Tiny Home 101 – Exit408, LLC

Alright, once again, I wasn’t anticipating sharing this savvy renovation with the world. This camper is a 2002, standard camper. One piece of advice I will give you, is when I bought my camper it was from a dealership and I went in thinking I was purchasing a car. Wrong idea! They hike the prices of these campers so much and take no liability for any damages. After carefully inspecting three or four campers, this one was structurally sound with no damages. How to search for those damages? There are some great Pinterest Posts and YouTube videos to follow, but in short, feel/press on the walls for soft spots (water damage). Check for nibble marks and look under all cupboards/sinks and feel the floor for any soft areas. Anyways, the sales person was kind enough to tell me to go as low as I could feasibly see buying the camper for. I still had no idea what he was saying, but I purchased it for almost $3,000 under what it was listed as (I think I could’ve gone lower). Lessons learned-lessons shared!

A good purchase none the less. Another piece of advice is to purchase and install a stabilizer hitch. That sucker was heavy and total cost for equipment and installation (it’s removable as needed) was around $400. Well worth the purchase as it keeps the vehicle, in tow, from swerving and stabilizes the tow load from uneven, damaged roads. Lastly, air bags on your vehicle your towing with is also a saver! This helps keep the nose of your vehicle from hiking up high when towing something heavy.

Typical camper from the early 2000’s. Orange tone wood veneer and gaudy wall paper attached to thin plywood and veneer. It was before the campers were renovated to the diverse and beautiful interiors you see today. I lived in it while I updated it…oh my was that a challenge! I remember at one point I was trying to cut into the wall and threw sparks. Another lesson learned (and I already knew but got inpatient and tried to make short cuts–DON’T do).

**Affiliated links provided throughout and at the end of this post to assist you with your savvy creations. No cost to you 🙂 Please just click on the bold, underline words or the picture relevant to what you are interested in

First things first, paint! It is absolutely amazing the difference a little paint truly does! Like I said, I was on a budget–so I bought the cheapest paint I could. I love white as the background and then accent it with color. I chose bright white for the walls of the camper and an antique white for the trim. Subtle difference, but creates open, bright, seemingly bigger space! I have some before and after pictures of certain corners of the Camper.

First time making stairs, dog door and kennel–had to build a dog ramp for the old pup)
Left-before, right after in bathroom closet
Top right (before) fridge. Painted white, antiqued and decorated 🙂
Bathroom before and after
A quickly created fence for the dogs
A view of my palace.

Judgement was expected. Trailer court. pallet fence (and not good pallets at that–if you’re making a pallet fence, make them uniform and in good condition please!). And a single female in a camper. I was surviving and creating! And I learned a lot about myself on those cold wintery days with no escape (not many amenities to escape to in this town).

As you see, the rennovations were simple and budgeted. Mostly paint. Biggest lesson learned here is the veneer. Have you tried painting press board or veneer? It’s like painting over silicone caulk…it doesn’t absorb unless there are layers and layers…and layers of paint! I would suggest getting a bonding primer to assist with the paint adhering to the hard-to surfaces. Another suggestion, liquid deglosser. I’m trying it on a current upgrade and I have high hopes. It is supposed to replace the work of sanding, but I will do the sanding first and then clean everything with the deglosser. I am my father after all–“do it right the first time,” and “A good carpenter isn’t perfect, but can hide their imperfections well.”

The antiquing on the fridge was created by painting white and then taking a dark, oil stain and cloth and wiping it to the desire I wanted. I’m more of a perfectionist, but sometimes I have to remind myself it’s not going to be uniform and I just have to let it create itself! Why, I don’t know, but I decided I’d spray paint the bathroom door (it was miserable and smelly, I think it was just the lack of available colors in the local hardware store). Don’t do that! Luckily enough the floors cleaned up to a bright white after all the renovations. Brush the paint on, don’t spray it in such a small space.

