1959 Kencraft Vintage Trailer Renovation Full Budget Breakdown by Nailgun Nelly
After months of sanding, sealing, and second-guessing every design choice, my 1959 Kencraft vintage trailer renovation is finally complete—and I’m breaking down every dollar I spent. Whether you’re dreaming of restoring your own vintage camper or just curious what a full renovation really costs, this post covers it all. From structural repairs and new appliances to decor and finishes, I’m sharing where I splurged, where I saved, and how I kept this project within budget without cutting corners on style. Find other RV Renovation Budget Breakdowns below:
I’m incredibly fortunate (and very thankful!) to have the opportunity to collaborate with amazing brands throughout my renovations, so while some of the costs were covered through partnerships, I’m still listing everything out to give a real, accurate estimate of what this project would cost out of pocket. As a quick disclaimer—many of the sources linked in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Table of Contents
How Much Was the Purchase Price?
This trailer was recommended to us by a girl Chad and I work with at the hospital. Her friend had it sitting in their yard — it originally belonged to his family and had been tucked under an awning since the ’70s! At the time, we were still knee-deep in the renovation of Archie, which was the main project for our book, so the timing wasn’t exactly ideal. But of course, I had to go take a look — and it’s kind of like saying you’re just going to look at a puppy. Yeah right…the puppy’s coming home with you! Sure enough, I couldn’t pass it up because it was in such great condition. We ended up paying $1,800 for it and then waited about four months before diving into the renovation.
Total $1,800.00
Exterior Repairs: Paint, Repairs, Tires & Lighting
When it comes to vintage campers, one of the first things we look at is the exterior siding. If it’s covered in major dents or has large sections missing, that’s usually a deal-breaker. You can always reseal, clean, and replace easier components like tires, lights, or trim—but bodywork is a completely different story. It’s not necessarily expensive, but it requires a ton of time and elbow grease.
Normally, we go through and replace all of the butyl tape, seals, and screws around the windows and seams to ensure everything is watertight. But in this case, it was honestly shocking—every single window was solid, and there were no signs of water intrusion anywhere. So, for once, we decided to leave well enough alone and keep everything just as it was. We only had one glass panel to replace in a front window that was missing.
The vents, on the other hand, were a different story. Every single one needed to be replaced and resealed, so we tackled those to make sure the exterior stayed fully protected and ready for years of use.
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the exterior expenses for this phase of the project.
- Tempered Glass Panel from a local glass shop: $50
- Epoxy Primer/Sealer $129.00
- Paint $118 (2 gallons $59/ea) Color
- Accent Paint colors $118 (2 colors $59/ea)
- Tires $161 (2 tires)
- Baby Moon Hub Caps $38.61
- Skylight $170
- Ventadome $63
- 12v Vent fan $168
Total: $1,015.61
Exterior Functional Items
Here is a list of functional items for the exterior, including running lights, propane tanks, and plugs. These are all very standard and you can’t really avoid the cost, though I would say these items are pretty reasonable in cost.
- Propane tanks $118 (2 tanks at $59/ea)
- 7 prong plug with junction box $53
- Running lights $80.00 (4 at $20/ea)
- Propane regulator $124.00
- Propane Lines: $30
- Electric tongue jack $174.00
- Sway Control $50
- Anti Hitch Rattle $49
Total: $678.00
Interior Demo, Repairs & Feature Walls
This, just like the exterior work is not super costly on your wallet; rather your time and energy! I also am including anything used (mainly lumber) to build out the main structural changes we made. This includes the changes we did to mainly the left side of the kitchen where the old fridge/furnace was.
Mostly everything stayed original in respect to the layout of this trailer although I did remove a lot of the left side cabinetry, I only rebuilt the bedroom feature wall, a portion of the base cabinet in the kitchen and the wood surround at the couch. All of the beadboard I incorporated was left over from prior projects, along with all of the glass door inserts I used.
- 1×2 MDF boards $24 (4 at $6/ea) & 1×4 MDF boards $18 (2 at $9/ea) for the bedroom feature wall
- Pipe Insulation $12 (6 at $2/ea) & Velvet material $13
- 3m Spray Adhesive $10
- White Utility Board for the epoxy backsplash $40 (2 Sheets at $20/ea)
- 1/4″ Plywood for behind backsplash $32
- Bondo Wood Putty: $21
- 1x8x8 front ledge behind couch: $19
- 1x6x6 for side tables $11
- 1x2x8 $12 (6 total at $2/ea)
- Ornate Trim $36 (4 at $9/ea) for bathroom walls and TV frame
- Gallery Rail $50 (2 at $25/ea) used in the bistro shelf and pantry door
Total: $273.00
Interior Functional Items
Up to this point, the demo and structural repair are pretty cheap! Just a lot of elbow grease. But the functional items can add up. We go all out in my opinion and you don’t have to! For example, do you really need endless hot water….no, not really, but we got one. Did we really need a ceramic toilet…no…but we got one. My point is this cost can probably be shaved in half if you wanted to. Below I will link all the goodies we added to the interior of this trailer to make it function appropriately. This mostly includes plumbing and electrical “behind the scenes” necessities.
