Do RV renovations reduce resale value?

Ok, Please forgive me if this is a stupid question.  Provided the remodels are good quality, do they increase the resale value like a house, or because its not all factory, does it decrease it?

We are considering:

Getting rid of the microwave (not a good health option for us)
removing the cubbies above the dinette and the couch (we have a 2000 fleetwood southwind- high end one for its year)
putting beadboard wallpaper over old wallpaper
making cushion covers for everything
removing old blind boxes (we have the day/night blinds- do theses need the outer-box thing?), and putting real curtains
and eventually putting flooring instead of carpet (wood or wood-look).
Painting the cupboards
and removing tvs


Bad idea?

You're asking what the future buyer's taste will be and that is pretty hard to predict.  If something makes it look nicer, I would assume that would be good.  But I sure wouldn't remove the micro or TVs.  They are pretty much going to be expected by the new people.  Can you take them out if you don't want them there and save them to be returned to where they were when you get ready to sell?  As far as painting the cabinets, I guess it depends on how they turn out but I have never seen painted cabinets that I liked.  That's me.

It's not a stupid question.  And whether it's a good or bad idea depends on what you change.  RV manufacturers put things in because customers want them.  Microwaves generally are considered important for resale.  Also, one of the biggest complaints is lack of storage so eliminating cupboards might not be so great.  Certainly refreshing it with new upholstery would be positive.  The valences around shades of any kind are to keep out light at night - campgrounds can be pretty brightly lit and prevent people from being able to sleep on a sofa for example that has a lot of light around the shade above their heads.  Valences also are for privacy because people can't see in the edges of the shades or blinds at night.  Personally I like drapes in a house but curtains in an RV don't seem real practical to me.  Many of us have eliminated carpet except in the bedroom because it's so hard to keep clean.  We have porcelain tile and others have wood or laminate.  Do a lot of research on flooring because some don't hold up as well as others.  In our last motorhome we had a wood in the kitchen that got gouged with little stones that got inside or when something heavy got dropped on it.  I've been told the woods are improved now but make sure it's a good tough surface.

There have been a couple of discussions recently about wallpaper.  RVs don't generally have what we think of as wallpaper that can be removed like that found in a house.  It's generally bonded to the wall during manufacturing.  So do look through the RV Forum discussions to see how successful other people have been with their "wallpaper" changes.  If you can tour an RV manufacturer to see how they make these things you might get a good insight into how they make these rolling homes.

As to whether it's a good idea, keep in mind that you don't want to change it so much that no one else would want to buy it.  We knew a couple who removed all the cupboards in their stick & brick kitchen because she wanted a more "furniture" look in the kitchen with moveable storage "things" for lack of a better word.  The neighbors all thought it was awful, as in what was she thinking?  To us it looked terrible and was totally unusable so we'd have to put in a "real" kitchen if we bought the place.  In other words, we thought she devalued their investment which you don't want to do.

ArdraF

I can speak a little bit from a buyer's perspective, as the prior owner of our RV had done some remodeling.  He had replaced all the living room furniture and the booth dinette with new ultra-leather furniture.  That was a plus that increased what we were willing to pay a little.  He replaced the heavy tube TVs with flat screens and added surround sound.  Although we don't spend much time watching TV, we still considered that an enhancement.  He replaced the carpet with a vinyl plank wood-look product.  That looked nicer in pictures than in person, but I still consider it an improvement over what I'm sure the carpet probably looked like.  He also upgraded the queen mattress with a nice new, very comfortable mattress.  Another plus.

Had he not done these things and assuming they really needed to be done because of the original condition, my target price probably would have been about $3K less than what we agreed on, because that's about what it would have cost me to do it myself.

On the other hand, for me, if he had done things like removed the dinette and replaced it with a desk, removed storage, or done other things that modified it greatly from what came out of the factory, that would have been a deal killer and I wouldn't have been interested. 

Painting the cupboards or doing something with the wallpaper would probably only be an upgrade if the original looked pretty bad.

