One of the things that I feel like often gets forgotten in RV renovation is how the exterior looks. You’ve already seen our exterior paint job, but the other thing we did that made a huge impact was an RV awning replacement. Our old awning was not only hideous, but it was actually crumbling. I started to get worried that one day it was just going to crumble off the RV, so I knew that it was a priority to get it replaced.
I haven’t seen a lot of folks blogging about which awning they chose or how they accomplished the task, so I figured I’d share with you all today. If you want to see our complete RV renovation, head here. We also have an Amazon list of all of the RV renovation products we used, if you’re looking for other ideas. Because we live in our RV (and have for over two years as a fulltime RV family!), we took our renovation project seriously. It paid off, turning our 2007 toyhauler into a comfortable home for our family of five.
So let’s talk about the RV awning replacement!
RV Awning Replacement: The Awning
Okay, so the awning that we chose was a ShadePro Vinyl Awning in Burgundy that measured 20 feet.
I felt like it was affordable at around $200, and it really feels high quality when you get it. The hardest part of ordering was measuring for which size we’d need, but even that was pretty simple. ShadePro recommends that you measure from the center of one awning pole to another. My only complaint is that I wish they’d offer more colors! Burgundy is a pretty purple-ish color that I like, but it doesn’t necessarily coordinate with our paint job.
That said, our slide toppers need replacing soon, and I’ll absolutely be ordering ShadePro slide toppers for that project!
RV Awning Replacement: How to DIY
Considering how intimidating an RV awning replacement felt, it wasn’t a super tricky DIY project. The only part that was really challenging was keeping the spring tension in the awning housing stable while we replaced the fabric. The tool we jammed in to keep it from turning fell out, and then we had to guess how many turns it needed when reassembling. Not ideal, but it worked out fine.
We used this YouTube tutorial to guide us, and it was super helpful:
You’ll definitely want at least two, preferably three people for this project. It requires some extra hands. But it only took a couple of hours from start to finish!
If you’re not the DIY type, most any RV tech should be able to do this in a couple of hours.
RV Awning Replacement: How It’s Holding Up
With any RV renovation project, I always worry about how it’ll hold up and whether the materials will be worth the investment. We did this RV awning replacement almost two years ago, and the new awning is holding up absolutely beautifully. It looks as good as the day we installed it, and I think this was SUCH a big improvement for just $200 and a couple of hours of labor. I would definitely recommend ShadePro awning products.
Check out this before vs. after and let me know if you agree that it was worth the investment!
I hope this post has been helpful to you as you think about your RV awning replacement! Feel free to come find me on Instagram if you have other questions, and don’t forget to check out our complete RV renovation posts.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more about how we renovated our 2007 toyhauler into a beautiful home, check out these posts:
As a fulltime RV family that boondocks for months at a time, we’ve become experts at getting water while boondocking. In fact, since we make our own power with our solar panels, fresh water and a place to dump are just about the only things we need to outsource.
There are two main ways we handle getting water while boondocking: packing up and taking our rig to get water on the way to our next destination or using our water bladder to refill our tank without moving the RV. I’m going to share how we find places to get fresh water, what safety considerations we keep in mind, and what gear we use to make like easier.
If you want to learn more about how we boondock indefinitely, check out our Boondocking 101 post!
Getting Water While Boondocking: How to Find It
So first off, how do you find places good for getting water while boondocking? Well, there’s an app for that! We’ve talked about how we use multiple apps to find places to boondock before, and one of them is also a real hero for finding fresh water. iOverlander has been so helpful to us in finding places to get water, sharing the details of where the spigot is located and if we can fit our trailer in there, and updating us on whether the water is still available currently (especially in winter when some spigots get turned off!).
Some places that we find ourselves getting water while boondocking mostly frequently are:
Municipal water and dump stations
Gas stations (Maverick is such a winner in our lives!)
Truck stops
State and National parks
Recreation areas
RV parks
We usually spend anywhere from $5-10 on a dump station that will let us dump our tanks and fill with fresh water. Sometimes they’re even free, and that always feels like a win. In expensive touristy areas (like Colorado mountain towns!), we’ve spend as much as $30. About 95% of the time, we are able to find a public and affordable water source using iOverlander. Occasionally, there’s nothing nearby and we call private RV parks and ask if we can pay to fill our tank/water bladder. If we’re low on water, we’ll often fill up our bladder while we’re out sightseeing closer to a better water source. This is particularly convenient near State or National Parks, where it’s easy and often free once you’ve paid to enter the park.
Getting Water While Boondocking: Important Safety Considerations
We’ve been primarily boondocking for over a year now, so that’s a lot of times that we’ve been getting water while boondocking. We’ve never had a safety issue with water, but that’s because we plan ahead for these safety concerns:
Potable vs. Non-Potable Water. Pay attention to whether the water spigot is marked potable or not. If it’s unmarked, it’s always best to ask someone working there to be sure. Potable means it’s clean and safe to use for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, etc. Non-potable water can potentially be contaminated and is usually intended for rinsing any mess at a dump station.
