Step inside! I wanted to take a moment to welcome you in. This is Gidget, the vintage trailer. She is a 1956 Century travel trailer made by the Federal Trailer Co. in Detroit, MI. We bought her last Fall for $1700 of Craigs List. If you want to see all the AMAZING BEFORE PICTURES, go here: Vintage Trailer Renovating: Before
Gidget is really FAR FROM DONE. In my head, I have so much more to do. There is trim work, touch-up paint, decorating, more electrical, etc. I’m a bit embarrassed sharing pictures before I feel like she’s completely done, but she has come so far… and it has been so much work!
So, here is the ALMOST final product.
Disclaimer, this is just having come home from our first camping trip and not everything is back in order. Yes, we vacuumed her out, but the bunk bed is a mess and not everything is back in place.
Ahem.
Here we go.
On the left is the IKEA shoe storage unit that fit great in this spot and holds so much more than shoes! To the right is an opening that originally held a fridge. It is missing some bins right now, but I hung some pieces of wood so that 5 bins would slide in and out for storage. We used a couple for kitchen items and the others for the kid’s clothes.
Behind this curtain are two closets that Jay and I store our clothes in. It is also the bunk bed where the kids sleep. And… our bathroom!!! We were so excited to purchase this marine style toilet. This little guy has a water tank and waste tank built in. It flushes and everything, then easily dumps out in a regular toilet or dump station.
See, what did I tell ya? The bed is a mess.
I went between so many different types of flooring. I was going to use a roll-on, cushioned vinyl that was really light weight. I also thought about a floating plank vinyl that would be super water proof. But, I ultimately went with this floating laminate floor because I felt like it added an extra level of durability to the sub floor, plus I had a bunch left over from when I put in our living room!
Thanks for stopping in and don’t forget to check out the rest of the story here: Gidget the Vintage Camper
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MARIA C HETLAND
How do you paint the exterior?
Sarah
Hi there, I love the remodeling job you did on this vintage trailer. I am looking for the perfect camper or van for a small mobile boutique. My neighbor actually gave me a vintage shasta camper that I want to gut and remodel, but it has mold and quite a bit of water damage. I’m guessing that you are doing all of the work yourself???? Just wondering if there’s anyway to guess approximately how much it would cost me to salvage and remodel this van…or if it’s even worth it. Do you have advice on how much mold/water damage is too much?? Thanks so much.
Sarah C
I’m sure you have already done all of your remodeling but I wanted to say that you can remodel a camper for almost no money if you’re patient and collect the things you’ll need over time from friends extra building materials and free stuff on Facebook marketplace.
I’ve acquired free paint from a friend’s dad who is a painter, free lumber from construction worker buddies who drop off the leftover scrap wood whenever they do a job because they know I like to build things, a free mini fridge from a guy who finally got a girlfriend and decided it was “time to act like an adult and get rid of the beer fridge”, a free bed from an older couple who decided having a spare bedroom was pointless when their kids never come to visit, a free couch from a lady on Facebook because her dog had tracked mud all over it so I just removed the dirty couch COVER and the white sectional underneath it was awesome and in my fifth wheel now, a free dinette set from someone getting evicted who has no where to put it, a free brand new convection microwave (from an old lady who couldn’t figure it out after her kids bought it for her), a free wicker chest used as a coffee table and clothing storage (from my mom), decorations from my home and local thrift store, a RV
washer & dryer from a buddy who had bought them for his girlfriend and her camper dream project but then she broke up with him so he got rid of the camper and had no use for them now, I was even given a vintage mini camper from a guy who was getting officially evicted from a house he rented and they were about to impound his 28ft camper so I hooked my truck up to it to save it from the impound lot and out of appreciation he gave me a 1968 mini camper he had parked at a friends house because I saved what became his new home.
Claudette Bennett
I’m loving how you redid the interior and the exterior paint job! The hubs and I are currently deciding between building a tiny house or redoing a trailer. So glad I stumbled upon your blog!
ginger
Naomi the most important thing to look for is no leaks or soft floors, believe me they are out there, you just have to search … Great blog, and great job, lots of work and patients it takes but like you said the end results are worth is. Love the art work also.
Naomi@WhatJoyIsMine
I stumbled across your blog and loved reading about Gidget and her journey. We are looking into doing the same as you! I would love to pick your brain when we finally purchase a trailer for ourselves. Loved reading your posts on Gidget. She’s gorgeous! :-)
Sarah Lemp
Thanks Naomi!
I’d love to chat more when you find one. It’s sooo much work, but really worth it in the end :)Happy trailer hunting!
Shondie
We just bought a1954 century! Starting the reno now! ! Thanks for sharing your awesome reno pics, she Looks awesome!
Sarah Lemp
Shondie, I’d love to see pictures! Centuries seem hard to come by… and we’re just totally guessing on the 1956 year for ours, it could have been a 54, haha! Where did you find yours?