I think this next camper renovation feature is just too cute. Let me start by saying I’m not much for Valentine’s Day. I think Mr. TypeTwoFun and I should appreciate each other year round, so I don’t do all that mushy February love stuff. But when Mason sent me the story of his remodel, and how he and his wife worked on it together for their anniversary, it melted even my ice cold heart. 😉 I knew I had to share it with you guys, and Valentine’s Day did seem like the perfect day to do it. So here’s Mason and Shanna’s little camper love story to brighten your Valentine’s Day.
Their journey started about a year ago. A month or so before they got married, Mason saw this old, dilapidated pop up camper sitting outside of his brother-in-law’s family cabin. Mason asked what they were doing with it and was told they were trying to find time to haul it down to the city and throw it away. Initially Mason thought–and I have to agree–that it was probably the most logical thing to do, but he fell in love with that thing right away. 
Mason told his wife, Shanna, that he wanted to take on that little Skamper as a project, and she loved the idea as well. A little over a month after they got married, Mason and Shanna took a trip up to get their new pop up camper. It ended up being a lot more work than they’d bargained for. When they got it home, Mason and Shanna completely gutted the camper right away, and there it sat for about nine months. Life just got the best of them, as they were both going to school and working full time.
And then, a few months ago Mason got a crazy idea. He and Shanna had always loved camping. In fact, they had camped together quite a bit while they were dating. For their one year anniversary, Mason though it would be a great idea to finish renovating the Skamper so they could take an anniversary trip. Shanna was on board, so for the next two months, they worked on that camper 3-5 days a week from 7pm to 12am.
Remember when I told you guys that this little Skamper was a little more than Mason and Shanna had bargained for? Well, it not only had to be completely gutted, but it needed work on some of the mechanics, too. First off, Mason had to rebuild the roof. The lift system and the tires also needed to be replaced. But Mason and Shanna powered through it, and soon they were on to the interior of the camper.
First order of business was the floors. Mason went with a plank vinyl flooring from Lowe’s. He wanted a wood look flooring that was waterproof and easy to install. Plank vinyl fit the bill. Mason and his brother were able to install the entire floor in 45 minutes, and it looks great, too! 😀
With the flooring out of the way, Mason got started on rebuilding all of the cabinets. The original cabinets had quite a bit of water damage, so they were the first to go during the demo phase. Mason and Shanna ended up keeping the original layout, but they replaced the icebox area with extra storage cabinets. Mason actually had worked for a cabinet contractor in the past, so he did all the work himself. He built the frame of the cabinets using cheap 2 x 2 lumber from Home Depot, then covered it with 1/4″ plywood.
Mason and Shanna gave all the cabinets two coats of primer and two coats of creamy white paint. Then Mason made countertops out of 3/4″ plywood, which he cut to size, stained and sealed. Would you believe those awesome drawer pulls are actually leather strips Mason had laying around the house? He cut the leather size and attached them to the fronts of the cabinet doors. Great idea, right?
Next up were the foam and fabrics for the camper. Mason and Shanna replaced all the old foam in the camper with new foam they purchased at Foam By Mail. The beds got 3″ memory foam, and the bench cushions are 2″ cushion foam. Since they didn’t have a upholstery or sewing experience, they were pretty nervous about taking on the cushion covers. They found some faux leather fabric at Hobby Lobby, which they loved, but they just weren’t sure how to go about making covers.
Mason happened to come across this video from Home Made Modern, which solved their upholstery dilemma. They followed the directions in the video, “gift wrapping” their cushions in the faux leather fabric and attaching grommets on the edges. Then they laced up their covers much like you would a boot. It looks amazing, and was the perfect solution for a couple with zero sewing experience.
With the interior complete, they moved on to the exterior. The canvas was in great shape, so it just got a good cleaning, but the exterior of the trailer got a fresh coat of white paint. And even though it was tight, Mason and Shanna finished their makeover just in time for their anniversary trip. Now… when I say it was tight, I mean that they were actually putting the finishing touches on the remodel the night before they left. But isn’t the end result worth it?
Mason and Shanna were able to spend their anniversary week at Blue Ridge Reservoir in Northern Arizona, and it was perfect. They were so excited to spend some relaxing time together in their “new” little camper, away from the bustle of every day life. After two months of hard work to make it happen, that time away was just what they needed.
What a great love story, right? If you want to see more of Mason and Shanna’s adventures, you can follow them on Instagram at @skamperthecamper. I love seeing what they are up to, and I know you all will, too. Thanks so much for sharing, Mason and Shanna. I hope you have many more anniversaries together in that little Skamper! 😉Happy Camping!
What a neat Article..you did a great job telling Shanna and Masons story of Scamper…I might be a little bias because they are my daughter and son-in-law. What an Amazing job they did fixing up that old camper to a beautiful new adventure machine… I am excited to see it in person some day and maybe even sleep in it!! HAPPY CAMPING
Great job! I love the leather straps as handles. Enjoy it!
How wonderfully brave you both are! We love our pop-up and feel kinda sorry for those camping beside us in their huge rigs, knowing we’d be haunted by their payments. Continue to wander as long as you can.
Hi there, I got a similar problem with my scamper. You talk about the roof but are you going to show us how you did it? I am new to this site. I am looking for ideas and solutions for my roof problem. Thank you.
We just did a series on rebuilding your roof, James. You can see those posts here:
ROOF REBUILD, PART ONE: DEMOLITION
ROOF REBUILD, PART TWO: REBUILD INTERTIOR
ROOF REBUILD, PART THREE: REBUILD EXTERIOR
My husband and i just bought a 1972 bethany pop up camper and we love it! But due to her age it needs a makeover and tlc..thanks for the ideas ect..