In my mind, I guess the bottom line is that minor tasteful "upgrades" or renovations (as opposed to total remodeling) probably have a slight enhancement to the resale value of a coach.  Major changes to floorplan or design of the coach probably hurt resale value and could potentially make it unsellable except at a very steep discount.

Sorry if this is repeated above as I did not read everything.
Removing TV's and microwave oven (especially a convection/microwave) will reduce the resale value so as nearly all RVers will want these options.  Nothing wrong with doing it for you, however, but I would recommend leaving the option to re-install these items before you try to sell it (or ensure you make it clearly a part of the sale).

Will this convection oven work in there:  http://besttoasteroven.co/black-decker-cto7100b-toast-r-oven-digital-rotisserie-convection-oven/

I would much prefer one of these (and this the one I already have).

I am considering storing the microwave at a friends house.  oh and the tvs are the big old ones- not sure anyone would want them anyway....

You might get more suggestions if you change the title of the thread to "Do Rv renovations reduce resale value?" I could not figure out what an RV Reno was.

To answer your question, yes and no. If you take an old beat up RV and completely restore it then the resale value will go up. Probably only by about 25% of the cost of the restoration. A late model RV that has all the furniture removed and replaced with Oriental furnishings will probably go down in value since there aren't a lot of people shopping for RVs with Oriental furnishings.

Personally I have never done one thing to one of my RVs worrying about the resale value. RVs depreciate like a rock anyway and it is MY RV and I am going to make it my own.

You might get more suggestions if you change the title of the thread to "Do Rv renovations reduce resale value?"

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Good suggestion Tom. However, if a non-staffer changes a subject line, it only changes the subject of one message, and all replies will retain the original subject. That's what happened in this case when the OP did what you suggested. Forum staff have the ability to do this in a way that the subject line of all messages and replies get changed, which I just did.

yasha.violet said:

Getting rid of the microwave (not a good health option for us)

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I just have to ask why?

As for the convection oven will it fit in the hole where the microwave is? with enough space for the heat to dissipate. if you still have the manual for the oven it might tell you the clearances it needs for safe operation. If not call or email Black and Decker they will tell how much space you will need. then go measure the space in the RV to find out if it will fit. the power outlet for the microwave will power the oven so nothing will be needed there. It just has to have enough space for the heat to get away so nothing burns.

I would say first go USE the RV on the road and in campgrounds for a few weeks or months before you start any drastic renovations. There are many things designed the way they are to tolerate bouncing down the roads and the convenience of living on the fly.

If you're trying to flip an RV for profit, it can be done but it's extremely difficult.  If you're truly worried about resale value, then do the bare minimum in renovations, just focus on maintaining everything. Most folks shopping for a used RV want to buy an RV with "everything working".

I looked at a used RV where the owner had ripped out beautiful cabinetry in part of the bedroom to add a mismatched jumbo closet with thin sagging shelves and blocking off a window. While they were proud of their renovation (look at the mountain of clothes you can carry around!)  I thought it looked absolutely hideous. 

Another RV had the sofa removed, in it's place the owners had bolted down a cheap pressed wood bedroom dresser.  Even they admitted the drawers flew open sometimes while driving.  While they liked having dresser drawers in their living area, a lot of folks would have preferred somewhere to sit down.

Microwaves have been around over 50 years, so folks come to expect them as part of a basic kitchen. Not sure about the health issues you mention. For instance I steam all my fresh veggies in the microwave because it's a proven fact they retain more vitamins and nutrients than with any other cooking method. I also boil pasta in mine because it cooks perfectly every time without heating and steaming up the kitchen, super handy in the summer months.

You could keep the microwave, line it with rubber shelf liner and store the dishes or food in it like a cabinet.  Then it's still there for the resale value and you get to use the area as storage in the interim.

I looked at loads of used RV's before buying mine. The ones that had been highly customized, I stayed away from because the renovations I saw weren't functional for my lifestyle or functional for  traveling, but I guess they were functional for long term parking. In another one, the color-blind owner had redone the decor and frankly it gave me a headache to look at all the clashing colors and prints.

