Beautiful Transformation: Old 5th-wheel Into a Cozy Home

Do you want to learn how to transform an RV into a home for full-time stationary RV living? Learn how we did it on a tight budget!

In the last couple of years, a lot of people have been giving tiny houses and tiny living a try. There is something attractive in having a small space to take care of and call home. My husband and I were tired of paying high rent living in an apartment in California so we bought a 2003 Keystone Cougar 5th wheel RV from Facebook marketplace for just $7,000 and turned it into our home by changing the flooring, giving it a fresh coat of paint, and giving it a general upgrade. Join me as I share how we turned our RV into our home with just a few steps!

Disclaimer: As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at the same price for you! Thank you in advance for helping us out!

Problems to Look for When Buying a Used RV

• Water Damage. RV’s are built to be lightweight for traveling, so they tend to be made very cheaply. All of the walls are very thin and therefore not very weather proof. This means that mold can easily grow in the flooring and walls of your RV. Because RV’s are made for travel, they tend to require a lot more maintenance. Be aware of this issue and check the corners for any water damage. This could be very dangerous because mold is not healthy to breathe in and can cause diseases.
• AC & Heater. If you are buying a used RV make sure that these are working because they are expensive to replace. Our heater was very loud but worked.
• Water System. Make sure the shower works, the grey and black tanks are taken care of, and the kitchen water system works. We had to replace our water heater because it started leaking so we opted for a tankless one. The new water heater we got cost us $300.
• Appliances. Make sure the stove and fridge are working. If you want to live in one full-time this is important!

What We Upgraded in Our RV

1. New Flooring

We changed our flooring to plywood and my husband cut the plywood boards into strips himself. Then, he laid the flooring down and used a nail gun to secure it in place. Next, we sanded it down several times, covered it with a sanding sealer, and finished the wood with several coats of polyurethane sealant. We did not stain the plywood because we liked how the light flooring looked in our RV. This was the cheapest option for flooring and it turned out really nice! The flooring cost us a little over $300.

2. Fresh Paint

We went with a modern farmhouse look inside our RV so we painted all of the cabinets, walls, and doors white. The cabinets and ceiling were painted a bright white while the walls were painted an eggshell color. We were using paint we already had for the walls so we were choosing between three colors as seen below in the first photo. Painting the interior of an RV is a lot of work because of the small space and a lot of prep work needed to get a clean paint job done. We had to remove the wallpaper which was a pain. What worked best for us was heating the surface with a blow dryer and slowly removing the wallpaper. For the paint job itself, my husband bought this (not an affiliate link) spray gun for painting the walls of the RV which made the process go faster. The paint cost us only $300 because we only bought the primer and the paint for the cabinetry. All of the paint on the walls was free.

Cabinets

We demolished part of the kitchen and my husband rebuilt it in a way that was more comfortable for us. Then, we took off all of the cabinet doors to paint the backing of the kitchen cabinets. We sanded the cabinets several times so that the grain of the red oak wood wouldn’t be visible. Next came primer and finally paint! We also repainted the handles and hinges black.

Light Fixtures

Our RV came with light fixtures that were gold so we spray-painted them black as well. Spray paint like this works.

General Upgrades

We took out all of the old curtains, 2 swivel chairs, and the futon that came with the RV because the previous owners had pets and the furniture stank from them. The rearrangement of the kitchen opened up the RV to more space. We also took out the entertainment center and wanted to install a mini washer and dryer into that space but it did not fit the space unfortunately. In the shower area we took out the glass cover and just put up a shower curtain instead. We also bought new sinks for the bathroom and kitchen. Another upgrade was my husband made butcher block for the countertops in the kitchen and bathroom sink with free pallet wood! It turned out quite beautiful.

Butcher Block

Water Damage

My husband found mold at the front of the RV so he had to take the shell off completely to get to the wall and replace the wood paneling and insulation. We also found soft spots in the floor so my husband ended up replacing some of the sub flooring as well.

