That armor is too strong for blasters!

We've been in the market for a fixer-upper RV-- something that he can spend time fixing mechanically as a vehicle and I can invest in remodeling the interior at an affordable cost. We are not a regular outdoors-y couple , and we admit that we both have something to learn about RVs, but we both have one goal in mind: Make the Deals Gap trip as comfortable as possible. So when an extremely cost-effective listing popped up in a town about two hours away, we couldn't help but take the trip up to check it out. After a laborious trip across the water, through the capital, a short run-in with the police for expired tags and inspection, several non-descript fields, and a few miles just past the middle of nowhere, we had our first camper experience.



This 1975 Ford Custom Cruiser (with Midas RV conversion package) was waiting for us in the yard of a tiny house in the middle of the country. She definitely looks bigger than the impression I received from her listing picture! The couple that sold it to us previously used the camper as a place to live, picked up trip permits to move from place to place, and were looking to sell it to someone who would get some good travel use out of it. We thought that it could accommodate our comfort needs.



This is a view from the front of the RV (hereby known as the cockpit). As you can see, she is pretty spacious. The AC unit in the window is a home unit that is fairly new, quickly the camper into a walk-in freezer, and runs quiet enough to sleep with it running. To the left is a 4 ft. mini-fridge--probably the newest thing in the camper. The cabinet beside it is a spacious closet bigger than the athletic lockers at my high school. Seriously, it's big enough to put the kids in when they need a time out.

Where the cheeseburgers go.



The camper has more counter space than the duplex we live in, a travel sink, and a gas range and oven.





There's also a small convenience bathroom about the size of a linen closet with a compact shower, sink, and toilet.

It also has an acute dining table with bench seating--enough room to seat our family of four and let the three-year-old sleep in at bedtime. In the benches is where the potable water tank is stored for the shower, sink, and toilet.

Above the cockpit, there is room for overhead storage, probably where we will throw a mattress on top of to let the oldest sleep in like a top bunk.

The RV had been sitting since April of 2009 (there was a DMV Trip Permit receipt in cup holder to verify) when they moved into the house they are in now. Surprisingly enough, the camper was in drivable condition.



The exterior of the RV is painted white, with an orange stripe down both sides and showing signs of age and travel wear. She has a vent in her top where we can put a useful all-purpose navigation and fix-it unit resembling a trash-talking domed garbage can that speaks in whistled obscenities. In non-nerd plain English, she looks like an X-Wing, so we call this vehicle Rogue Leader.



My driveway just doesn't quite have as much room as it used to anymore...

This blog serves to document all the work that we do to our esteemed camper, promising pictures, and step-by-step directions for anyone interested in partaking on a similar investment.




Special thanks to Johnathan for the photography in this post!