Camping

We have been going back and forth for as long as we have lived in Grand Rapids about buying a cabin, buying land and building a small cabin, buying land and camping, or just buying a camper and exploring. I finally decided I wanted to buy a camper and explore, and luckily Kyle agreed with me. Next came the decision of what to buy. Tent camper, motorhome, etc...we went back and forth for awhile on this as well. Till I decided that I wanted to buy a "vintage" camper that we could restore. However, I wanted it to be in good enough condition to use while we worked on it. Within a few days, Kyle found one on Craigslist that looked to be in good condition and was available in Grand Rapids. We went and looked at it Friday and ended up coming home with a trailer attached to the truck.

We found a 1954 Manorette 15 foot camper. Sleeps 6, but has double bunk beds in the back so we don't need to disassemble the table to make into a bed every night. Lots of storage space. Lots of wood inside. Some very minor water damage in a couple of spots on the wood, but nothing that needs to be fixed right away. Here are some (ok more than some) before pics:

The door needs some work, and there is a small dent that will require some body work behind the door. If we can find a light to cover that bulb, won't look too bad. We will eventually buff the aluminum and re-paint the white.

Here is the back side. Some areas of rust, but overall not too bad. That door on the side goes to the bottom bunk. There is a screen that can go in it as well.

Here are the back bunks. on the bottom bunk you can see some of the worst water damage. Stained, but not warped or soft. Beds look better now that I have cleaned the wood and put the quilts on them. Kids on the top, Mom and Dad on the bottom.

Kitchen area. Kind of funny how similar to our kitchen in the house, copper handles and all. The stove and oven work, although I can mainly see using the oven for storage as I am not going to bake when camping.

Porcelain sink, no refurbishing needed here. No cracks, no stains, cleaned up really nice. The faucet with the bulb was for the water tank, which has been removed as I don't want to drink out of it. The faucet has since been removed, and I will figure something cool to do with the hole. The other faucet is for the water hookup via the hose.

This is the fridge, which cleaned up REALLY nicely but doesn't work. It has since been removed, and we will use the space for storage. We have kept the fridge though in hopes that my extremely talented husband can fix it. However on vintage trailer sites, nobody has had much luck.

This is the gas light, which the previous owners never tried. Everything looks good though so once the gas line gets the OK we think it will work fine. Cleaned up nicely and is REALLY cute. To the sides are storage cabinets. Since they were the cleanest, most likely our clothes storage.

The dining area, which is kind of a mess at this point. I can see myself refinishing the covers on the seat. Probably in some type of 1950s style. Also interested to see how the original cover looks underneath them. But, probably won't happen this summer.

The corner of the bottom bunk, where the worst of the water damage is. Again not anything that needs to be repaired immediately. But something we will address at some point.

Inside view of the back door. With the screen in will provide some nice air flow on hot summer evenings. Or a good view of a lake :)

Closet, along with the ladder the previous owners made for the bunk.

The furnace, which the previous owners say gets pretty toasty.

Manorette logo

Ornate window decorations at the front windows.

Ceiling vent cover. Very neat little gadget. Will someday put a fan in there. Will remove the white plastic thing that is there soon. The wood on the ceiling has no water stains, and no sign of water damage at all.

So, there it is. We have been cleaning and gathering dishes, etc. to stock it with. It is amazing how much extra stuff we had around. We are in need of no silverware, dishes, cookware, or anything. Kyle has been working on some of the wiring, plumbing, etc. But, we should be out enjoying it very soon! The kids are beyond excited about it.