It's been a busy couple of weeks with the glamper. Brandon has been working on it nonstop with his team over at Camper Reparadise. The list of things he has taken care of goes on and on. All the electrical was wired, new tanks, brake work, new wood installed with flooring, new water tank and pump, and outside replacement lights to name a few. It's been amazing to see it come together on my trips to drop off flooring and fixtures.

Speaking of lights, lighting has been my nightmare conundrum. I spent several days looking at lights. I finally decided on one from Home Depot (without the long bottom piece)  shown to the right (number 1). Turned out that the top part wouldn't fit in some of the spaces.  Then I bought the second light shown to the right (also from Home Depot) and although they fit, we realized that the trailer was set up for lights that each had an individual switch. I was totally heartbroken (because I was in love with the second lights by this point) and in trouble! I looked for a few days and finally settled on a light that I will have to repaint. A facing-down light, white, small, and with a switch is pretty well impossible to find. I couldn't find a link for the one I found at Home Depot (despite all the online searches I ended up with one I found there!), but I'll show you it in the final photos.

These lights are for the 120 volt power. I still had to buy lights for the 12 volt battery. Once again, not a chance you will find something cute out there. Thankfully, these lights are sort of hidden so I bought some run-of the-mill lights from the State Trailer Supply in SLC.

I also learned my lesson with flooring. I purchased regular laminate wood planks at first and then had to return them in favor of vinyl planks. Apparently, they are waterproof and necessary. I purchased mine from my local Lowes. I didn't have time to special order (the flooring needed to go in before other parts of the trailer could be finished) and Home Depot didn't have anything dark enough. Brandon suggested we put the flooring under all of the chairs and in the bathroom to keep everything waterproof. After seeing the water damage in the floor before, I was only to happy to have him put it in anywhere he could. He also put down a layer of concrete (I think?) in the bathroom to give it some extra durability.

Even though it is such a little thing, I have to share one of my favorite surprises with the camper renovation. See the photo below? That's of my 12 Volt Battery and everything it is hooked up to. And yes!!!! Those are LABELS next to it. Brandon put labels here and on the entire water system. I was like, seriously? I love it when someone takes pride in their work and really goes the extra mile. It makes you feel like every little thing they are doing is top quality.

The list of stuff that still has to be done is getting shorter although there is still plenty to do (note photo below. Eeek!).

This week, I started getting my part of the glamper/camper renovation underway. I cleaned and primed all the drawers and picked up laminates for the cushions. Brandon still has the trailer so I'm trying to do anything I can while he is still working on it. Here's my to do list for the coming week:

+ Sew all the cushions
+ Sew all the curtains
+ Finish painting all the drawers
+ Make pillows
+ Choose and order wallpaper
+ Put trim on the built in mirror
+Buy a showerhead

And once I get it, I have to do the following:

+ Some of the windows need to be replaced
+ Prime and paint the interior
+ Wallpaper
+ Prime and paint the exterior
+ Add laminates to the kitchen counter tops and table
+ Tile the shower

Of course, there are lots of other things I need to do, that can wait (like make fabulous quilts and other such niceties), but those will have to wait.

I also wanted to pass on the information for Chad and John who I purchased the trailer from. They have a facebook page that shows the trailers they currently have. I loved working with them, and you shouldn't be afraid to send them a message if you are interested in a trailer or airstream. They will LOOK for one for you and are super reasonably priced. Plus, the most invaluable part (for me) is they are willing to point you in the direction of people they have used, where to buy parts, ect. Since I was coming into this cold, having these guys walk me through what I needed to do was amazing.  John even went with me to the hardware store to buy the hitch to my vehicle. Ya, they are that nice.

Looking forward to the projects ahead!

Carina

PS: Here are the links to Glamper Part 1 and Glamper Part 2.

Sewing Summit's Quilt Shop Hop today (which by the way was awesome!), I ran over to Brandon's to check out the official renovation list. As per request from the Part 1 comments, here's the abbreviated list I am having him work on. He gave me a invoice that separates out labor and cost of parts. I love that because it gives me a good idea of what I am really paying for. We are hoping the trailer will be done in a month, but I suspect it will be more like 6 weeks.

So far I am about $800 over budget but I know there are things I haven't compensated for. Plus I haven't calculated in any of MY costs for beautifying this baby (paint, fabric, light fixtures).

