Everyone, meet the newest member of our family, Evangeline! We wanted to give her a strong traveler’s name, because she’ll be doing a lot of traveling with our family in the next couple years. We even are getting motorhome warranty for her from Good Sam which is the same company my brother used for his RV. Jesse and I have wanted to renovate our own little trailer for a while now, but only recently got serious and started researching more, as I stated in my coffee date post. Last weekend, we went to see one but it was close to $2k, and it needed some repairs, so we were still on the fence.
While garage sale-ing with my mom this past weekend, we stopped by our neighbor’s sale. Turns out, they were selling a trailer for $200! No, that’s not a typo! They had taken it on as a project but suddenly needed to move after 25 years in the same house. This was just one thing they didn’t feel they could do too.
Evangeline is a LITTLE smaller than what we originally wanted, but she has a full bathroom with a shower, a/c, working appliances, a fold down loft bunk, and even a propane oven!
Here’s my best BEFORE shot:
My Dad, Jesse and I spent this afternoon demo-ing most of the existing structures, since we have an entirely different footprint in mind for the place. After a few hours with a shop-vac and crowbars, this is what we got:
Yes, the roof looks a little worse in the second picture. We knew that for $200, there would be some leakage and wood rotting, so we started peeling things back to get a better look. Luckily, it seems only to be happening in one place! Jesse just bought a wood saw and a manual log splitter, so we will be splitting then cutting the wood to seal the vent and replace the plywood roof panel next weekend 🙂
Here’s a before shot from the other side:
And, after a few hours of kicking things down…
Here’s a shot of the tiny bathroom. How MUCH do I want to rip that wallpaper out, you might ask? Pretty bad. I went all Ninjago on some parts, but haven’t fully committed yet 😉
We have so many ideas for this space, it’s almost mind boggling (you can check out my EXTENSIVE Pinterest board for tiny living/trailers). And the thing is, Jesse and I are both equally excited to get our hands dirty in this project which is why we have already ordered the best surge protectors for it and also anti-glare glasses to enjoy long journeys without any problems. We both LOVE camping and a trailer is just what we need to make it a lot more feasible with the kids (especially once they’re potty trained and need to use the potty in the middle of the night!). As a teacher who gets 3 months off a year, why not spend it traveling, am I right? Not to mention that our county in California is one of the biggest vacation destinations in the US. I never knew just how many RV parks and repair stores we have around here!
And now, a few parting shots of our dear Evangeline:
Stay tuned for more updates! We’ve only just begun!
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Becky @ bybmg says
So awesome! $200! I actually like the wallpaper in the bathroom. 🙂 Can’t wait to see the renovations.
themrscone says
Haha, I “sorta” like it, but it’s coming off in places.
Pam Bartel says
Kelly, I just love your new trailer. What a wonderful way to make memories with your family! I am so impressed by the way that you and Jesse get right to work on your projects. You are learning so much by doing it yourselves. Your courage, energy, and creativity are an inspiration to many! Love and prayers, Pam (and Rich).
themrscone says
Thanks, Pam! Hopefully we can stick it out!
Whitney Cramer says
whoah! I can’t wait to see after shots! We just purchased a camper last year and I’m telling you that the memories you make in them are priceless!!
themrscone says
Ah! I can’t wait to make memories in it! 🙂
Jess says
that is such an awesome and exciting project! Camping is one of my favourite memories as a teenager, I bet your kids will love it! Can’t wait to see what you do with it 🙂