New Compact Jr owner and rebuilder

[francene]

Hi Robin,
Congratulations on your aquisition of a Compact Jr. I have the Compact II, which is a little different, but check the flooring plywood to see if rot has set in, since you say water has been coming inside. Check out the metal frame and tongue juncture; I've read these Jr's have had some cracks reported in these areas.

Good luck!
Fran

[Bob Miller]

I second reinforcing the tongue to frame joint. I had 24" long reinforcing plates welded onto each side of mine as a precaution. The original design looks like it expected less than 100 lbs tongue weight and, by the time a battery, some water and the usual "stuff" is added, it's hard to keep it that low. Plus it is almost 40 years old.
BTW: The original "clamp" type hitch is considered unsafe by many. I replaced mine at the same time I had the frame reinforced.

[Tom Trostel]

A previous owner altered the tongue and frame on mine. It looks much stronger now than the original. Our bed is 72" x 70' and we sleep with our feet toward the front window. Our CJ weighs 1400 lbs. ready to camp. We have the 3 burner cook top; window air conditioner (Texas summer), 4 cu. ft. dorm fridge; porta potty; but, no battery, oven, or furnace. We love ours.

Compact :: first sight of 1973 Compact Jr. picture by tomNjo - Photobucket

[scribeslave]

Thank you for your replies. We take possession this weekend. I will indeed crawl under the rig and look for rot. Check out the floors, but I didn't know about the tongue issues. Does the trailer lights conform to modern wiring harnesses? One issue I have to fix, propane tubing. the previous owner was weird about propane. It was not enough to disconnect the tank, but he pulled out all of the tubing. That should be fun! Also, where does the battery go? What about the 120v and water tank. what to look for. I didn't see these things when I looked at it at first glance.

So many questions. I own a 31' motorhome for real traveling, but we want to get back to state/national park and other types of camping.

[Bob Miller]

Good luck on your new project.
As a suggestion, buy an inexpensive set of magnetic stick-on trailer lights to take with you so you don't have to worry about existing wiring. Harbor Freight has them on sale for about $10.
Actually, as the "Convenience Group", that included a bettery, was an option, yours may never have had a battery or even 12 Volt lights, or they ran off the Tow vehicle battery. There was even a LP gas light option.
Basically, what you see is what you get.
Good Luck

[scribeslave]

There is a name plate with an input for low potential power only. My album here has pics, don't know yet how to access them on a post.

[Tom Trostel]

The lower cabinet under the sink should have a coiled power cord that exits through a small door on the under side of the CJ for shore power. My propane supply is a flex tube from the tank and regulator that connects to a black iron pipe that runs under the street side and turns 90 degrees and enters under the cook top. The original wiring for exterior lights was through a 4 flat plug due to no battery or brakes.

[scribeslave]

That's a really big help...thanks. I am going to really look at things Saturday. Does it have a battery charging system? I have an extra converter/charger from my motorhome. I'm assuming the 120 is converted to 12.

[Deb & Chuck]

Originally Posted by airculd17

Hi, my name is John and I purchased a derelict 1972 compact Jr back in August of last year to renovate for me and my wife to enjoy. Basically gutted it and started over with minimal carpentry skills and made it into a fiberglass tent with a super queen size bed oriented longways instead of the usual layout. It had already been deprived of all interior galley and such, and I didn't want those items as I do all my cooking outside. Most of that space was converted to storage. I am excited about learning more about the glass campers from this site, Thanks

Oh your trailer is beautiful, you did a very nice quality job. I hope you enjoy camping in it.
Chuck

[Bob Miller]

Robin
There may be no battery or any kind of charging system unless that option was ordered or a power chassis was installed. A stock Hunter Compact-I, II or Jr. is little more than a furnished tent on wheels with an extension cord, one circuit breaker, a couple of light bulbs and two outlets for a power system. I would suggest installing a Progressive Dynamics 4045's power chassis, toss everything that's still there and start from scratch. Just a suggestion...

[Tom Trostel]

Robin,
I forgot your question about the water storage tank. It is located under the front street side bench and fills through an exterior small trap door under the street side window. The sink has 2 water faucets. The right side is a hand pump to move water from the storage tank. The left one is to turn on city water. No hot water heater in mine.

[scribeslave]

I gave a little though to a constant hot water module, but realized we would probably not be hooked to 120v most of the time and it is high wattage.

So, here is my plan, partly, after fixing the crack and other stuff. I plan on putting in two 12v deep cycles in parallel, with an inverter/charger while we are in a campground and a portable solar panel for charging while we are not hooked up. Plus adding a 12vdc to 120vac converter. I am a ham radio operator and like to try new places, plus, I write and do digital editing for a living and like to work on the road, (why we have a motorhome), so I need electricity for down time (I like hiking too). Thats my current plan.