Remodel of a Child of the 70s - A Pop-Up Camper Story
In July, 2020, I purchased a 1975 TravelMate TEC pop-up camper. Within a week, I booked a camping trip for the end of August - giving me a little over a month to update, remodel, and bring “Brooke With An E” up to camp-ability.
The insides to Brooke screamed “70s”. She was in great shape for her age, but desperately needed some things - most importantly mattress for the beds! Other than that, and the cushions for the dinette, I could have taken Brooke out for a night on the town and been perfectly fine…she was just a glorified tent on wheels, after all! But if I was going to take the time to make mattresses, I might as well fix her up too and give her a fresh new look!
A good cleaning was in order. The vinyl windows were grimey and I bought some special protect spray, but before it got to me, I tried a magic eraser - and it worked! You can see the before and after clearly in this photo. Once my spray arrived, I cleaned it again to give it that layer of protectant.
The canvas was in excellent shape. The largest hole was only big enough for my pinky to go in; and there were only about 5 of such holes on the entire canvas. I got some patch repair and applied it to the larger holes and then used canvas sealant to glue shut the other pinholes.
The dinette area had no cushions, so I set about building some using 3” foam and discount fabric. Full details on this process can be found here. I also built a table for this area - I had the hardware for it, just needed the top!
The cabinets really needed to be lightened up, so I used some paint left over from another project and did several coats over the 70s paneling. It really lightened up the space! My whole process is described here.
I pulled up the top layer of vinyl flooring and installed a box of peel-and-stick flooring to Brooke’s outdated base. The pattern was so nice, and it has really brought up the era. I also love the “wood” feel to it!
My new little tent on wheels was all brought up to spec with new tires, new wiring outside, and the frills and function on the inside! All in a month’s time, I made a table, curtains, bunk mattresses, and covered the counters. I made a door (yes, it was missing one entirely!), a noodle board for the counter, and got the matchy stuff like the plates and sheets and blankets (most were given to me or I already had in my closet!).
The propane stove and heater (!) worked perfectly, but the water system was shot. I’m saving that fix for next spring. It was fortunate that the noodle board covered the sink as well - it gave me additional counter space!
Brooke With An E was ready to go. All that was left to do was to test her out on a real camping trip! Fortunately our first trip out was only an hour away from home - a nice safe test for two nights out! Girl #1 wanted to still sleep in a tent, but Girl #2 and I bunked out in Brooke…and had a great time! We’re looking forward to what next summer can bring!
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