Upgrading Your RV’s InteriorA 20" flatscreen TV was installed on the pantry wall (right), which is directly behind the slideout when it is retracted. Other accessories personalize the interior, including a dash kitty (left) and a table lamp that holds magazines.
As much as new RVs cost, you would think that manufacturers would hire professional, experienced designers and space planners to create their RV interiors, but many don’t! A lot of them use the “talents” of the owners’ wife, who might have a “flair for decorating.” Believe me, a flair doesn’t translate into being able to efficiently plan space and select appropriate materials for an RV’s interior. And those manufacturers that do use qualified designers sometimes hire recent graduates who don’t understand the needs of RVers. Sometimes, it appears that they don’t even understand how kitchens and bathrooms are used.
A common complaint in new RVs is the amount of wasted space beneath and behind things. Another is that few have backsplashes in the kitchens and bathrooms. And one other is that many manufacturers put carpeting in the kitchen and bathroom. It’s obvious that no space planning has taken place, and that the person who designed the interior has had no experience whatsoever as either a designer, an RVer, or as a person who cooks and cleans. So it becomes necessary to upgrade certain things in an RV to make it comfortable and easy to care for, and to suit your own, individual lifestyle.
Wasted space is one of my pet peeves. We have now owned three motorhomes, and every one of them has had lots of wasted space. Finding space can be a bit sticky, since there are weight considerations for RVs. Most don’t have much extra weight allowance beyond what is absolutely necessary. Every item in an RV must have a use and be properly placed. Usually, passengers and their luggage are about all that can be added to a fully furnished unit without overstressing the RV.
However, every RVer on the planet has to carry extra paper supplies, extra blankets and pillows, etc., so what’s the problem with making room for them? Our hallway has two big cubbyholes that are inaccessible, but by taking the wood panels out and replacing them with doors, they’re big enough to store toilet paper, paper towels, and other lightweight, bulky items. I can guarantee you that cupboards and closets in any RV are on the smallish side, so we’ve lacked space for these bulky paper items in all three RVs!
Another problem is storage areas with doors that fold down, so you have to crawl across the door to access the area. Two small doors that open back to the side would be so much more efficient!
Most RVs lack a backsplash around the sinks, but that is easily remedied by buying plexiglass, cut to size, then fastening it to the wall, or purchasing some other lightweight, waterproof material to use as a backsplash. While tiles are lovely and stylish, they add unnecessary weight to the RV!
There are lots of small, lightweight accessories you can add to your RV’s interior to make it more enjoyable and useful, and more homelike.
You can also subtract furnishings that you don’t use. We removed the table and chairs from our latest motorhome because the table was usually piled high with mail, etc. that needed putting away. The chairs were very heavy, and I got tired of lifting them each time I had to vacuum, or even to pull them up to the table. They were useless weight that I was overjoyed to remove.
Now we have a wide-open living area to which we have added an occasional chair, a 2-drawer file cabinet, and computer space. We attached the flat panel monitor to the wall and it swings out for viewing. Another problem we originally had was with the tiny 13” TV that sat at ceiling level in a cabinet built for it. From across the room, it was like watching ants parade across the screen.
Since we have a slide-out that holds the sofa, there was about 6 inches between the pantry wall and the slide-out when it was retracted. We measured the space and decided a flat-screen 20” TV would fit into the space if its speakers were at the bottom of the screen, instead of on the sides. We bolted it through the pantry wall and added metal supports to the bottom as an extra measure of safety. Now characters on the screen are visible and recognizable, no matter where we sit in the living area.
The kitchen has vinyl flooring, but then carpeting has been installed down the hall and in the bathroom. Pale colored carpeting! Needless to say, there’s a shaded wear pattern down the center of the hall, plus since my food storage pantry is located there, I managed to drop and break a bottle of orange-colored steak sauce that created a permanent stain. Nothing has cleaned it! So we discussed using wood flooring throughout, but decided the glue-down installation might crack when we bounced across rough roads, and the snap-together type might pop up. We may be wrong, but we are also concerned with the added weight. And forget about tile, which I would love, because of the same weight concern.
So we will look for a cushioned tile-patterned vinyl floor that looks nice, unlike the kitchen vinyl we now have which has a distinct “bathroom” design. And we will pull up the carpeting in the hallway and bathroom and replace it with the same vinyl flooring.
