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.
Fortunately, motorhome and travel trailer renovation is totally doable. Many people manage to pull off camper remodel projects that leave their space looking adorableand feeling more open and comfortable than an RV would ever feel off the lot.
Are you looking to do an RV makeover of your own? If so, and if you’re looking for camper remodel ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Below we’ve compiled our top tips for remodeling a travel trailer or motorhome, as well as some of the very best travel trailer remodel photos on the internet.
How Do You Remodel a Camper?
Let’s begin by discussing how one might go about remodeling a camper. Some people believe a remodel means completely gutting and rebuilding a travel trailer. However, this doesn’t have to be the case, and how much you do is completely up to you.
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 paint the cabinets for an extra clean look.
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 do this 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? 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.
That said, 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.
Tips for RV Remodels
Once you’ve decided which things you’re going to change up, you can pick up your supplies and get started right away. That said, we do have a few tips to share in order to ensure 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 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 Before-and-After
Looking for RV remodeling ideas photos? We’ve got them right here! Check out these fabulous RV remodels done by campers just like you. We don’t have any before pictures to look at, but the after photos are much better anyway. We’re betting you’ll find plenty of good RV renovation ideas to put to use.
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Anchored Home
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Wildflowers Photos
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Design Sponge
Outdated-to-Modern Trailer Remodel Photos
If you’re in need of RV remodel ideas for turning an older rig into something shiny and new, these are the pictures for you. These trailer renovations are gorgeous. In fact, it’s hard to believe these were ever old, beat-up campers.
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Hip Chic Gypsies
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The Fancy Farm Girl
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Poppy Talk
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Design Sponge
How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a Camper Trailer?
One of the things people worry about most when planning an RV renovation is the cost of such a project. This is completely understandable. After all, most people don’t live in their RVs, making it difficult to justify huge renovation expenses. Heck, even if your RV is your home, you probably don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a new look.
Fortunately, remodeling travel trailers and motorhomes doesn’t have to be an enormous expense. 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. Paint can also be found at a huge discount at hardware stores when a 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.
