1973 VW Camper - The Finale

At last! The big day arrived! We took the Campermobile camping!!!!! After 8 months of on-again-off-again work, the VW was ready for it's maiden "voyage." I'll cut to the punch-line: we had a BLAST! I originally planned on Friday night being mom and dad only (IE: a little romance) with the kids joining us Saturday morning. Then all of us could enjoy a day together and spend Saturday night by the campfire, roasting marshmallows, etc. Well the best laid plans of mice and men.... it rained Friday night..... hard. We ended up staying home. So no romance. I ended up changing the battery Saturday morning and we all finally made it out to the campsite Saturday afternoon. Then it was smooth sailing. A nice campfire. Long walks by the lake. We all had a great time.

Here we are unpacking. Notice there are no hub-caps. I removed them in order to paint the wheels but never got around to it. Then I forgot to put them back on for the weekend. Oh well..

Here's the interior. Notice the nice blue and white gingham curtains. I bought the material myself and had a friend sew them for me. The ugly brown comforter is from 1976!!! It was my bed spread in junior high..... The bed was actually comfortable except it got down to about 40 degrees so we FROZE! Next time I'm bringing my space heater. I used Liquid Gold on the wood panelling and it worked okay. I really need to remove all of the panelling and recondition then reinstall.

Notice the blue carpet. I bought an area rug and cut it down to fit. It goes nicely with the blue curtains. I still have quite a bit to do in the front (IE: recover seats, new rubber mats, new front kick boards, etc.) But for now, it is perfect for family camping.

Texas isn't New England in Fall, but there is a little color. Unfortunately Autumn is a short season. Texas goes from hot to cold pretty quickly. Anyway, the plan is to get out every month if only for a day. I'm going to keep the Campermobile packed with everything we need except food, drinks, wood, and ice. That should make the prep time quick.