Camper Chronicles: Part I

A few months back, I mentioned we got a small camper off of craigslist January 2015.  We did this for two reasons: we wanted to be able to travel and have fun for cheap; and if Clayton and I were going to have to spend a prolonged period of time somewhere due to his kidney issues, then we wanted our own space to serve as our temporary home.  We've spent plenty of time living out of hospital rooms and Ronald McDonald rooms, so a camper all our own would be a huge step up!

The back story:  So we entered into the world of RVs/campers knowing we knew nothing about them.  So when we found our craigslist gem, we paid a local RV repair company to come inspect it for us.  They did and they told us of the few issues that needed attention and told us as long as we took care of those now we wouldn't have any problems.  So we were satisfied that our gem of a (old) camper was indeed a gem of a find and we purchased it.  We then paid the repair shop to do the repairs they said needed to be done based on their inspection.  Again, not yet knowing anything about RVs we felt more confident in their ability to inspect and do the work than our own.  Well they kept it for WEEKS never even starting on it.  When they finally did start, the total $ was way more than they originally said.  As in double without a real good explanation as to why.  But they came recommend by many many people and we didn't want to make a stink.  I should point out here that we were not dealing with the chain store repair shop, but rather the local guy.  You know...trying to support local business and all.  Eventually we got our little camper back and went on our merry way.

The day we brought it home.

We noticed almost immediately, that one of the windows had a leak despite the fact that everything was suppose to have just been resealed/repaired, etc.  But it appeared to be a small leak.  Well, George didn't want to break into that project before our trip to Disney last October so we waited.  Then it was the holidays and then hunting season and George's school.  So fast forward to May when we finally got into it.  Well, well, well.  We were in for a nasty surprise when we went to remove and reseal the window.  The whole freaking wall was wet and rotting underneath the vinyl wallpaper and luan.  George and I know that we put off the window repair, but not only was one of the leaks coming from somewhere other than the window, but it was obvious from the extent of damage, that the repair shop had seriously missed and/or neglected something important.  Needless to say, we were furious with the repair shop, but didn't turn to them, because after what we discovered and our previous experience with them, how could we trust them to do it right?

So much to George's dismay, we opted for the DIY route.  George would have loved to patched it and sell it as a hunting camp camper to someone and get a new camper.  Alas, a new camper is not in our budget.  So in addition to the immediate area around the damage we had found, I twisted his arm convinced George it was in our best interest to remove all of the wall paneling we could that was easily accessible (not behind floor to ceiling cabinetry) to check for leaks elsewhere and put things back together right.  Anyone who has owned a camper that didn't cost an arm and a leg can tell you that they aren't always well put together and wallpaper can be wrinkled, bunks not secured properly and other random things. So with a wife forcing his hand by doing demo herself some coaxing, we proceeded to essentially gut our camper with the exception of the kitchenette area and the bathroom.

The front corner is where we found a leak that caused additional rot near the window.

See the black stuff? That use to be a wooden support.

I maintain that we still found a gem of a camper though.  It was clean, from a good home, a stellar price, no smells and at the time of purchase had minimal water damage, that had it been resealed properly would not have turned into the problem it became.  I think the wall damage only became as bad as it did because the repair shop did not reseal the camper properly.  And note to future RV owners and RV owners who haven't learned this lesson, vinyl wallpaper covered luan hides problems very well.  Very well.

So anyhow, that was the back story, which brought us to our DIY repairs and our yet to be completed Glamper.  We removed rot, sprayed/killed mold (on damp framing), replaced wooden framing, let things air out for a while, replaced insulation, put up new luan and are painting, caulking, trim work etc.  The inside is finally almost done!  I was going to glamp it up with beadboard, but in an effort to stay true to the lightweight character of the camper went with the lighter thinner luan instead.  

Last framing to replace!

Luan going up.

New insulation and new framing where needed.

Gutted bunkhouse area, being put back together.

Priming.

More priming.

And now that we are getting the pieces put back together, the little bug is ecstatic.

I'm telling you this kid loves his camper like nothing else.  He loves that when we go camping and he has mom and dad all to himself; no TV or chores to distract us from our #1.  I think he also loves the "clubhouse" feel.  With our camper only being 16 ft, it is very much like a clubhouse.  George and I love it too though.  The day we discovered how bad the damage was we literally spent the rest of the day depressed.  It sucked the wind right out of our sails.  So we are all excited it is almost done.

Right now we are replacing all the outside trim, scraping and resealing the front and back seams on the roof, reinstalling and resealing the window we had to remove, resealing all the other windows, look for anywhere else that needs to be sealed and we are going to replace the awning (got an awesome deal on a new one).  Oh, yeah...and after all this DIY, I told George I am going to repaint it too.  I'm sure I just made a few folks cringe at the idea of painting my own camper, but I got this and it will be wonderful when its done.  It'll be like a brand new camper and once all is said and done we will have spent no more than $600 at the very very most.  Everything we are doing would have costed thousands if we paid someone else to do it.  At $90 - $125 hr for labor, we are saving oodles and oodles of money.  And none of what we are doing is really hard.  It just takes a little time and we have been working on it little by little as we have time.  Learning the structure of how a camper is built in my opinion is a valuable takeaway too.

Anyway, just something we've been working on.  When the inside is completely finished, I will take before and afters and give everyone a peek at our glamper. :)