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What This Family Did to Save a 1997 Prowler Travel Trailer Blew Me Away. I Would Have Given Up.

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

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I’m happy to share with you Yvonne’s newly remodeled 1997 Fleetwood Prowler 31G.

Yvonne and her family moved to Vancouver, Canada from their native Germany in 2012.

She said about the remodel via email,

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It had a lot of water damage and so we had to take apart some of the exterior walls. We painted all inside cabinets, did new flooring, built a new sofa with storage and refinished the dining area. We did that all by ourselves over several weekends and already spent two vacations with our trailer. We are very pleased with the result but work will be still in progress until next summer :-).

Related: From Dark and Drab to Light and Airy. See This Couple’s Totally Renovated 1988 Tioga Motorhome

At first, Yvonne wanted to have a lot of color in her trailer. But on second thought she decided to stick with grey and white, neutral colors that she liked in past renovation projects.

Some of the features she added to the trailer include:

  • an IKEA desk
  • new hardware for cabinets
  • white paint
  • colorful fabric for dining area
  • used futon sofa
  • laminate flooring
  • IKEA curtains + hem’n bond tape and curtain rods

Take the tour below and see how Yvonne and her family fixed the dreaded dry-rot problem. You’ll love the before and after pictures that follow.

Yvonne, her husband, and son picked up the trailer at a storage lot after buying through a Craigslist ad. They knew it had some structural problems, but the price was right.

Yvonne's 1997 Prowler trailer

Upon closer inspection, the damage was a bit worse than they thought.

Upon closer inspection, the damage was a bit worse than they thought

 It’s almost like the rotted wood just fell off the trailer.

Peeling back the rotted wood from the outside

Their first priority was to replace the main horizontal beams with fresh wood.Replacing the main horizontal beam

Using the fiberglass siding as a template, they made new plywood panels for each side.

They sprayed Mold Control to prevent future mold growth

New beams and studs replaced those with dry rot.

Newly rebuilt studs and beams

Sometimes you have to tear down walls to find hidden secrets. In this case, the original manufacturer didn’t place enough insulation in the walls.

The original manufacturer didn't place enough insulation in the walls

This is what the back of the siding looked like. They sprayed Mold Control on it to prevent re-growth.

New plywood panel after being sprayed with Mold Control

Fresh plywood going on over the new studs.

New plywood going on over the new studs and framing

What the main living area looked like before…What the main living area looked like before…and after the renovation. Main living area after the renovation

 Close up of the original 1990s sofa.Close up of the original sofa from 1997

New sofa with accents on the dinette cushions. Yvonne still has to paint the cabinet faces underneath the sofa.

New sofa with accents on the dinette cushions

These new drawers under the sofa make for handy storage of small items.

Sofa opens up for lots of storage

The master bedroom before…

The master bedroom before

…and after. The accents on the top are made from the same material she used for the dinette cushions.

Bright and cheerful bedroom makeover in this Prowler trailer

First shot of the old kitchen.

Old kitchen in a 1997 Prowler

And from another angle.

And from another angle

It looks a lot different now.

Remodeled kitchen in a 1997 Prowler travel trailer

 From another angle.

From another angle

Typical 90s bathroom.Old bathroom in a travel trailer

 Yvonne plans to redo the sink and countertop soon.

Remodeled bathroom in the Prowler trailer

Here’s the renovated bathroom from another angle.

Renovated bathroom from another angle

Lots of great storage ideas here.

Lots of great storage ideas here

Yvonne used an over-the-door shoe organizer to keep the family’s toiletries neatly separated.

Over the door shoe organizer in an RV bathroom

One final look from the rear bathroom to the front of the trailer.One final look from the bathroom to the front of the trailer

And how it looks now.

Final look from bathroom to front

Yvonne got this card from one of her girlfriends. It looks perfectly placed in this gorgeous trailer, wouldn’t you agree?

Sums it up

You can read a lot more about Yvonne’s renovation on her website here. Also check out some of her neat travelogues on a Bavarian town in Washington State, Liberty Bell Mountain, and Gorge Dam.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful renovation with us Yvonne and family!

Do you have a DIY remodel or homemade camper you’d like to share? Get in touch here.

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4 thoughts on “What This Family Did to Save a 1997 Prowler Travel Trailer Blew Me Away. I Would Have Given Up.”

  1. I am hoping to do the same thing with a futon for our Airstream in the ‘bedroom’ area. Is there a way to get the details for that build?

  2. how did you redo the flooring? I have carpeting I want to replace in a Hitchhiker and I have the higher slide…. what type of edging did you put on the slide so it would continue to slide but still be tight? And did you have to remove the slide to do it?

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