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14 RV Renovation Ideas That Cost Less Than $100

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

interior of motorhome for RV renovation ideas

14 RV Renovation Ideas That Cost Less Than $100

Having an RV to escape in is amazing, no matter what it looks like. That said, family road trips and camping trips are much more fun when your home-on-wheels is cute and cozy. Unfortunately, many older RVs are rather boring and plain, leading a lot of RV owners to look for RV renovation ideas to spruce up their tiny living spaces. 

Obviously, this is easy enough if you have a ton of money to throw at a huge RV renovation project. However, very few of us do have hundreds of dollars to make our campers as cute as we’d like. This is where budget RV renovation ideas can come into play. 

There are actually an astounding number of ways to make your RV more comfortable and pleasing to the eye without breaking the bank. Try the suggestions below to renovate your fifth wheel, motorhome or trailer into the traveling home you’ve always dreamed of, in the most affordable way possible. 

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1. Spruce up the walls

Let’s start with the walls. RV walls can get pretty dirty. Sometimes just giving them a thorough scrub can be enough to make them a little better to look at, making this one of the cheapest and easiest RV renovation ideas out there.

That said, if you want to take this a step further, you could choose to put up inexpensive wallpaper on one accent wall, or paint all of the walls with discounted paint found a) in the clearance section, b) on the “oops paint” shelf where the wrong color mixes are sold, or c) at places like Habitat for Humanity.

Painting walls

2. Clean the carpet

Trailer and motorhome carpets take a beating. Some areas see a lot of traffic and the dirt tracked into the RV can be quite excessive. Replacing carpets with laminate flooring is ideal, but isn’t always affordable. If you’re looking for a less expensive option, consider giving the carpets a deep clean with a carpet cleaning machine. 

3. Put down rugs

In addition to cleaning the carpets, you can also strategically place rugs to hide especially worn, torn-up, or stained parts of your RV floor. Cute, colorful rugs that tie into the color palate of your home-on-wheels can really help bring your decor together.

4. Use chalkboard paint

In addition to painting the walls, you might also consider painting the front of the fridge or even the cabinets with chalkboard paint. This amazing paint is a bit expensive, but the cost of covering only the fridge front or a few cabinets won’t be too terribly much, and the paint doesn’t require any sanding to stick. Additionally, it won’t require as many coats as other paints, and leaves you with a surface for writing notes if you like. 

5. Hang curtains

The window coverings in older RVs can be downright atrocious. Taking out those old valances and hanging some light-colored curtains can make all the difference in the world. To save some money, keep an eye out for curtains on clearance.

For an added benefit, hang the curtains as close to the ceiling as possible. This makes the ceiling appear higher and gives the RV a more spacious feel. 

6. Change out hardware

Old, corroded, or outdated cabinet and drawer hardware and door knobs can really drag the look of a place down. Replacing door knobs, cabinet and drawer pulls, and hinges will make a surprising difference, and is one of those RV renovations ideas that is well worth the small time and money investment required. 

7. Add colorful contact paper

Have a corner you’d like to brighten up? Colorful contact paper can make a drab space look super colorful and cute. Better yet, the stuff can be found for super cheap at dollar stores. Put it on the front of the fridge, in the center of cabinet fronts, or on the wall of that little coffee nook.

8. Find wall art

No home is complete without a little bit of your personality shining through. This is just as true for an RV as it is for a house, and there’s no better way to show off your personality than through wall art.

You could, of course, go spend a bunch of money on wall art at your local box store, but we recommend getting a little more creative and saving some money. Buy photo frames at Goodwill and fill them with family photos, frame some of your kids’ drawings, or create a splatter paint masterpiece on a cheap canvas from the craft store. 

9. Trade out the furniture

RV furniture is rarely attractive to begin with. Add 20 years of wear and tear, and that furniture in your old RV is likely looking pretty sad. The best way to fix this is by replacing that furniture.

This doesn’t mean you have to buy RV-specific replacements though. Instead, shop at thrift stores or ask friends and family if they are getting rid of any items. IKEA is also a great place to find inexpensive replacement furniture. 

10. …Or cover it up

If you’d rather not pull all your furniture out and you feel it’s still comfortable enough—even if it is ugly—you might choose to simply cover it rather than replace it. We really like these covers for RV dinette bottom cushions, and these chair covers work well for the back cushions. Most armless RV couches can be covered with something like this.

11. Get a mattress topper

Purchasing an entirely new mattress is one of the more expensive RV renovation ideas. That said, RV mattresses are beyond terrible, and something everyone must contend with if they plan to spend much time in their home-on-wheels.

If you’ve never replaced your RV mattress and are looking for ways to upgrade your RV on a budget, consider a mattress topper to improve your RV sleeping experience. 

12. Switch showerheads

Another thing that should be replaced in every RV is the showerhead. Fortunately, this can be a super inexpensive RV renovation. We really love the Oxygenics RV showerhead

Shower head

13. Add a peel-and-stick backsplash

For some reason, very few RVs come with any kind of backsplash in the kitchen or bathroom. Remedy this in a very affordable way by using peel-and-stick tiles to create a backsplash in both spaces and make the whole RV feel more like a home. 

14. Replace the shower curtain

Finally, we recommend replacing your RV shower curtain to give your RV bathroom a whole new look. This is one of the easiest and least expensive RV renovation ideas out there, but it really does make an enormous difference.


One of the best parts about RVing is engaging with the community of traveling enthusiasts. iRV2 forums allow folks to chat with other RVers online, and get other perspectives on everything RVing, including products, destinations, RV mods, and much more.