Don’t stress if you need to change a few things in your RV. Add colorful cushions, personal photos or favorite artwork, and perhaps, your own choice of window treatments. The sailboat above the TV was a model of the boat hubby owned and was carved by a dear California friend, Pat Miller. A few simple steps and a little ingenuity can easily customize your RV to fit your lifestyle
A common complaint in new RVs is the amount of wasted space beneath and behind things. Another is that few have backsplashes in the kitchens and bathrooms. And one other is that many manufacturers put carpeting in the kitchen and bathroom. It’s obvious that no space planning has taken place, and that the person who designed the interior has had no experience whatsoever as either a designer, an RVer, or as a person who cooks and cleans. So it becomes necessary to upgrade certain things in an RV to make it comfortable and easy to care for, and to suit your own, individual lifestyle.
Wasted space is one of my pet peeves. We have now owned three motorhomes, and every one of them has had lots of wasted space. Finding space can be a bit sticky, since there are weight considerations for RVs. Most don’t have much extra weight allowance beyond what is absolutely necessary. Every item in an RV must have a use and be properly placed. Usually, passengers and their luggage are about all that can be added to a fully furnished unit without overstressing the RV.
However, every RVer on the planet has to carry extra paper supplies, extra blankets and pillows, etc., so what’s the problem with making room for them? Our hallway has two big cubbyholes that are inaccessible, but by taking the wood panels out and replacing them with doors, they’re big enough to store toilet paper, paper towels, and other lightweight, bulky items. I can guarantee you that cupboards and closets in any RV are on the smallish side, so we’ve lacked space for these bulky paper items in all three RVs!
Another problem is storage areas with doors that fold down, so you have to crawl across the door to access the area. Two small doors that open back to the side would be so much more efficient!
Most RVs lack a backsplash around the sinks, but that is easily remedied by buying plexiglass, cut to size, then fastening it to the wall, or purchasing some other lightweight, waterproof material to use as a backsplash. While tiles are lovely and stylish, they add unnecessary weight to the RV!
There are lots of small, lightweight accessories you can add to your RV’s interior to make it more enjoyable and useful, and more homelike.
You can also subtract furnishings that you don’t use. We removed the table and chairs from our latest motorhome because the table was usually piled high with mail, etc. that needed putting away. The chairs were very heavy, and I got tired of lifting them each time I had to vacuum, or even to pull them up to the table. They were useless weight that I was overjoyed to remove.
Now we have a wide-open living area to which we have added an occasional chair, a 2-drawer file cabinet, and computer space. We attached the flat panel monitor to the wall and it swings out for viewing. Another problem we originally had was with the tiny 13” TV that sat at ceiling level in a cabinet built for it. From across the room, it was like watching ants parade across the screen.
Since we have a slide-out that holds the sofa, there was about 6 inches between the pantry wall and the slide-out when it was retracted. We measured the space and decided a flat-screen 20” TV would fit into the space if its speakers were at the bottom of the screen, instead of on the sides. We bolted it through the pantry wall and added metal supports to the bottom as an extra measure of safety. Now characters on the screen are visible and recognizable, no matter where we sit in the living area.
The kitchen has vinyl flooring, but then carpeting has been installed down the hall and in the bathroom. Pale colored carpeting! Needless to say, there’s a shaded wear pattern down the center of the hall, plus since my food storage pantry is located there, I managed to drop and break a bottle of orange-colored steak sauce that created a permanent stain. Nothing has cleaned it! So we discussed using wood flooring throughout, but decided the glue-down installation might crack when we bounced across rough roads, and the snap-together type might pop up. We may be wrong, but we are also concerned with the added weight. And forget about tile, which I would love, because of the same weight concern.
So we will look for a cushioned tile-patterned vinyl floor that looks nice, unlike the kitchen vinyl we now have which has a distinct “bathroom” design. And we will pull up the carpeting in the hallway and bathroom and replace it with the same vinyl flooring.
Don’t stress if you need to change a few things in your RV. Add colorful cushions, personal photos or favorite artwork, and perhaps, your own choice of window treatments. The sailboat above the TV was a model of the boat hubby owned and was carved by a dear California friend, Pat Miller. A few simple steps and a little ingenuity can easily customize your RV to fit your lifestyle
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