Fitting Into Fill Stations. As I mentioned above, some water refill spots are located in tricky spots to navigate an RV. Whether that’s a tight turn to get in, or low clearance overhangs that could scrape your roof, it’s essential to check before you go. I read reviews on iOverlander and carefully check satellite images before I take our RV anywhere. If I’m not sure we’ll fit, I either pick a different location or take the water bladder without the rig later (more on that below).
Water Weight. Keep in mind that water weighs 8 pounds a gallon, so our fresh water tank filled with 100 gallons of water weighs 800 pounds. If your rig is already quite close to its weight limits, you probably want to fill up your tank as close to your final destination as possible. Not only is it bad for gas mileage, but it could be a safety issue to be overloaded. We have also heard horror stories about tank supports breaking on travel days, so I really try to drive long distances with our tanks as empty as possible. The closer I can arrange getting water while boondocking to our final parking spot, the better.
Getting Water While Boondocking: Useful Gear
When you’re just starting out boondocking, you might not want to invest a lot of money into gear until you know you love it. But if you boondock for more than a week at a time, having a way to refill your fresh water without packing up your whole camp is SUCH a good investment. Here are a few things we’ve purchased to make getting water while boondocking easier:
A Water Bladder. Having a way to fill up a big water bag was a game-changer for us. We use this water bladder in 60 gallon size, but if I could go back, I’d buy the 100 gallon. It folds up small like a small backpack when not in use, and it’s held up beautifully for almost a year now. I put it in the bed of our truck before filling it up because that thing is HEAVY when full.
A Battery-Operated Water Pump. Your water source will be pressurized when putting the water into the bladder, but getting it out of the bladder back at camp is another story. You need a battery-operated water pump to get it from the bag into your fresh water tank. I love our Ryobi pump because it’s compatible with our Ryobi battery that we already owned. It also has alligator clips that can clip to any battery (like your rig battery!). Using this, it takes 10-15 minutes to empty our 60 gallon bladder into our RV’s tank.
A Universal Hose Attachment. Most water sources have regular garden hose threads, but we have come across a few that were weird sizes or not threaded. This water bandit makes it so that you can attach your RV water hose (our favorite here!) to just about any water connection. So worth it for under $10!
I hope this post about getting water while boondocking has been helpful to you as you plan your next dispersed camping adventure!
If you want to learn more about how we boondock for months at a time (including what solar we have and how we find spots!), check out our Boondocking 101 Guide:
This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more about what we’ve written on boondocking, check out these posts:
Whether you’re a brand new RV owner, or a veteran looking to upgrade, I want to recommend the RV water hose we’ve been using and loving!
There’s a whole bunch of mandatory gear you’ll need when getting set up to RV — power cords, wheel chocks, a sewer hose, and an RV water hose are the essentials you can’t do much without. If you need recommendations to get started, I’ve got a whole list!
But today let’s dive into what we use for an RV water hose. We recently celebrated two years of living in our RV, and we’ve been very happy with the Bigfoot RV water hose we selected. I spent a long time researching water hoses when we first moved in, and I’d love to share why I selected this one with you!
Bigfoot RV Water Hose Pros:
Food grade hose with no residual taste. I drink a lot of water, and I’m pretty picky about the taste. So I appreciate that this hose doesn’t leave a lingering taste in our water whatsoever.
Anti-kink. This hose is designed to be anti-kink, which means that it’s easy to coil and uncoil without making a tangled mess. This might sound like a small thing, but when you’re packing and unpacking your hose at least once a week, it is REALLY nice that it’s not getting to be a big mess that messes with the water flow.
Lightweight. This hose is specifically designed to be 30% more lightweight than its competitors, and full-time RVers know that literally every pound counts when keeping your rig within the manufacturer’s safety specs.
Spring on one end. The spring protects from flow restriction, which is another useful feature.
Color. Admittedly, this wouldn’t have made me choose this RV water hose on its own, but it’s a fun benefit. The bright purple hose is unique and pretty cute. We get compliments on it all the time in RV parks!
Don’t mind how dirty the outside is, we’ve been boondocking!
Bigfoot RV Water Hose Cons:
Cost. Admittedly, this hose is slightly more expensive than the cheapest options. But when it comes to a water hose for your RV, I’d highly recommend that this not be the place to skimp on. Not only are you drinking/cooking/bathing from it, but you’re hooking and unhooking it frequently. Skimp elsewhere!
Length. This hose is only 25 feet long, which has been totally sufficient for us in every RV park except one. I wouldn’t want a longer one for everyday use, but just be aware that in some oddly laid out RV parks, you might want some extra length.
If you’re thinking about RV water hose options, you probably also want to be considering the other RV water accessories you’ll need. I would highly recommend you also have an RV water filter to improve water quality and taste, a 90-degree elbow to prevent strain on your RV water valve, and an RV water pressure regulator to protect from high water pressure damage.
