Making custom campervans, what a way to make a living.
These Tennessee Airbnb hosts worked way over 9 to 5 to make this camper a tribute to country music legend Dolly Parton. Now they’re inviting people to sail away with them for $99 a night excluding taxes and fees.
“My daughter said, ‘You know what, Mom, how about giving a big, gigantic, beautiful nod to our local queen, Mrs. Dolly Parton?’ And I’m like, ‘Brilliant,’” Adrienne Smith told Insider about being inspired to turn a 6-foot motorhome bought from Craigslist for $2,500 into a tribute to the music icon.
Adrienne, her husband Dean and their daughter Tayler bought the RV three years ago and then invested some $20,000 to make it a “not too kitschy, just a little bit kitschy” livable party from the “Jolene” singer.
“She inspires us to do better for ourselves, and we’re reaping the benefits of our [the RV] and donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,” Adrienne added to Insider. Where the Smiths live in Maryville, Tennessee — an hour from Dollywood — Parton is not just a nationally beloved entertainer, Adrienne explained to the publication, but a “local hero.”
When building their short-term rental shrine, they incorporated both Parton’s image and aesthetic, with tattoo artist Mira Mariah being commissioned to create a Dolly mural on the exterior of the vehicle and fill the interior with several useful Parton tchotchkes. Dolly plates and photos adorn a sitting area, pink plates fill the cupboards, a patterned tea towel encourages users to pour themselves “a cup of ambition” according to the lyrics, a bathroom poster with the Parton quote “The higher the hair, the closer to God,” and the Tennessee vanity sign reads “Partnme.”
Guests can also enjoy a covered, grill-equipped outdoor area adjacent to the trailer, which is shared with guests of the Parton mobile and the other two Airbnbs that the Smiths run from their 6-acre property: a lofted airplane hangar and a small train car. House.