Retro Camping Trailer Remodel

Retro Trailer Remodel

I’m Amy. I work with The Crafting Chicks on the back side of their blog. Years ago my cousins and I had a little blog to share all of our crafty projects. We got busy and the blog disappeared. But I still love to craft. And I still get to work with the wonderful Crafting Chicks!

My parents have a piece of property that they stay at over the summers. The grand kids just LOVE to go camping out there too. Think…. 4 wheelers, zipline and archery range… yep. The kids (and adults) LOVE it!

Last summer my parents were given a 1972 Rancho el Rae Camper Trailer. The idea was to slap some paint on it and turn it into a guest house for their property. As soon as I saw this trailer, I knew it needed to become a Glamper! Let me show you what we did… (with links to tutorials that will help you to do the same!)

Retro Camping Trailer Remodel

Before

The base of the trailer was in fairly good condition. But boy oh boy, was it dated. (Don’t you just love that carpet?! Yikes!)  We liked the aqua trim. But the dark paneling, carpet and floral print just had to go.

 

After

What a difference! Oh it turned out SO cute! The color. The light. The retro feel.

Love. Love. Love!

Patching Holes

If you’ve got an old trailer, you know that you’ve got to do some repairs. We had some water damage. So my amazing Dad jumped in and started patching holes. Here is a great tutorial to walk you through the process:  Patching Holes.

Paint

A little bit of paint makes a HUGE difference. The white opened up the space and gave it a completely different feel. The red drawers gave it that pop of color we were looking for.

Flooring

The first thing to come out was that carpet. Yikes!

We just fell in love with the black and white checkered tiles! So much easier to clean and so fun!

Here is a great tutorial for installing new flooring:  Trailer Flooring.

Reupholstering Cushions

Our polka dot cushions turned out beautiful! We used Riley Blake Fabric. The cushions are a Home Decor fabric called Medium White Dot on Black. If you haven’t used their fabric before, you are missing out! Oh my! It’s like sewing with clouds. Truly. (I just did another project without Riley Blake Fabric… it was like working with sand paper. Awful! I’ll be sticking with Riley Blake.)

Luckily, the kitchen table cushions were in great condition once we flipped them over. Now the Aqua color shows beautifully.

My Mom tackled the bedroom cushions. And they were a beast. But she’s a miracle worker and they turned out adorable!! The couch that folds into a bed was super complicated.

Here is a tutorial to help you with cushions:  Cushion Tutorial.

Curtains

The curtains are Riley Blake fabric as well. We needed to double the material on the curtains, since the windows don’t have blinds. We wanted the trailer to be light and bright during the day, have privacy at night, and keep the sun from peaking in during the early morning hours. We made curtains ties to hold the curtains open during the day. We attached the ties to the curtain on one side (so they don’t get lost) and they just velcro together in the back.

In the bedroom part of the trailer we used Four Corners Teal, Medium Dots Black, and White Swiss Dot on Black.

In the kitchen part of the trailer we used: Small Red Gingham, Medium Dots Black, and White Swiss Dot on Black.

We also made some accents pillows with Medium Dots Aqua/Red.

Before and After

What a difference!

Painting the outside of a trailer

At first we had visions of a bright white trailer with a red stripe down the side. Maybe a few polka dots here and there. Then we decided NOT to paint the outside of the trailer. Let me tell you why… This trailer is, right now, sitting on mountain property surrounded by 5 feet of snow. We can’t access the trailer for a good portion of the year. That means that we can’t check on it to make sure that it hasn’t been broken into or being lived in (yikes!) as often as we would like to. So we decided that it would be best to keep the outside of the trailer looking a little run down. We don’t want the whole mountain to know what a darling trailer it has become!

If you want to paint the outside of your trailer, here is a great tutorial:  Painting the outside of a trailer.

The circle stick-on mirrors are from Amazon.

The adorable red teapot is from  Bed, Bath and Beyond.

The plates, table runner and vase are from IKEA.

The furry animal friends were added by the grand kids and are from KOHLS.

Do you have a trailer that is just begging for a little TLC? What are you waiting for? It isn’t as hard as you think and it’s so rewarding to transform an entire space!

Happy Glamping!

 

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