You Pinspire Me
About a month ago, we acquired our very first camping trailer. It’s a 7′ Bonair with two double beds and a kitchen table that converts to a single. While it has been my dream since I was little to have my very own camping trailer, I have to say that while it’s a huge step up from camping in a tent, it’s also a huge step down.
“How is this?” you say. “You’re off the ground! You have a real table inside your tent, and a hard roof over your head!”
Truth. But last summer, I shared a TWELVE PERSON TENT with my two children. We had an entry room, where all the shoes, umbrellas, and coats were kept. Then, each child had their own 7’x7′ wing of the tent in which to sleep, with curtains separating them from my 8’x8′ room. That’s a lot of space for us to keep our suitcases and laundry baskets and books and toys.
Now, they’ll be sharing a 3′ x 6.5′ area, I’ll have my own of the same size, and then we’ve got 7′ x 6.5′ in between us to fit all of our clothes and towels and books and toys, with most of that being taken up by a table, benches, and small trailer storage cubbies.
All of this to say, our trailer is definitely a step up in terms of basic comfort and shelter from the elements. However, we’ve gone waaaay back in terms of living space. This got me wondering: how do other families fit everything in their trailers when they go camping?
This was a question I should have asked long ago. Apparently, “Modding” Tent Trailers / Hard Top Trailers / Fold Out Trailers / Pop Up Trailers is a real thing. And it’s an amazing thing.
We’ve done a few basic things, like taking out the kitchen sink / stove, and adding plastic drawers for clothing & pantry items.
It’s hard to find drawers that are maximum 13″ deep, but we found some for $14/each! We also picked up some nesting bins at the dollar store to hold socks and underwear.
I used my handy dandy Epson Eco Tank printer that I got for a review way back when to print some infograph labels for the kids so that they can help keep the trailer as organized as possible. (The printer, by the way, is still holding up AMAZINGLY. I didn’t print anything for 2 months, but had absolutely no problems when I printed these pictures up. It is SO FUN to be sitting on my bed upstairs with my computer and printing something downstairs in the dining room. It really freaks the kids out.)
I cut some clear Mac-Tac about 2″ bigger all around than the pictures, and stuck them to the drawers. Mac-Tac will remove more easily with less residue when I want to change the signs around.
FYI: When heading out to purchase multiple plastic storage units, take the VAN, not the car. Ooops.
We removed the sink/stove and installed a plywood shelf lined with mactac. On top of that, we found these bins that will hold the adult clothes & toiletries – and this time around, some snacks and games. 🙂
Now, while this stuff will absolutely increase the usability of space inside the trailer, it’s not that fancy. Let me show you what’s out there, and what I would absolutely love to do some day. I don’t think that this is our ‘forever trailer’ – so I won’t put a lot of effort into the aesthetics of it – but some of these are gorgeous!! Have you ever heard of The Pop Up Princess? You need to go visit her site NOW, and drool over the different makeovers found there. For now, here are a few.
Shannon & Jeff’s Pop Up Remodel on The Pop Up Princess
I mean, really? These are ACTUALLY Pop Up Trailers??
Janeth’s Pop Up Camper Remodel on The Pop Up Princess
Truthfully, I don’t think that my husband would ever go for this kind of modification – but a girl can dream, can’t she? Do you have a tent trailer / pop up trailer? What’s your best tip for camping with it?
Jenn vanOosten
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Cute trailer. We would love to get a trailer one day. We’ll probably go the pop-up route too because we could easily tow it with our van.
we had a popup one but it was seriously old and leaked so we were able to get rid of it as a person we knew could fix it up and it wasn’t going to be moved..just used as a guest place for when people came to visit them!! We have a seriously old hard top thats prob from the 70’s and we store everything in the bathroom because the places we camp, all have toilets everywhere
we live in a pop up camper and we could use a pimp up on our camper. we need more room and a new canvas on it. our roof is good but the inside needs help.