clarify, looking at the front fly from the door side rolling over would be a clockwise direction and rolling under would be anti-clockwise.

Cheers
again.

Definitely rolling over.  Two people one on each corner I usually stop the roof with a 300mm or 1 foot gap or so, then fold all the mesh onto the top like a parcel or an envelope.  Roll up whilst pulling tight and making sure no mesh is sticking out the sides. And as they say Bobs your Uncle (he is and he lives in QLD but that's another story). 

Another thing we do is push the bed ends in and lower the roof with the bed end flys still up with poles and ropes if its wet.  That keeps the beds dry.  You just need to keep an eye on the tension of everything and back off the ropes as you go.  Keeps the beds nice and dry.  Setting up we also pull the bed end flys right out before pulling the beds etc if it's wet.

Most importantly.......you will only get better with practice.  We spent the first few times scratching our heads.

Dave

[GUEY]

Another thing we do is push the bed ends in and lower the roof with the bed end flys still up with poles and ropes if its wet.  That keeps the beds dry.  You just need to keep an eye on the tension of everything and back off the ropes as you go.  Keeps the beds nice and dry. 

Dave

Yep we do the same. Also we leave the awning out as well till the last. Kids can stay in the shade or dry as much as possible.

[white Knuckles]

We slide ours off and fold it up and pop it in our boot no zips no problem and does not deteriorate, they are easy to slide on and off very quick.

[reol950]

Mate I rolled up my flys that includes the full length off side fly by using a old trick for window flaps on annexes fold the ends into the middle so you have a triangle, then just roll up easy with one person

[Dice]

Picked up my swan today the dealer showed me how to roll up the bed end flys by lowering the roof then putting the fly over the roof fold the sides in then use one of your poles to roll it up zip into bag and your done

[Swannie]

That's exactly what I said
Also if you can lower the roof down low enough and you have a couple of small steps you can lay it out on the roof and just roll it up. works great
swannie.

[Topender]

That's great if you don't have the boat rack fitted to the roof like I have and I'm assuming Pathfinding does too. (it's a WA thing) Also I wouldn't like to roll mine on my roof when most of the time it's covered in dust and red dirt. Each to their own.

Dave

[Swannie]

That's great if you don't have the boat rack fitted to the roof like I have and I'm assuming Pathfinding does too. (it's a WA thing) Also I wouldn't like to roll mine on my roof when most of the time it's covered in dust and red dirt. Each to their own.

Dave

I agree each to their own. I have the aircon and when I do it on the roof it only works on the front. Mine also doesn't currently get the opportunity to get too dirty but I can see that it would not be ideal if there was a heap of red dirt etc on their.

To be honest these days if rain is not forecast I don't even bother with bed flies.
Swannie

[nbd73]

I use them as much for privacy as anything else (black mesh on all 3 sides)

[prodigyrf]

We slide ours off and fold it up and pop it in our boot no zips no problem and does not deteriorate, they are easy to slide on and off very quick.

X2 after inheriting our second Dove with rope track fitted ones when we never had them years ago on our first one. Being tall I can flip the furthest side screen up on top of the bed canopy with it fully up and walk around the other side and grab the track rope end tail and slide the fly right off toward me then lay it over the bonnet of the car and easily fold the shade cloth sides in and fold it up single handed. You still need 2 to fit them before lifting the roof one to pull while the other supports and feeds the rope into the track at the other side or the rope will jam with the fly's weight hanging down. The top is also fitted with belaying hooks to tie off the short rope ends but I quickly worked out they're superfluous as the flys can't move in the tracks anyway.

The ones I inherited are white HD poly tarp on top with white shadecloth sides and although I thought they were bright I quickly recognised white is reflective for hot sun and as well in daylight you can't see in from the outside like you can looking out from the inside, unlike those black flyscreens. Also poly is light to handle, doesn't go mouldy and not much sticks to it so why reinvent the wheel? Usually drape them over for overnighters (even for dew) and I do have the 3 pole and guys setup for longer stays and although a single support bar and 2 poles would be easier to set up, the third middle pole(and 2 part support bars) set higher won't allow water ponding on the fly roof in wet weather. All in all and observing others, I'd never use bagged flys now.

[rocket327s]

I'm with swannie.... don't use them

[Alana.Gordon]

Has anyone got a Solution  to stop the front bed fly on there camper from flapping up while travelling?