-Install new Fridge
-Remove and replace Water Heater (Atwood 6 Gallon Gas Water Heater)
-Replace fresh water tank (24 Gallon)
-Remove and install new toilet and fittings
-Install new water pump
-Install new battery (12 Volt Marine Deep Cycle Battery)
-Remove Rotten Floor including Bathroom Floor
-Install Inverter/Charger (Progressive Dynamics 45 AMPS)
-Install Propane Tank (2, 5 Gal tanks)
-Remove rotten material for fridge and rebuild
-Replace trailer cable,
-Repack hubs and bearing inspection
-Power check, shoe inspection, axle inspection

You can see these are not exactly little things. And it doesn't include the possibility of replacing a ceiling panel, ceiling vent/fan, and putting in the flooring for me. I can't imagine doing all of those things myself so I'm grateful to have Brandon. The last thing you want on happy-family-mini-vaca is for everything to breakdown.

Above are some of the materials I'm considering for the interiors (because that's the fun part). You like the photoshop magic? I tried a few different colors before I settled on this one. I'm going to have to see if I can find a color chip to match.

I also started a glamper pinterest board to keep me organized. If you have any inspiration(or have done a glamper yourself) please leave a comment with a link on this post! I would love to see!

Also, if you know anything about 12v, gas, and 120 v lighting fixtures, please send me links! I'm finding it difficult to find cute fixtures.

I also promised this information:

Brandon (who is repairing my camper) is at http://campereparadise.com/wp/. He is based in Salt Lake City and while the website doesn't show alot, the trailers in his repair shop does. He has a few that are for sale as well.

Carina

That's right. It says Part 1 up there in the title. That's because I can tell, this is going to be a long project.

A few weeks back I started thinking about getting a camper. I had all sorts of fabulous dreams about what a camper could do for us...family outings, quilt shop stoppings, glamping in style...you know, all the usual stuff you think about when getting a camper.

I did a lot of looking on google and my local classifieds.  I have an obsession for Airstreams and have been eying them for five years now but felt they were out of my price range. So I turned to looking for a more retro design.

So what was I looking for? Here was my list of must-haves:
+ sleeps 5-6
+single axle (for those of you who, like me, had no idea what that means, it's just one set of wheels)
+ smallish (as in-not hard on my car)
+bathroom
+1950s-1960s design
+functional equipment and tanks

Did I mention this was a dream list? Because I wasn't about to find something in my price range with all of these things.

I happened upon an ad for the camper above on a local news website from a couple of guys named Chad and John. They find and sell used trailers and will even LOOK for one that matches your needs and price range. I am waiting on the Facebook Page and will post a link to it for those of you in the Utah area. They have been awesome to work with.

Anyway, I fell in love with the layout of this camper. It is a 1969 Jet Airway (barely in my date range!) and is 17 feet long. I walked through a couple of their 12 foot trailers. I loved the small size but felt the lack of bathrooms (rare in a 12 foot camper) was not a negotiable feature (who wants to take their kids to the campsite bathroom at midnight?). Other pluses, this camper had a single axel and my car could easily tow it.

Another bonus was that it has a couch that pulls out into a queen bed, dinette that turns into a bed, and then a bunk that slides back above the dinette. Sleeping space, check!

Obviously, this old girl needed some work. The problem is, I didn't know HOW MUCH work I was in for. I took the camper to a local restoration shop. Brandon (his website will also be in the next post) tore the thing apart  and, well, let's say, it wasn't pretty what he found. Cut lines, broken floors, water damage, and more.

This is where I took a deep breath.

I would love to say I'm a DIYer, but I'm not. I like to make things pretty (designer, remember?) so if it has to do with electricity and plumbing, I'm not your girl. What originally looked like a 2 week quick fix has turned into a several week renovation.I guess no trip to St. George for UEAA weekend. Sigh.

These last few pictures are from today when I went over to verify everything that has to be done. Maybe I'll give you the list, if you think it will be fun or useful. Tell me in the comments. Either way, it's ALOT of stuff. Brandon will be working on the technical while I will be painting, sewing, and tiling (okay, well, I will do cosmetic DIY stuff).

In the meantime, I will be sewing curtains and cushions. I will also be picking out lighting fixtures, colors for the exterior and inside, and choosing wallpaper and tile. I'll show you my project sheet soon. I think you will like. Think white, aqua, red, black, pink, and polka dot. It's going to be fun!

Dreaming of going glamping (while kids dream of glamping late-overs),
Carina