RV Remodel on a Budget

I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to remodeling! I love it…SO MUCH!!! Here’s my dilemma, we bought a project RV and now we will do an RV remodel on a budget!

Let me give you a little bit of the back story. My son has been wanting to take a road trip since the day he graduated high school 6 years ago. What he really wanted to do was to strap on a backpack and hit the road…my mama’s heart was breaking and asked him to wait for a better solution.

Fast forward 6 years, and he’s seen us camping and loving life in our little camper. He asked us if we could help him find and renovate an RV, so we started looking.

BUYING THE RV

So here’s the deal, when you’re 24 and have a heart disorder, saving money is a tricky process. Our budget for this RV purchase was around $1,000. I know…ouch! We knew that ANYTHING in that price range was going to be a total gut job.

Honestly speaking here, we didn’t have high hopes. There were several options on Facebook marketplace, but they were scary and needed more work that we thought they were worth.

Then one day, he saw an ad for a 1993 Ford Four Winds Class C motorhome. The seller was asking more than we had, but we went out on a limb and looked at it.

For our price range, we were looking for two main things: did the engine run smoothly, and were the tires drivable? Since these are two HUGE expenses, this was where we focused our attention. The engine started and ran beautifully, and the tires looked marvelous despite the RV being stored for two years in one location.

We bought it for $1,000 after inspecting it with a fine tooth comb for two hours! We were so nervous to drive it home, but she made it…the whole 100 miles! Wanna see her? OF COURSE, YOU DO!!!

*As a VERY IMPORTANT note, if you are buying a used RV, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take someone with you to inspect it. There are not only construction things to be concerned about, but also mechanical things. My son is great with both, so I trusted his judgment.

DECONSTRUCTION

My son was so excited that he had his RV, he wanted to get started right away with renovations. He was so excited, that he duped his sister into helping him on demolition day!

They went into the RV and within an hour, had both beds, a couch, a dinette bench, and parts of the ceiling torn out.

We will continue to work as a family to get this thing completely stripped down to the frame…ceiling, floor, and walls. It had pretty extensive water damage in a couple of areas, so it’ll be easier to pull everything out and replace it instead of just fixing the damaged areas.

Since this is an RV remodel on a budget, we have to do ALL of the work ourselves. That means deconstruction, too.

Here’s what they tore out:

• Bunk over driver’s area
• ceiling insulation
• dinette booth
• couch
• all mattresses
• wallboard
• all curtains and material

Here’s what they still need to tear out:

• the rest of the wallboard
• the whole bathroom
• the whole kitchen (appliances are salvageable, cabinets are not)
• flooring and ceilings

A WORD OF CAUTION

We did find mold, so one important thing to remember when dealing with water damage is to protect yourself against it. You should wear a respiration face mask as well as goggles and cover up! If you suspect black mold, see a professional for help, or buy a test kit.

RESEARCH AND CAUTION ARE KEY!!! If you’re not sure, do some research on Google, YouTube, or blogs. Call a professional and talk to them on the phone. This usually doesn’t cost a dime and might save you weeks of being sick if exposed to the wrong allergens.

VENTILATE THE ENTIRE WORK AREA if at all possible! Since we bought this RV in early summer, we’ll keep her open all summer long so she can air out and dry up.

If there’s anything that comes up when you try to do an RV remodel on a budget, remember, your health and safety are priceless. If you’re not sure about something, always consult a professional before digging in!

DEVELOP A PLAN

As mentioned, our son’s budget is small, I’d say under $3,000 for the whole renovation.

The things he wants to do include (but are not limited to):

• tune up all mechanical systems as needed
• tune up the air conditioning unit and get it running efficiently ASAP!
• rewire interior
• redo some of the plumbing
• install a composting toilet (includes removing the black tank to install a larger fresh water tank)
• change the bathroom layout
• rebuild bathroom
• change the kitchen layout
• replace kitchen
• replace subfloor and flooring
• build Murphy bed with stay level desk
• install new lighting throughout

Before we get it looking pretty inside and out, we need to do a tune up on the engine, too. He needs to make sure that everything is doing what it’s supposed to and it will continue to run as expected.

I tease him and ask if he wants lasers installed on it, too! 🙂

Our plan is to do all of the work ourselves as this will save our budget. We will do A LOT of YouTube learning!

RV REMODEL ON A BUDGET

Here are my tips for both you and for my son:

• develop a detailed plan – make sure to put every minute detail on it including estimated time and costs
• price out your plan before going to buy parts – Excel spreadsheets or Google Sheets can be a great tool for this
• bargain shop online at RV salvage yards (yes, they exist)
• do AS MUCH of the work yourself as you possibly can
• don’t forget to always check YouTube for tips and tricks…there are plenty out there (you’ll be surprised what you can learn online)
• pay cash as often as possible so that your RV remodel on a budget STAYS on budget – paying cash keeps you from overspending and tends to hurt more than credit card purchase

I’ll update you more as we do more. It’s super hot in Arkansas so far this summer, so I expect progress will slow down for a few weeks until it starts cooling off.

So how about it, would you tackle a project like this? Do you have any advice for us as we tackle this RV remodel on a budget?

SHARING IS CARING! Be sure to pin this to your favorite RV board if you found this info useful! It helps more than you know! 🙂