- Charger/converter $188.00
- Solar panel kit $604 with 200watt panel, PWM controller
- Lithium Battery $764 (one 100amp hr)
- Fuse panel $37.00
- Fuses $12.99
- Fresh water tank $150.00 (21gal)
- Black water tank $400
- Water pump $145.00
- Water inlet $17.00
- pex plumbing $120.00
- Tankless Hot Water Heater $560
Total $2,997.99
Bathroom
Although this was a small bathroom it made a huge impact on the design. I had such a difficult time figuring out the paint color for the lower portion of the wall, but once I did it was smooth sailing! The sink base was the very first thing that popped into my mind when I first walked through this trailer and it turned out exactly as I imagined using a can of spray paint and left over PVC pipe. For the most part we kept everything the same and just brightened up the small space with a touch of “girliness”!
- Wall Paint– Color HGTVSW Universal Khaki $31
- Toilet $221.00
- Pink Peel & Stick Tile: $17
- Sink Faucet $56.00
- Bathroom Light $46
- Shower Faucet $45
- Gold P-trap $19
- Shower Curtain $25
- Epoxy Tub/Tile Paint $40
- Gold Spray Paint for PVC base $7
- Artwork $14
- Bathroom Door Signage $12
Total $533.00
Kitchen
The kitchen in this 1959 Kencraft was the perfect blend of charm and challenge. I wanted to keep its cozy vintage feel but make it more functional for how our family actually camps. Since we do most of our cooking outside on the BBQ pit, Traeger, or Blackstone, keeping the old oven didn’t make much sense. Instead, I reworked the layout—modifying the base cabinets, adding a pull-out trash bin and a small pull-out pantry in its place for everyday convenience. A fresh coat of warm white paint instantly brightened the space, while a bold epoxy backsplash added a modern, eye-catching touch that still complements the original wood tones throughout the camper. I modified a few of the doors and used spray paint for the hood and hardware. Below has the expense for this space, which was actually pretty affordable!
- 120v Fridge $427
- 2 burner Stove top $270.00
- Kitchen sink $269.00
- Kitchen faucet $151.00
- Reeded Glass Film $10
- Backsplash Epoxy $130
- Metallic Colors & Pigment for backsplash: $34
- Gold Spray Paint for hardware $7
- Base Cabinet Paint $31
- Blue Spray Paint $8
- Slide Out Pantry $76
- Electric Fireplace Insert $100
- Butcher Block Countertops $558 (2 6ft at $279/ea)
- Under Cabinet Light $8
- Medicine Cabinet Magnetic Light: $13.90
- Rub ‘n buff $17
Total $2,109.90
Bedroom
The bedroom area didn’t need a full overhaul—just a little refresh to bring it back to life. Most of the original charm was still intact, so I focused on cleaning up the space and making small updates that added comfort and function. I built an additional cabinet door to fill a vacant spot in the upper storage area, added a mounted TV for cozy movie nights, and brought in new bedding and decor to tie everything together. It’s simple, warm, and true to the vintage feel that makes this camper so special.
- Mattress $138
- Floral Comforter $45
- Down Comforter $40
- Fur Throw Blanket $30
- Pillows $42
- Large Throw Pillows $60
- Pink Velvet Bow Pillow $17
- Cabinet Door Artwork $13
- TV $70
- Studless TV Mount $19
- Blue Velvet Material $14
Total $488.00
Living Space & Other Expenses
This section basically will cover the front area of the RV where the couch is along with the extra decor items that are sprinkled throughout this trailer. Some of these items couldn’t really be appropriately placed in one area of the trailer. So I bundled them here like the flooring expenses.
- Baby Blue Velvet Couch/Futon $288.50
- Runner Rug $23
- Pink & Beige Throw Pillow $20
- Window Coverings $32
- Curtain Rods $40
- Vase with Plum Stems $25
- Flooring $200
Total $628.50
Shop My Kencraft Renovation Favorites
Tutorials
FAQs
- Exterior Paint Colors: Main color is Timeless White HGSW4055. Accent Colors were both Sherwin Williams Colors as well, TakeFive HGSW6513 and Respite HGSW6514 For the rims I used Rustoleum Smokey Beige
- Interior Walls I coated with Restore-A-Finish in Mahogany. The cabinets are painted Creamy White by Benjamin Moore OC-7 The bathroom board & batten wall is painted HGSW6150 Universal Khaki.
- This renovation took about 5 months.
- We plan to keep this RV as our family camping trailer.
The Grand Total: $10,524
I always keep it real with you guys and I do want to thank the wonderful brands that I was so lucky to partner with for this renovation! Without all of YOUR support none of this would be possible! Be sure to check them out below. With that being said, a portion of this project was sponsored and my total cost was $6,090.
