TL;DR: Revitalize your RV on a budget with 10 DIY projects like adding plants, swapping cabinet pulls, and installing a magnetic spice rack. Create a cozy, personalized space for under $20 each. Perfect for DIY enthusiasts or those looking to save money and enhance their RV living experience.
Although the pricetags of many RVs can be daunting, how you choose to spruce them up and make them your own does not have to be.
In fact, whether you are great at DIY projects or just want to save a few dollars by learning how to do some simple projects on your own, we've got a list of 10 great ideas that you can do mostly for under $20 each.
Some require more thinking, patience, and skill than others. But if we can do these, so can you! We did each of these projects when we recently remodeled our 1999 Class C motorhome and now that we are back to traveling full-time, we notice all the time how the simple things have really added a touch of peace and comfort to our lives on the road:
1. Add plants
Something most people don’t do when they purchase an RV is to look for places to put plants. But as full-time RVers, we (Lindsay, specifically!) like to have some simple comforts of home while we are on the road.
So for a few dollars at the local hardware store, you can buy a handful of coffee cup hooks. Then check out an arts and crafts store to pick up the macrame hangers. Screw the cup hooks into the ceiling where desired and let your plants enjoy life on the road with you!
2. Build DIY dowel hooks
Create simple, yet incredibly functional towel hooks for under $10 using a ½” wood dowel, wood stain, and dowel screws.
First, pick up the dowel and stain it. Then decide how long you want your hooks to be (we opted for 3”). We cut our dowels at 30 degrees to be flush with our wall.
Then drill a small guide hole into the cut end of the dowel and use a wrench to help twist the dowel screw into place!
Subscribe to learn more about Harvest Hosts, exciting updates, & more!
Your Adventure Awaits!
Discover New and Exciting Places with Friends and Family
This is an easy and inexpensive way to add new life to your RV interior. Many times factory-installed RV drawer and cabinet pulls are drab and certainly don’t match the decor of your remodel.
Find the pulls you like and take just a few minutes swapping them out with only a screwdriver and wrench. You’ll appreciate how such a simple project will revamp your RV interior.
4. Add a backsplash to your kitchen
Adding a backsplash to your kitchen walls will create a beautiful contrast that opens up your RV living space. You can opt for traditional vinyl backsplash tiles that are designed to mount vertically on walls. Or we found vinyl floor tiles to be hardier and more durable options. Either way, adding a backsplash is a quick, easy and affordable way to spruce up your RV.
5. Install peel and stick wallpaper
For those of you who don’t want to tackle the huge task of painting all of your interior RV walls, you can opt instead to apply peel and stick wallpaper throughout your camper. Pick and choose different designs to go with your decor in different rooms. Or use the same wallpaper throughout the RV to tie the living space together. Your local hardware store will have more than enough options for this simple DIY project.
6. Mount a magnetic knife and spice rack
Space is valuable in an RV. And finding ways to make the most of your limited space is important. We found that magnetic knife racks are not only aesthetically pleasing but also serve the function of optimizing wall space that would otherwise be wasted. You can add one for knives, specifically. And if you have the room, consider purchasing metal spice containers that you can attach to a second magnetic spice rack.
7. Use a roller blind as a door
The bathroom door in our truck camper was both cumbersome and impractical. As such, we removed the door and installed a roller blind to give us the ability to retain the privacy we wanted for our bathroom, but also limit the clutter and create a more open living space. We found that IKEA has the best options with roller blinds. They are inexpensive and easy to install and you can use these roller blinds anywhere you would otherwise have a door.
8. Maximize the power of command strips
Command strips are your friend in an RV. And while we don’t like the idea of cluttering our RV living space, we do enjoy the look and feel of having wall pictures and decor throughout our RV.
While it is possible to mount wall decor using screws and nails, much of the wood in RVs is flimsy and won’t even support anchor screws. But command hooks are sturdy and can be mounted virtually anywhere you have something you want to hang from the wall.
From practical things like an accordion rack next to the door to store quick-grab items to picture frames and other decorations, command strips make it all possible at an incredibly inexpensive cost.
9. Build a paper towel holder
To add a sense of DIY to an otherwise overlooked accessory in your RV, consider creating your own paper towel holder out of a copper pipe. You can pick up ½” copper pipe at your local hardware store along with the fittings to create a simple, rustic paper towel holder. While you’re at it, cut a few extra pieces in different lengths and create towel racks and paper towel holders as well.
10. Build DIY toilet paper and towel holders
We removed the cheap plastic racks in our bathroom and built our own industrial-looking racks to match the updated decor in the rest of our motorhome. Then we purchased a simple metal pipe clamp from the local hardware store and painted it black. Then we stained and cut wooden dowels to the desired length. For under $10 each, we now have a more modern towel and toilet paper holders throughout our bathroom.
Completely remodeling your RV can be an intimidating and overwhelming task. But sprucing your RV living space up with these ten simple ideas will give more than enough new life to your RV. Of course, if you do want to remodel your entire RV we’ve got lots of great ideas for you! But to get started, consider these 10 affordable DIY projects to give your RV more of an at-home feeling on the road!
About Chris and Lindsay at Called To Wander
Chris and Lindsay, along with their two cattle dogs Everest and Huckleberry, have been traveling mostly full-time in their RV since 2018. Having started their journey in an attempt to drive from Alaska to Argentina, they quickly fell in love with life on the road and have chosen to spend their time touring the North American continent. Harvest Hosts members since 2018, they run a website and YouTube channel where they document their experiences and help others pursue adventure on the road.
Harvest Hosts is a unique RV camping membership that offers self-contained RVers unlimited overnight stays at 9,700+ unique locations across North America with no camping fees. Stay at farms, wineries, breweries, museums, golf courses, attractions, and other one-of-a-kind destinations while enjoying memorable travel experiences and the peace of mind that comes with knowing a safe place to stay is always nearby.
