Pop up Camper Makeover

     We went tent camping this summer with our grandson. One thing we learned was that we're too old to be sleeping on the ground. We had tried a regular pull trailer but my husband didn't like pulling something that big. Also he didn't like the fact that he couldn't see out the back window. So we started talking about a pop up camper. I looked over the internet to learn more about them. Of course I checked out Pinterest. And that's when I discovered  The Pop Up Princess. Besides learning useful information, I was also amazed at all the wonderful makeovers. I was hooked. We bought a 2009 Rockwood Freedom.

     Over all it was in pretty good condition. But it was your typical RV interior, all tones of brown. After seeing what could be done, I knew I wanted a brighter more colorful interior.

     So we dug in and went to work. I took all the curtains down and washed them. The mattresses and cushions I sprayed with disinfectant/odor eliminator and set in the sun for several days. I gave the interior a good cleaning. We removed the cabinet doors and the hardware off the doors. The hardware was fine but a shiny brass color. So I spray painted them a dark brass.

     We then went to work on the cabinets, repairing, filling holes and nicks and sanding. Then time to paint, first I did a primer coat. Then I painted with Behr Marquee paint and primer, semi-gloss in 'Spring Frost'. I got good coverage with these two coats.

     I sewed new valances, but reused the Velcro and Glide-tape from the old ones. The black out curtains were in good shape, but we were missing two pair. So I bought two full length (84in) black out panels at Walmart and cut them in half. I then used flat bed sheets to cover all of the panels. I did have to buy drapery Glide-tape for the two new pair. I found it on line at Campingworld. 

     The counter tops were in good shape so we left them as is. I found a cute decal on Amazon for the front of the refrigerator.

     We redid the floor. It is a floating floor, 'Allure' in teak, we bought at Home Depot. Considering neither my husband or I knew what we were doing I think we did OK laying it with a minimal amount of swearing.  Especially since nothing in this camper was square. I have a feeling that might be true in all pop ups.

     I made these cute little candle holders to match the decor. They were originally clear. I used food coloring mixed into white glue. After getting the color I wanted, I used a small brush to paint the holders. They now have the look of sea glass. The candle holders and battery tea lights all from the dollar store.

     Do you see the "chandelier" over the table. I got a little carried away with my decorating. My husband rolled his eyes at this one. But I had fun making it from a dollar store basket and battery candles. The beads I bought at Joann's, with coupons of course. The whole thing cost me about $10.

     Another thing we made, which is a little more practical, was some hanging shelving. I found the idea on Pinterest and bought the supplies at Home Depot in the closet section. The fabric bins are from the dollar store.

     The majority of fabric I bought at fabric.com. I covered the cushions using the folding method and a glue gun. I'm not sure how the glue will hold up in our cold Wyoming winters, we'll see . I might have to rethink it come spring. I made the bed covers because I couldn't find anything ready made that I liked. Some of the throw pillows I bought others I made. I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. Everyone who has seen it can't believe the transformation. Unfortunately we haven't been able to use it yet. You can read that sad tale on my last post, The Road Trip That Wasn't.

     We have winterized the camper and closed it up for the winter. We are looking forward to new adventures come spring.

A thought to ponder: "Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety                                          percent how you respond to it"                 Lou Holt

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The Road Trip that Wasn't

      We bought a used popup camper and fixed it up (the make over will be my next post). I spent at least a month planning our itinerary and making reservations. On October 13th we took off on a road trip to the Oregon coast. It didn't quite turn out as planned.

     The first night of our trip we stayed at a motel. Mainly because it was a long driving day and we were just trying to get there.  The second night was to be our first camping night. We would be staying at a hot springs in Oregon.  We got there, found our spot and got everything ready to raise the camper. There was a pop and nothing happened, the camper wouldn't go up. We found the cable had busted. The people at the campground were helpful in trying to find someone who might be able to fix it. To make a long story short, after talking to several people, we were unable to get the camper fixed in a reasonable amount of time. So I had to call and cancel all our reservations and then figure out our best route home. We thought we should try and salvage a little of our trip.

     So we headed back on highway 26, with a short side trip to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.

     From there we went on to spend the night in Baker City, Oregon at the Geiser Grand Hotel. We had stayed here once before and loved it. This time we stayed in the Cupola room on the third floor. To read more about the hotel see my post:A Bed Time Story. 

   

     The next day we continued on through Oregon and into Idaho, enjoying the fall colors along the way.

We made a stop at the Chief Joseph Memorial

      We continued on a two lane highway, sometimes steep and curvy.

We spent the night in a small town in Idaho. The next day we woke up to fog but  continued on, following the Lewis and Clark trail.

     There was plenty of beautiful scenery to enjoy even if the day was wet and overcast.

     My husband was sure I found every two lane highway between Oregon and our home in Wyoming. But we did finally reach an interstate in the big sky country of Montana.

     We stopped for the night at one of our favorite places, Chico Hot Springs. The hotel has been there since the early 1900's. It's a rustic and relaxing place to stay and they have a four star restaurant. You can find out more about this great place here: Chico Hot Springs.

     After a nice dinner and a relaxing soak in the hot springs pool, the next day we headed home.   I kept checking the weather on the Oregon coast and found that it rained pretty much the whole time we would have been there. So I do have that to console me. So our 16 day trip turned out to be 7. It wasn't the trip we planned but we tried to make a little bit of lemonade from our lemons.

P.S. Our camper is now fixed. We'll try again next year.

A thought to ponder: "One of the greatest blessings in the world is to be able                                   to be happy even when things in life are not going as                                       planned."

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