I hope this review of our Bigfoot RV water hose was helpful! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments or on Instagram!
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
If you’re interested in more about our RV life, check out these posts:
As you may have seen from our main RV renovation post, we gut renovated a 2007 Keystone Raptor 3612 and turned it into a beautiful home for our family of five. Here’s the original floorplan for our 2007 Keystone Raptor for anyone curious:
The aesthetics were obviously important, but we made some crucial upgrades for comfort and safety, as well. These are some things we may not have found as important if we were just weekending, but they were so key to making this rig feel like a home to us. As a full time RV family, these are the upgrades we found essential for full timing it in our 2007 Keystone Raptor!
2007 Keystone Raptor Full Time RV Upgrades:
Keyless Lock
This was one of the first (and easiest!) upgrades we made. I hate keys, especially house keys. My clothes never have pockets and I don’t carry a purse, so I’m always losing keys. Plus, did you know that many RV front door keys are universal?? That sketched me out for sure. A keyless lock was a no-brainer.
Residential Mattresses
RV stock mattresses are SO uncomfortable on brand new rigs, and when you’re buying used? You definitely want to replace. We brought our residential mattress from our apartment, and the kids got foam mattresses in their bunks.
Washer & Dryer
We lived in NYC without an in-home washer and dryer for many years, and I knew that I wanted to prioritize having one in our tiny home! This washer hooks up directly to a sink, or I removed our bathroom sink to make room for ours. We have this dryer in a closet (unvented), and as long as we have the dehumidifier running and ventilation, it’s been fine.
Blackout Shades & Curtains
We made sure it’s possible to completely block out light and nosy neighbors on every window. I’ve written more about what we used on each individual window in the room-by-room posts, but it was suuuuch a good call to invest in quality window treatments. Not only did it serve us well during 24 hour sunlight on our Alaska trip, but we have had situations where our slides are almost touching the neighbors’ slides. In those instances, I’m SO glad we can completely block out the neighbors.
Warm Lighting
We replaced every light in the whole RV, and that had a massive impact on how cozy it is in here. We love our star light with these lightbulbs (just be aware that you’ll have to add a switch!). We replaced our dome lights with these and these for LED energy efficiency. This is really useful when boondocking because they use almost no power! I didn’t like how cool white they were, so I added an orange gel (theatre kid trick for warm lighting!).
New Awning
The original awning that came with our 2007 Keystone Raptor was in sad shape. It literally crumbled in our hands. We replaced it with a new one for just a few hours of work (three people working together was pretty necessary, though!) and $200. Considering how much we use our awning, this was money well spent. It helps the front yard feel like an extension of our home!
Floor Vent Covers
If you live in an RV for any length of time (especially with kids!), you will learn how quickly your RV floor vents will get absolutely NASTY! So many toys and so much debris falls right down in there. These magnetic screen vent covers are SO useful for preventing most of that.
A Good Couch
The furniture that most RVs come with is pretty uncomfortable. I can’t recommend a good replacement couch myself because we brought our sectional from home. But I can highly recommend replacing your couch with a residential one. Just keep in mind that you need something lightweight! Consider weighing what you take out so you know how much weight you can add back in.
Organization & Storage Everywhere
Living tiny requires being extra organized to avoid a massive mess! We invested a few hundred dollars into various storage items so that our cabinets and closets stay organized, and I’m so glad we did. I even wrote a whole post just about RV storage ideas!
Shoe Storage in Stairs
Speaking of storage, I ripped apart our stairs to add some inside! I love that our stairs hide extra shoe storage, and you can see them in action in this reel.
Torklift Exterior Stairs
Our exterior stairs were hideous, rusty, and awfully wobbly. We got by with them our first year of RVing by simply spray painting them for improved aesthetics. But it didn’t solve how hard it was to collapse them or how much it rocked the entire RV for someone to step on them. Torklift stairs to the rescue! These were a major upgrade in function and looks. You can see the transformation in this reel!
X-chocks & Kingpin Stand
You might start to notice a theme, which is that I’m not a big fan of the camper rocking. Two pieces of gear that I’d highly recommend to help with that are x-chocks between the tires and a kingpin stand if you have a fifth wheel. These two things combined make a noticeable difference when used together, and I miss them when we skip setting them up!
Outdoor String Lights
These aren’t so much a “renovation” upgrade as an easy gear purchase, but they are an essential for cozy RV living, in my opinion! We love these solar outdoor lights for how beautiful they are and how they run on their own tiny solar panel when we’re boondocking!
Updated Smoke & Propane Detectors
One of the most essential safety upgrades we made to the interior was immediately updating the smoke and propane detectors. We also made sure that there’s a smoke detector in every room! Especially when you buy a used RV, this is an important update because these detectors do expire.
Wifi Doorbell Camera
This is an update that allows for recording what happens at your front door, just like many folks have in their sticks and bricks homes these days. The Google Nest doorbell will work in your RV, as long as you have reliable wifi! Many people feel more secure leaving their RV while boondocking with a way to see what’s happening at their front door.
