There’s no arguing the fact that having a little home-on-wheels is pretty convenient. After all, who wouldn’t want to be able to return to their own cozy space no matter where they happened to roam? Of course, this works best when you think of your camper as a home, and in some cases, this might mean doing a travel trailer remodel.
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How Do You Remodel a Camper?
Some people believe a remodel means completely gutting and rebuilding a travel trailer. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case. Even little changes like the ones listed below can make a big difference.
Dealing with Walls and Ceilings
RV walls and ceilings can be pretty drab. For this reason, this is where many people start when doing an RV renovation. Even just removing a wallpaper border can make a huge difference. Replacing light fixtures can also help a lot.
Finally, if you feel like taking on a bigger project, you might even give the whole place a new paint job. Just make sure you use primer before you paint!
Sprucing Up Floors
Want to improve the look of your RV floors? This can be done, but be warned that it tends to be a big project. In our opinion, the best option for new flooring is a floating vinyl.
Vinyl is great because it’s easy to clean and doesn’t accumulate dirt. The floating flooring is ideal because it can be installed by nearly anyone—and because it is floating and not glued down, the shifting that occurs during travel won’t affect it.
Improving Your Cabinets
Want to change up your cabinets? One super easy way to go about this is to replace the hardware. Older hardware can look super dated, so replacing it with something shiny and new is a huge improvement alone.
Of course, you could also sand and paint the cabinets for an extra clean look. Again, if you do paint, make sure to use a good primer.
Changing Out Furniture
When considering how to renovate a camper trailer, the furniture tends to be one of the first things that comes to mind. Many people replace their RV furniture because their older furniture is worn out or faded by the sun. However, this is also a great idea if you prefer a table and chairs over the dinettes that tend to come in RVs, or even if you’re just looking for a new look.
Our best advice for replacing RV furniture during a travel trailer remodel? Measure your space and measure it again. You wouldn’t want to end up with something that doesn’t fit in your camper, and considering how small these living spaces are, that’s pretty easy to do.
Note that you can definitely purchase furniture from wherever you like and—unless the chair or sofa you’re replacing needs to include a seatbelt—shopping at an RV-specific store isn’t necessary. We recommend IKEA, as their furniture comes disassembled, making it easy to fit through narrow RV doors.
More Travel Trailer Remodel Tips
Once you’ve decided which things you’re going to change up, you can pick up your supplies and get started right away. Here are a few tips to help you have the best experience possible.
Easy Makeover Ideas
Want to keep things super simple? Consider replacing the bedspread, adding throw pillows to the couch, hanging artwork on the walls, putting down some rugs, and replacing the shower curtain. These simple things are inexpensive and easy, yet completely change the way your space looks.
Rough Things Up
If you plan on painting, make sure you sand everything really well. RV walls and cabinets are glossy, and both primer and paint will peel off right away without sanding first.
Build Inside
Because RV doors are so small, replacing your furniture might require you to put the new pieces together inside. You will also probably want to take the current furniture apart and take it outside before you begin building.
Watch Your Weight
When replacing furniture and flooring, be sure to keep your RV’s weight in mind. All RVs have a cargo-carrying capacity, and exceeding this capacity can be quite dangerous. Additionally, a rig that is unevenly loaded can cause problems when driving down the road.
Of course, if you have a travel trailer, you’ll also want to make sure your new furniture and flooring don’t cause you to go over your truck’s tow capacity.
Hold Things Still
Putting in new furniture? It’s a good idea to bolt everything down in order to avoid flying furniture in the case of an accident or even an especially bumpy ride. Use “L” brackets to do this and you should be good to go.
Travel Trailer Remodel Cost and Money Saving Tips
Fortunately, remodeling travel trailers and motorhomes doesn’t have to be an enormous expense. In fact, you can make a few small changes for as little as $20-$50 and get a fresher look. Want a full travel trailer remodel? For paint, furniture, and flooring, you can expect to spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on where you buy and how good you are at bargain hunting.
Try the ideas below to save on costs:
Paint, Flooring, and Other Supplies
You might choose to shop for paint, flooring, and other supplies at a place like Habitat for Humanity, where scraps and leftovers are sold at an enormous discount. After all, in a space as small as an RV, you won’t need a whole lot of anything you buy.
Paint can also be found at a huge discount at hardware stores when the wrong color is mixed accidentally, so be sure to ask an employee if you’re in the market for cheap paint and don’t care too much about color.
Furniture, Rugs, and Decor
As far as furniture and decor go, you might try checking out some local thrift stores or garage sales. Shopping at these places might be a bit more work, but you could easily save hundreds of dollars and still come away with a completely new look that you love.
Not only that, you might even find that the pieces you come across inspire new camper remodel ideas.
RV-Specific Parts
If you need RV-specific parts for your DIY travel trailer remodel, we highly recommend visiting an RV salvage yard. This will allow you to pick from a wide variety of used RV parts and can save you a good amount of money. Just make sure you go in ready to barter in order to get the best deal.
There you have it, everything you need to know to complete a successful travel trailer remodel. Once you have it looking good as new, why not share your pretty little home-on-wheels with others by renting it out right here on RVshare?
