Project "Make The Old New Again"

My parents owned a 2009 travel trailer that had been sitting unused in their yard for several years. Sadly, my Mom passed away and my Dad was living in a Care Home so there was no one to make use of it anymore (at the time that this project was done last summer).

They spent many wonderful years making memories camping together, but it was time to pass the trailer on to someone else who would enjoy it just as much, instead of having it sit there in the yard depreciating.

The prior year my brother had listed it for sale but didn’t get any interest in it, but he didn't put any work into it nor did he attempt to clean it up. Now it was my turn to attempt the sale. So the trailer was brought to my house for project “Make The Old New Again”. The outside got a complete restoration and the inside looks so much better from a few minor fixes and some deep cleaning.

The colour of the fenders and accent stickers was rejuvenated by a good wipe down with some spray cleaner and a soft rag. They now look fantastic and are no longer sporting that faded look!

Started off by removing an unnecessary part my Dad had added to the side of the unit. Once that was gone, the process to brighten up the exterior began. A long handled scrub brush, rubbing compound and some old-fashioned elbow grease transformed the dull colour into a nice bright white. There was some "blackish" stuff along the front window covering that needed to be scrubbed off as well which helped with making the lettering stand out more. A fresh coat of paint was also applied to the water input valve.

Fixed up a missing piece of sticker on the stripe. Created some new stickers to place in the open area where the detached part was attached because it felt like it was missing something in that spot with the unnecessary part no longer there.

Once the exterior cleaning was complete, it was time to move onto the undercarriage. A bristle brush was used to remove the loose rust on the stabilizing jacks. Afterwards they were refreshed with a couple coats of rust spray paint, being sure to leave time to dry between coats of paint. A few sprays of WD-40 spray around the joints made a big improvement on the mobility of the jacks.

The lock on the hitch was stiff and tough to open from years of not being used but a quick shot of WD-40 fixed that right up. (P.S. it would work better if you use a straw LOL)

Once inside the windows were tested for their ability to open with no hassle. All were ok, but one. It had a little bit of a hitch in its get-along so it was WD-40 to the rescue again!

Most of the interior was in decent condition with the exception of the fridge/freezer. It needed a good scrub on the inside. There was a lot of spots where grocery items had rubbed against the surface/walls leaving scuff marks. There was also a bit of a squeaky door hinge on the cabinet under the sink but some WD-40 put a stop to that quickly. Now it opens and closes with ease with no squeeeeaaakkky sounds!

Note the state of the inside when my brother had put it up for sale in the first photo.

Now for the finishing touches… a select few decor pieces were added to give the trailer a nice homey feeling and ambience. Some say that adding decor doesn't make any difference (like my husband and my brother), but I believe it does.

Lastly, a "photo shoot" to commemorate a job well done.

After some much needed maintenance and repair work the trailer was transformed from old to new and was now ready to go on the market. It was sold in 1 day at $1500 more than the original asking price that my brother had put on it the year before.

I'm not going to lie, I did do a little bragging to my brother about the quick sale. It just goes to show that if you put a little TLC into a project it’ll be worth your while. The new owners were very impressed with the quality of the trailer for its age and have plans to make some memories of their own.