Vintage Camper Renovation Before and After: Was It Worth It?

After about 6 months of hard work in 100-degree summer heat renovating our 1960s vintage camper, we’re finally done! We are so thrilled with how it turned out; however, there are a few things that we wish we had done differently. Let’s discuss…

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclaimer here. 

But before we dive into all that, follow along on our first camping trip with our camper in the video below! We went to one of our favorite close campsites to test things out.

Our First Camping Trip in Our Renovated Vintage Trailer:

Small Camper Makeover Before and After Photos

These photos are so satisfying to look at! We are so proud of how everything turned out.

We learned a lot of new skills along the way. Now, we’re more confident if we decide to take on another camper renovation!

Retro Camper Exterior Before & After

Vintage Camper Kitchen Before & After

Camper Seating Area Before & After

Camper Bed Before & After

Our Small Camper Reno: What We Love & What We Don’t

After 1 year of actually using this camping trailer, including a multi-week Arizona road trip, here is what we love and what we don’t…

The things we love about our camper:

• Full size bed – having a cozy, comfortable bed for two people is awesome!
• Smaller wardrobe – If you remember from the very beginning, the wardrobe was bigger and it had two doors. We rebuilt it a little smaller and made the bed area a little bigger. Best decision ever. See point above!
• Completely off grid for power – We love not needing hookups at a campground for our power. The camper is completely off grid, giving us so much freedom! (See electrical notes in Part 2 here)
• No bathroom – Not having to deal with pipes and waste disposal is so nice. We use the bathroom as we do when tent camping, which means digging a hole. Is it a little annoying at times? Yes, but the simplicity of the trailer more than makes up for it.
• Installing the fridge – The fridge was not in our original plan, but we are so glad we decided to add one. It’s one of our favorite features in the trailer and makes storing camping food on longer trips a lot simpler.
• No stove in the kitchen – I spent a lot of time thinking about this choice, and I’m really glad we skipped the stove. With all the safety concerns I had, it just wasn’t worth it. After all, I go camping to enjoy nature, so cooking outside is a joy! Also, it’s nice to have all that extra space on the counter.
• Blackout curtains – Blackout curtains by the bed keep the area dark at night. They also help keep the trailer cool during hot days.
• Aeration under the mattress – The aeration pad that we put under the mattress has worked really well so far. We have no mold or mildew buildup. I’m glad we found that product thanks to a comment on my YouTube channel.

What we wish we did differently: (… it’s not much!)

• The large door we put in under the bed is useless. We cut a big hole in the plywood and installed hinges. We thought this would help us reach the under-bed storage for larger items. But lifting the mattress to access the door is tough. It’s heavy, so we’ve never used it.
• Kitchen backsplash – The kitchen backsplash is starting to peel. I think this is mostly user error and not the fault of the product. I would like to try again one day and do a better job installing it.
• If I had a different workspace, I would have painted the outside first while the windows and j-gutter were removed. The painting process would have been easier. This wasn’t possible based on where we were doing the renovation. It had no cover from the elements or people passing by.

It’s funny how many little things bothered me during the renovation. I kept wanting to fix them and make everything perfect. Once it was all done, I didn’t care about all those little details. I was too excited to use the trailer!

Would I renovate another camping trailer?

If you had asked me that question right when we finished, I would have said no. I was so exhausted from this renovation and doing it in such a quick time frame.

But now that time has passed, I would love to do another camping trailer renovation!

We don’t have the space for it in our current condo, but one day if we move to a place with a garage, I would definitely consider doing it again.

It was a lot of hard work, but it was also very rewarding. Being a tent camper most of my life, I wasn’t sure how much I would love towing a camper around. I thought it would feel too luxurious or it wouldn’t feel like camping, but so far, that hasn’t been the case.

For us, we found the perfect mix. We enjoy a cozy bed and a heater, but still feel like we are camping in nature.

We still don’t have the faucet hooked up, and we don’t have a bathroom. We do all our cooking outside like I do when I’m tent camping since the trailer doesn’t have a stove. It’s perfect!

That wraps up our vintage camper renovation series. I hope this is helpful if you’re working on your own camper makeover!

Save on Pinterest