lifestyle · travel

Vintage Travel Trailer Progress

Sara {Go Gingham}
Before Scamper with Go Gingham
I love camping but was tired of sleeping on the ground. My hunt for a travel trailer involved stalking some pretty trashed ones!

Have you been wondering about the progress on my vintage travel trailer also known as my Scamper? It’s my newest DIY project. Well, there hasn’t been much progress – until recently. All summer it was too hot to be working out there. Then it would cool off and rain. Power tools and rain don’t mix well.

And, of course we had a busy summer getting our oldest off to college but we have finally made a little headway.

The first thing we did (credit my husband for this idea) was remove all of the parts and number them. We marked every piece on the back with masking tape and a number. Next, we recorded what they were and where they went in the Scamper. Brilliant!

Before DIY Scamper Go Gingham (14)
Before in the dining area – all that junk got ripped out!

Next brilliant move (again, credit goes to my husband) we didn’t rip everything out and start completely over. I’m sure that’s what most vintage trailer re-dos do but lots of the wood was in pretty good shape and condition. It just needed mending.

I did remove an old water tank (I think that’s what it was) and the stove parts. Give me a power tool and let me go crazy!

Before dining area seat Go Gingham

We also laid sub-flooring over the old stuff. Who knows what was under there and what was in the adhesives. Better to cover than disturb.

Subflooring dining area Go Gingham

Seats in the dining room area and their progress.

Dining area seat frame Go Gingham

And the seat is in place!

Dining area seat Go Gingham
Yes, you can sit on these now but they need cute cushions sewn, first. I’m not letting myself buy any fabric until we’re done!

Lastly, we bought jacks to keep the Scamper from tipping. OK, have you ever seen those bumper stickers that say, “If this van is rockin’, don’t come knockin!” Well, the Scamper was rockin’ and we were working on the bed – but not in that way – but both of us were in the back of the Scamper where the bed will be located.

Before bed area Go Gingham
This is the sleeping area before. It was not pretty.

We were nailing in wood supports and the weight of us plus the wood was too much. Next thing we knew, the front of the Scamper tipped up! It felt like an earthquake!

Bed frame Go Gingham

I quickly moved to the front of the trailer and the whole thing tipped back down.

Subflooring and flooring Go Gingham
We left whatever nasty flooring underneath the bed and put new flooring right over the top. There’s a little door to the outside and this is great storage!

Crisis averted.

Bed area with supports Go Gingham
Bed area with supports – this is both a sitting area and then converts to a bed. No more sleeping on the ground for me!

The very next day, we bought the jacks for the back of the Scamper. No more tippin’ the Scamper. We may rock it when it’s done.

Do you like sleeping on the ground in a tent or are you ready for a Scamper, too?

Go Gingham related links:

Camp cooking supplies and what I cook with
Meal planning for campers
Travel tips for a trip or stay-cation around the Northwest

 

Published by Sara {Go Gingham}

Sara, creator of Go Gingham, writes about real food, green living, and a healthy lifestyle - on fewer resources - {Stylishly Frugal Living}. She loves gingham - but tries to keep that in check.

11 thoughts on “Vintage Travel Trailer Progress”

  1. With the weather getting cooler this will be so nice to have and use. I am so looking forward to your Conversion posts.

    SN: I am going to re-read the 52 weeks of clutter posts and work on that this/next year too. LOVE those.

    Thanks,
    Bobbi

    Like

    1. Way to go, Bobbi! We’ve been doing more clutter clearing since our oldest left for college. It’s his stuff that was left behind but it’s nice to have another room cleared out! Good luck to you ~
      🙂

      Like

  3. OK, Miss Scamper Rocker! 🙂 You are making great progress. My husband loooooves tenting so I don’t see a change for us soon … and sometimes we like to haul the fishing boat when we camp, so a tent serves us better for that. However … I think I might be able to talk him into a truck camper when the kids have flown the coop. There are times when sleeping in something more weather-hardy would be great (and once the kids are grown, we won’t be tied to the school schedule for our camping opportunities, but it does get chilly in October!).

    Like

    1. Yes, progress is being made but no more rockin’ or tippin’!
      October can get chilly here, too. I like the truck campers and camped in those a lot growing up with my grandparents in Alaska. I couldn’t talk my husband into one of those so a Scamper is it! 🙂

      Like

  4. Can’t wait to go camping, or scamping, in your case, with you guys! Gonna be so fun.

    Brian Boag’s significant other has a really cute one of these if you’re ever on Facebook.

    Like

    1. Same! It’s looking pretty good out there and the floor got installed last weekend. It’s got a gingham design to it #OfCourse 😉

      Like

  5. Great idea to number the parts and keep a diagram of where they go. I think it’s VERY smart of you to just go over the old flooring. You are correct in not wanting to disturb the nasty stuff underneath. Can’t wait to see how you do the decor once the shell is done. 🙂

    Like

    1. Hi Gayle!
      Well, not only is that stuff staying in tact but we don’t have to dispose of it. Not everything needs ripping out.
      We have been having trouble figuring out the windows. It seems those may need replacing but I’m hopeful we can leave them and repair. It seems those windows aren’t made by the company any longer – even though the company is still in business. We’re probably headed to a junk yard ~
      🙂
      Thanks so much for writing in ~

      Like

Comments are closed.