A New Travel Adventure - Our Travel Trailer

 

The summer of 2020 we embarked on a new adventure!  We purchased our first travel trailer.  As you can see from our previous posts from years past, we spent our vacations staying in hotels across the United States. Our method of travel has changed but our wandering spirit has not.  Join us as we embark on our journey in our home away from home, True.  

True is a 27 foot 2014 Palomino Puma with 1 slide and an outdoor kitchen.  Some might say she is cramped but I prefer cozy.  When we brought her home in June of 2020 she needed a little upgrading to make her perfect. 

The outside did not require much work but the inside needed some cleaning and updating.  To start with, we removed the rugs that were lying everywhere and gave her a thorough cleaning. 

Next we moved on to the kitchen backsplash that was peeling away from the wall.  We replaced it with Art3d peel and stick backsplash from Amazon.  Make sure you buy extra because there is a slight learning curve for installation. I also recommend using an X-Acto knife for cutting in around plugs, etc. Once we figured out the learning curve it went on smoothly, although it is not a quick job. It took us about 2 hours to do the small area in our kitchen. It's been 8 months and many miles and the backsplash is still in place with no problems. 

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In the kitchen my husband made me a butcher block cover for the stove top I had no intention of using. This gives me more counter space!

We also decided to add a backsplash to the bathroom after we removed the ugly soap dispenser and toothbrush holder. I also added a Franklin over-the-door triple towel rack to my left side shower door. It's not in the picture but it has worked great for storing our towels for multiple uses while camping. 

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After

The blinds throughout needed replacing. We also took down the fabric covered valances that were installed over the windows and doors by the manufacturer. This helped us with our search for blinds from home improvement stores because we had more room to add a blind.  Windows in travel trailers are odd shaped and difficult to get replacement blinds for.  An added bonus is I like the windows much better without the valances!   

The queen size bed had carpet covered boxes next to the bed.  The boxes are the outside storage area. The first thing that had to go was the carpet.  Not only was the carpet unattractive but it was dirty too.  My handy husband made a laundry shoot out of one side and covered both boxes with vinyl planks. I keep a laundry basket stored in the outside storage area and we just drop our laundry into the shoot each evening. LOVE it!

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After

Next up were the sofa cushions.  The pleather on the seat cushions was peeling badly.  The back cushions showed some wear but still had some life left in them. Rather than taking the cushions to an upholsterer and paying a lot of money to have them recovered I searched the Internet and found a post for recovering my own cushions, the easy way. I purchased Plastex Fabrics Faux Leather Caprice Brown fabric from Amazon. I decided to go with faux leather because it is easier to clean than cloth fabric and it looks like leather. The after picture was taken 7 months after I recovered the cushions and they still look new even after many camping trips. 

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After

Did I mention True has an outdoor kitchen? This is one of my favorite features! When we purchased her, the outdoor kitchen had a microwave, refrigerator, and sink. The first thing that had to go was the microwave.  The indoor kitchen has a microwave, we did not need two of them.  In place of the microwave we put an Oster toaster oven digital convection oven, large 6-Slice capacity from Amazon. I use this toaster oven for everything from baked potatoes to casseroles to cinnamon toast. The possibilities are limitless, other than maybe baking a whole turkey. We also decided to add a propane burner to one of the drawers in our outdoor kitchen.  My handy husband was able to insert the single burner into the drawer and I just open the drawer when I am needing a burner.  The burner can be used while in the drawer or can be pulled out of the drawer and used on a table top. I purchased the GasOne propane burner from Amazon.

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After

Highly recommend the Oster convection toaster oven!

The outdoor kitchen faucet had a quick connect spray nozzle on it when we purchased True.  This gadget has been used for everything from washing dishes (yes the outdoor kitchen is connected to the water heater) to washing our kayaks off. I'm not sure what brand the faucet quick connect spray nozzle we have is but Amazon has one made by Dura Faucet that looks similar. LOVE the quick connect spray nozzle!

Highly recommend quick connect spray nozzle!

Welcome to the adventure! In the coming weeks I will post about our trips taken in our home away from home, True.

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Wherever your path may take you, may God bless you each step of the way.