You have a great RV or travel trailer but deep down you know it could be better. But rather than shelling out big bucks for a new one, you are considering doing some remodeling or some upgrades. RV bathrooms are one of these areas on most people’s short list.
When you are shopping an RV, you may look at the bathroom, and might even step inside it. But unlike the couches beds and other built in furniture, nobody ever tries the bathroom at the dealership or RV show when doing their RV shopping (that would be gross). Yet there are things about your RV bathroom that you wont discover until you start using it, and if not to your liking, will quickly make it to the top of your remodeling list.
Here are some factors to consider when re-doing your RV bathroom
- Shower width– Spend some time trying shower enclosures at your local big box home improvent store to get an idea of the size you need. While the luxurious spa like bathrooms can be achieved in the right units (like a full on prevost), upright stand in showers sold to home owners are often equivalent to RV shower stalls. So try a few sizes and see what your needs are. This will help set the foot print for the remodel.
- RV bathroom sink location- If RV showers one problem spot with the typical RV bathroom setup, the other biggest issue is the RV bathroom sink. Oftentimes it seems like a complete after thought where the sing is placed. We have seen quite a few RV where you actually have to contort your body just to brush your teeth. When rethinking the bathroom, consider the current sink placement, and lets discuss where it should ACTUALLY be located.
- Moving the toilet to its own space- Something like moving the toilet to its own spot prevents the rear half of the motorhome from being tied up whenever someone is in the bathroom. When camping with others or a large family, this is huge bonus that will really ease the comforts of your trip every single time.
- Re-thinking the “wet bathroom”– Certain small models , pick up campers and travel tailers will sometimes have tiny spaces with walls constructed of vinyl coated paneling. You almost have to to straddle the toilet in order to take your shower. There is a plastic floor pan with a drain, but unlike 1-piece plastic bathrooms that truly can handle being saturated with water, the wet bathrooms can start leaking after some time and water is the killer of all RV’s.
- Room to turn- The shower stall needs to be 36 inches wide to give you room to turn around comfortably.
- Move the shower head – which needs to be mounted high enough so the spray is at least hitting you in the face, but not too high that it sprays over the shower door/curtain. If it’s too low, you’ll have to duck down just to get your head under the water.
- Replace a shower curtain with a shower door -You’ll always end up with water on the floor with a shower curtain. And since RVs have small showers anyway, you’re pretty much guaranteed to make a mess of the room if you have a shower curtain.
- Upgrade your water heater– to a 10-gallon water heater that will allow you to run the water continually. A 6-gallon will require you to wet down, shut the water off, soap up, then turn the water back on to rinse off.
- Insulating the bathroom- While remodeling the bathroom, now is the time to beef up the insulation. Manufacturers rarely insulate bathrooms moe than the minimum and cold plastic showers become brittle at extreme cold temperatures, and they will most likely crack.
- Modernizing the décor– even if you do not do an all out remodel of the rest of your RV, when redoing the bathroom, go for the most modern and clean looking bathroom treatments that you can afford. One day you may want to sell your RV and nothing dates unit faster than the kitchen, the bathroom and the wall coverings. Money spent on good, timeless design will pay off with every use and at resale.