If you’ve ever shopped for a pop up camper, you know you’ll meet a lot of frogs before you find your prince. I can definitely attest to that! Sometimes, though, you encounter a frog that just needs a kiss from a princess to become that handsome prince. Meet Alvin. He was a prince in disguise when reader Lisa found him. He just needed a little TLC.
Lisa had been looking for over a year for an ugly, old pop up camper to make over. She found this 1978 Jayco camper for $400 on Craigslist. Most of us would have passed on by, but not Lisa. She saw Alvin’s potential and knew it was exactly what she was looking for. The first thing she did was give the whole camper a good scrub down. Lisa had planned on recovering her cushions, but the foam was new, so instead, she gave the covers a good wash and discovered they looked brand new. Score! 😉
Next she primed and painted all the cabinets. She used a Behr primer that she already had on hand and primed both the cabinets and the countertops. Then she followed it up with Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue. Pretty, isn’t it? I’m loving the serene feel it has.
Lisa used Style Selections peel and stick flooring from Lowe’s to cover the original linoleum. It took less than half a box to give the camper a whole new look and feel. I love how rich the flooring looks–especially next to those pale blue cabinets.
Lisa found her curtain fabric at Target. She fell in love with the pattern on these tablecloths and used her mad sewing skills to turn them into curtains for the camper. I’m really loving these curtains. Such a great idea–and budget friendly, too! 🙂
Lisa added Velcro to the original curtain tabs to hang the new curtain panels throughout the camper, but over the bunkends, she used tension rods. She even kept a running total of all her expenses, and would you believe she did all this for under $200? Amazing, right? It just proves that you don’t have to spend big money to get a totally custom look.
Lisa had so much fun with this camper, that she is taking after my friend, Cassie! She’s already sold Alvin, and moved on to a new frog prince. She calls him George. 😉
Lisa’s pop up camper interior makeover is absolutely gorgeous, isn’t it? If you’d like to keep up with her adventures, you can find more details about Lisa’s camper projects on her blog here. Thanks so much for sharing your remodel with us, Lisa. You did a fabulous job.
Happy Camping!
This is lovely! And SO budget friendly 🙂 I love that it makes it possible for folks on very slim budgets to get out there and enjoy camping in an extra lovely environment! I am curious about the wear of the various options I have seen on your awesome blog when it comes to repainting the cabinets in the campers. We just purchased our pop up a couple of weeks ago, and I am planning to do a remodel this winter 🙂 But I am nervous because I have never really taken on such a project, and want to make sure that whatever paint option I go with is something that will last and wear well. Thank you for this FANTASTIC blog, and for whatever feedback you may be able to provide!
Glad you enjoy the blog, Tonya! How well you newly remodeled camper will hold up over time will definitely depend on the time and materials you put into the camper. I have heard from several people that latex paint, while beautiful in the beginning, doesn’t hold up long term to the abuse a camper gets. We painted our camper cabinets with oil-based paint over two years ago and used a good quality primer as well. We’ve heavily used the camper for two and a half years, and the cabinets still look awesome, so I will always recommend oil-based paints and primers. I also love the Rustoleum Countertop Transformations kit we used. The countertops look just like they did the day we installed them. I’m pretty pleased with the flooring, too. We do have some light scratches, but there was damage to the original flooring as well. I’m not sure anything you put in a camper will come out completely unscathed, but our Allure flooring has been pretty durable. I will say, though, that the Allure flooring was pretty pricey. When giving your camper a little facelift, you’ll have to choose the materials that best fit your budget and abilities. There are so many makeovers on this blog, and they are all completely different, so obviously, there isn’t one right way to do things. 🙂
Thank you so much! That is such helpful information, especially for this newbie! 🙂 This is a major undertaking for me as I have never been brave enough to take on a project refinishing surfaces or sewing. BUT…I am channeling my Mom’s skills and am determined to do a beautiful makeover of our camper! At least I will have all winter, so if I mess anything up, I can just start over! Thank you again for posting these makeovers! Pop ups have a very special place in my heart!
Larissa, when installing your Allure flooring, did you butt it to the walls or leave some room for expansion, contraction, and movement during hauling? Thanks!
