Renovation

Wow! Thanks everyone! Sounds like I could spend as much or as little as I want. While I would love to make this a DIY project, I live in a high-rise apartment downtown, so my RV lives in storage when I'm not using it. Also, I've learned over the course of 14 years of home ownership, I have no skills. (Hence the apartment - for now).

Soren, NICE work on the RV reno! Sounds like you have a a good handle on things and are doing GREAT with the budget! Sounds to me like you're doing pretty much what we would want to do. $17-$18K wouldn't be out of the realm of reality. I'll have to check out those places and see if I can get a feel for what I'd be spending.

Ivylog, LOL yup, something like that. This is obviously a concern of ours as well. We don't want to get TOO upside down on this unit. We love the size, the floor plan (for the most part) and the wheelbase - it's SUPER maneuverable. Finding that combination in something new has been challenging. We're keeping our eye out for something, but in the meantime we're looking at a reno as an option as well.

Thanks!

Brian

Are you familiar with "doityourselfrv.com"?
(I don't know if I can share a link here.)
Lots of renovations and rebuilds.
Good luck with yours!

If I've got this right, you are wanting to spend $25,000+ remolding a $20K DP with 100K miles on it. When you get finished you will have a $30K motor home that is 15 years old with 100K miles that no one else wants... OK, that a few might want.

I'd sell it for $20K and add the $25K and find a 06 similar unit with half the miles and updated electronics. Sorry but I think you are going to throw good money into something that while it's served you well, it time to upgrade the entire rig.

If you decide to continue, then I'd start looking in the Amish area of IN (RV capital of the world) for shops that will have surplus items and more reasonable prices to do the work. Good Luck

You will find as many answers as you find folks who have done it, and they will be all over the map. We just started this process a few months ago. In the last year I have spoken to shops about everything from full body paint, to flooring and upholstery. In some cases bids vary by up to 3X. When it comes to major wall repairs, I would talk to Precision Paint and Mike's Custom Painting, both in Bremen In. They both have a reputation for doing quality work, and have done extensive work to Alfa brand motorhomes, which frequently require full wall replacement prior to repainting. When it comes to other work, sometimes creative solutions can save a ton. Tomorrow I'm working with a local kitchen installer to make replacement countertops and a dinette table for our rig. I'm removing the old tops to use as patterns. He will fabricate new Formica tops, working onsite, and I will reinstall them with new sinks and faucets. Replacing everything will run me about $8-900.

By the time it's done, we will have a 34' nine year old rig with new full body paint, new LED lighting inside and out, a new ultra-leather recliner, and matching reupholstered dinette and sofa, new countertops, sinks and faucets, new toilet, and new flooring throughout, for roughly $17-18K. I could of went with the highest bids on all this work, passed on doing a lot of it myself, and easily spent $45-50K, which would of been a very poor decision. It's a Winnebago that fits out needs and has served us well, so I don't hesitate to upgrade it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I'm sure someone has done it. Probably, it's a DIY project.
Maybe you could talk to contractors in your area looking for some inside work during the winter?
Preferably, one familiar with RV construction.