New Tires
Truthfully, anyone buying a 2007 Keystone Raptor should immediately replace the tires (unless the previous owner has just done so!). Regardless of whether you’re a weekend RVer or full timing it, this is a crucial safety upgrade. But it’s even more important if you’re full time RVing and driving more frequently. It’s expensive (it costs us in the neighborhood of $1,000 each time!), but so essential.
Solar Panels & Upgraded Batteries
If you’re planning on boondocking for any length of time, solar panels and upgraded batteries are CLUTCH. Here’s a look at similar to what we’ve installed, and if you’re curious what that runs on our 2007 Keystone Raptor, check out my boondocking guide for more information:
This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.
I hope this list of the upgrades we made to our 2007 Keystone Raptor for full time RV living was useful! If you’re interested in everything we used in our gut renovation, you can check out the full list here.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For the rest of our RV renovation ideas, head to our main renovation post. For more about RV life, check out these posts:
We’ve been full time travelers for almost four years now, and we’ve traveled in several different ways. We’ve lived in Airbnbs, we’ve parked our toy hauler RV exclusively in campgrounds, and now we’ve mastered camping off grid. So I feel really qualified to answer the question: what is boondocking? And even more qualified to tell you why we love it and help you learn how to do it, too.
If you’re considering RV life, or if you’re a seasoned RVer who’s intimidated to learn how to boondock indefinitely, this is the post for you! I was really overwhelmed by learning how to boondock successfully (with three small children!). But we’ve lived off-grid for most of the past year now. If you want someone to make it SUPER simple and SUPER easy to learn how to boondock, I’m your gal!
What is Boondocking and Why Is It Different?
So seriously, what is boondocking? It’s a funny word that just means camping anywhere that’s not a campground and that doesn’t have power, water, or sewer hookups. It’s both logistically more complicated than RVing in a campground and also SUPER cool to do! All of those amazing out-your-front-door views you see van life or RV people posting on social media? They’re probably boondocking.
I’ve created a guide that’s just SEVEN dollars that will walk you through everything you need to know to get started boondocking, from how to find boondocking sites to how much solar we have to tips for water conservation to rules for being a good boondocking neighbor.
Get the INSTANT download right now, with all of my best boondocking tips and tricks so you can start enjoying these fantastic views, too:
This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.
This guide is packed full of ten pages of everything I share with RV friends around the campfire about how we’ve enjoyed the MOST amazing boondocking sites and saved THOUSANDS of dollars on campgrounds this past year. I wrote the guide I wish I’d had when we were first learning!
What is Boondocking: Pros & Cons of Camping Off-Grid
Okay, so you want to know more about WHY boondocking is worth it. And also why sometimes it sucks. I’m here to tell you! We’ve done both — lived full time in RV parks and also lived full time off-grid.
Here are the boondocking pros:
Seriously, have I mentioned the views? SO MUCH PRETTIER than staring at your neighbor’s slide.
You can often camp closer to hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor adventures
It’s free or extremely cheap, while RV parks can cost anywhere from $500-$2000ish a month (we averaged about $1,000 a month)
There’s so much room for our kids to play without silly campground rules or cranky park neighbors
Dark night skies for things like stargazing (and northern lights!)
You don’t have to have months of an itinerary planned at a time
It’s easy to change plans and stay longer if you love a place or there’s an emergency
Sunsets, sunsets, sunsets
Okay, so what are the boondocking cons:
You have to pay close attention to your power and water consumption (but I’ll teach you some tricks in the guide!)
Sometimes campgrounds are more centrally located to towns
It can be nice for adults and kids to have campground neighbor friends
You don’t have campground amenities like pools, laundromats, or activities
Roads to access boondocking sites are often bumpy
It’s more difficult to keep your rig and your possessions clean
What is Boondocking: Tell Me More About How You Do It
We’ve spent almost a year living primarily off-grid now, and our routine looks about the same except for when we’re traveling to get somewhere quickly. We generally boondock in a spot for two weeks, then dump and fill our tanks on the way to another spot where we’ll spend two weeks. Every month or two, we’ll mix in a short stay at an RV park to deep clean everything (including ourselves!).
I share our top four favorite boondocking sites of the past year in the Boondocking 101 guide! But I also plan to share many more sites that we discover right here on the blog.
Here are all of the boondocking spots I’ve blogged about so far:
I hope this post has been helpful as you consider whether you too might like to jump into boondocking. If you want to take a look at our boondocking gear list on Amazon, check it out! At the very least, I think we’ve definitively answered the question: what is boondocking? 🙂
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more posts about our full time travel life, check out these posts:
It’s the tiniest room in our whole tiny house, but the renovation breakdown wouldn’t be complete without talking about our RV bathroom renovation!
I’ll list everything we used, and I’ll break it down by section. But first, let’s start with the mood board, shall we? I always recommend creating a mood board for any renovation project. It helps keep you focused and makes the whole thing so cohesive. If creating one feels overwhelming, I’d LOVE to help you. Click here to book.