My bathroom was one of the more drastic updates. As you can see, I tore the gaudy shower slide and insert (I kept the tub in, but the surrounding plastic stuff had to go). Again, these days, peel and stick tiles are much, much better and more versatile. You can click the link bolded, or you can click on the picture above–unfortunately I cannot find the exact tile I used! However, the same as the veneer–sand, bonding primer, and stick. One difference is that I had to use a waterproofing bonder to help keep moisture from penetrating the wall behind the tiles. Cool trick: take a rolling pin and roll over the tiles after you’ve put them up. It helps get them to stick evenly. Hey! Had to get savvy! Instead of grout for the tile, I used grout you can find at your hardware store. I cut out a caddy-cubby and water proofed the wood–for storage of shower items. I did layers of the poly urethane and then caulked it in to ensure water resistance.

The bathroom sink was a gem. I loved the round sink on top of a butcher block like counter top. I believe the countertop was designed and coated the same as the shower caddy-cubby. It was a 1 x 12 cut and “planked” to creat the counter top. I found these cool trim pieces to put around the edges for a nice finish. I painted and antiqued the cabinets the same way I did the fridge. All the handles in the camper were taken off the cabinet doors and spray painted (outside during warmer weather!). I worked with a brushed nickel and also a really beautiful copper.

The closet in the bathroom was so much fun! It had the closet with gross green carpet and the enclosed hanger dowel you see in most campers. Below it was a drawer. I cut another opening below that and added a door to it. That was access to my water for my weekly black and grey tank drainage and cleaning. Instead of the drawer-I took it out and replaced it with a decorative vent. That would help circulate heat where the water ran underneath the camper. Typically, water is connected from the outside. But with a little research in plumbing and a whole lotta help from dad (I call it “phone a father”), we drilled a hole in what was the storage (from the outside), insulated it with Reflectix Insulation. After, we ran the hose from the inside of the camper through that hole and underneath the camper where it was insulated and skirted. .May I note–best insulation ever! Many ways to apply it to make it just as efficient. There’s radiant barrier (like a thick wallpaper of tin foil) that can be added to improve its efficiency. There are tons of youtube videos you can refer to for installation ideas. No respiratory issues or itchy skin, easy install (literally can cut with a carpenter knife), water resistant, and can be installed with a staple gun! This was also used for the inside of my camper skirting–I live at 8000ft and with heat tape and the reflectix insulation….ZERO freezing problems during the bitter cold alpine winters!

The dining slide out was painted white with the antique white for trim. There was the green carpet in between the small storage cabinets above the table. I simply painted over it with the same color as the cabinets there and in the kitchen–called Forest Black from Gidden. The trim of the dining seats was, again, veneer. I replaced it with a stained 1×4. The seat covers were leafy, greens and blue smudge that matched the futon for the sitting area. However, they were in good condition and it’s not savvy to waste! I ordered these amazing, fitted slip on covers (click on bold words for link) specifically designed for them! Of course I added some throw pillows for comfort and style 😉

The kitchen didn’t have much for updating. Painting the cabinets and cabinet handles were the gist of it aside from the walls (white). When entering the camper, immediately to the left was the L-shaped counter for the kitchen; and the sink just opposite from the entrance side of the counter. I added some more of that wonderful wall paper (click on bold words for link) I used for the Nomads Camp (read that post next for more ideas!) and put that on the entrance side of the counter. Tied everything in really nicely! Here is a shot of the wallpaper and kitchen:

Lastly was the bedroom. I loved the difference the paint made in the bedroom. The bed was the typical lift for storage under it. What I didn’t capture was the cork flooring I installed in the bedroom. The bedroom had that icky green carpet once again and I wasn’t about to walk barefoot on it, wondering what other dirty feet have tip toed around! The cork flooring was the best options because it was light weight, water resistance, provided padding and insulation on the tootsies. Easy to install with just a carpenter knife and I used locktite to glue it to the sub floor (liquid nails I’ve been seeing works really well too! Let me know if you try this). Lastly, I spray painted a textured paint on the “end tables” on each side fo the bed (again, on a warm day with plenty of ventilation!). I sealed the cork flooring and the endtables with a poly urethane for extra protection and voila! A completed interior!