Pop Up Remodel Review Part 2

Last week, I shared the first six things that we did in our pop up camper remodel. You can go back and take a look at our Pop Up Remodel Review Part 1. Overall, we did 13 big things. Today, I'm sharing the remaining 7 things that we did to get our camper ready to go out on the road.

Replace the Mattresses

Peggy Sue is a 2001 Jayco Qwest Pop Up Camper. When we purchased her, she had the original mattresses. They were thin and showed a bit of wear and tear. Regardless of anything else, it was just time to replace. Even with a topper for more cushion and comfort, we just felt like the existing ones needed to go.

After doing a bit of research and comparison, I found these Classic Brands Memory Foam Sofa Mattress | Replacement Mattress for Sofa Bed Sleeper, Full Size. We had full-size beds on each end of our camper. These mattresses were perfect. We were able to cut them easily to fit our beds. They came with a zippered mattress cover. And, they sleep great.

This sofa replacement matressess were easy to fit and came with a nice zippered cover.

Best of all, these thick mattresses cost about the same as a 3-inch mattress topper. And they are thicker than a mattress topper. It's a total win. You can see my original post about replacing Pop Up Camper Mattresses on a Budget. For approximately $250, you can have two full mattresses replaced. Its a huge upgrade and makes camping so much nicer!

Purchase new bedding and linens

I decided to purchase new bedding and linens for our camper to have things specifically designated for this space. I didn't want to be constantly packing home linens to take on camping trips. Wayfair is where I purchased my bedding and linens. Our quilts sets came with shams and throw pillows. These sets were less than $30 each.

New, bright bedding really transforms this space. And it is nice to climb into at the end of the day!

I decided to just go ahead and get the sheets and towels as well. Since I was purchasing everything new, I stayed within my coral and mint color scheme. I found mint sheets in a nice soft microfiber for $19.99 each.

The towels were also $19.99 a set. They wash fine and are nice and fluffy. Each one of these sets came with 2 towels, 2 hand towels and 2 washcloths. Perfect for our family of 3.

Our towels match our decor and are practical too.

Our bedding and linens cost less than $140 total. This included quilts, shams, throw pillows, sheet sets, and towels. I felt like this was a great price. Because I ordered everything at once, I received free shipping. I don't think it is necessary to buy all new stuff for your camper, but it was something that we chose to do, and it fit within our budget.

Patch the canvas

I feel like that even though we are finished with our pop up camper, there is always something that we are working on to make our camper better and more comfortable. We are planning to replace our pop up camper canvas at some point in the next 12 months. In the meantime, we are trying to get as much life out of our canvas as we can.

We've had a few tears in our canvas along the way, and I've patched them and sewn them up. I recommend keeping a patch kit with a Sewing Awl and some canvas and glue for trips if your canvas is older like ours. It has come in handy on a trip already when we had another tear and it was going to rain that night. It worked like a charm.

A sewing awl is a handy tool in repairing an old canvas.

You can read about how I patched our canvas in my post about How to Repair a Torn Pop Up Camper Canvas.

Adding a Porta Potti

We purchased our camper knowing that we would not have a bathroom or potty. I was okay with this. Campgrounds, where we have stayed over the years, had facilities that are well maintained. I've not had a bad experience to date.

However, having a potty is convenient for bathroom trips in the middle of the night, cold or rainy weather. We have experienced all of these. We have a Thetford 92360 Porta Potti 550E Curve Portable Toilet. It is perfect for our camper. It fits into our space. It is easy to clean and is tall enough to actually use.

The Thetford Curve Porta Potti is a great addition to our camper!

You can read my full review Porta Potty Review in a previous post. I cannot recommend this potty enough. If you are considering this as an option, do it! You won't regret it! It's one upgrade, that I cannot image living without on trips.

Repairing and leaking roof

The biggest repair to Peggy Sue was her roof! And while it took a planned weekend to do the work, it was not really difficult as much as it was several steps to get it done right. If you have a leaking roof, you can repair it. The guy at our local RV place said to me early on that Pop Up Camper roofs are pretty straight forward in terms of construction and easy to fix. I agree.

We successfully repaired our leaking roof in a weekend.

Some things that we learned in this process were:

Take your time and plan accordingly to get it done.
If you have to wait out bad weather to get it done, place a tarp on your roof and cover and protect as much as you can until you do it.
Seal everything! If you have one leak with center and side seams, the other places you don't suspect may be leaking as well. To a total job and seal with some Dicor 501LSW-1 Lap Sealant - 10.3 oz. around everything.

The sooner you repair your leak the sooner you can enjoy your camper and reduce any additional damage to the interior of your space. I have an entire post devoted to Repairing Our Pop Up Camper Roof from earlier this year.

Build a New Dinette Table

Our camper did not come with a dinette table, but we really wanted to include this into our space. This is really an easy project to do. Start with a simple piece of plyboard that is cut to fit your space. Make sure that you allow for getting into the bench seating. So, you might want to trim your corners for this purpose.

I applied a faux barn finish to ours and love the way it looks in our space. We added a table kit that includes a pole and two mounts (one for the table and one for the floor). My husband and I did this in an afternoon. It was easy, and we have used this table on every trip. We also cut our table to fit in between our seats to make a third bed.

Our new dinette was a great way to make our space complete.

If you want step by step instructions on how to make a pop-up camper table for your space, check out my Pop Up Camper Table Replacement Post. You will find step by step instructions on how to make your own table.

Repair Our Awning

Originally, I said that we did 12 things to get our camper ready. But 13 was our lucky number to a successful camper remodel. The awning repair was the last thing that I did to our camper.

Peggy Sue came with a Carefree of Colorado awning that was older but still in relatively good shape with the exception of one pole that would not extend. I worked directly with Carefree of Colorado to locate a replacement pole part and installed it myself. The part with tax and shipping was approximately $100. This is much cheaper than a whole new awning. And I love the brown retro look of the one we have.

I replaced a broken leg on our camper awning that would no longer extend. It was a simple repair.

If you are looking to remodel a pop-up camper, I recommend setting a budget to start with. This should include the purchase of your camper and the remodel of your space. I said that I wanted to spend no more than $2,500 total from start to finish. And we did. This included all of the camping gear that we purchased along with the updates and remodel.

Peggy Sue is comfortable and pleasant on trips. On our spring break trip, my husband said at night as we were inside during the rain, "This is really nice. So comfortable." And that is the best compliment of all as well as my desired outcome. I wanted space that we could all enjoy together as a family. That is just what we have. I look forward to many more camping trips ahead for us.

Peggy Sue on our maiden voyage.

Have you remodeled a pop-up camper? What did you do to get your camper ready? And, what lessons did you learn along the way? Every camper is a unique space and can be made to fit your lifestyle and needs. Share your project and lessons learned by commenting below. Also, for a complete list of what products we used in remodeling our camper, check out my Pop Up Remodel Page. Have a great week and happy camping!