V renovation is all the rage these days and many people are transforming older rigs, looking to restore or upgrade the vintage experience — but it’s not just about older rigs. There are two ways to look at RV renovation: re-working the interior or a portion thereof for a new look or making changes to improve livability and function. That old adage about putting money into the kitchen and bathroom of a brick-and-mortar home to reap the best bang for the bucks holds just as true for mobile living. In my case, the bathroom in the fifth wheel my wife, Lynne, and I live in full time just wasn’t cutting it any longer — and it was difficult to clean and maintain. It was time for a make-over to improve function — and the new look and feel were just icing on the cake.
Initially, the main target was the curvy garden-type shower stall with glass doors. This type of shower stall is stylish, but cleaning is a nightmare. Copious amounts of crud built up around and under the shower-door track and its wheels barely moved because of corrosion from hard water. We cleaned the bottom portion of the enclosure regularly but doing so required back-breaking scrubbing while getting into all the nooks and crannies around the wheels and track; a thorough cleaning was almost impossible. The decision was made to chuck the original enclosure and replace it with a shower curtain.
Making matters worse were the cracks in the shower pan that had developed over the years and slowly began allowing water to leak into the basement. Left unchecked, this would lead to dry rot and its collateral damage to the structure. Rather than searching for a new shower pan — which was difficult to find during supply chain shortages and required removal of the shower stall wall panels to replace — we opted to seal the pan with Flex Seal, a relatively new product that we wanted to try.
We’d also grown tired of replacing the valve seal in the toilet, which had a propensity to leak after a few months of service. To be fair, the water, even though filtered, is horrible where we winter in the desert, which contributed heavily to the valve seal’s early demise. We liked the Dometic 320 toilet for the most part — especially the size and comfort of the residential-type seat — but under full-time service it was getting a little long in the tooth. It was replaced with a Thetford Aria Deluxe II, which operates on 12-volt DC power and provides a prodigious flush.
Earlier, we added a Moen faucet for the sink specifically designed to replace the plastic model that came from the factory. To wrap up this project, we cleaned up the wiring for the wall-hung hair dryer and electric toothbrushes that were on the countertop, which was not only ugly but also a “magnet” for dirt.
Overall, we couldn’t be happier with the results. While installing a shower curtain may seem old school, the entire bathroom took on a different look, visually and physically — and we were the beneficiaries of a few unexpected benefits. The entire project was do-it-yourself friendly; here’s how it went.