Life After the RV Makeover - Is it Worth the Work?

Now that we are done with our RV makeover, we can enjoy camping!

After having spent nearly 18 months working on Peggy Sue, there were times that I felt like there was no end in sight to the work.  But, now that all of the work is done, what next?  It is not to have an endless list of projects to do and just to be camping this year.  I feel like I can return to my normal life.  If you are finishing a remodel, maybe this is what you need to motivate you to push through to the end.  Or maybe you need to put it on hold while you regroup.

Last December, I shared a post about Rethinking Your Pop Up Makeover.  Remodeling a camper can become a consuming project.  It can take over your life in a way that takes all the fun out of the process and end result.  I saw a post from a camper on Facebook asking when they would be finished and able to go camping.  They had gotten discouraged with the length of time it was taking and felt like it might not be worth it.  All the feels!  I've had more than one person comment on my social media feed that they are just not ready to take on a makeover and just want to camp right now.  Yep.  I know why.  So...now that I'm done...

We are finished with Peggy Sue, and it feels great just to camp without projects to do!

I can enjoy camping without projects

Before I finished all of this work, I felt like there was a project deadline before every trip.  With my work schedule, I was working between my travel for my job and the weather to get work done on the camper.  It was really stressful much of the time.  And I'm not going to say that it was always fun.  It could also make camping less fun.  

This year, we are 100% just camping.  Any projects we have going on are just regular maintenance and upkeep.  My gracious.  I had no idea how amazing that would feel.  We just plan a trip and get organized to go.  Just wow!  If you don't have it in you to remodel and just want to camp - then I think you should do just that and not look back!  You can never reclaim this time in your life with your kids or whatever stage you are in.  Who cares!  

I feel like I have another camper remodel in me in my lifetime.  I really want to redo a cute vintage camper.  But, that is going to have to be an empty nest project far in the future (a time that I really can't think about now).  At this point, I want to keep little our little man at home with us as long as I can!  I want to camp and just enjoy this time where he is enjoying our trips, chasing geese, being outdoors with us.  I know this window of time is short.  And once it is gone, I can't have it back.

Now that I'm done with our camper, I can do little projects at home that I enjoy doing like this little ottoman that I made earlier this winter.  I like projects like this but had found little time for them while working on my camper.

I can work on my home and yard again

I'm not gonna lie.  Our home and yard suffered in the era of the Peggy Sue Revival.  She consumed our lives as I worked on her or we were trying to start our camping adventures in her.  So, our home and yard were neglected as we worked on our consuming camper project. 

Last weekend, we got outdoors and scrubbed patio furniture.  This winter we cleaned out our shed to a state that it had not seen in quite some time.  This summer, I plan to get our spare bedroom whipped into shape.  All of this had just been let go.  And I actually have some spare time in between home upkeep and these small projects.  I feel like I can actually breathe again.  

We've had more time to build tents in our living room and spend just time as a family that was not consumed with projects.

We finally have more family time

I felt like we did a lot of negotiating our family time while we worked on that camper.  And it probably wasn't fair to anyone in the process.  We had a lot going on besides just maintaining a house, jobs and working on a camper.  We were tailgating for football, going to birthday parties, I travel for work, we are involved in our church, we have family trips aside from camping that we like to do, plus any other thing that we might want to do was being wedged between the day to day.  I felt like our lives were a three-ring circus on wheels for a while.  Life is finally at this normal pace and not a sprint for the first time in so long. 

Even camping seems more relaxing and fun now that we are done with our camper.

And now that I am finally enjoying the fruits of our labor, my husband and I in some ways feel like we are outgrowing that camper.  I'm not entirely sold on that idea.  I love our camper.  I would keep her for basically ever, but the setup and take down is long.  My husband wants a bathroom in a camper.  And life is about compromise.  So, now that remodel is done...we are kind of, shopping, thinking and researching campers.

I'm not going to do anything next week or any time soon.  Small campers are my jam.  It is what I want and enjoy.  I like what we have and am happy in Peggy Sue.  So, we will see what happens next.  But, it seems that with everything there is a season.  And Peggy Sue is enjoying her season in our life.  I'm not sure how long that will be.  I know that we will be camping for many seasons.  But, we may just not be camping in her.  It makes me sad because I've grown attached to her.  I also knew this when I started this process.

But was it worth all of the work that we put into her if we do sell her?  Yes!  100% yes!  We made a small investment to test the waters as a family and start camping together.  We wanted to try this activity out without making a large investment, and we have more than gotten our initial $850 investment out of our camper.  And it was worth all of the work.  Because I enjoy camping in our homey little camper every time we take her out.  It is the very reason I'm so attached to her.  It is the very reason I don't feel the pressure or the desire to sell her and move on like my husband.  I'm attached to my project in a way that he may never be. 

I've grown attached to Peggy Sue and these mornings where we snuggle up and take it easy.

Have you remodeled a camper?  If so, what did you do with all of that time after your project was over?  And did you find yourself in the quandary of getting ready to sell it after all of your work?  You can see my original reveal of Peggy Sue from when I finished all of the work just to get her on the road.  I obviously had work that was ongoing after this initial first round of work, but this was the biggest portion.

Until next time...

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