DIY RV Rework: Complete Price and Was It Value It?

Ever thought of getting an RV? Or do you have already got one? How about doing a DIY RV transform?

RV flipping obtained so fashionable through the pandemic that it turned actually laborious to search out an outdated RV.  They’re grabbed up as quickly as they’re listed. 

Trace: In case you have an outdated RV sitting in your driveway (even 25+ years with water harm) that you just don’t need, it is a GREAT time to promote it. 

Which is sensible as a result of worldwide journey is hard proper now and air journey isn’t one thing that most individuals need to do. Extra youngsters have the choice of doing college just about and plenty of workplace staff now have the choice of working just about from dwelling. 

So lots of people are abruptly ready the place they will RV for weeks at a time with none loopy commitments of doing it ceaselessly. 

And RV journey is tremendous low-cost in comparison with most different journey choices.

We simply did per week lengthy trip full with ziplining, looking for antiques, and ziplining for our entire household for below $500 for the week.

DIY RV Rework or Purchase New?

This was what our 2001 Coachman regarded like after we purchased it. The roof had been changed and it has no indicators of water harm (however we discovered some anyway – which is typical for older Rv’s.)

Throughout quarantine, we purchased a 20-year-old beat up RV with good bones for tremendous low-cost. Then we spent 6 weeks gutting it, repairing it, portray cupboards, laying flooring, and shiplapping the entire partitions. 

In whole, we labored on it for about 3 hours a day after we had the time (weekends and some evenings) for about 6 weeks. 

How a lot did our DIY RV Rework Price?

You are able to do this with considerably completely different budgets, nevertheless it’s nonetheless going to be a little bit of an upfront funding.  

Our greatest buddies are renovating an outdated RV concurrently ours so we are able to take journeys collectively. They obtained a severely water broken RV without spending a dime from a member of the family and had a complete challenge funds of $3,000 (together with the price to intestine the partitions and ground and discover and repair the leaks). They’re nearly completed with their brilliant teal boho reno) and so they’re rocking it! 

We had a reasonably excessive funds to work with of $16,000. We spent $5,900 on the RV, round $6,000 on renovation and structural modifications like flooring, tiles, a brand new AC unit, shiplap, and many others. The remaining was furnishings, bedding, decor, mattresses, and electronics like espresso makers, microwaves, and many others. 

In our case, we have been debating between shopping for a brand new RV like this (or late mannequin used), or renovating an outdated one…. the funds can be the identical on both although clearly shopping for newer can be much less work and fewer uncertainty. 

We ended up selecting to renovate as a result of I hated the interiors of the brand new RV’s, I cherished the concept of having the ability to customise it to what I wished, and I cherished the concept of studying methods to rip it aside and put it again collectively. 

Plus, now with renovating, when water harm occurs we’ll now methods to rip it aside, repair the leak and put it again collectively. 

6 months and a number of other journeys in, I’ve zero regrets about this resolution. 

I inform you all of our actual numbers as a result of that’s often useful. However I don’t need you to like this concept and be dissatisfied considering it is advisable to spend $16,000 to do that. I believe $3,000 is a extra affordable funds. However we’re debt free now, we saved up for this and we wished some particular issues.  We have been glad to spend the additional cash on it. 

RV’s Can Save You a Lot of Cash on Holidays!  

We completed the DIY RV transform in September and instantly began taking it on lengthy weekends and an occasional week lengthy trip. RV websites vary from $20-$60 an evening relying on facilities. There are just a few resort like household RV parks like Jellystone Park that feels extra like a resort trip and fewer just like the tenting you grew up with as a child. 

We simply did per week in Asheboro, NC and went to the zoo, ziplining on a tree to tree course, shopped for antiques, and went to a leap pad for just below $500 for the week. 

Since we now have a kitchen within the RV, we simply embrace the groceries into our regular grocery funds and solely rely the price of the positioning, gas to get there, and any actions that require a purchase order. 

Relying on the place you reside, you could possibly take journeys like this yr spherical (we’re far sufficient within the south the place we are able to do this, we simply hook it as much as the home warmth for the few days we truly get freezing temperatures) or you’ll be able to winterize your RV over the winter.  

This gained’t work for everybody as a result of…

• Chances are you’ll not have the time or the ability to renovate one.
• Perhaps you’re not capable of finding a free one or afford an inexpensive one.
• Chances are you’ll not have a car able to towing it. 

However even when it’s not potential proper now, I believe it is a nice merchandise on your targets checklist. 

There was a time after I felt so caught within the chaos I had created that the concept of this may be unattainable. Debt free felt unattainable. Saving 1000’s of {dollars} for one thing leisure felt unattainable. However I put it on my targets checklist and let that encourage me. I realized methods to work with my distinctive persona as an alternative of towards it to get organized and truly keep on with a funds, I lowered my spending by over $23,000 a yr, give up my job to remain dwelling with my youngsters, after which changed my revenue kind dwelling with 4 aspect jobs. 

So if you wish to do that, however can’t proper now… put your self ready the place you’ll be able to. (We have now a fashionable budgeting program that may assist too – 90 Day Price range Boot Camp-  I can provide you free entry to it right here).

