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While aimlessly scrolling Facebook, I came across a janky, old camper trailer for sale.
At 50 years old, she is a little rusty, full of water damage, wood rot, and moldy upholstery. And she is absolutely PERFECT for us!
We hadn’t been looking for a camper. But it was an idea that I tossed around before and my husband hadn’t said, “Hell no!” So, obviously, it was a plan set in stone 😉
We bought a set of temporary lights, and a new trailer hitch, and made the hour’s drive to Clayton, North Carolina to pick her up.
And I’ve been smitten ever since!
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Naming Jenny
Apparently, every good vintage camper owner names their sweet slice of home on wheels. After a few minutes of debate, my husband threw out the name Jenny.
Built by Zipper in 1969, she comes from the era of the Vietnam War. Since one of our favorite movies is Forrest Gump and it’s set in the same era, we decided that Jenny was the perfect name for our new girl!
Plus, it goes great with the word janky – which is the condition Jenny is in!
Thus, Janky Jenny was named (alliteration for the win!).
All the Before Pictures
The seller was very upfront about Jenny’s condition. He pointed out several areas with water damage and told us that none of the lights worked, interior or exterior.
Regardless, we decided to take on this HUGE project! Here are all of the {janky} before pictures:
Now, you can definitely see why Janky Jenny is the perfect name for this vintage camper! She’s definitely in rough shape.
There are all kinds of different ways to update and decorate the camper. These are the styles that I’m most interested in, but I’m also torn between the two!
I can’t wait to get started on re-furbishing this camper! Hopefully, the excitement is contagious and my husband will catch it soon!
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Hi, Mandee, I just want to warn you about getting too much weight in your trailer. I have a vintage 1966 Zipper, and it has two large storage boxes at the back, but the weight has to be near the front. I’m loving redoing mine!
Thanks, so much, for that tip! We added a tool box on the front and try to put the heaviest stuff in there to help balance the weight.
Do you have after pictures of Janky Jenny? I would love to see what you did with it.
Unfortunately I do not 🙁 The wooden frame of the trailer was too damaged by rot for us to salvage. So, we ended up turning it into a utility trailer instead. I’m sorry!