Before & After: We Can’t Believe This Incredible RV Makeover Cost Just $500
Back in 2014, Sarah Lemp and her husband Jay renovated their first RV, which they purchased on Facebook Marketplace. At the time, the couple had three young kids and wanted to fix up something small for family road trips. What started as a one-time project turned into a hobby, and five years (and many flipped RVs) later, the couple continues to execute RV overhauls — this 1977 Coachmen Cadet being the most recent.
The couple snagged the retro trailer for $500, and while that price seems like a steal, you get what you pay for — meaning there was a lot of work to be done. Looking at the before photo above gives you a glimpse at how dated it truly was. But what they did with the space while trying to stick to a small budget is pretty spectacular.
Sarah and Jay started the project in the beginning of the summer and were able to wrap it up by early August, which Sarah credits to her friends and family for helping out. “My friend Julia and her kids drove up from Chicago to help paint, clean, and sew,” Sarah wrote in a blog post. “My neighbor made curtains and helped with the upholstery. This camper has been a community labor of love!”
When looking at the exterior pre-renovation, you can definitely tell the off-white color with yellow and orange stripes pays homage to its ’70s origin. But with a little bit of primer as well as white and blue paint, the Lemp family was able to transform the outside to look brand new. They also added a new rubber roof coating to make sure everything was tight for weather conditions.
The inside, however, was an entirely different story.
As you can see, dark wood cabinets and matching walls overtook the space, and the fabric on the seat cushions was dirty and worn. Luckily the fridge, oven, and sink, heater, and AC were all in good condition, and the only major replacement was the toilet in the bathroom.
They deep-cleaned pretty much everything, painted over most of the dark wood with white, salvaged the old upholstery with fresh cushions, cleaned up the countertops, and added some decor elements that really brighten up the space (hello, plants!). Additionally, Sarah and Jay checked the water lines and electricity to make sure the RV was habitable for their travels on the road.
As you can see above, it’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint (and some subway tile) can do to a space. A full list of the products they used during the renovation can be found here.
In total, the whole renovation cost around $500, meaning that they spent the same amount renovating it as they did purchasing the RV. All in all, $1,000 is a pretty great deal when you end up with such a beautifully designed space.
See Sarah’s full collection of flipped RVs on her blog, All Things With Purpose.
This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before & After: We Can’t Believe this RV Was Completely Transformed for Just $500