The mood board for the bathroom is the exact same mood board as the one for the bedroom. That’s because the bathroom really does feel like a part of the bedroom, especially with the shower actually being outside the door and IN the bedroom.
Bedroom mood board
One thing I think is especially important to consider in RV renovations is how all of the rooms will look together. Because the space is so small, it’s likely that you’ll see multiple rooms from the same spot.
The star of the show in this RV bathroom renovation was the addition of orange faux board and batten, which was a particular challenge with flimsy RV walls. But I really love how it turned out, even though I’m no carpenter and it’s definitely imperfect.
RV Bathroom Renovation: Colors
Paint colors: Upper walls are Behr Swiss Coffee, lower walls are Behr Glazed Pot
Primer and paint details: Everything was primed with Kilz adhesion primer and painted with Behr semi-gloss interior paint
In our RV, the shower is outside of the toilet closet, so I included shower details in the bedroom post.
RV Bathroom Renovation: Summary
The board and batten was by far the hardest part of our RV bathroom renovation. I used 1″ thick boards, and if I ever did it again, I would definitely use more lightweight material. Getting those pieces to adhere firmly to a flimsy RV wall was no fun, but it was worth it!
The other major project was replacing the toilet, which was necessary in our rig because of its age. But I’d highly recommend it for any renovation because these toilets just don’t last and having a new one has been nice for peace of mind. Replacing the toilet was a blessedly easy project.
The Subpar Parks prints crack me up and are a true delight. I also really enjoy the details found in the fringe on the overhead light and the sun on the exterior door. Plus, the bold orange is so fun in that tiny room. I was worried it would be too much, but I think it’s just right in a room that doesn’t have much else going on.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more about how we renovated our 2007 Keystone Raptor into an adorable tiny home, visit our main renovation page or check out these posts:
We’ve stayed at so many Harvest Hosts all over the United States (and Canada!), and we have had such special experiences at many of them. So I thought it was time for me to share my honest thoughts in Harvest Hosts reviews! This is our perspective on Harvest Hosts after almost two years as a fulltime RV family.
What is Harvest Hosts?
According to their website, Harvest Hosts is “an RV membership program that allows self-contained travelers to overnight at unique locations around the country including farms, wineries, museums, breweries, and more! With 5475+ of host locations inside of our ever-expanding network, there’s an amazing experience waiting for everyone.”
In my words, it’s a network of farms, wineries, museums, and more across the U.S. and Canada that allow RVers to park overnight (mostly no hookups!). You buy an annual membership, and then there’s no true charge to park at each stop. You are, however, expected to spend money at the host’s establishment ($25-30 at least). This might look like buying a bottle of wine, grabbing some homemade baked goods, taking a distillery tour, or even donating some cash to pay for farm animals’ upkeep.
Do you love Harvest Hosts?
The short answer is: yes. I would never write a review of the service if I didn’t think it was wonderful. Whether it’s the perfect service for your needs is another question, and I’m going to get into those details now!
Full disclosure: we enjoyed our stays at Harvest Hosts so much that I became a Harvest Hosts affiliate! That means that if you use my links to join, I will receive a small percentage. I promise to never let that skew any review I write! I would only recommend things that we absolutely use and love.
Our backyard for the night was a Kentucky bourbon distillery
When is a Harvest Hosts membership most useful?
Harvest Hosts stops generally only allow guests to stay for one night (although some may allow more, sometimes for a fee!). Because of this, Harvest Hosts is perfect for an overnight stay when you’ve got a series of travel days to get somewhere far away. It’s also perfect if you can line up a few nearby hosts to travel in a loop for a long weekend trip.
Why is this better than parking at a rest stop or Walmart?
There’s nothing wrong with a practical Walmart stay now and then, but it’s noisy, crowded, and forgettable (at best haha).
Harvest Hosts locations, on the other hand, are usually absolutely gorgeous. They’re pastoral farms, rolling vineyards, and swanky breweries. It is SO beautiful looking out over these locations as the sun rises in the morning.
But a Harvest Hosts stay isn’t just a pretty parking spot. They’re often memorable experiences in their own right! You can really level up a long and boring travel day by ending it at a unique Harvest Hosts destination. One of the grownups’ favorite experiences was taking a distillery tour in Kentucky just steps from our couch. The kids are big fans of the farm stays, where they often pet animals in their PJs last thing at night and first thing in the morning.
These Harvest Hosts reviews sounds awesome, how do I join?
Click here for our personalized Harvest Hosts join link:
Any tips for an amazing Harvest Hosts stay?
I have a few tips for anyone planning their Harvest Hosts stays:
Pick hosts with unique offerings or products you would be purchasing anyways (like dairy products!)
Read reviews to note any difficult turns or small spaces, especially if you have a big rig
Pay attention to how far hosts are off the main road; if you’re making a quick stop this is especially important
Try to arrive before dark to any unfamiliar location!
Take advantage of urban locations for saving money on pricey RV parks while sightseeing in cities
Do you have any favorite Harvest Hosts locations to recommend?
