How To Install a Magnetic Fly Screen For a Jayco Swan Camper Trailer

Here I’ll show you how to install a magnetic fly screen for a Jayco swan camper trailer

(this was 2nd on the list of the most popular modifications people do for their Jayco camper trailer)

To do this, you have a couple of options:

1. Buy one that’s already custom fitted to your van from this lady in Victoria for about $40 off eBay, OR
2. Buy a magnetic fly screen from Bunnings then do a bit of a DIY job

I did the DIY job for our Jayco Swan and love it.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Gather up and prepare everything you need

For my Jayco Swan all I used is:

• Magnetic Strip Door Curtain from Bunnings. Get the 90 cm width one. It’ll cost about $15
• A roll of black cloth tape (about $10)
• A pair of scissors.

That’s it. The magnetic fly screen already comes with Velcro

(one long strip, and several short pieces)

Now, give the inside door frame a clean.

2. Find the correct height to hang your magnetic fly screen

The height you hang your fly screen will depend on whether you have a Jayco Swan, Eagle, Swift, Hawk, Dove, Flamingo, etc

Hold up the curtain so that it’s JUST touching the floor

(if it’s too low it won’t close properly)

Then, stick down the long strip of Velcro.

This is where I stuck it for our Jayco Swan.

3. Attach the fly screen to find the right width for your door

To do this I attached the curtain to the Velcro…

… and tucked the excess width at the top behind the canvas

[the Velcro from the canvas goes through the fly screen and holds it in place]

A couple of hints here:

1. I lined up the darker vertical lines in the fly screen the door frame to make sure everything was straight
2. It’s worth testing going through the fly screen a few times to make the magnets close correctly

[if it’s pulled too tight it won’t close easily]

4. Trim the excess width from the bottom half

After you’ve lined up the top half so it’s straight, you’ll be able to use the darker vertical lines to see where to cut:

I cut from the bottom so that the edge was flush with the cupboard…

…then across:

This is how it looked so far:

My little helper was supervising with a pair of binoculars!

5. Line the edges with cloth tape

There’s 2 big reasons to do this:

1. It reinforces the edges you’ve cut so they don’t tear, and
2. It gives something better for the Velcro to stick to

[one of the common bits of feedback is that the Velcro comes off if you just stick it directly to the fly screen]

By doubling the cloth tape back on itself it sticks to itself AND gives something more substantial or the Velcro to stick to.

Finished product!

6. Stick the Velcro tabs along the sides of the bottom half

The magnetic fly screen comes with several strips…

…there’s plenty to hold the bottom half in place because the Velcro from the canvas holds the top

And that’s it!

Here’s the finished product…

…and from the outside!

UPDATE: The Fly Screen’s Measurements

A couple of people have asked what the dimensions were, so I got out the measuring tape.

Here they are:

CAUTION: This is for our 2014 Jayco Swan OB… so I’d go through the steps above because your camper may be different

And here’s what it looks like when it’s rolled up:

[Of course we used a wine bottle for reference!]

Summary: Fitting a magnetic fly screen to a Jayco trailer

I’m really happy with how this things works. Not bad for $25 in total.

It took about an hour to install this magnetic fly screen to our Jayco Swan.

But, that’s because I was trying to work things out as I went!

Hopefully this might make things easier for you, but comment below if you have any questions about how I did it.

If you couldn’t be bothered with the DIY side of things, you can get ones that have already been fitted here from eBay. 

Otherwise, click here to see the 35 Most Popular Jayco Camper Trailer Modifications