Jacque's Pop Up Camper Makeover - The Pop Up Princess (2024)

I’m in love with this next reader feature. It is simple, but gorgeous. And the best part? Jacque did this all by herself while her husband was away. Way to go, girl! 😀

This wasn’t Jacque’s first remodel project. Jacque and her husband were concerned that their threekids alwayshad their heads in video games and never went outside to explore and play. They decided to fully remodel their fifth wheel and turn it into their home. Now they livein their camper full time at an RV resort. Jacque told me that thekids now know how to swim, asthey have a lake in theirfront yard. They ride their bikes and fish when they get home from school. Right before theyleave for school in the mornings, they feed the cows and donkeys behind theirtiny home. Jacquedoesn’t remember the last time they played video games, andnow that they have less “stuff,” they experience more of life.

It took Jacque eightweeks to fully renovate that fifth wheel. She did it while herhusband was at work and the kiddos were in school. It’sbeen their home since March, and ever since she finished that project, she’sbeen itching for another camper renovation. She wanted to work on something quick, something that didn’t have a lot of plumbing or electrical work, and had very little square footage. Of course, a pop up was the firstthing that came to mind, and off they went.They purchased a1995 Coleman Fleetwood Royale. It was used as a hunting camper, and the seller said that every person that came to look at it turned away because the canvas was terribly stained. It certainly was bad, butwhen Jacquelooked at it, all shesaw was gorgeous potential. She bought it on the spot!

The first thing Jacquetackled were the horriblestains. Sheused Zep’s Mold and Mildew Stain Remover, which she bought from Lowes. It worked miracles! Jacque tells me she wouldspray it, and the most of the stain would justwould disappear. For the more stubborn areas, sheused a bucket, sponge, and a scrub brush. The canvasturned out beautifully and looks brand new again.

After cleaning the whole camper, Jacque’snext battle was the cushions. She used tips from thistutorial to construct her covers. She says the process was very easy–almost like sewing a pillowcase and closing it up after the cushions are put back in. Where Jacquelives in Alabama, shehas a place called Dirt Cheap, which is a salvage store. She says it is herfavorite place to go for all things decor, and she fully decorated this camper and the fifth wheel she is currentlyliving in with budget friendly purchases from Dirt Cheap. Jacque is BIG on decorating and designing beautifullywithout breaking the bank. That beautiful fabric on the cushion backs is actually a black out curtain panel. She loves it, because it isthick, hasa protective lining, and iseasy on your sewing machine. It’s also very durable and only cost her $3 per curtain. The bottom cushion fabric isalso a curtain panel, but in a dark gray tweed.

For the cabinets, Jacqueused hergo to formula for painting RV cabinets. Shetaped everything up and start spraying with Zinsser’s Bullseye 123 Primer and then finished it off with Lowe’s Olympic One paint in a white stain finish. Jacque tells me she painted hercabinets in theirfifth wheel with this formula and even with three small kids, it has held up like cement. Jacquesprayed the AC, cabinet knobs, and icebox white to give everything a crisp, clean look. She tells me her goal was to make it look like a winter cabin in the woods–probably because temperatures were in the high 90’s at the time. Haha! 🙂

The floor was a plain white linoleum, so Jacquecovered it in Lowes Style Selection peel and stick plank vinyl in the color Driftwood. At $.98 persquare foot, that was a great deal, especially if you only need about half a box like she did. She also discovered that you can buy it by the individual plank at Lowe’s instead of having to buy the whole box, which is awesome for smaller pop up campers. Once again, this was the same flooring Jacqueused in herfifth wheel, so shewas very familiar with this product, and installation was a breeze.

For the curtains, Jacquebought a beautiful cream and black colored shower curtain from Target. She cut it into four smaller panels, and for air circulation reasons, shesewed sheer fabric at the top of the curtains. She used leftover fabric from the cushions as curtain tie backs, and hung the bunkend panels from a tension rod above the beds.

For the countertops, Jacqueused a tip fromJess’s makeoverand bought a peel and stick marble contact type paper from Amazon. This product has rave reviews, and Jacque says you can add her name to the list of satisfied customers. It is super durable and very thick. Because it was so thick, Jacque says it was easy to work withanddidn’t crease or fold easily. She just slid a razor along the edges to cut where she needed. To finish the trimof the counters, Jacque replace the t-molding. She followed our tutorial here and purchased this white t-molding. Installation was easy-peasy, and the results are amazing. Gorgeous, right?

Happy Camping!