Holly’s Trailmanor Camper Makeover

A Trailmanor camper can make a great family RV, but it can also be customized for a single camper.  Holly gave her family’s Trailmanor a whole new look, making it a perfect girly space for her solo camping trips.

Holly and her kids had grown up camping as a family in their 2005 Trailmanor 3023.  After her children were grown and gone, she thought long and hard about downsizing.  She reasoned that she didn’t need the large camper, and so she started looking for something smaller.  The search for a new camper helped Holly discover what she really wanted and didn’t in a new RV, but she was discouraged by the cost.

The feature she liked least in most campers was the dinette booth.  Holly nearly always eats outside and felt like a dinette booth was a huge waste of space for her.  It also made it difficult for her very large German Shepherd to find a place to relax.  She also realized that she loved her Trailmanor camper for its low profile, which made it a breeze to tow.  Then it struck her.

Holly realized she could remodel her Trailmanor camper for a whole lot less money than it would take to buy a new RV.  She also realized that she could take some liberties with the layout and color scheme to make this camper exactly what she wanted.  Since Holly already had experience with renovations–she was currently working on remodeling her 1820’s home–she knew she could handle anything that might come up.

So she got to work.  The first thing Holly did was tear out the carpet, linoleum, and those unwanted dinette couches.  She took all the window treatments down, took the drawers and doors off the cabinets, and removed vent trims and ceiling lights.  She was going all out on this remodel!  😆

Holly lightly sanded the walls, ceiling, and cabinets, then wiped them all down.  She painted the aluminum walls with Rustoleum Enamel in semi-gloss white.  The wood walls and cabinets, got a few coats of Glidden High Endurance Semi-Gloss Exterior in Milano Teal for the walls and Gray Timber Wolf for all the cabinets.  By the time Holly finished all the painting, October hit and it was time to winterize the camper.

During the winter months, Holly worked on some of the interior projects for her Trailmanor camper.  She purchased things on clearance as she found them – sheets that she made into curtains, inexpensive bandanas that she made into pillows, folding butterfly chairs to replace the two couches she had removed, and dishes to match her fun, girly color scheme.  Holly used an oilcloth tablecloth to sew a cover for the window exterior rock guards, and crocheted trim along the edge.  She also made the quilt for her bed and repurposed some down bedding she already had, so now her camper bed is as comfy and cozy as her bed at home.

When spring came around, Holly was able to get back to work.  She designed and built a cabinet to go over the furnace and water storage tank, which had been previously hidden beneath the now removed dinette couch.  The countertop is birch plywood, trimmed with ¾” quarter round, and stained with Minwax Ebony stain to match the existing countertops.  Everything got a few coats Minwax Polycrylic, and the best part is that Holly had all the materials left over from projects around the house.  This project was essentially free!  😀

Holly painted the floor with two coats of Zinsser primer to seal it and laid down SilentSilver Thermoquiet, a thermal acoustic insulated underlayment, to help insulate the floor.  Holly selected Swiss Krono Sold Oak in Stormy for the flooring.  To trim it out, she used ¾” x ½” shoe trim, painted it with Rustoleum Hammered Black.

She used a sheet of galvanized metal spray painted black, to replace the fridge door panel.  Then she painted the rest of the fridge trim and installed peel and stick tile around the sink and above the stove.  Since Holly mostly camps on her own, she didn’t need two beds.  She converted the other bed into an area for her dogs by removing the mattress and adding outdoor carpeting.

Holly constructed special window frames lined with hardware cloth to keep her dogs from scratching the window screens.  She also added custom Roman shades to the windows for privacy.  It’s the perfect spot for her dogs, and her German Shepherd has more than enough room now to spread out and relax.

Holly build wooden valances to hang above all the rest of the windows in the Trailmanor camper.  She liked the idea of having shelves above the windows for items like sunglasses and keys.  She can also store doggie treats and tins up above the one in the kitchen.  Both the window frames and wooden valances are mounted on the walls using z-clips.  It only takes Holly a few minutes to hang them all when she opens up and closes down her camper, and they’ve ended up being quite handy.

For the privacy curtains around the bed Holly used a very lightweight gauze to give it an airy feel.  Then she crocheted tie backs for the curtains to match her red crocheted valances.  See that cabinet with the super cute decal on the front?  It is actually Holly’s fold-away table.  When she needs more space, she can fold the table and butterfly chairs up and store them out of the way.

And when she needs a spot for games or meals, she can set up the table, folding chairs, and little ottoman.  Holly actually reconstructed the table top out of pine plywood, as the old table was pretty flimsy.  She painted it the same gray she used for the cabinets and walls, adding a matching design with Jacquard Neopaque acrylic paint in red, turquoise, and white.  Then she coated the whole table with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic.  Doesn’t it look amazing?  I am in love.  🙂

To hide an electrical outlet from her dogs, Holly built a small cubby that attaches to the wall.  She can remove it easily when necessary, but it serves as a great space to organize little items like dog leashes, flip flops, and craft supplies.  It is also the perfect spot for a little lamp to provide a some extra light at night.

Fiona, as Holly has dubbed her, is now a cute girly haven.  Holly truly enjoys camping in her when she is away from home.  All her modifications have allowed her plenty of space on the full bed for herself and a big open space on the other end for her dogs.  All said and done, Holly spent approximately $700 on the entire remodel – from paint to flooring to dishes – which is way cheaper than a new camper would have been.  And most importantly?  Holly had a great time doing the remodel herself.   Now Fiona will remain in the family for a long time, and Holly hopes one day her future grandchildren will enjoy her, too.

Want to see more Trailmanor camper remodels?  Make sure to check out our other reader features here:

TRAILMANOR CAMPER MAKEOVERS

Disclaimer:  This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  The Pop Up Princess is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  This means that if you choose to purchase an item from a link in this post, The Pop Up Princess earns a small advertising fee to help pay for future projects and posts…  so thank you!   🙂

Happy Camping!