Who is aware of, Perhaps we’ll camp proper subsequent to one another at some point. 🙂

All White RV Mannequin (Together with Kitchen Cupboards)- Do We Remorse It?

White with canine and children? Yep! That Ikea sofa cowl can simply be bleached clear in your washer and good paint scrubs simply.

I actually wished to color my journey trailer white, however EVERYONE informed me I used to be insane. I did it anyway and don’t remorse it in any respect. However I had a secret.

I used to run a house daycare with an inexpensive white sofa from Ikea. It’s the one sofa that ever labored within the daycare as a result of the duvet was simply eliminated and might be machine washed in bleach. It regarded model new each time I washed it.  

In reality… right here’s a photograph of it 5 years outdated in a house daycare with cats and tremendous damaging (however cute) youngsters…

Good paint scrubs up simply so I wasn’t nervous in regards to the partitions or cupboards. I simply obtained the love seat model of that very same Ikea sofa (it’s this one) and bonus factors as a result of it’s tremendous low-cost and light-weight. 

I maintain it white by washing blankets and stripping that sofa and bleaching it. Enjoyable truth: it bleaches up so good. We even let our tremendous muddy German Shepard onto the white RV sofa throughout journeys. 🙂  

We solely take journeys as soon as a month.  So, it’s fairly straightforward to bleach it clear as soon as a month (and it’s possible you’ll discover that you just don’t care if it’s good).

The worst case situation is that I would wish to switch the duvet over a few years of bleaching. However, IKEA’s been promoting these covers for $119 for years.  (Enjoyable Reality: We DESTROYED a pottery barn customized sofa in our new home after we moved in.  It was a troublesome lesson to study that not all couches could be simply cleaned or bleached white). 

Now that we’re a number of journeys in, and we’ve bleached the muddy canine prints off the sofa cowl, I can inform you I’ve zero regrets about going all white.

What We Utilized in Our DIY RV Rework (furnishings, supplies, and tutorials)

Flooring:  Crescent Metropolis Oak from Lowes

Partitions:  Our partitions have been primed with this 

Shiplap:  We made our personal shiplap utilizing this technique… then we painted the Shiplap with primer and for the colour we selected Sherwin Williams further white.

Tile:  I couldn’t discover the precise tile we used at Lowes.  It’s offered in sheets that you just apply to the wall, nevertheless it’s actual tile, not peel and stick. This one is comparable… 

Doorways: (closet and loo) we used leftover shiplap items to create a little bit of a barn door after which painted it. 

Water broken wall:  You’ll be able to take a look at this tutorial to switch water broken siding if you happen to want it. (Trace: When you do a DIY RV remodel- you’re going to wish this)

Furnishings

Sofa:  Uppland Loveseat from IKEA 

Eating Desk:   GAMLEBY from IKEA  Trace: that is my solely remorse, I want I had stored the unique sales space that was within the camper and stapled straightforward to wash leather-based over the entire thing. It will have been really easy and comfy and match completely with tons of storage within the benches. 

Bedding

Bunk Mattress Bedding- Beddys (love the idea, this was ridiculously costly although and never an ideal match due to the weirdness of RV bunk beds. I believe this was an enormous splurge and would most likely simply advocate a cute throw blanket and a backside sheet to anybody else doing this. So the mattress doesn’t have to be made completely. 

Comforter: Fireplace and Hand comforter from Goal.  Sheets:  For RV grasp beds, you want quick queen sheets however you should utilize common queen blankets.  We obtained our sheets right here from Amazon… 

Decor

Blinds: Ugh. We obtained these tremendous low-cost from Lowes.  I noticed no choices I preferred.  I wished to skip the blinds however, Jon was horrified by the concept of no blinds. They’re ample. Those on the child’s bunk space are already bending.  However, I can’t see it from the primary camper so it doesn’t trouble me. When you see cute white blind ideas- let me know!

Rest room Bathe Curtain: We obtained one just like this one from Goal and used it to divide the children bunks, then used this one from amazon for the precise bathe. 

Ice Maker:  We have now two now.  (We love this a lot, we caught one within the bar upstairs at our home too.)

Rug: IKEA – however we don’t advocate it.  We couldn’t bleach it and it didn’t stand the take a look at of time. It’s the one “white” factor that didn’t work out. 

Wreaths: Passion Foyer Magnolia Wreaths

Basic Decor: Passion Foyer and Kirkland’s. 

Decals:  Identify and site decals (on the skin of the trailer- bought from Indicators.com.

Sources

Professional tip: There are two big RV renovation Fb teams that have been an enormous assist. 

Each time we obtained caught on one thing, we simply posted an image and described the issue.  Somebody gave us an answer (often a number of) inside minutes. It was a HUGE assist! You Can discover the teams right here and right here… 

Inspiration Board

Earlier than you begin selecting paint and flooring and many others. it’s sensible to make an inspiration board on your RV renovation.  So you’ll be able to see how issues will look collectively. That is the inspiration board I made for our Bessie. 

I additionally made a rapid tutorial to point out you methods to make your individual inspiration board simply without spending a dime  (trace: I do that for each room in my home that I need to enhance) It saves me a ton of money and time. )

Need to see our full DIY RV transform? Click on by means of the photographs on Instagram beneath:

Go away me a remark beneath if in case you have questions on what we used or the way it went.