The Camper: Before and After
As we get ready to undertake a roof refresh/fix due to a hole that we got the last time we went out camping, I thought I would highlight what we have already done to our camper.
Our Coleman was in really good shape overall when we bought her a few years ago. We had inherited my inlaws old camper that after about 30 years had some major water damage that caused the lift system to fail.
You can see the damaged area here. I opened up the side to see what was going on and quickly realized that it would be a hard things for me to fix. Especially with a baby at the time.
After the patically disasembled camper sat in our garage taking up WAY too much space we decided to sell it and get a new one. Amazingly we found someone on Craigslist who wanted to buy it to fix their own camper. Shortly before that person came into our lives, we bought our current camper.
Technically it was ready to use, but being the people we are, we felt like it needed a little updating. Plus the flip over cooktop cabinet was majorly broken. The old owner had covered some of the cushions. The fabric was a great color and print, but it stained easily and couldn't be washed. Not exactly sure why she made that choice. She even gave us the role of cushion fabric and another for curtains. She had big plans at one point.
The broken cabinet was taken out right away and everything got a coat of blue paint. It matched the fabric that came with the camper and while I love white and light gray cabinetry, it is not what I wanted for a camper. Camping is dirty.
Next we added a new floor. At one point someone made all the popup campers with white flooring. Our old one had it too. We got some peal and stick flooring that looks wood like. After a few camping trips I will tell you that it was a perfect choice, as you don't see every little speck of dirt on it. Installing it wasn't hard. All I needed was a utility knife and a straight edge.
We kept the original cushion covers for a while. They were cute and we didn't realize how dirty they would get and how impossible they would be to clean. We should have known.
Here the camper is all finished up. I wish we camped this neatly, but it looks more like a hurricane has ripped through the camper when we are all in it. In the future I'll share how we try to control the craziness.
Can't wait till we get a chance to go out this spring. We sacrificed some camping time to get a handle on the garden after it's summer of neglect. Just a roof repair to go before we can leave. Fingers crossed it goes exactly like it should.
Our Coleman was in really good shape overall when we bought her a few years ago. We had inherited my inlaws old camper that after about 30 years had some major water damage that caused the lift system to fail.
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| Our first camper |
You can see the damaged area here. I opened up the side to see what was going on and quickly realized that it would be a hard things for me to fix. Especially with a baby at the time.
After the patically disasembled camper sat in our garage taking up WAY too much space we decided to sell it and get a new one. Amazingly we found someone on Craigslist who wanted to buy it to fix their own camper. Shortly before that person came into our lives, we bought our current camper.
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| Here is our new camper the day we brought it home |
Technically it was ready to use, but being the people we are, we felt like it needed a little updating. Plus the flip over cooktop cabinet was majorly broken. The old owner had covered some of the cushions. The fabric was a great color and print, but it stained easily and couldn't be washed. Not exactly sure why she made that choice. She even gave us the role of cushion fabric and another for curtains. She had big plans at one point.
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| Before |
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| Before the other direction |
The broken cabinet was taken out right away and everything got a coat of blue paint. It matched the fabric that came with the camper and while I love white and light gray cabinetry, it is not what I wanted for a camper. Camping is dirty.
Next we added a new floor. At one point someone made all the popup campers with white flooring. Our old one had it too. We got some peal and stick flooring that looks wood like. After a few camping trips I will tell you that it was a perfect choice, as you don't see every little speck of dirt on it. Installing it wasn't hard. All I needed was a utility knife and a straight edge.
Rather than building new cabinets to replace the broken one, we ended up buying a set of nightstands that were the perfect height. Everything needs to fit under the bed rails when the whole thing gets popped back down.
We removed the old counters and the sink, so we needed new ones. The easiest things was to stain plywood. So far they have worked out well.
Then I needed to sew. I just sewed new fabric to the fronts of the old curtains. They were in good shape, already had the plastic clips attached to hang them in the special tracks and blocked a lot of light.
We kept the original cushion covers for a while. They were cute and we didn't realize how dirty they would get and how impossible they would be to clean. We should have known.
Last fall I busted the sewing machine out one more time and resewed covered made out of sheets. They are perfect. They wash up easily and really don't show dirt all that much either.
Here the camper is all finished up. I wish we camped this neatly, but it looks more like a hurricane has ripped through the camper when we are all in it. In the future I'll share how we try to control the craziness.
Can't wait till we get a chance to go out this spring. We sacrificed some camping time to get a handle on the garden after it's summer of neglect. Just a roof repair to go before we can leave. Fingers crossed it goes exactly like it should.
Awesome! Looks like a cozy place!
ReplyDeleteThe tent always looks like a tornado came through after the first day. I try to manage a tidy up if we're going to be spending more than a night out there!
The camper looks pretty bad when we are all in it too.
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