Benton Family Farm in Walton, KY had the most adorable baby goats and let us pay a tiny bit for 30 amp electrical hookup. We also loved the donkeys and baked goods at Grain Bin Commodities in Sweetwater, TN. Our most memorable stay was Boundary Oak Distillery in Radcliff, KY, and they graciously let us stay a second night free so we could do more Louisville sightseeing. Big Sky Deli and Bakery in Vaughn, MT was a super convenient location with an amazing kid playground.
Thanks for reading my Harvest Hosts reviews! I hope it was helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions before joining in the comments!
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more about our fulltime RV life, check these posts out:
I’m thrilled to share the details of our RV bedroom renovation with you today! If you missed the complete renovation post, you can head here to see the other rooms and a horrible before photo.
I’ll list absolutely everything we used, and I’ll break it down by section. But first, let’s start with the mood board, shall we? I always recommend creating a mood board for any renovation project. It helps keep you focused and makes the whole thing so cohesive. If creating one feels overwhelming, I’d LOVE to help you. Click here to book.
Here’s what I created for our bedroom:
Bedroom mood board
I was really going for desert sunset (which is also what the exterior paint job ended up channeling, too!). The goal was warm and relaxing, which I think it totally achieved.
Our shower stall is in the bedroom, so I’ll include details about the shower in this post. The toilet closet / bathroom details I’ll share in another post.
RV Bedroom Renovation: Colors
Paint colors: Walls and doors are Behr Swiss Coffee
Primer and paint details: Everything was primed with Kilz adhesion primer and painted with Behr semi-gloss interior paint
I love how all of the colors and textures came together to create a relaxing sanctuary feel for our bedroom. This room didn’t get nearly as many “wow worthy” splurges as the kitchen and living room did (like the wallpaper!). That meant that the magic was in the details here. Small projects like creating a custom lightweight headboard out of a cardboard box, DIYing a bead chandelier, and fashioning a gold sun on the bathroom door had a massive impact.
The stunning shower in the corner was the one big transformation in this room. And if I had it to do over again, I would hire a plumber to connect all of the plumbing. I finally figured it out after three weeks, but learning how to move the drain in an RV was an adventure! If you’re cutting vinyl tiles like the ones I used in the shower, you need this Ryobi multi-tool saw. I used it every day during this renovation.
We also unexpectedly had to replace the bedroom slide floor because of water damage. That was a three day very un-fun project, but more doable than the internet makes it sound. I’m so glad we did it! If you find unexpected water damage when you start demoing your RV, don’t panic. Most of it is fixable.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more of our RV renovation, head to the main post or check out any of these:
I’m so excited to keep sharing the details about our 2007 Keystone Raptor Toyhauler renovation. Today we’re focusing on my favorite room(s): the kitchen and living room!
I’ll list absolutely everything we used, and I’ll break it down by section. But first, let’s start with the mood board, shall we? I always recommend creating a mood board for any renovation project. It helps keep you focused and makes the whole thing so cohesive. If creating one feels overwhelming, I’d LOVE to help you. Click here to book.
Here’s what I created for our kitchen and living room:
Mood Board for Inspiration
I fell in love with this wallpaper from Loomwell and pulled the paint colors for the entire RV from it. I also was really inspired by this renovated Airstream kitchen where Bonnie Christine mixed green cabinets and copper details. These two images, plus the extra details I added, guided every decision and purchase I made for this room. Let’s get into it!
Toyhauler Renovation: Kitchen & Living Room Colors
Paint colors: Kitchen cabinets are Behr Muted Sage and walls are Behr Swiss Coffee
Primer and paint details: Everything was primed with Kilz adhesion primer and painted with Behr semi-gloss interior paint
Going back to round up everything I did in our toyhauler renovation kitchen and living room made me tired all over again. It really was doable and worth it, though! The most time-consuming part was definitely priming and painting every surface.
Some RV renovation specific things I learned during this process were:
Be aware of how much weight you’re adding
You can use any light fixture, just add 12v bulbs and a switch if it doesn’t have one
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For the complete RV renovation post, head here. For more posts on RV life:
It can be tricky to figure out what to buy an RV family, especially if they’re downsizing and moving into their RV or have been living in it for awhile. Because space is limited, you probably want to ask before making any major purchase. But these are all gifts we’ve received in the past or would like to receive in the future!
Here are dozens of RV camping gift ideas for the outdoor adventure types in your life:
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
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I’m really excited to share this RV Checklist for Travel I designed with you today!
I chuckle when I think back to how it took us two hours to hitch up the first time we moved the RV. Thankfully, it’s been two years of owning this baby and almost as long living in it, and we’ve towed it to Alaska and back safely! You could say we’ve got travel days down to a science. We break up our move day prep into categories: the day before, the morning of, ready to go, and setup. I’m not about last-minute travel preparation!
