While the trailer was in Northern CA at the home of my in-laws, my very handy FIL checked out and brought up to good working condition things like the wiring, lights, heater, plumbing, etc. (Thank you!) Mr. Incredible drove up several weekends in a row to work on improvements too, such as tearing out and rebuilding parts of the dinette and bunks, for increased strength. When we found a place to temporarily store the trailer down near us (shout out to Hayley and Thorin--thank you, we could not have asked for a better set-up!), then we really got to work making the trailer not only functional but also feeling more like home.
The rebuilding of the two top bunks was a high priority, and Mr. I did a beautiful job:
I sourced natural latex foam (we were aiming to make improvements as non-toxic as possible) from a natural mattress company in the San Jose area and hand-made mattresses, using old cotton sheets and vintage wool blankets to protect the foam.
A cozy bed! The mattresses were then covered with a natural mattress protector before the kids made up their beds. I followed the same process for the cushions that make up the dinette seats and convert to the front bed:
When I took this photo I had only fastened the mattress layers together with large safety pins--in the interest of time--but I have since hand-sewn the layers properly. Now my mother is using her sewing expertise in making attractive covers that will protect the cushions and zip on and off for easy cleaning.
I painted everything inside, removed, spray-painted and replaced all the hardware, cleaned, and stocked the trailer. All the kids helped as they could, and even a boyfriend came by once to lend a hand. : )
Of course I meant to take awesome "after" photos to record our effort--but of course we were pushing hard to get out on the road on time and working late nights (often early mornings!) and still finishing things the night before launch day, and so I completely forgot. That's ok! Because it is still a work in progress, and even now my dad is finishing re-building the bed area over the dinette so there are enough beds for my parents to join us in the trailer for some of our adventures (9-year-old Smiley will take the new upper bunk, I will take a back bunk, and my parents will get the "big" dinette bed. Mr. Incredible is currently back in CA working and will join us again for some of our adventures before we head home). When I get a chance I'll try to remember to take photos of the "finished" interior.
But the look of it isn't what matters of course. The trailer got us from California to Alabama and we were all completely cozy and sheltered!
My one "beauty shot" of the finished interior--although the paint job is by no means the beauty of the pic. ; )
Finally, loaded and ready for hitting the road!
Next blog post--the first week on the road. Thanks for joining us on the journey!
The rebuilding of the two top bunks was a high priority, and Mr. I did a beautiful job:
I sourced natural latex foam (we were aiming to make improvements as non-toxic as possible) from a natural mattress company in the San Jose area and hand-made mattresses, using old cotton sheets and vintage wool blankets to protect the foam.
A cozy bed! The mattresses were then covered with a natural mattress protector before the kids made up their beds. I followed the same process for the cushions that make up the dinette seats and convert to the front bed:
When I took this photo I had only fastened the mattress layers together with large safety pins--in the interest of time--but I have since hand-sewn the layers properly. Now my mother is using her sewing expertise in making attractive covers that will protect the cushions and zip on and off for easy cleaning.
I painted everything inside, removed, spray-painted and replaced all the hardware, cleaned, and stocked the trailer. All the kids helped as they could, and even a boyfriend came by once to lend a hand. : )
Of course I meant to take awesome "after" photos to record our effort--but of course we were pushing hard to get out on the road on time and working late nights (often early mornings!) and still finishing things the night before launch day, and so I completely forgot. That's ok! Because it is still a work in progress, and even now my dad is finishing re-building the bed area over the dinette so there are enough beds for my parents to join us in the trailer for some of our adventures (9-year-old Smiley will take the new upper bunk, I will take a back bunk, and my parents will get the "big" dinette bed. Mr. Incredible is currently back in CA working and will join us again for some of our adventures before we head home). When I get a chance I'll try to remember to take photos of the "finished" interior.
But the look of it isn't what matters of course. The trailer got us from California to Alabama and we were all completely cozy and sheltered!
My one "beauty shot" of the finished interior--although the paint job is by no means the beauty of the pic. ; )
Finally, loaded and ready for hitting the road!
Next blog post--the first week on the road. Thanks for joining us on the journey!
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