Lady and the Scamp

It has been a long time dream of mine to remodel a vintage camper.  Well dreams come true ya’ll!  I’d drooled over Shasta campers but my husband found this Scamp Fiberglass Egg with a cult following on Craigslist.  We thought the price was a typo but it turned out to be a blessing in Iowa.  Road trip!  Made the trek north expecting to replace the tires and wheel bearings or load it on a trailer to get it home.  To our surprise tires were near new and that egg followed us all the way home without breaking!

This vintage camper had been neglected for many years and needed a little TLC.  It is a 1970’s something with the basic 13 foot bunk bed floorpan and no head.

Table converts to full size bed

Front bunk beds with storage.

See the Porta Potty?

The fridge and stove top looked brand new, but unsure if anything works.

We discovered rust and the wood floors were rotted out underneath the laminate flooring so out came the floor.  Roy installed new 3/4 inch plywood and did some welding to give it strong bones.  The elephant skin walls were yellow with age and covered with mold.  This called for a good bleach scrubbing and every square inch cover with KILZ mold killing and resistant primer.

After gutting and rebuilding the floors we installed a driftwood colour peel and stick vinyl. Piece of cake to lay.  This little love note was a birthday gift from Roy’s youngest daughter.  Our Scamp is built with love!  You are looking at the water tank stored under the main bed.

We knew the bunk beds would not be used so we drew up new plans to make best use of space.  The back bed became permanent and the front became a breakfast nook.  Roy cut out the fiberglass and boxed it in.  You can see here I painted the fiberglass “furniture” a garden green and started painting the walls a light taupe over the KILZ.

I used antique gold rustolium to give all the doors a fresh face and if there’s any excuse to use glass knobs I’m in!  The overhead storage needed Roy to build it doors and I insisted on hanging an irresistible mirror on the closet door. Roy said a hunting camper doesn’t need a mirror but this is my GLAMPING-mobile that I’ll write a book in some day.

No cushions were included but that was no problem.  My memory foam bed is heaven.  It’s a full size mattress we cut to fit using a template.  Originally it was slightly too wide and the back corners needed to be rounded for a snug fit.

The Scamp’s maiden voyage was to a campground near my family’s land in Arkansas.  We tried out everything and remarkably the propane stovetop fired up making the best percolator coffee.  The sink didn’t miss a beat with pump action and smooth draining.  The fridge took us minute.  After many youtube videos and articles it got cold enough to make an Alaskan happy (that’s me).  The outlets fired up with shore power so I could even plug in an essential oil diffuser!

Roy built a little bistro table anchoring it with pipe.  I can’t always see what he envisions but I have learned that he’s exceedingly handy and creative.  And look how cozy this little converted breakfast nook is!  Perfect for sourdough pancakes in the morning or cards games after dark.

If you have ever dreamed of remodeling a camper… DO IT!  I will be glamping and practicing other spiritual disciplines and you can too.  If you have a remodeled camper I’d LOVE to hear your story too!