“BEAUTIFUL LEMONADE”

Our 2nd Renovation, “BEAUTIFUL LEMONADE”, was a 1989 Fleetwood Wilderness Yukon that we acquired from our friends, an AMAZING couple, Don and Liz. Chris and I decided to invest A LOT more time and money into this reno.

It’s All In The Prep

The HARDEST, MOST IMPORTANT part of the Reno is THE PREP. Chris’s motto has always been, “It’s All In The Prep”, and he’s 100% CORRECT! (Check out “My Blog” for more “It’s All In The Prep” tips as well as Chris’s EXPERT “Do’s and Don’ts”.)

From day one, I didn’t love the huge window in the front of the trailer where the platform bed was going to be built. I had mentioned this to Chris before leaving to run a few errands. When I returned, THIS is what I saw…

Thankfully, Chris put her back together that same day and I LOVED IT!

Next, Chris boxed the wheel well with the paneling from the dinette he had removed, filled the holes in the walls with wood putty then sanded the area in prep for the CUSTOM Butcher Block he would make. We prepped the rest of the walls, doors and drawers in the same manor, removing all hardware as well. We also added paneling to the front, soon to be bedroom, of the trailer. The bunk area and bathroom were used for storage until almost the end of the Reno.

Tip– For those of you who don’t have a lot of storage space near your Reno location, use the bunk area and/or bathroom for storage.

The Design

Another IMPORTANT behind the scenes type of PREP is designing the space. “Are we going to leave the layout the same, or change it up?” “Will the new layout work?” “What types of materials will we use and what is the cost difference between each choice?” “Are the design ideas even POSSIBLE?” These are all factors that Chris and I discuss, and at times DO NOT agree upon. However, we ALWAYS find an agreement. As I’ve mentioned before, Chris can do ANYTHING and he will usually find a way to bring my ideas to life.

Customize It

For “BEAUTIFUL LEMONADE”, we finally decided to use a 10 foot piece of Butcher Block Chris had found on FB Marketplace for a CUSTOM bar (in place of the dinette). The remainder of the length he CUSTOMIZED into the kitchen countertop!

We also decided to use a platform bed we had purchased from FB Marketplace to make a “bedroom” area that would fit a Full sized mattress. Underneath the platform featured storage (including 2 large drawers), the Fresh Water Tank and the NEW (cute and tiny) water pump.

Reuse Or Repurpose

If we can REPURPOSE materials that we have on site, we DEFINANTELY will! All of the windows were trimmed using pallets, cut to size and stained.

The rod for the privacy curtain is from an old boat of Gary’s, and the blocks holding it in place are cut offs from the Butcher Block we used.

We also painted Butcher Block scraps and used them for the Bunk steps and the Bathroom Door handle mounts.

The cutoffs from the front wall paneling were used as an insert for the bathroom door as well as the back wall of the the closet.

TIP- Using “scrap” pieces will not only save money, but will also create CONTINUITY in the design!

We painted and reused the original mirror on the front side of the bathroom door as well as the other two original wall mirrors.

I LOVED the screen door once we painted it yellow and re-screened it!

TIP– Re-screening all windows and doors is a CHEAP and EASY way to INCREASE your camper’s value!

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Where To Buy

Once we REPORPOSED or REUSED, the decision of buying at a brick and mortar (or a personal seller) or ordering on line was upon us. We both spend LOTS of time on FB Marketplace trying to find GENTLY used products that will save us money. Occasionally, we find GREAT deals from sellers that aren’t too far from our location. We also like discount stores such as The DAV, Ollie’s, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not. There are, however, certain things we like to include in our Reno’s that are “SPARKLY” new. We purchase MOST of these products from Amazon.com, The Home Depot, and Ace Hardware.

That’s A Wrap!

She was challenging, but she showed us what the future WILL bring for JUST US 2!

“BEAUTIFUL LEMONADE” sold to a FABULOUS couple, John and Nancy, from VA!!!

We want to give a special THANK YOU to Don and Liz, Gary and Susan, John and Nancy and the rest of our Family and Friends!! You are all AMAZING!

Love, SALLY g. AND CHRIS W.~ JUST US 2 RV RENOVATION