Kitchen Demo

As I mentioned earlier, my husband tore the kitchen out and rebuilt it himself to open the living room space more. I didn’t like the original layout of the kitchen because it had a lot of dead space that was not easily accessible. The end product of the newly arranged kitchen worked out quite nice for us.

Making the RV our Home

The funnest part of the whole process was moving our RV to its spot, which was on a property in the mountains, and organizing our essentials in it. Living in the RV taught me minimalism. The closet, kitchen, and general space could only fit so much stuff. I quickly learned that too much stuff is overwhelming in a small space. Thankfully, we had a shed to store extra items that we didn’t quite want to get rid of and are glad to use now in our mobile home.

We decided to go with the farmhouse style because with such a small space I didn’t want to look at something bright or busy. Having everything light made a huge difference. Check out our post on how to make your home bright here for more tips! We decided to have black accents to bring contrast to the white.

We replaced the futon with a loveseat we already had that fit perfectly in that spot. Where the original swivel seats went I put in regular black chairs that were more sleek and cute. I put up frames and minimal decor that I already had all throughout the RV where it fit most. I also had fun with setting up the kitchen to be functional and also presentable. In the bathroom, I hung up a cute pineapple mirror and that was it. In the bedroom area we had to fit our baby’s crib so it was a tight fit but it worked. I tried making it cozy by hanging up photos and we used a heater throughout the winter to keep the baby warm that also made up for the aesthetic. I used wooden baskets for storing baby essentials and make it look put together.

Before Photos

After Photos

Other Projects

• Curtain rods: My husband threaded the curtain rods himself. He bought galvanized pipe and then cut the threads for it according to the length needed for each unique window.
• Linen curtains: I sewed the curtains from linen fabric I bought from Joanns.
• Dinette fabric: I reupholstered the dinette seats with black fabric that I also bought from Joanns.
• Towel rack: My husband also cut threads from galvanized pipes for the towel rack next to the bathroom sink.
• Storage shelf above kitchen sink: Since we removed the cabinets above the kitchen sink, my husband made a storage shelf to put items up there that wouldn’t be in the way on the countertop. He also cut the threads with galvanized pipes and then put boards across.
• Cane in closet: One side of the mirror in our closet door was broken so I bought some cane on amazon and filled it in with that.

Total Cost of RV Renovation

• Flooring- $300
• Paint- $300
• Tools- $500
• Pipe- 21 ft stick $200
• Mold repair- $100
• this and that- $100
• TOTAL: About $1,500 spent on renovating our RV

What You Need to Know About Stationary RV Living

My husband and I enjoyed living in a RV full time and would definitely recommend it to people. Things to note is that the tanks need to constantly be emptied so make sure you have a convenient sewer nearby. The kitchen was very comfortable to use surprisingly! I baked sourdough bread in the oven weekly and used the stove daily. The microwave came in handy as well. I fell in love with the gas stove in our RV. It was very quick to heat up and worked like a charm. We lived in our RV for about half a year from fall to spring so it never got too hot for us but some winter mornings got chilly and our water would freeze. Overall, it was very doable even with a newborn! Looking back, the life in the RV brings back fun memories and cozy times!

Items I Bought For the RV

Unfortunately, I can’t share the exact paint colors and where I got them because we used everything free and we mixed paints until we got the color we wanted. I know lol I’m being VERY helpful here. We only bought the primer, so I’ll share that below. Just use whatever paint color you like best and that matches your style!

• Primer we used
• kitchen faucet
• bathroom sink and faucet
• wooden knife magnet (we got something similar to this)
• pot hanger
• Black chairs (not an affiliate link)
• fire heater (not an affiliate link)
• Cane webbing for closet door

Conclusion

Thanks for stopping by Two Peas in Two Pods! Comment down below if tiny living is something you would be curious to try for yourself or advice if you have or currently are living in an RV or tiny home! Share this post with family and friends or pin it for reference later!