The Reno Process + Budget Breakdown | Caravan Reno
After travelling throughout New Zealand and staying in our 1970s retro caravan, we knew that we loved the open layout of this caravan. But ever since we purchased it, we had always wanted to give our holiday home on wheels a new look!
We loved the retro character and original features of the caravan, so we wanted to keep true to as much of this as possible and planned to do minimal building work in the renovation. We had high hopes for a simple and fast makeover of our caravan, predominately painting and upgrading a few features like curtains and upholstery. We set aside 6 weeks for the renovation and roughly budgeted $3,000 to spend on the upgrade. And then we started the renovation….
Only to find water damage behind most of the walls, in the framing, and floor. We had to remove all the cabinets to find out that the floor wasn't level and the chassis needed to be reinforced by the welder. What was supposed to be a cosmetic makeover became a deep drive into fully restoring a caravan, as Caleb removed all the rotten linings and framing and reframed a large portion of the structure. Due to the fact that you are working within a space with plenty of curves and with framing that isn’t a standard thickness, it was a time-consuming process that required plenty of problem-solving, patience, and custom solutions.
We replaced the chipboard linings with a cute tongue and groove ply panelling - creating a cool detail at only a fraction of the price more than standard ply. Using 6mm ply added some extra weight to the caravan, but we thought was a worthy tradeoff to give it greater structural integrity. The one benefit of removing all the cabinetry was it made painting all the surfaces far more convenient. Each surface was sanded, cleaned and primed with the correct product before applying the top coat.
We made the decision to brush and roll both the exterior and interior of the caravan; whilst we would have liked to spray, restrictions with time and having the caravan outdoors made this unachievable. Where we could, we attempted to save money and time. Rather than spending over $2K on custom-made blinds, I found ready-made blackout curtains that I had hemmed, costing $225 all up. I selected an affordable and easy-to-install adhesive vinyl tile which took less than a day for Caleb to install and cost under $200. And took on a DIY task of upholstering the mattresses with material I got for less than $100 with some old mattresses we had spare.
The budget was important in this renovation, though we were attempting to get the caravan completed to take it away for our summer holidays; long term, we plan to sell it in order to get a bigger caravan for our family of six. With that in mind, we knew that similar renovated caravans were being advertised within the price bracket of $17,000 - $22,000. Having purchased it for $5,200 back in 2019 and spending around $3,000 to keep it roadworthy since then, we'd be selling at a loss if we spent more than $8,000. The goal isn’t necessarily to make a profit, but we are intentional about making wise financial decisions and saving money wherever possible when we renovate.
We ‘knew’ going into this, but now we really know - that caravan renovations are a labour of love. Due to the bespoke requirements of each individual caravan, it takes many many hours to repair, prepare and do things properly. It was quite the journey to get this finished in time for our holidays, but we managed to do it and learnt a LOT along the way.
A full breakdown of all the costs are below.
To watch the whole process of our caravan renovation, check out our video series with Masterstroke by Resene.
Resene Paint $1,351
Vinyl Floor Tiles $195
Plastic Wrap for Benches $239
Brass Handles and Wall Hooks $579
Curtains $225
Interior and Exterior Lights $583
Upholstery $90
New Wall Lining $606
Building Materials $972
Electrician (includes eWOF) $715
Builder $400
Welder $325
Total $6,280