Interested in motorhome renovations? Check out this post for ideas from other RVers on how to renovate your RV. Here The Virtual Campground talks to 3 YouTubers on how they remodeled their camper, how much it cost, and their top 3 tips for you!
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This Little Adventure’s Motorhome Renovation
We are Toni and Karlton Tillman, and we live in a 36 ft class a motorhome with our 8 year old David and our jack russel mix, Scout. We are currently in Clermont, Florida and are planning our next destination.
Why did you renovate?
The first house that Karlton and I lived in right after we got married was technically a tiny house – well, we would now consider it just a ‘small’ house. It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath little cottage around 600 sq. ft. We fell in love with the simplicity and coziness of that house, and any place we stayed thereafter would seem gigantic to us.
We never really wanted to buy a house because then we would feel stuck in one place, so we decided to buy a motorhome and turn it into our permanent home on the inside.
How much did it cost?
We bought our 1999 Damon Intruder from a lovely older couple on Craigslist for $16,500. We spent about $4,000 on our entire renovation.
Flooring – $300
Paint – $70
Shiplap – $100
Kitchen – $500
Bath – $100
Custom Couch – $280
Loft Bed – $300
Custom Master Bed – $750
RV accessories – $600
Mini Split A/C System – $1,000
Scale 1-10, how hard was it?
It really wasn’t that bad, I would give it a 4. I mean, it is a bunch of manual labor so none of it is really ‘easy’. For us, it was a fun thing to do together. We had a good idea of what the end goal was and we enjoyed working together to get there.
What was the hardest part?
If I had to pick, I would say the hardest part of the entire reno was installing our kitchen sink. It gave us so many problems! It seemed impossible to connect household faucet hose lines to the RV connectors without water spraying everywhere. After a ton of trial and error, we finally replaced the plastic connectors and adapters with metal ones and that seemed to work.
How do you like the turnout?
We absolutely love our tiny home on wheels! It turned out so much more beautiful that we even imagined in the first place.
What would you change or add?
We already changed the one thing that we didn’t feel 100% on, which was the location of the tv. We thought that it was taking up too much space, so we took it out and mounted it up underneath the loft bed and put another couch/daybed in its place. Now there’s really nothing we would change about this thing!
What is something unique you put in?
Two unique things that we have in our motorhome are the loft bed that we built up front and the L couch instead of two passenger chairs.
Top 3 tips for someone thinking of doing a reno?
- Just go for it, watch other renovators on YouTube, and don’t be afraid to ask people how they renovated or what products they used, etc.
- The biggest tip I could give is just don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back – just go for it! We had never done anything like this before, and there were many things that we had no idea how to do. We had to look a lot of stuff up on google and we watched a ton of YouTube videos.
- Overall, just have fun making it a home and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Click here to check out the full tour!
Click here to check out their YouTube channel.
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RV Jedeye’s Motorhome Renovation
I am David, a weekend warrior living in Florida. I recently remodeled a 2005 29′ Class A Winnebago Sightseer.
Why did you renovate?
I renovated because it was something I always wanted to do.
Renovating is a love of mine and personalizing my RV was a priority. At least to a certain extent. Right now I live in an apartment, so I remodel with furniture there. Otherwise I’d be doing projects all the time to make my home… my home. 🙂
That’s why I loved this motorhome renovation project so much. I was in charge.
How much did it cost?
Just a little over $2k. You can check out the full breakdown here.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard was it?
lol! There are parts of it that were a 20 and some that were a one… If I’m going to be honest and I always am, depending on how much you want to do it can vary, but in my case… probably 8-9 considering I did a lot… especially the floor.
What was the hardest part about renovating?
Oh… did I mention the floor? lol Clearly the flooring was tough… The cabinets were not easy. The hardest part really was only getting to work on things once a week and in the heat of Florida. I guess that makes two things. 🙂
Do you like how the motorhome renovation turned out?
I will always be harder on myself than anyone else.
For now, I am happy with everything. Motorhome renovations are not easy, and seemingly neverending.
I will always find the little bits and pieces I want to tweak and fix and upgrade. I suspect, even though I have “everything” done now, I’ll be working on “everything” moving forward.
What would you change or add?
Oh I don’t know, there is a lot and to go through everything I would make myself crazy. The RV is at a place where I can enjoy it and use it, which is what it really is for. I’ll add things and tweak things for the life of the rig.
What is a unique feature of your RV remodel?
Have I mentioned the floor yet?
That is the most dramatic thing I did without a doubt and I love the color. For me one of the things that really sticks out, is my kitchen back splash. There is just something about it that makes me smile all of the time.
Top 3 tips for renovating your old camper. Go!
1. Take the time to plan it out and layout what you want to do…. That will keep you on your path and help you push forward on days that are tough. Knowing you have a goal is key.
2 Set a deadline… Even if it’s an artificial deadline, it will again, keep you on pace towards something as opposed to just letting it all just happen. It also helps you finish things instead of just letting everything linger on.
3. Watch a TON of YouTube… When I set out to do this, even before I bought my first RV I watched a ton of YouTube to get ideas and to see how things were done. It’s a great reference point to help you. It’s not the ONLY thing to do, make sure you check out websites and blogs on the web, but YouTube is a great resource.
Bonus… Pay it forward! Part of why I did a whole YouTube series on my reno, is because I learned from so many folks online and wanted to say thank you and maybe help others. You don’t HAVE to do a YouTube page, but pics, occasional videos, a blog, or at least sharing your experiences with others is important. I’m a firm believer in paying it forward and helping others.