Even still, it’s so easy to forget something essential in the chaos of packing up your RV to travel. Whether it’s because we’re on a time crunch or the kids keep interrupting us or we’re simply under the weather, I always feel like there’s one (different!) thing that slips our mind as we pack up. That’s why I absolutely never skip using our RV checklist for travel. Never.
So I thought I’d use my RV packing expertise and combine it with my love of designing printables to create an RV checklist for travel that’s really adorable. Voila!
Stay safe and organized with our adorable printable RV checklist for travel days! Checklist is broken down into four categories: day before, morning of, ready to go, and set up.
I designed this with the idea that you can download it, print it double-sided, and laminate it. Then it’s reusable with a dry erase marker for as many years as you need it! Bonus points for attaching some velcro to secure it to the inside of an RV cabinet. Then it’s easily within reach for you (and a partner!) to make sure you’re not forgetting any safety or sanity items as you get ready for a travel day.
I hope it’s helpful and the pretty design makes you smile like it does for me! Feel free to ask questions or leave a comment with your most hilarious RV travel day hiccup.
If you’re looking for more writing and resources on RV life, check out these posts we’ve written:
Living tiny is a skill, and the key to mastering that skill is practice…and creative RV storage ideas! It comes up so often in RV life forums that I figured I’d share what we’ve learned about staying organized in an RV.
We’re no strangers to living in small spaces — we’re from NYC, after all! We’ve lived in apartments ranging from 500-1,000 square feet all of our adults lives. That prepared us well for living in an RV, where the square footage is even less, but the space is utilized better.
Of course, before we dive into all of the tips and tricks for keeping your things organized in an RV, I should note that it’s impossible if you simply have too.much.stuff. Before moving into your RV, you will have to massively downsize your possessions. Then do it again. Then once you move in, give away or sell anything you haven’t used in three months that isn’t seasonal or sentimental.
Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to organize EVERYTHING. Seriously, absolutely everything needs a place when you live in an RV or you’ll have cluttered counters and tripping hazards.
That’s where these storage ideas come in. Here’s the whole list if you want to see all of the product images together, but I’ve broken them down by category below:
Stay safe and organized with our adorable printable RV checklist for travel days! Checklist is broken down into four categories: day before, morning of, ready to go, and set up.
I hope this list was helpful! Feel free to leave more ideas in the comments below.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more tips and tricks for RV life, check out other RV posts we’ve written:
I did a lot of research into DIY RV exterior paint before finally committing to painting our fiberglass 5th wheel RV. We actually lived in the RV for almost a year before we painted the exterior, both because RV exterior paint prep is a BIG job and because I was worried about how it would turn out.
I’m happy to report that we all adore how it came out. I’m also really happy with the paint we chose and how we transferred the designs. So I’m here to share everything I learned with you today! Let’s get into it, and hopefully you’ll leave with some RV exterior paint ideas.
First, I feel like we need a before photo to really appreciate how worth it this was:
Sure came a long way, huh?
DIY RV Exterior Paint vs. Hiring Professional Painters
So the first choice in any paint job is deciding whether to DIY it or hire professional painters. As you all have probably noticed, I prefer DIYing everything I can. A professional RV exterior paint job can easily cost $10,000, which might make sense if you have a newer or very expensive rig whose value you want to maintain. For our 2007 Keystone Raptor, that kind of investment didn’t make sense.
You might be intimidated by painting on such a large scale, but I’m here to tell you that if you can paint a room and have a tall ladder, you can do this.
Choosing RV Exterior Paint
I also spent a lot of time hemming and hawing over which type of RV exterior paint to use. There are a lot of options. The professionals might use marine epoxy or automotive paint, which are the longest lasting options. The downsides to these are that they’re very expensive and come in limited colors.
Honestly, the lack of color options to suit my vision was my primary reason for choosing what I did: Behr latex exterior house paint. I was very worried about whether exterior house paint would hold up on a fiberglass RV exterior. We’re almost a year in (and we put our rig through a lot in Alaska!), and I’m happy to say that there are only two quarter-sized high-use spots that are chipping.
We used two gallons of paint for the base coat and several quarts or paint samples for the decorative colors. Did you know you can use those tiny paint sample pots for colors you only need a tiny bit of? Here are the RV exterior paint colors we used:
Not counting painting supplies, we spent about $300 on our RV exterior paint colors.
Tools for Painting your RV Exterior
A professional looking paint job requires good tools, so this is not a place you want to skimp. I considered renting or buying a paint sprayer, but ultimately decided to stick with paint rollers and brushes because I’m more comfortable painting that way. It was a good decision because the finish came out just fine the way we did it. Plus, we saved a couple of hundred dollars on the paint sprayer.
Here are the steps you’ll need to take to complete your RV exterior paint job. Don’t skimp on prep, it’s the most important part.
Remove old decals if your rig has them. I won’t lie to you, this is by far the worst part. It took us probably 40 hours of heating decals that weren’t cracked with a hair dryer and peeling them off. Decals that were too sun baked needed to be buffed off with the decal remover wheels we bought.
