What do you do when you work from home, but don’t really have the space, and don’t really have the money for a whole room addition to your house? For us, it was time for a camper makeover.
My husband works about 3 days a week from home instead of going to the office. It saves time and money from commuting, plus income tax from not working in Oregon on those days. It’s great!
But he used to have just one small corner of our bedroom set up as his office. It meant trying to keep Asher out of there all day, having to check if he was on the phone before I could go put laundry away, stuff like that was a little annoying to each of us.
Then he got this crazy idea to buy a camper to set up in the backyard and work from there–and it’s ended up being the best idea!
You should probably know that our backyard is kind of foresty-and not really manicured, so it was no big deal to set it up out there (and certainly no HOA around here that would care) And he gets to watch the goats all day.
Here’s a before picture of the inside. (We had already taken the drawers out–remember one got used in my porch makeover as a planter)
and here’s how it looks after our handyman did some magic in there (we did do the painting ourselves.) It got new framing, new insulation, vinyl on the floor, beadboard on the walls, and panelling on the ceiling.
Panoramic view of the inside:
We recently had our electrical panel replaced and in the process had a new outside outlet installed on its own circut. That way if I turn on the hair dryer I won’t trip the breaker that’s powering his computer.
I have to admit, when my husband first proposed the idea I wasn’t really sure if it would work. We both love the set up though, and with a small heater and portable a/c unit, he’s comfortable through all seasons out there!
So be honest–what do you think? What would you turn a camper into in your backyard?
Pelletier Donald
Thursday 20th of June 2024
Yes i love it i want one but $$$$$$
C.
Wednesday 30th of August 2023
I did this! I didn't change anything inside the camper and use the dinette as my desk. Unless the camper is messed up, there's no reason to do a major renovation just to make it "officey". I use my phone as a hot spot since wifi doesn't get out here and have had zero problems with that. I CANNOT recommend this solution enough! I lucked out and found a trailer that works perfectly, just needs a small hole patched on the side and some other typical trailer maintenance, for 1k, so keep an eye out for deals! I had ZERO experience working on a trailer and figured it out pretty good. Re-caulked all the seams, resealed the roof, patching the hole, hooking up the propane, etc etc. Pretty fun project!
Pauline Crouse
Sunday 9th of October 2022
I really want to do this for a home studio. Do you still have to register it with the DMV, pay vehicle insurance etc? How does it affect your home insurance?
Sarah
Sunday 12th of June 2022
I am not sure if you check the comments still or not but just wondering about how much this was to do? We have a very similar camper, vintage Scotty, that we are considering converting for an office for me but we are winding the estimated cost before we decide if it is worth it to do. I appreciate the incite!!
Echo
Saturday 13th of February 2021
I'm considering this as we just don't have the room for me to work from home efficiently. Right now, I've got a desk set up in the middle of the living room, in a corner between the living room, bathroom, and kitchen. Trying to get any quiet for more than 2 min at a time is impossible.
I'm excited to see what can be done about this all. It's inspiring to see this work so well. I'm wondering if I couldn't convert part of it to a slide-out couch/bed to accommodate guests.