Getting old....

Not us, well yes, us too, but our rig is what I was referring to. Stu and his late wife, Lin, bought the RV in 2007 before heading out full-time. In the last eight years, it has seen a lot of use and been driven over a lot of miles.

That means things start to degrade - this is our home and the only time it was unused daily was during our time in Ecuador.

Last year we replaced the very old double reclining loveseat with a new one from La-Z-Boy. We pulled out the strip of carpeting that run from just under the slide into part of the main walkway through the rig. Unfortunately, the vinyl flooring (you know, that old stuff we called linoleum) wasn't cut evenly. So until we replace that (and hopefully the carpet on the slide-out), we have an unsightly main living area floor. LOL!

The first major thing this year was replacing the stack washer/dryer. The dryer had been serviced a couple of times under our extended warranty and it was probably repairable but with the amount of use (and the bounce down the road factor), we opted to replace it. Needless to say, it made sense to replace the washer at the same time. Otherwise, I was sure it would die within 90 days of installing the new dryer.

Then there was the surprise repair, I won't go back into the gory details, just suffice it to say we needed to replace both front jacks and the motors. If you haven't followed us, you can read all about it here and see the fix here.

Now we are working on all the little things: re-screening the front door, replacing the outside dryer vent, fixing the Fantastic Vent fan motor, recaulking the kitchen sink, getting the new pop-in/pop-out Fantastic Vent screens, and that sort of thing. The things you need to keep up with, just like in a sticks and bricks home.

I follow several Facebook groups about redoing/redecorating/recycling your RV. Some are things I would never consider doing, others are things I wish I could do, and then there are the really clever things that I hope to do. Not everyone is full-timing, some aren't even traveling and they tend to decorate strictly for their functionality. We have to consider weight (would love to get a build-in desk/dining table combo but concerned about the weight in our main slide) as well as functionality (would be much nicer than the side turned dining table, next to a wooden two drawer file cabinet with our printer on top, next to my portable computer desk and would have built-in storage). If you are just living in your rig and not moving, you don't have to think about how you will anchor things when going down the road.

I was sent a link to a great article this morning and thought it was quite appropriate to share it here. It's written in three parts, each about renovating one part of your rig. There are great links on how to actually accomplish the renovations as well. Too much to absorb in one reading, I hope you will save the link and visit it as needed. Thank you, George, for sending it to me!

The Ultimate RV Remodel:
26 Changes That Will Rock Your Ride

The closing to the article says it all:

"After all that, you’ve practically got a brand new RV on your hands. Don’t let it sit in the driveway. Get out there and see our great country. That’s the beauty of RVing—going where your heart takes you and seeing the incredible landscapes of America. You’ve invested in your RV. Now enjoy it!"

Our next project? Refurbishing our porcelain toilet that isn't flushing properly. I'll be booking a hotel room. LOL!


Ciao for now!