Clean the exterior thoroughly with your favorite RV cleaner.
Replace any exterior fixtures that are due (we did our stove exhaust vent!). Re-caulk any seams that need it. Get your surface as even as possible.
Lightly sand the entire exterior. Just the lightest of scuffs, don’t take layers off. Vacuum and wash away the dust carefully.
Tape off any fixtures or trim with painters tape.
Roll base color on and brush the edges. We didn’t need to prime separately because the paint we chose was 2-in-1.
If you’re doing fun designs on top, set up the projector and trace the designs onto the RV. This can be tricky because it needs to be dark for you to see the projections. Go slow and come back to it the next day if you have to. Just don’t move the projector until you’re done!
Paint over your beautiful designs! This is the most fun part.
How our Paint is Holding Up One Year Later
Okay, so how is it holding up? This was my biggest concern with this project, so I want to share real life photos! One year later, and I’m very happy with how the paint is holding up. There are two tiny spots with chips: the front door and the hinge of our most-used storage door. You can see the tiny chips on the door (it’s also VERY dirty from Alaska mud, but that’s washable!):
I really tortured myself trying to decide whether to paint our RV exterior, and I am SO glad that we did. I LOVE it, and we get so many compliments. The way we did it might stress out the RV exterior paint purists, but I would 100% do this again.
It really makes every picture of our home more joyful, right?
And I love that the outside finally matches the inside.
We spent six months renovating our whole 2007 fifth wheel from drab to fab. To see how the inside of the RV turned out, check out our complete RV Renovation Ideas post.
Interested in learning how to RV camp for totally free? Check out our Boondocking 101 guide!
This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
For more RV renovation, here are some other posts you might like:
We spent four months turning our hideous 2007 toy hauler RV into a gorgeous tiny home on wheels, and I learned SO MUCH! Here are my best RV renovation ideas from everything I researched and learned on the job!
First, I want to share with you a little before picture to give you hope that no matter what your RV currently looks like, you can make it beautiful. Check out what I like to call grandma hunting cabin chic:
Isn’t she a beaut? Don’t panic, this is fixable. I knew this RV could be a beautiful home because the layout was good and the bones were solid.
Cost Breakdown
I always appreciate when folks are transparent with their costs, so I did a renovation cost breakdown for you! This includes absolutely everything, including tools we needed, closet organization from IKEA, and a brand new set of 6 tires.
I also logged hours worked, including the hours others spent helping me. I tracked 820 hours, not counting the hundreds of hours I spent googling things and watching YouTube videos 😂 I definitely think I could cut that by at least a third if I did another RV. It also includes unexpected water damage repair to the bedroom slide floor.
We spent more on this renovation than you might want to, and that’s because we wanted to buy an older RV so we could own it outright and we knew we’d be living in here so it would be worth making it feel like home. The money we spent was WAY worth it to us because even with the renovations, we spent about a third of what a new toy hauler would cost.
If your budget is lower, though, you can still make a MASSIVE difference with just a few DIY modifications. If I were limited to just three RV renovation ideas, I would choose painting the walls, installing vinyl click flooring, and replacing the window treatments with curtains and/or blinds.
List of RV renovation ideas:
Paint the walls
Paint the cabinets
Install vinyl click flooring
Replace the window treatments
Consider a wallpaper accent wall
Swap lighting fixtures for residential ones
Glue lace or fringe to existing LED lighting fixtures
Switch room divider or closet curtains
Change drawer and cabinet hardware
Replace dinette and couch
Recover benches
Paint and epoxy countertops
Add a peel-and-stick backsplash
Add hanging kitchen storage
Create a flip-up counter with a cutting board
Paint or replace shower
Update ceiling fans
Replace slide trim
Replace door trim
Buy new appliances or bathroom fixtures
Add shoe storage under the stairs
Add faux wainscotting to walls
DIY a new fabric headboard
Add custom storage organization
Hang wall decor
Replace stock door locks with keypads
Consider adding a washer and dryer
Update safety features like smoke detectors and tires
Paint the exterior
O’Phalen RV Mood Boards:
One of my best pieces of advice for anyone considering more than minor RV renovations is to create a mood board before purchasing a single thing!
Here are the ones I created for the different spaces in our RV to give some inspiration:
Keep in mind that an RV is a small space and you will likely see your various rooms from anywhere in the RV, so make sure they coordinate well and don’t clash! I pulled every color used in the whole RV from the livingroom wallpaper so they all would match.
If creating your own RV renovation mood board feels overwhelming — good news! You can hire me to create one for you. Click here!
O’Phalen RV Renovation Ideas Results
Here are a few pictures of how our RV turned out! If you want to see more of the RV, click through to my Instagram reel or take a look at my RV Reno highlights that detail the complete process. Links to the products we used below these pics.
O’Phalen RV Room-by-Room RV Renovation Ideas and Links:
For more details on each and everything we did in every room during our RV renovation, click through to the room-by-room details. If you’re interested in the products we used, the links will be in these posts:
Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.
