Colors, Carpets, and Chaos: The Challenges of RV Renovation

Navigating Priming Woes, Persistent Dirt, and Unexpected Flooring Surprises

Robbie made his deployment pretty easy on me, and we quickly picked up a communication routine. Every morning started with a wake-up call; every evening ended with a wrap-up call. My days were filled with texts, calls, and surprise deliveries—flowers, breakfast on Saturdays, and unexpected treats at restaurants. He didn’t miss a beat. Robbie made sure I felt cherished every single day, even from afar, and he was always involved in every part of our RV transformation.

After the intense demo day, I bombarded Robbie with ideas for colors, tiles, wallpaper, fixtures, hardware, furniture, lighting, plates, and more. He was incredibly supportive, fueling my creativity. We chose a cozy and warm theme with bold colors, gold accents, and lush furnishings. It would be our perfect oasis.

Next up was priming every surface destined for wallpaper or paint. This meant cleaning and prepping the walls, sanding, filling holes, removing cabinet doors, and taping off areas. Once that was all done, I was able to start priming. On Saturday, motivated by my weekly breakfast delivery, I got to work!

I started in the bunk room, and before I knew it, I was just about finished, with the last task being cutting in around the carpet. “Hmm, that’s funny,” I thought as I noticed a line of dirt along the wall. Not to worry, I grabbed my vacuum, turned it on Boost Mode, and attacked the space. Another canister later, I went back to painting. Perhaps I just missed that area.

Everything was going smoothly until I noticed a persistent line of dirt along the walls. “What the…” There was more dirt, this time thick and on the freshly primed tacky walls. I decided to wait for it to dry, and then I would try to wipe what I could off and touch it up if needed. I moved on to the rest of the RV, noticing that the slides' walls were doing the same thing.

What was going on?! I vacuumed again, and again, and again. I used our Dyson, our shop vac, and our Shark. Vacuuming at least 30 times. No matter what I did, the dirt kept reappearing. I was at a loss. It was frustrating, but I pressed on, driven to get to the fun parts of decorating.

Have you ever done a project like this, where certain stages are a lot of work but don’t seem very impressive? I was in that stage; everything was grayish-white, and nothing looked very remarkable; in fact, it looked more blah than anything. Thankfully, Robbie, my biggest cheerleader, kept my spirits up during our evening chat. He was not about to let me feel defeated.

When I shared my constant vacuuming saga, he suggested I pull the rug up a bit; perhaps the vinyl flooring was under the carpet. To my surprise, the vinyl flooring was there, as was more dirt! How was that even possible!?

We made the call: I would be ripping the carpet up. The next day, I started the grueling task. I followed all the tips and tricks I could find on the internet. I was nearly finished with my first strip when I discovered something UNTHINKABLE. The vinyl flooring didn’t go all the way to the cabinet! There were about 10 inches of bare wood. NOW WHAT?! At this point, I had already scored it in strips; there was no going back. I had a few hours until Robbie would call, so I just continued ripping up the carpet.

The back slides were fairly easy. I got into a rhythm, and before I knew it, only piles of dirt and tacks were left behind—tacks that required pliers, screwdrivers, and lots and lots of tenacity to get out.

Nearly finished, I went to work on the living room slide. Surprisingly, the slide itself took me no time; the portion of carpet around the slide was the real challenge. There were hundreds of tacks. Tacks on top of tacks. Broken tacks. Rusted tacks. Tacks so caked in dirt you couldn’t get under them to pry them out.

By the end of the day, I was spent and filthy. I opted to vacuum one last time, and two canisters later, I was able to take a shower, washing off the filth and disappointment of the day.

Anxious about our evening call, I shared the news with Robbie, who was impressed by the progress and energized by the blank slate.

We brainstormed solutions immediately. We could try to match the sheet of vinyl that was there or perhaps pull it all up and paint the floor. We could put carpets and rugs down to cover the raw wood or combine all these ideas. What to do, what to do...

We searched online, priced things out, and tried to come up with creative solutions. Ultimately, we decided to simply redo the floor using a color we both liked. It would eat into the budget, but we both knew it was right. As though it were meant to be, the color we both liked the best was on sale with free delivery! Boy, did we get lucky! With a quick online checkout and a delivery ETA for the following week, we were back on track.

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