My RV Story

In January 2022 my journey began when I pulled my late grandfather's Class C RV out of storage in order to help sell it for my grandmother. It was a 2001 Coachmen Santara 29' Class C with approximately 36,000 miles on the Ford E-450 chassis odometer. The chassis and coach appeared to be in good condition. Although the interior was outdated with oak cabinets, brass fittings and dirty carpet all of the appliances and onboard systems appeared to be working. I had thought about getting an RV and thought this may be something I could make use of. After sharing with my grandmother that RV dealerships weren't interested in it but they would give a small amount towards a trade-in I informed my grandmother that I may be interested in buying it.

A few weeks later while visiting my grandmother she made the comment that she'd been thinking about the RV and thought she'd like me to have it. I said that I'd like to take it home clean it up and test more of the systems. I told that if I thought that it was something I could use without much repair then I'd consider taking it, but that if investing in repairs would be too costly I'd help her sell it and give her the money.

I pulled it out of storage and my first stop was to get 6 new tires put on it and an oil change. From there I took it to the car wash and cleaned off the exterior. My next step was to test the AC, furnace, fridge, generator and fill it with water to check the plumbing. I then proceeded to check the slide-out and leveling system. Upon verifying that all of these systems were still functional I began to feel comfortable that this older RV had potential for a renovation.

My next step was to make the decision and commit to an interior renovation. This began a 2 year weekend warrior project of completing a full interior renovation. I took the big leap and started by gutting the interior. I removed the dinette, sofa, kitchen, bedroom, shower and bathroom. The only thing that was I left was the cabinetry and refrigerator. After creating a blank canvas I turned my attention to mocking up what I wanted it to look like when finished. Choosing a color palette I used photoshop to create some realistic photo mockups (AI would have been helpful here..)

Next, it was time to cover up the dated oak cabinets and walls with a fresh coat of paint. This is the one step I decided to hire a professional for and I'm glad I did. The shopping list was started and before long I had a jack knife sofa, sinks, a counter top, shower pan, toilet and many other items on order. I wanted an open floor plan with a king size bed in the back so I began to measure and mark the floor with a new configuration that would fit. I increased the size of the shower and made room for a king bed. I had to reposition the water tank and reroute some plumbing to accommodate this. Since I was going with an open floor plan I had to start framing in my new layout but before I did this I laid down a new vinyl flooring using a hickory pattern. I wanted a natural tree house look on the interior so I decided to use cedar wood for all new construction. I made a new kitchen counter out of butcher block wood and eliminated the gas oven. I decided a toaster oven and hot plate cooktop would be a better fit for my needs and it would give me more counter space for food preparation. I custom built a cabinet for an electric fireplace and custom built a shower using cedar tongue and groove. I constructed a Murphy bed style frame using lifters so I could have additional storage under the bed and easily access the newly relocated water tank and water pump. For the bathroom I built a custom cedar countertop with residential bowl sink and residential faucet. For the kitchen I installed a residential under mount sink with residential faucet. I replace outdated brass fixture lighting with new LED lighting. I sealed all of the wood surfaces using food grade natural tung oil. I finished off the interior by installing a new sound system with Pioneer speakers and a car play compatible touch screen double-din radio. I also replaced the outdated barely functional backup camera with a new wireless led screen backup camera.

After completing the interior I turned my attention to the roof by removing all of the old sealant and putting down new sealant. Although the AC unit was still working I decided to install a new roof AC unit for peace of mind, which also led me to swapping out the controller and upgrading to a digital thermostat. From here I cleaned the EPDM rubber roof and decided I wanted additional protection and to extend its life. I chose to apply a dicor acrylic coating, which may be the biggest peace-of-mind decisions I made. The acrylic roof is solid, durable and appears to be holding up very well. It's suppose to have a life span of another 10-15 years and I can't recommend it enough this product enough.

This is my journey into RVing and the renovation project developed an interest and hobby to dig deeper and continue learning about RV systems, service and maintenance. This project has changed my life in many positive ways and is the primary reason why I'm now a RVIA Certified RV Inspector and NRVTA Registered RV Technician.

I hope my journey will inspire others to take on RV renovation projects that push you to learn and Enjoy RV Life!