This Couple Renovated a 25-year-old Fifth Wheel for Under $2000!

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Hi, I’m Brooke, and I am a full-time RVer!  I travel with my husband, Michael, and our 2 cats, Lola and Mazie. And we completed an RV renovation for under $2000!

In 2018, I was really intrigued by tiny living. I loved the idea of owning just what you need with the additional ability to travel around. I kept going down Pinterest and Instagram rabbit holes of beautiful camper renos and tiny homes, just dreaming of living that lifestyle. I did the 30-day minimalist challenge and loved it so much that I did it all the way to day 41 and ended up getting rid of 703 unneeded items from my house!

I then asked my husband about his thoughts on moving into a camper full-time and traveling the country, and he was completely on board! That’s when we hatched our plan to make this dream a reality. 

In an RV, we wanted:

• A bedroom separate from the living area.
• A completely enclosed full bathroom.
• A living area where the TV would be directly across from the couch. (Who wants to turn their head completely to the left to watch TV??)
• And most importantly, it had to fit within our budget.

Going on this journey debt-free was very important to us, so we saved up for the next year, and in 2020, we found a rig that checked all our boxes, a 1999 Nu-Wa Snowbird Fifth Wheel. We bought her for $8000 and named her Birdie. 

She had all the original carpet, furniture, and appliances, but we were excited to bring her into the modern age. We had no experience renovating and knew we had a small budget to work with. Our goal was to update the inside for less than $2000, and we were ready to get to work!

Demo

The first part (and the most fun) was tearing everything out. We removed all the old furniture, which was surprisingly very heavy for being in an RV.

We actually had to cut the couch into pieces to get it out the door!

Furthermore, the 20-year-old stained mint green carpet had to go (it was even in the bathroom!).

The entertainment center was built to house a tube TV, and we knew we would put in a larger flat-screen TV, so we also tore that out.

Paint

Now that everything was ripped out, we started painting. We painted the walls and ceiling in Dutch Boy Aged Marble, which immediately brightened up the whole space.

We knew we wanted a pop of color for our cabinets and were both drawn to greens, so we decided on Dutch Boy Balsam Sprig. We also have some black accents throughout the camper, which are Dutch Boy Authentic Black.

Painting Your RV? Read Next: How to Paint Your RV Walls and Cabinets and The Best Paint to Use in Your RV (For Walls and Cabinets!).

Flooring

After the paint was done, we were ready for flooring. We chose Traffic Master Rigid Core Vinyl Plank Flooring in Edwards Oak.

We went with this because it had a little bit of padding on the bottom, and we loved how it complemented the paint colors. The trickiest parts were figuring out how to install the flooring on the stairs and slide out. But, thanks to some internet research and assistance from our brother-in-law, we got it done!

Lighting

We replaced all the light fixtures throughout the camper. We updated them from fluorescent bulbs to LEDs and installed residential light fixtures.

You can use whatever light fixtures you want in your camper as long as you use 12V bulbs. The light fixtures are probably one of my favorite updates to the camper. 

Updating Your RV Lighting? Read Next: How to Replace RV Light Fixtures in 7 Easy Steps.

Kitchen

I cannot say enough about how much I love our green cabinets! I also really wanted the hardware to pop, so we went with black knobs and pulls.

Another easy change that made a huge impact was painting the fridge; the wood panels slid out to be easily painted. Thankfully, the original appliances all worked, and we didn’t have to replace any of them.

We were also able to keep the existing countertops and sink; we just replaced the faucet and painted the countertop edges white to match the rest of the kitchen.

Office

Working remotely now, we knew we would need a nice workspace, and Birdie had the perfect spot for our office. The back of the camper was a great area to put a desk; it was easily big enough for both of us to work and look at all those windows!

It was an odd shape, so we had to custom-build our desk to fit. We used an old door that was in our garage and cut it to size. Then we attached some legs, and it was good to go.

Bathroom

Our bathroom received the same treatment as the kitchen.

We painted the cabinets green and replaced all the hardware and fixtures, including the shower head.

We also installed a new porcelain sink and a faucet to match.

The bathroom is also where we put a litter box for our cats. We cut a hole in the bottom cabinet, and a litter box fit easily inside.

Bedroom

The bedroom was probably the easiest to update. We first removed some cabinets built for another small tube TV that also blocked the emergency exit window. It was painted to match the rest of the camper, and the new flooring was also installed. 

Living Room

While removing the carpet and putting in the flooring in our living room slide-out, we slightly damaged the wall. So, to cover it up, we installed a faux shiplap wall made from thin hardboard that we cut into strips and painted black.

This was an easy, lightweight solution to cover the damage without replacing the wall.

All the furniture in our living room slide-out came from our house, which helped keep us on budget!

Having a space for our cats was super important to us since they were also making a huge transition. We were lucky the cat tree they were used to using fit great in the corner of the slide, and they had so many windows to look out of! 

Solar

We knew we wanted to be able to boondock while traveling, so we installed a solar system. With assistance from our brother-in-law, we installed six 175-watt solar panels, a 4000-watt inverter, and a second battery.

Decor and Details

Don’t be afraid to use spray paint to update items. We spray-painted the outlet covers, light switches, slide-out switches, cabinet hinges, and the shower frame.

It is an easy, budget-friendly way to update; just make sure you buy the right kind of paint for the type of surface you are painting.

As for decorations, we tried to keep it minimal because every picture or knick-knack we put up would be something we have to put away or secure down every time we move. Also, with such little wall space, we were worried it would start to look cluttered. Almost all of the decor we did end up using came from our house. 

Conclusion: RV Renovation for Less Than $2000

With some blood, sweat, and tears, 1 trip to the Emergency Room, and 10 stitches, we completed this project for under $2000 (not including the solar system).

The biggest portion of the budget went to the flooring. We also had a lot of help from our brother-in-law, who let us use all of his tools and let us keep Birdie on his property during the renovation process. He was such a tremendous help when we needed some extra muscle, and there’s no way we could have installed our solar system without his knowledge. 

Now that we brought Birdie out of the 90s and into modern times, we are ready to hit the road!

I hope that seeing our remodel shows you that you don’t need to buy an expensive brand-new camper and don’t need a huge budget to make a camper what you want it to be. We did this with minimal renovation experience; you can do it, too! (Just be careful when using power saws, they are sharp!)

Lastly, you can follow us on our adventures on Instagram or TikTok at @the_path_we_take.