Lisa’s Fleetwood Pop Up Camper Makeover

I know some people think I’m crazy, but we’ve really had a lot of fun with our pop up camper remodels. I’m a creative person. I love a good project, and apparently I’m not alone. Today I’m featuring Lisa’s Fleetwood pop up camper, and if you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you’ll know this isn’t Lisa’s first rodeo. I featured her 1970’s camper remodel–named Alvin–back in 2016. You can see all the details of that makeover here.

Not long after, she sold her first pop up camper and upgraded to a slightly newer model she named George. Once again, Lisa worked her magic on George and created a fun homey space for her kids to enjoy. You can read all about that one on Lisa’s blog here.

They took George on a few adventures, but it wasn’t long before Lisa was craving another project. She took on a couple more camper remodels before finally landing on this 2004 Fleetwood Sedona. Lisa always names her trailers after the people from which she buys them. Since she bought her Sedona from Tim and Kim, she combined the two and named the camper Tiki. Cute, right?

Tiki was thankfully in great condition, so all the remodeling was just cosmetic. After a good cleaning inside and out, Lisa was able to start on the fun stuff right off the bat. She spray painted the faucet with some black Rust-Oleum spray paint she already had on hand. She wanted to give the countertops a new, lighter look, too. Because they fold down, Lisa wanted something easy and lightweight on the sink counter and tabletop.

She gave each surface a couple coats of white Rust-Oleum Appliance Epoxy paint. To keep everything tidy, she used Press-N-Seal wrap (genius! 🙂 ) to mask off the areas she wanted to protect from overspray. She says it worked great, and the countertops turned out beautifully. Lisa removed the cabinet doors and hardware. Then she taped off any areas that she wanted to keep paint free and gave everything a good coat of Zinsser primer.

I get asked about cabinet painting daily, so I just want to point out that Lisa’s prep work is on point! You should start by giving your cabinets a light sanding, wipe everything down with a tack cloth or slightly damp cloth, and follow up with a THIN coat of primer. You may want to add another coat, if you are worried about coverage, but two light coats of primer are much better than one heavy coat. See how you can see brush strokes in the primer? That’s a-okay, as long as there aren’t any ridges or high spots. If you’ve got those, give the primer a light sanding before you add another coat of primer or move on to paint. Need more info on how to paint your pop up camper cabinets? Check out our post here.

With the prep work complete, Lisa gave the cabinets a couple of coats of paint. Lisa is really good about keeping her makeovers budget-friendly. She actually used some paint that she had leftover from another project in her house. Now, I know you guys are going to want to know the color and type. Believe me! I’d love to know, too. 😆 Lisa doesn’t remember the color, and she doesn’t have the information on the paint anymore. Bummer, right? Because they are gorgeous.

On the long stationary counters, Lisa had 2cm white quartz put in. It only added about 100 lbs of extra weight. Lisa says her trick was to find a granite shop that had free remnants for small projects. The shop she worked with only charged labor, so it wasn’t too expensive. (Note: While Lisa’s quartz countertop looks amazing, you’ll always be very careful when adding a lot of extra weight to your camper. There are several variables to consider, including trailer axle ratings, camper weight distribution, and tow vehicle capacity. Basically, do your homework before you make such a huge change.)

Lisa’s husband installed the flooring for her. It’s a click-lock plank vinyl from TrafficMaster Allure called Lakeshore Pecan. Once all the flooring was in, they added painted quarter round trim to the base of all the cabinets. This not only gives them a finished look, but it also helps hide any gaps between the flooring and the cabinets. Lisa replaced the old cabinet hardware with brushed brass geometric knobs she found on Amazon.

Since the paint Lisa used was so dark, she decided to keep her fabric choices on the lighter side. To cover the dinette cushions, she wrapped them in inexpensive canvas drop cloths. Then she used a staple gun on the back side of each cushion to close the seams. If you are looking for more information on how to cover your cushions using the wrap and staple method, check out this post from The Little Vintage Trailer.

Lisa cut shower curtains from Walmart into panels and hemmed them to the right length for the bunkend curtains. She found the white curtains on the sides of the camper at Ikea. Ikea is an awesome place to find inexpensive curtains and bedding. I seriously love that place. 🙂

She dressed the bunks in white fitted sheets and bedding. Then Lisa grabbed throw pillows and blankets from around the house to complete the look. I love grabbing stuff from inside my house to decorate my camper. It’s free, and it makes the camper feel just like home. When I get home, I can bring everything back in the house and I don’t need to store a bunch of stuff in the PUP.

Didn’t Lisa do an amazing job? Look how far that little Fleetwood Sedona has come! It’s just gorgeous. If you want to keep up with Lisa’s projects, make sure to visit her blog, Rice Camp. You can find all the details of her other camper makeovers and see what adventures her little family has been up to.

Now who’s ready to go camping? Me, please! 😉

 

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Happy Camping!