Check out all the details of this renovation in the video below!
Check out his full YouTube channel here.
Pookie and the Bear’s Motorhome Renovation
We are Melinda and Eryk. This is our 1998 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36S. Check out our DIY motorhome renovation for people who don’t like DIY!
How much did it cost? (include breakdown if you can remember)
LED Lights throughout $50
These aren’t exactly renovations, but things we did to upgrade our motorhome:
Upgraded Flat Screen TVs w/ adjustable mounts $400
Memory Foam Short Queen Mattress $300
Decor (Rugs, Wall Art, Bathroom Set) $100
EcoCamel Water Conserving Shower Head $0 (Blog giveaway winner)
Residential Larger Capacity Microwave from this decade $150
Scale 1-10, how hard was it?
3. We kept things as easy as possible.
What was the hardest part?
Painting sucks. I said it. Anyone who says painting an RV is fun is a liar.
There are so many little tiny spaces that are impossible to get to. Secret…behind the bed near the floor isn’t painted and neither is the front cab area. I got mad and gave up. The painting HAD to be done. I covered up wallpaper that was floral or like weird pastel paint brush strokes. One wall was kind of like iridescent scallops.
Every room was different…all different paper and borders. In the bedroom, I removed one layer of floral border and found border with farmhouses and apples under it!!! Yes, I had to remove TWO layers!
How do you like the turnout?
I like it. It’s not “Pinterest Pretty” but it’s functional and I won’t see dirty fingerprints everywhere.
We wanted it to be updated, clean and have functional spaces for us to work and live. Nothing is really color coordinated or cutesy, but it works for us because it’s homey. I’m not super neat so even when it gets a little cluttered it still feels comfy.
I didn’t want something that felt cold like a magazine ad.
What would you change or add?
If I had the patience, I would paint everything and get rid of all the wood grain. It’s nice wood grain, but it’s literally everywhere. I painted a few walls and that was more than I would like to do because I hate painting. I would have been more bold with the colors. My bathroom is pretty cool with the light green and cheese puff orange! I should have done that throughout and just gone a bit more wild.
What is something unique you put in?
The dog kennel desk and dining room tables are unique.
A friend who is a master cabinet maker was kind enough to gift us with his talent and made them for us. He cut and finished all the bare wood pieces for us and then we stained them blue and assembled them.
We don’t like dining booths so we ripped that out, installed the dining room table on a removable post between the captains chairs and put the kennel desk where the dinette used to be. This gives me a dedicated work space and a safe place for our pup who loves to be in his kennel. The only downside is that he sleeps under my desk all day and he’s kind of gassy.
Top 3 tips for someone thinking of doing a reno?
- Take it piece by piece. Trying to do too much at once is overwhelming.
- Do it BEFORE you move in if you can. We had to replace the slide trim while we were living in it and it was very disruptive and it still isn’t finished 6 months later.
- If you’re going to be painting, buy a Wooster paint brush. You won’t be sorry. Also be sure to check the ‘OOPS’ paint at the store if you’re not set on a color. It’s much cheaper!
Have your renovated a motorhome before? I’d love to hear how you did it in the comments!
And be sure to check out this resource for all things RVing and travel available July 15-19 only! Learn about how to save money on your travels, RV repairs, and more! This is something you don’t want to miss. Just click here to learn more.
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Everyone wants to do a renovation but worries about prices and can’t do it due to a lack of expertise and ideas. Thank you for sharing a very beneficial writing in this scenario. Well, I am also planning to coat my RV roof with RV Roof Magic rubber roof sealant that will give my RV roof a new, aesthetically pleasing look with its reflective white color. Before that, I cleaned my RV roof with ”Roof Protect/cleaner”, an eco-friendly, biodegradable, specially designed roof cleaner. It is the best Roof cleaner I have experienced because once exposed to oxygen, it emulsifies the dirt from the roof surface and provides an immaculate surface on the roofing membrane. I also highly recommend it to every RV owner out there.
Fun to hear about other’s renos.
great
thanks
I thought this post was going to be about how everyone has couches in their living rooms and tables in their dining rooms sort of “Wby does everyone’s apartment look alike.” Like it’d be some commentary on the monolithic furniture acquisition trends or something.
It’s still a cool article, I just thought I’d share my very inaccurate expectations
These are precious memories. I loved reading about your day. Enjoy because they get old way too fast. Reminded me of taking my son to the beach in Santa Barbara when we lived there when he was about Chelsea’s age. I can’t believe we are going on trips to look at colleges now. That picture of Chelsea by the post eating a slice of cantaloupe is beautiful.
I am moving my house and this home improvement idea definitely on my list of DIY project for my new house. Thanks for sharing this great idea. Have a nice day.
I am looking to replace the trim on the front floor edge of our slide out. Any ideas?
where do we go now/?/remember song-/?/your pad or mine-/?/bon jovis had hevy class c-like mine in vampire moviw I watched it Bristol pa- truck stop-very funny dude-ha sometimes theses rvs are like pouring money down rat hole-my old dad used to say-really /?/where don’t we go now-/?/any way you want it that’s the way you got it -/?/maybe truck stops better idea than I thought/?/safe these days /?/there are some renovated rvs very nice in deed-its expensive,sometimes folks don’t like restorations
motor trans-repairs-interior exterior /?/not allowed so then where do we go now/?/thanks for sharing yur ideas my roofs-getting dry rotted from storage yard-all get ridiculous-dangerous heat on weather storms alert like trees feel down on some homes just down the river thru woods to grandmas///