Welcome to the 1983 Shasta Camper

Our first travel trailer home- an extremely vintage but clean start for a revival.

Clubhouse rule #1: In the Shasta, you only drink Shasta.

Well, lets begin.

Where did we start and how did we get going? Well, let me tell you... it happened quickly, it happened organically, it happened because my husband, Michael, willingly left work to inspect, pick up, and haul our project home IMMEDIATELY. This never would have happened without him.  I don't even like driving large vehicles, so driving his 3/4 ton pickup and attaching a travel trailer was completely out of the question for me to do solo. 

I found this fantastic 1983 Shasta camper in a Craiglist ad and was so impressed with the year and seemingly great overall condition and price tag, I thought this would be a great project and if not, we'd resell it with little to no harm to our pocket books.  

This adorable 23 foot, 1983 Shasta camper came equipped with a working oven, stove, fridge and freezer, hood vent, sink, full bathroom, and an amazing amount of storage.  We loved everything about it and the layout is unlike any i've seen since.  Its extremely functional, sleeps 6, had some original flooring and wallpaper, lots of wood paneling, and some pretty great old plaid cushion covers, and a whole lot of character.  

Lets note the renovations. ^^^

Phase 1:

I am the type of renovator that works in stages.  I'm extremely visual and sometimes cannot pull an entire idea together until I see it and live in it for a while (it includes a lot of staring).  Maybe something doesn't feel finished and it takes you a while to figure out why (I'll show you a major finish I did that changed the entire camper. It took me a while to stare at the camper and realize what needed to change).  I honestly will sometimes just stand in a store and look at textiles, hardware, decor, up against pictures on my phone of the room I'm working with.  It has helped me make so many good decisions, rather than the pain of buying and returning.  

We first removed all of the hardware, cabinet doors (there were a lot of them!), and sanded, primed, and painted them.  This was after picking the cabinet color and let me tell you- I had already immediately decided I would NOT be a white camper girl.  The sheer thought of having 3 kids and 3 dogs in a white camper made me cringe knowing i'd have to buy stock in Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  I have also learned that I like depth.  I like dark spaces, I like cozy.  White is great, its just not for me.  

Prep for all of the cabinets meant washing, sanding, painting on a bonding primer (THIS WAS SO IMPORTANT!)... and then painting two coats of the blue on (we used Dutchboy paint).  Lots of drying, lots of curing.  
 

Phase 2:

Flooring didn't take long.  We have already worked extensively with floating vinyl flooring in our home (old 1950's home, wonky floors that aren't necessarily flat throughout).  Also, in 2016 we had just installed Pergo flooring 3 months before a major garbage disposal leak that ruined the flooring within minutes (lets be honest- I peeled potatoes and put the peels in the disposal ON THANKSGIVING... only to have a major sink backup, disposal leak, wet floor, and pulled up floor.)  We decided right away that we needed something waterproof and hardy.  The pliability of vinyl is a major winner.  Installing new flooring into our little camper was the cheapest flooring job we had ever completed and we loved every second.  Even better is that I learned how to make difficult cuts and so did our oldest, Ben.  We both put that flooring in alongside my husband and it was great.  

Phase 3:

Cushions.  I really REALLY REALLY wanted to keep the plaid somewhere in the camper.  It felt so vintage, it felt like such a PART of the camper.  Ultimately (and realistically), they were scratchy, dusty (and so old they would have surely disintegrated in the washing machine).  The most stressful part of this decision to reupholster was the actual sewing.  I don't sew.  I mean that entirely.  Buttons fall off of shirts and the shirts get donated hopefully to a new family who sees that as a simple and cheap fix- or they turn into cut up rags.  I learned about a new idea- permanent fabric glue.  Did you know such a thing existed?! I could have been making jeans this whole time!! (Yikes.  I promise I won't.)  My biggest issue at the fabric store was finding enough fabric to cover all of the cushions.  I needed more than 15 yards and settled on Duck Canvas.  Duck canvas is extremely affordable, simple in colors, and very durable.  

The wallpaper pulled off so nicely, most of it coming off in larger sheets, and then I painted the backsplash black, to match the kitchen.  You can see just a little peek of the wallpaper in the open space behind the toilet.  I thought id leave that for a cute, "oh yeah, so that's what used to be here!"

The Bathroom

After having done two of these campers now, I can tell you that this bathroom layout is the best.  Most of my attraction to this style is that 1) it has a window 2) you walk into it and don't feel crammed in 3) Its at the back end of the camper, away from the seating area in the front.  Once you take a peek inside the other Coachmen camper revival we did, you'll see what I mean about the interior bathroom design and layout.  

We immediately assessed for any water damage, only a little bit from the skylight to the flooring (we cut out some plywood and reinstalled new plywood, then installed the floating vinyl planks over top).  The shower needed new walls, a good cleaning, and some new caulking.  Some of the wallpaper was peeling, probably from moisture, but I didn't immediately pull it.  In fact, in the beginning, I wholly anticipated leaving the wallpaper.  We removed the toilet completely to clean and sanitize inside and out.  We pumped and ran the lines to clear the residual antifreeze, while also putting in some neutralizing agents.  

I did end up pulling the wallpaper to paint both the walls and the cabinets.  

So... what else?!

We put up new blinds in 6 of the windows, since the back has an exterior shade that closes with ease.  A lot of the functional decor came from Ikea.  Remember, Ikea is a store made for small living spaces, with great functional storage, which in turn looks nice too.  In a camper, we are looking for the best bang for the buck, with the most versatility.  There is a great cutting board (18x20") that's used in here and worked seamlessly with the aesthetic of the camper. (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/laemplig-chopping-board-bamboo-00309829/ )

We also added battery powered string lights with a shut off timer from Ikea and they are just darling in the dark, adding a cozy effect without the camper feeling too lit up to sleep and/or too dark to get up and use the bathroom.  (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bloetsnoe-led-string-light-with-12-lights-indoor-battery-operated-black-50401509/ )

The ceiling took another coat of white paint, just because the ceiling looked like a dingy white.  We used the bonding primer, a nice, clean, and bright white, which also will help ward off moisture in the future and really seal it all up.  

Cabinet hardware came from Menards!