≡ Menu

Family of 6 And Their DIY Bunk Bed Travel Trailer Rebuild


This post contains affiliate links.

Five years ago, Chelsea and Diego hardly saw each other because of Diego’s work schedule. That’s when they decided to go tiny and purchased a new RV so Chelsea and the kids could follow Diego wherever he’s working as a pipeline welder.

The couple just welcomed their fourth child a couple months ago, and they all love RV life even if it requires some sacrifice of personal space. Two years into living in the RV they decided to start making renovations, and now every part of their home is as functional as it is beautiful!

You’ll love seeing the interior, but make sure to take time to read the Q&A with Chelsea below the photo tour! And follow the family on Instagram here.

Don’t miss other interesting tiny homes like this one – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

RV Life Lets This Family Stay Together!

They purchased the RV new five years ago.

They put in a real couch and I love the twinkle lights.

Their aesthetic is so homey!

They replaced the dinette with this table and benches.

Leather cabinet pulls are very “in” right now.

The cutting board provides a bit of extra prep space.

It’s great that the benches have storage in them.

The family has been homeschooling since they started tiny living.

Such a beautiful wall in front of the Master bedroom.

Here’s a peek at the bathroom.

Here’s the kids’ bunk room.

They designed extra storage as well.

The kids make friends everywhere they go.

Check out this fun outdoor kitchen they have!

Chelsea Talks Family RV Life


What are your name(s)?

Diego and Chelsea Garcia

How many people (and animals) are living in your RV?

6 people we have four children Collette (9) Winslet (7) Hendrix (2) and Magnolia (2 months)

How long have you lived tiny?

In May it will be 5 years

What do you do for work? Or do you travel full-time?

Diego is a pipeline welder

What are you hoping to get out of living tiny?

We live tiny to keep our family together. Diego’s job moves every 1-3 months and living in an RV is the best way for our family to follow his job.

What inspired you to choose an RV (rather than say a tiny house or a bus)?

We were brand new to living tiny when we bought our RV. We decided to buy and move into our RV within 10 days. So it boiled down to what was available in our location.

How did you acquire your RV? Did you do a lot of renovations?

We bought our RV new. Lived in it for two years before we decided to start renovation. We have since painted and renovated almost every part of the RV.

What are bills/utilities like compared to before?

Most of our bills are comparable to before. When oil and gas is good the RV parks can get pretty high.

How did you find a place to “park” your home? Or do you travel?

We move often and just search local FB groups for recommendation and google.

Before going tiny, what was life like?

Diego worked long hours to keep up with bills. He was hardly ever home and family time was non existent.

Is there anything from your old life that you miss?

Just my big refrigerator and a dish washer.

What benefits are you experiencing after going tiny?

The family time we have is unmatched. Also having space for less stuff has forced us to be very intentional about what we bring into our home. It has also brought out incredible creativity in our kids as well as a love for the outdoors for all of us. Before living tiny going on a hike would never have been our first activity choice for our family but now it is.

What about some challenges?

Living in such a small space you don’t get much time for yourself. That means as parents we don’t get many breaks, but our children also don’t get much space from each other. You have to find more patience within. You can’t send the kids to another area of the house when they are being loud.

What makes your tiny home special?

We have really made the most of our space storage wise. In a lot of RV spaces people choose beauty over function. With our renovations we have really made each space purposeful.

What is your favorite part of your tiny home?

The Entertainment Center. It’s one of a kind and really gave us more storage while still being a place I can change up design wise.

What helpful advice would you give to others interested in going tiny?

Do it. I don’t think it’s something many people regret. It’s really gives you a chance to strengthen your family.

Learn More:

Related Stories:

Our big thanks to Chelsea for sharing! 🙏

You can share this using the e-mail and social media re-share buttons below. Thanks!

If you enjoyed this you’ll LOVE our Free Daily Tiny House Newsletter with even more!

You can also join our Small House Newsletter!

Also, try our Tiny Houses For Sale Newsletter! Thank you!

More Like This: Tiny Houses | RV Living | Family Tiny House Living | Interviews

See The Latest: Go Back Home to See Our Latest Tiny Houses

This post contains affiliate links.

The following two tabs change content below.

Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.

Latest posts by Natalie C. McKee (see all)

{ 6 comments… add one }
  • merryl
    February 19, 2021, 10:21 am

    How adorable.

  • Sophia
    February 19, 2021, 12:34 pm

    Very nice. The only thing that bugs me is no railings on the upper bunks (I would be paranoid my kids would fall out) and one railing on the lower bunk.

    • James D.
      February 19, 2021, 3:24 pm

      You can always add railings, but mind they can be a hazard too because they can make it harder to get in and out of those beds and become a tripping/trap hazard…

      The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have received many death and injury reports related to both adult portable bed rail products and hospital bed rails. Most of these reports were for entrapment and falls. Though, most of those occurred to people who were 60 and older, but some to as young as 14… Not to say they are inherently dangerous, this occurs to only a few hundred people a year in the whole country, but to a certain small percentage of people they can be.

      Safety is really relative and for some individuals certain safety measures can be more dangerous and not safer. So whatever you do, make sure it actually works as intended for the person(s) you’re using it for, perhaps do a trial run and get feedback to see if it’s working as intended or not. Also, mind there are different types of rails and some may work better than others for your intended use, or use other safety measures like an alarm that can notify you if and when someone needs assistance or be aware when they may be disorientated and may have more difficulty dealing with the rails.

      Besides rails, there’s also safety nets, sliding doors, and other options that function similarly and are readily available products for bunk beds, especially, for RV’s… Or you can make a project out of it and make something yourself, maybe even something the kids can help with as both a way to provide some protection and give them a way to personalize the space with some art or way to provide some privacy.

      For example, a sliding curtain that’s attached guide rails both above and below can be easily pushed out of the way but when used to close the opening acts as safety net and it’s something you can make yourself…

  • Marsha Cowan
    February 19, 2021, 2:30 pm

    Abslutely beautiful! How do you keep it so clean and decorated with 6 people in the house? Lovely home, and the kitchen is too cute! I love the bath, too. What great idea you have throughout the house!

  • Tim J Emanuel
    February 19, 2021, 11:01 pm

    What a beautiful and loving family.

  • Laura
    December 5, 2022, 8:34 am

    We just purchased this exact travel trailer used and I’m in love with it but we have not gone anywhere with it yet I’m wondering how well does this tows have you had any problems ?

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.