Revamp Your RV: How We Replaced Our Counters and Table for $45
Hi! Welcome to Campfire Travelers. Back in 2015, we transformed our little pop-up camper into a shining, clean, and updated home on wheels for less than $1000. We took what we learned and wanted to help others in their own DIY RV renovation. You can learn more here. And if you ever have any questions please feel free to contact us here.
In this post, we will be sharing our experience with updating the table in our pop-up camper. As part of this project, we were forced to completely rebuild the countertops and table in our pop-up camper. The result was even better than we had anticipated and proved to be the perfect decision. Including the decision we made to modify the corners of the table to make them less rounded and provide us with a few extra inches of space. We will be discussing the process of cutting, sanding, staining, and installing the new counters, and what we learned as we achieved a modern and natural look with ease and minimal cost.
Now that we have taken care of the floors, painted the cabinets, hardware, and attempted to improve the fridge it was time to turn our attention to the counters and table. After years of neglect, the original counters were in poor shape! The particleboard was warped, the plastic/rubber molding would not stay in place and the tops were stained. Sadly, the table wasn't much better!
We wracked our brains and Google trying to think of how to possibly repair these counters and nothing seemed acceptable. Then *LIGHT BULB* Jason thought of the perfect replacement for counters.
We quickly purchased a few more sheets of pressed 1/2" MDF with a nice birch overlay, just like we used for the seat back repair, from Home Depot. Using the old counters and table as a guide we traced and cut the MDF perfectly.
As a side note - while we created our new table we decided to make the corners much less rounded to give us just a few more inches of space while at the table. It was the perfect decision!
Once the tops were cut and sanded we got to staining. We chose a beautiful gray stain from Home Depot.
The warm summer air made the stain dry quickly and the MDF absorbed it like butter on toast. After the stain was perfect, I followed up with several coats of polyurethane and sanding making sure the counters and tables were well sealed from future spills and weather. Afterward, we decided on a solid 48 hours of drying time...just in case!
We attached the counters over the drawers using Liquid Nail. For the kitchen counters, we used Liquid Nail and screws since the counters are always moving when the camper is being folded.
We made the decision to make the backsplash match the cabinets instead of the counters based on personal choice. We have also picked out a silver tile for the backsplash, but have yet to install it.
Overall, this was probably the BEST decision we made when updating the pop-up. The natural wood grain of the counters with the gray gives it a modern, natural, updated feel. They handle spills with ease, clean well, and best of all we know they're sturdy enough to last a long time.
Total cost about $45 for MDF, stain, polyurethane, and brushes
Next time - I'll give you information on our new faucet and sink - including installation and a few reasons why we decided not to go with a pump faucet.
If you’re curious about how we renovated any other parts of our 1999 Palomino pop-up camper please check out the links below or visit our main page here.
The BEST way to clean the canvas
Why we painted the furnace cover
Creating new blackout curtains
Creating a new nightlight and replacing outlets
And if you ever have any questions, please feel free to check out our FAQ to contact us or leave a comment below!