From Camper to Glamper

The only way to cure 'Camper Fever' is to go out and find a vintage camper and get to work making it your own!

It's my hope that this Blog will be helpful to all of those kindred spirits with incurable wander lust and the need to take something old and make it wonderful - again.

After months of searching online and even a trip to Bellingham, I finally found a great old camper trailer in Surrey, B.C.

It's a 15 foot 1972 South Park. Made in Calgary on Crowchild Trail. I got it for a great price because it is riddled with water damage.

At just over 2000 pounds dry, it is just right to tow with my Toyota Matrix. Most people are shocked that the Matrix can tow so much. It is, in fact, one of the most popular cars with a surprising tow capacity.

This will be a great summer project for my 15 year old son and myself. We were both a bit white-knuckled towing for the first time all around Surrey, to the weigh scales and across the Port Mann bridge to our home in East Vancouver... but we made it!

We unhooked the camper and sat inside it for a little while, planning and dreaming about all of the things we can do to this old girl to make it really cool.

There are still so many original features; the 70's orange patterned fabric that covers all of the seats in the dinette and the bed cushions at the back, the funky little vintage lamps, the 'Harvest Gold' propane cook top and oven, the fairly trashed green and white vinyl flooring, and of course, that unmistakably musty odor. As we exit our new-found abode, I make a bee line for the Lysol spray.

While the weather is nice and dry after months of rain, I'll prop her up in the front a bit and see what drains out! Our adventure is only just beginning!