Various things in there could be decomposing and giving off that smell. Leave it popped up and as open as possible for a few weeks and air it out.

Replace the curtains with washable new fabrics in a similar design. It's a camping trailer, so fragile is not a good thing regardless of the kitsch factor.

Before folding the trailer up, place a plate of charcoal (even BBQ briquets will work) on the floor. This will eliminate many of the "musty" smells.

Yes....if possible, replace the curtains, and if not too expensive, replace any foam pillows and coverings. Smells are easily absorbed by these items.

Thanks. I should replace them, but they are sooooooo cheesy. If I can wash them I might try to line them to make them stronger but they have a southern plantation toile pattern in olive and avocado green. It's just terrible and I'd love to keep it. :) The original fabrics are part of the charm of the trailer, but I think one of them (or the foam) is actually creating the smell.

I will try the charcoal, but the smell isn't really mustiness or any kind of organic smell (organic like from living things. It is DEFINITELY organic in the manmade plastic carbon-containing kind of way). It's like an old p-chem lab in the basement of a college. It's not a nice earthy rot but some chemical offgassing. Outgassing?

The kind of smell I'm sure the state of California would have a warning for. Bleh!

There is this amazing stuff called Nilodor. Charcoal's not a bad idea, but you'll need it in there forever. Of course, if whatever you're smelling is mold or toxic...

Old foam crumbles, but I don't know if there's a smell associated.

Or is it a mothball smell?

KarinL

I kinda like mothball smell! I wish...but it's a different chemical.

The camper itself doesn't smell strongly, but the curtain I removed and put in a shopping bag is smelling worse and worse. There are so few of these campers left, especially with the original guts, that I hate to do it, but I might have to redo it. And the cushions are still comfy!

It's not mold, although it may be toxic...I'll check out Nilodor. Sounds like the kind of thing my life could use anyway. :)

Old plastics will start decomposing and give off a pungent chemical odor. Top suspects are foam pads and vinyl flooring.

Thanks for the suspect lineup LG. I'll ummmmm sniff the floor. I think there's a cutaway spot where I can see if it's vinyl or linoleum.

You could wash them in the bathtub in lukewarm water with quilt soap. Lay them on a towel and lower the towel into the water. Let them soak. maybe some baking soda in the rinse? and then rinse out the baking soda. Let the tub drain. gently press the water out of the curtains.Use the towel to lift the curtains out so the weight is not on the fragile fabric.
Place the curtains on dry towel and roll up, and let the towel absorb the water. Let them dry flat.

I'll try that, CB! Thanks for the washing tips. I don't think they're THAT fragile but babying them when wet is probably a good idea.

Open it up....open the windows to it....put a fan in there and let it run for a week...
I'll bet that will make a huge difference!
Linda C

Sad but it may be necessary to get rid of the original materials. Can you find a similar vintage fabric elsewhere to make new curtains out of ?

It does air out quickly when opened, but a slight odor sticks to things. It's tolerable...

our popup camper of the same vintage smelled like that in the 80's. :) Maybe they just always smelled like that...

Welp, the curtains disintegrated in water. Glad I measured them first. Wish I could sew a straight line...

:)

Maybe it'll smell better without them.

oh thats too bad. I bet you can find some vintage fabric on line that yu like to make up a fresh pair. and of course you can sew as straight line- put a piece of masking tape across the bed of your machine where the seam line will be. keep the edge of your fabric lined up with that and sew as slowly as you need- not a race.

There are a lot of online sites that sell repro fabrics. A lot go back to the 70's too. You could google repro fabrics and find something appropriate.

Thanks. I had to rush and work with easily obtainable fabric for a trip so I had to go with something more tasteful than I would have preferred. I needed 11 yards which is surprisingly hard to find in the funky patterns without special ordering. I hope I have more time to order good fabric when I have to redo the cushions!

So, Fori, where are the photos? I would love to see the in and outside of your travel trailer. It is cool that it is road worthy! I must see photos.

Hi Fori, I found some old fabric in my basement that were the original draperies in my 1929 home, I think they are called bark cloth..They have Chinese men and woman and lotuses..They had a hideous smell, but I washed them and they came out like new!!!! I made pillows and covered little footstools for myself and had enough left over to make a few more for girlfriends..Anyway, look up vintage bark cloth,its very sturdy , they have many kitchy patterns that may be good for you, use the new curtains until you can afford the retro fabric...Also have had much luck with Natures Miracle(found in pet stores) to remove wierd odors..Its an enzyme and actually removes, not cover smells....You may have beem able to spray the fabric before destroying the curtains..Wish I saw this sooner.....

Thanks Dotz. If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure an enzyme-based product wouldn't have helped. It was definitely chemical and not biological. Of course I would have tried it had I had it around and thought of it!

Oh well. It's best that curtains in a camping trailer are washable. It just makes more sense. :)