We did leave a bit of room (about 1/4″ inch or so) around the walls, but since we screwed the cabinets down into the floor, I’m not sure it was necessary. The whole floor isn’t technically floating anymore. 🙂
i’ve been wondering about the flooring everyone is using, like the allure…they all say they are for indoor use only and for temperature-controlled environments. i’m curious how people’s floors are holding up through hot summers and cold winters in storage…are they warping? is the adhesive failing? are they still perfect?
Ours still look amazing, although we do have a few scratches this year. We used the Allure click-lock version, so there is no adhesive at all. We are in Arizona, so we have very mild winters–we rarely dip below 28 degrees–but our summers are some of the hottest around. This hasn’t affected the floors in the least. I have heard from readers that used the adhesive-backed flooring and were not pleased in the long run. It seems that severe winters tend to affect the adhesive and cause it to fail. If you were going with an adhesive backed flooring, I’d look at putting a primer or extra adhesive down first. Alternatively, you could look at the Allure Grip Strip flooring, which sticks to itself and not the camper floor. I have heard good things about it, too. 🙂
As a side note, you’re right. Allure won’t guarantee their flooring in environments where the temperature isn’t controlled, and they don’t recommend it for use in RVs. The amount we spent on our camper flooring was pretty small, and I wasn’t looking for a warranty of any kind. I am pleased that it has held up so well, though. I’d do it again in my next camper.
Thank you so much for featuring my camper! This just made my day.
How cute is this?! I just love how bright and cheerful it is now. Whenever we go to an RV show we always wonder why the manufacturers use the ugliest colors they can find. Well, at least it’s not impossible to put some pretty into them!! Great Job!
Oddly enough, I actually love the original curtains in this camper. Yeah, I know… It’s beautiful and breezy now, though!
I love how bright and inviting your camper is. I was just given a 1989 Jayco Dove 8 pop up camper. It needs a totally overhaul. He definitely want to paint the cabinets and we just ripped out all of the rotted canvas. What is the best way to hang curtains that won’t fall down? I have 4 kids and want something that will withstand some abuse.
I have a big Viking camper and it has a ruffle that goes all around the top where the fiberglass top joins the canvas. Do you have any good ideas on replacing it as the original elastic is failing. I hate making ruffles with all the gathering so I got some curtain gathering tape from Ikea. Our curtains also travel on the Eurpean thin rods and Ikea sells the little rollers that travel on them.
Love what you did with the floors, so i gather you took out all of the cabinetry before you did the floors instead of working around them. Right?
Keep sending ideas as I love pop up camping.
Hi,
I LOVE your pop up! I wonder if the curtains are thick enough so other couldn’t see in at night. I love sheers; it makes the place so airy and just lovely. But do you think they provide privacy?
Thanks Petra
After reading your post again, it looks like the curtains are made out of tablecloth! Wow! It looked like they were sheers. Anyway, beautiful job!
Petra
The after pictures looks like the inside of the canvas is whiter, how did you to that? We have tried looking for some sort of fabric paint and we used a lot of bleach and they are still not as clean and white as I want them!
I have not come across any type of paint that I would recommend applying to the canvas. Your canvas needs to remain pliable so it will fold easily, and you need to make sure you aren’t restricting the natural airflow or you will have condensation problems. Have you tried the Bass Pro Shop cleaner yet? I’ve heard fabulous things about both it and the LA Totally Awesome cleaner from DollarTree. As with any cleaner, test an inconspicuous area first, and make sure to rinse well to get any residue off. Since you have already used bleach, I would be very careful about anything you apply, and anytime you scrub the canvas, you’ll likely need to waterproof it as well. You can read all about that here.
Nicest redo I have seen fo my budget. Love the dual counter cupboard on right when you walk in. Makes so much sense. Colour awesome. Congrats. I am looking for my own project.
Lovely job! I especially like the color of the cabinets. Did you paint the countertops the same color?
Hello,
My husband & I purchased a 1982 Starceaft. We want to do some remodeling to the floor and cushions. Not sure how to really go about it. Also is there any type of resealants or weather strip that you would recommend on using. Our door needs to be fixed and not sure if we need to get a new door or we can just get new brackets for.
Looks great ! I am putting up tension rods and curtains on our bunk ends this weekend. Question, do you have to take the rods and curtains down when you fold up the camper ? Or can you leave them up all the time ?
I have heard from several readers that the curtain rods don’t hold up well when you leave them in. It’s probably best to take them down when you fold up the camper.