On a flip side, I have seen some awesome paint jobs, where folks painted over the "wallpaper" wallboards and or cabinets.  It was labor intensive to get it to look right but the end result was bright and airy looking. I also saw where someone installed disco wallpaper over the wallboards, and it was not only a bad choice, but it was curling at the edges and sagging in some areas.

I met a couple on the road who showed me their RV and were very honest about the mistakes they made. When they bought their used RV, they were new at this, it was their first RV and they didn't like the decor or furniture or appliances so they ripped it all out, and did their own thing BEFORE they had ever traveled anywhere in the RV.  This turned out to be a huge mistake.  Their new cheap furniture and renovations just were not designed to go bouncing down the highways and running up and down mountains and curves.  They said the noise level was incredible, the storage they had ripped out, they sorely missed. Then one day they saw an RV they wanted to trade for.  However the dealer looked at their "renovated" RV and told them  he could pony up about a thousand dollars because the only thing he saw salvageable was possibly ripping out the engine for resale and send the rest to the junk yard. Ouch! Sooooo...  they have decided to keep their current RV for the long haul and live with their unique renovations.

I have done some customizations to my little old RV.  Many are reversible. But I figure in the "fun factor" before I do anything. Will I enjoy the renovation enough to justify the overall cost, assuming it adds ZERO value to the RV?  So mostly I have done my own thing, to further my enjoyment and comfort. I am not overly concerned about resale value because my rig is already 19 years old. No matter how many things I renovate, it's still going to be considered a 19 year old rig...

For some weird reason my wallboards were heavily stained when I bought my RV.  This drove me batty and I thought about 10 different ways to modify it. In the end I discovered that a good scrubbing with $2 "Magic Eraser Sponges" from the Dollar General removed every bit of the stains!  The wallboards (which do resemble wallpaper) suddenly looked new again. I am so glad I didn't do any pricey remedies to cover up the stains, I apparently just needed to find the right product to remove the stains.

Good luck in your final choices. But remember each year the rig gets older and the resale value generally keeps dropping with it. Also, don't spend all your money up front!  When you finally do start traveling, you may be amazed at what emergency repairs suddenly appear out of nowhere in an older rig. It's good to have a fund set aside for these things. It helps lessen the shock.

Wow- there is almost too much to reply too!  i will checkout the size of my toaster oven and the space in the RV.  I *might* have the manual- I should- but I think the box is in the back of our storage space...   I am glad that at least electrically it would manage it- we dont know ANYTHING about the electrical end of the RV yet.  I am still reading through the manual.  I was thinking I'd watch some rving 101 'courses' on youtube.

I know this probably makes me a weirdo (no offense to all the rver's who love theirs!) but I just don't trust microwaves.  I have been slowly working our family into a more raw food 'diet', and getting as back to basic foods as possible.

Thank your for fixing and suggesting to fix the subject line.  Sorry- my bad.

Ours isn't old and beat up... the interior is in great condition....  It just resembles a hotel room more than a 'home'. 

Interesting note on the 'wallpaper'.  But, that might(?)  actually make it easier to apply wallpaper over it, no?  I will search the forum!

As for the storage cubbies.  We have, ALOT of books we dont want to part with (in fact we will "go without" in other areas- just dont take the books!).  I found a http://pinterest.com/pin/465911523920791685/ hippie bus conversion that had a  bookshelf all across the upper wall that would store a HUGE portion of our books. PLUS we homeschool so books space, and easy access, is a huge deal.  I will keep looking at how i can make our books fit.

I guess this is where : "Personally I have never done one thing to one of my RVs worrying about the resale value. RVs depreciate like a rock anyway and it is MY RV and I am going to make it my own."  might fit?


I see what you mean about the light seeping through the windows.  I never thought of that.  hm... maybe I can re-upholster the coverings and/or add curtains over them?


This is my pinterest board of ideas if anyone is curious about what I am trying to do:

http://pinterest.com/mrsfard/fulltime-rv-remodel-ideas-making-it-home/


Our counters are corian.  Our table top is heavy and looks similar- any guess as to what it is? 

Books will add an awful lot of weight pretty quick if you are talking a lot.  will you  have enough
extra weight capacity after loading to add those?