Our Camper Reno - Before + After
Kevin and I decided to purchase a camper for a few reasons. Primarily, we have tent camped A LOT in the course of our relationship (we’ve driven to CA and back twice in our short 2.5 years, lived out of tents, hostels, tiny houses, etc). While we love tent camping and appreciate the simplicity for shorter trips, we knew the way we travel we needed something more practical for our multi-month long adventures. Secondly, we were craving a home on wheels. Both of us have been quite displaced these last few years while we search for where we’ll put down roots, so it was important to create our own space that we can use for trips now and in the future. We also knew whatever we purchased we wanted to use someday as an airbnb on our property.
We found two campers we loved within about two days scouring Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, both about an hour from each other in the Poconos and Vestal, NY: the SunnyBrook and an Airstream.
The 1972 Airstream was like walking into a time capsule. It was SO FREAKING COOL, but needed so much structural work as it had been permanently parked since the early eighties. While I was temped by brass light fixtures and mustard accents, Kevin saw the uglier things that needed to be addressed in order for it to be safe. In the end, dragging an enormous piece of metal around the country just didn’t feel practical.
Our 2002 SunnyBrook was the total opposite of the cool Airstream we had just visited. It was cloaked in classic early 2000s decor - orange oak cabinets and baby blue and mauve accents. It was so ugly. BUT, it was SOLID. The old man who owned her bought her new as his retirement present, and he was the kind of guy who took immaculate care of everything. It looked brand new inside, and he had every single piece of paper of things done to it, as well as a log book listing all of its trips since new.
To be honest, we fell in love with the old man, Ray, almost more than we fell in love with the camper. He was charming, kind, meticulous, and clearly loved the thing. So much so that once we bought it and pulled it out of the driveway, he began to cry and snap photos with his 2000s point and shoot. Don’t worry, we promised to stay in touch and have since sent him postcards of our travels. And of course we’ve named the camper fondly after him - Sunny Ray.
This camper was not cool in any sense of the word, but she was solid, and we knew we wouldn’t have any of the structural or safety concerns we would have had with the Airstream. Plus, we had this awesome blank slate to work with now. While the Airstream’s projects would have been focused on the exterior/structural issues and nothing on the interior (I would have kept all that time capsule goodness), Sunny Ray would be a fun, creative project to get the aesthetic we were looking for in our little “home” for half the price.
We were at Home Depot before we even left Vestal, NY.
First dinner in the camper: White Claws and Chinese takeout.
details
Model: 2002 SunnyBrook Lite
Length: 22 feet
Cost: $5,000
Reno Budget: ~$1500 (including new tires + mattress)
Time: About 6 weeks but only part time
While you’ll see the space was completely transformed, we got very creative with our renovations. Partly for cost purposes but mainly because we’re both thrifty and wanted to reuse as much as we could.
Here are some things I can remember:
The flooring was $.99/square foot from Lowes
Paint is White Dove, Cavern Clay, and Backwoods Green by Benjamin Moore.
Lots and lots of paint. I wanted to make sure the cabinets wouldn’t chip, so we used a liquid sander on the veneer, a gripper primer, two coats of paint, as well as three coats of semi gloss shellac. Holding up well!
I painted the countertops with an enamel paint and they look amazing!
All faucets were sanded and spray painted black
Tabletop is an old piece of plywood we had lying around cut to shape and polyurethaned with a matte finish
Curtains were old linen ones I had in a closet from Ikea we cut to size and Kevin sewed, and the rods are dowel rods that were a bout $6 we cut to size
Stone backsplash was a splurge at ~$80
New black hardware from Amazon
Cushion and couch covers are painter’s drop cloths I washed and dried a few times to feel softer. They are extremely durable and can be easily removed for laundering. Plus they were cheap at about $40 with a ton leftover
Bathroom mirror is an old picture frame I bought for a $1 and had a mirror installed locally for $20
Bathroom caddy under the mirror is a box I found in my parent's’ basement, and the toothbrush holder I scored at antique store for $8
We found the cutting board on sale for $15 (complete with turkey basting set and knives, it was post Thanksgiving) at Bed Bath and Beyond. Kevin cut and installed it to create more counterspace and we use it all the time!
We covered the cabinet mirrors with bead board paintable wallpaper. It was a little tricky to do and I’m not sure I’d buy the product again.
Someday we will tackle painting the outside but for now she’s 2002 white and blue.