There are a few things you have to consider when renovating a camper that are different than renovating a home.
#1 - Weight - it matters. The motor is designed to pull a certain weight, so we cannot just load it full of whatever we want. The heavier it is, the lower our gas mileage.
#2 - Temperature - it gets real cold in Wisconsin. The motorhome will be stored in a shed throughout our sub-zero Wisconsin winters. We have to take this into consideration when choosing things like paint, sealer, flooring, etc.
#3 - Movement - it rides like a bus. This thing is not a smooth ride. It rides just like a school bus. That means there is lots of movement. We have to keep this in mind when rebuilding cabinet space and picking flooring that isn't too rigid.
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| The key came with a 'B' on it. I guess it was destined to be ours! |
Here is where we are at so far:
- Had all windows professionally resealed. Still looking into getting one rear window and one windshield window replaced at some point due to moisture between the laminate and glass. More on that HERE.
- Pulled up and removed not one, but TWO layers of shag carpet. A lovely lime green and a gross brown color. The green was the original, of course. Seriously, who puts carpet in a camper???
- Pulled all staples (two layers of carpet worth) from the floor that held the carpet in place. This might be the most awful job I have ever had to do. That is why I put in maybe an hour and a half and Logan put in probably 8+ hours. Thank God that part is over. We were happy to find that the subfloor was in good shape with minimal water damage! We are pretty sure this camper was stored indoors most of it's life and that is why it is in such good condition for being 43 years old.
- Removed everything we possibly could. We were able to remove both dinette benches, the table, all drawers, doors, cabinets, kitchen sink, backsplash panel behind the sink, and the accordion door that closes off the back half of the camper. We were not able to remove the unit that holds all the kitchen drawers and sink. The screws are pretty tight in place.
- Coated the entire floor in Kilz from Home Depot. Kilz is a water-based interior primer, sealer, and stain and odor blocker. You can read more about it HERE.
- Lightly sanded and painted all of the cabinets white. At first we were unsure of what type of paint to use so we talked to the paint specialists at Home Depot. Let's take a minute to talk about the super-helpful employees at Home Depot. They are just that - super helpful. They know their products inside and out and are more than happy to help. They suggested we use Behr Marquee outdoor paint in semi-gloss because the the camper will be stored in sub-zero temps. See #2 above. We decided on the color Looking Glass and a semi-gloss finish that would make it easier to clean when our kids put their little sticky s'mores hands all over them!
- Picked out and ordered flooring and carpet. Man was this was a decision! I spent way more time than I would like to admit researching the perfect flooring. More on this in another post. Our flooring order should be in this week. I cannot wait to get it in!
- Removed old curtains, seam ripped the tracking off of them, and measured them to buy fabric to make new curtains. I will make another post just on the curtain refashion. I haven't gotten there quite yet. :)
- Cut and laid down a new subfloor over the old subfloor that has been coated with Kilz. We used Luan board from Home Depot. We cannot glue and staple down the subfloor until we have patched a part of the fiberglass floor that exposed after ripping out the front step. More on this in another post.
Our goal is to have the camper sleep-ready by the end of July. We have a neighborhood camping trip planned and we would really love to use it! There is no way it will be completely done by then, but hopefully done enough to sleep in. I honestly do not know if it will be though. Renovating an RV has proven to be an extremely long process that requires a lot of hard work.
Watch for a post soon on all of the resources we have found that have helped us find parts and seek advice on renovating our camper. We even tracked down the owners manual!
- Removed old curtains, seam ripped the tracking off of them, and measured them to buy fabric to make new curtains. I will make another post just on the curtain refashion. I haven't gotten there quite yet. :)
- Cut and laid down a new subfloor over the old subfloor that has been coated with Kilz. We used Luan board from Home Depot. We cannot glue and staple down the subfloor until we have patched a part of the fiberglass floor that exposed after ripping out the front step. More on this in another post.
Our goal is to have the camper sleep-ready by the end of July. We have a neighborhood camping trip planned and we would really love to use it! There is no way it will be completely done by then, but hopefully done enough to sleep in. I honestly do not know if it will be though. Renovating an RV has proven to be an extremely long process that requires a lot of hard work.
Watch for a post soon on all of the resources we have found that have helped us find parts and seek advice on renovating our camper. We even tracked down the owners manual!
