In October of 2017, we sold and moved out of our large house into a 32-foot travel trailer.

Our trailer that came with a queen size bed up front. It had the kitchen, sofa, and dinette in the middle of the trailer.  The sofa and dinette were located in the slide out.  It also came with double bunks and a bathroom at the back of the trailer. We chose this trailer due to space, layout and price but there were a few things that didn’t work well for us so we did a simple RV renovation.

The floor plan of the RV we moved into.

When you are doing full-time RV living, comfort and usability of your space are probably the two most important conditions to consider. Your space should provide you with enough storage for the things you need most such as a place to rest and relax, a comfortable sleeping area and somewhere to conduct any tasks that you want or need to complete on a consistent basis.

What we changed in the trailer for full-time RV living

We removed the top bunk.

With only two adults and a couple of pets, we really didn’t need the double bunks so for the first step of our RV renovation was to remove the top bunk.  This made the bed a to make it a less claustrophobic spot to sleep. We also considered the fact, that removing the top bunk would free up some additional storage space if we installed cabinets or shelving because the one thing you can always use more of in an RV is inside storage.

We upgraded the mattresses.

The mattresses that come with an RV are not comfortable. They work great for ‘vacation’ sleeping but unless you have had a couple of adult beverages before laying down on one you are not going to get a good sleep. We purchased and installed a couple of comfortable memory foam mattresses that suited a good night’s sleep better. There was one downfall to the new mattresses, unfortunately. They are much heavier than the mattresses that came with the RV so getting the storage open has been a bit more of a challenge and items stored there are now a bit more difficult to access.

We removed the dinette.

After our sleeping arrangements had been improved, we decided to remove the dinette. I really needed office space to work and write and run our business from. The dinette takes up quite a bit of room, doesn’t work well as a desk and it was very uncomfortable. In our RV renovation, we replaced it with a desk that was compact and had shelves to maximize the space. I also put a vanity stool with it that doesn’t take up as much space as a desk chair.

We removed the sofa.

The sofa made into a bed which was handy but we already have plenty of sleep space so losing it wasn’t that important for us. The sofa was probably the most uncomfortable thing I had ever sat on. I was even more uncomfortable than the dinette. We replaced the sofa with two recliners. Now we can both stretch out and recline back now which is much more comfortable. We had to sacrifice additional seating for when we had company but we do have extra seats outside under the awning that makes for a good spot to entertain as long as it’s not too chilly. Fortunately, there is still enough space for a small side table beside us with a couple of small drawers for remotes and other odds and ends that we like to keep handy.

Making sure you have a living space that works for your family is the most important thing when you are in your RV for extended periods or are full timers so don’t be afraid to change things if you need to.  Your RV renovation doesn’t have to be complicated if you identify the things in your lifestyle that are most important to you and work to make the areas you do them in as comfortable as you can.