Josh Denston’s love of camping was reignited after spending too many lockdowns at home. ‘The pandemic really made me want to give our girls all the camping experiences I had when I was younger,’ he explains. ‘I was looking at RV YouTube videos with [my daughter] Fred every night before bed, and she was so intrigued as to how these people lived in a car!’
After searching for vans online, Josh and Jenna scored their dream RV on Facebook Marketplace in 2020; a classic Winnebago Sundancer.
It had everything they were looking for; low kms, little to no rust, cruise control, air conditioning, gas cooktop and oven, plumbing and solar power – it had even been converted to a Right Hand Drive. But, it was the retro vibes and clever layout that truly captured their hearts.
‘The first time we turned the key and heard that V8 rumble was a real moment!… It was such a time capsule,’ says Josh, referring to the head-to-toe blue carpet interior, orange joinery and white melamine benchtops.
In a bid to give it a much-needed new look, but still pay tribute to the van’s past, he and Jenna refinished all of the interior with new oak countertops, vinyl plank flooring, and new upholstery, curtains, blinds and paint. They conceived a palette of soft greens, whites, stripes, tartans, warm tones, and retro lemon wallpaper to hark back to its original era.
‘It really makes it feel like a house on wheels!’ says Josh.
The finishing touch was to re-spray the cabin and completely vinyl wrap the caravan’s exterior. The couple also enlisted friend and ‘logo design extraordinaire’ Joel Pringle to redesign the ‘Sundancer’ branding to match the RVs new look. The original design is now replaced by a yacht skimming through the ocean with a solar flare behind it.
After being in storage throughout Melbourne’s lockdown, the Densten’s Sundancer has enjoyed many family trips away. ‘The set up is great,’ says Josh. ‘We pull up to the campsite, open up the awning and we’re ready in less than five minutes.’
