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Renovated 5th Wheel RV: Interview with Caroline and Daniel


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We’ve been seeing more and more couples and families choose RV conversions for great temporary housing to allow them to travel and save money for a future home. This “temporary tiny” is a great way to learn to live with less and to help people reach their financial goals. Caroline and husband, Daniel, did an amazing job on their 5th wheel conversion!

They were able to buy their RV from the original owners, and then spend about 5 weeks of full-time renovations. While they were previously working seasonally and travelling, they’re now looking for more permanent work and Caroline is growing her photography business.

We got to do a Q&A with the awesome couple, which you can read at the end of the post after a photo tour of their conversion. Follow them on Instagram here.

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They Gave This 5th Wheel an Awesome Facelift

They managed to keep things cozy in here!

Those countertops are stunning.

Check out that sink! It’s huge for an RV.

Nothing says cozy like a fire (even if it’s electric).

The happy couple in their little home.

Here’s what it looked like pre-Christmas.

Love those subway tiles steps.

A rug makes a big difference in adding warmth.

What a lovely breakfast nook.

Here’s their bedroom.

Interview with Caroline About Their RV Life


What are your name(s)?

Daniel & Caroline Peters

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

Just us 2 adults but hoping to get a dog soon

How long have you lived tiny?

Almost 6 months!

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

We’ve been traveling full time and just working seasonally until recently. We are now focused on applying for long-term jobs and I’m growing my photography business.

Why are you hoping to get out of living tiny?

We wanted to stop paying high rent costs but weren’t ready to buy a house so this option has allowed us to own our home and save up for some property one day. We also wanted to travel and have the the freedom and flexibility to up and go anywhere when we feel like it.

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

A tiny home is less flexible when it comes to travel (something that is important to us) and a bus is generally more work to renovate. We felt a fifth wheel RV was the best option for us.

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

We bought it used from a private seller (original owners! 🙌🏼) and spent about 5 weeks full-time renovating it! The renovations we did weren’t anything too extensive but we essentially gave the whole thing a big facelift

What are bills/utilities like compared to before?

While traveling, since we aren’t yet set up for off-grid camping (that’s our next goal!) costs end up being just about what we were paying for rent in our old apartment. But, when we stay in one place for a month at a time, it ends up costing us about half of the price of the rent at our old apartment

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

Since we aren’t ready to live off-grid yet, while traveling we call around and find RV parks or campgrounds with good rates. However, when we are near friends with property, we sometimes park at their places and “moochdock”

Before going tiny, what was life like?

Busy, more complicated. Daniel was a full-time student, working part time, and I worked full-time. We were very involved in our church and community, and with friends and family. We still lived as simply as we could but it doesn’t compare to the simple life we have now.

Is there anything from your old life that you miss?

A bathtub!! And the ability to call the landlord when something breaks. And of course our friends and family

What benefits are you experiencing after going tiny?

Life is more simple. We have less stuff and there’s such freedom that comes from that. We are more focused on what really matters in life, the essentials. We also spend a lot more time together which has strengthened our marriage.

What about some challenges?

It can be frustrating that things break more often than they do in a real house or apartment and it feels like we are constantly fixing things! It also feels like things are more likely to go wrong since there are so many more moving parts (quite literally!)

What makes your tiny home special?

All the time and energy we put into making it our own and turning it into something we are proud of. We’ve poured a lot of thought and love into all the details. We love the layout of it as well!

What is your favorite part of your tiny home?

Definitely my kitchen and the opposing slide outs. We also have more storage than we actually need!

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

Make sure beforehand that it’s the right fit for you! It can be so tempting when you look at pictures of beautiful tiny homes, to think of it very idealistically and not make an informed decision. We love our life but have come to see that it’s not for everyone! Not all people are a good fit for this lifestyle. So take some time to do lots of research, talk to those who live tiny and be very honest with yourself. Can you live with less space, in constant close proximity to your loved ones? Are you ok living with less than half your old stuff? Are you flexible? When something breaks, are you comfortable fixing it yourself or can you afford to pay someone to come fix it? Those are just some of the questions to be honest about. And if you’ve done your research and can say yes to all those, then jump right on in and enjoy the tiny life!

Anything I didn’t ask about that we should know?

We aren’t fully done with renovations or decorating yet! Once the biggest projects were done, we decided to keep working on things as our budget allowed. It really spreads out the renovation process and never feels like our rig is truly finished, but the benefit is that it allows us to not be in debt. We also do a lot of projects ourselves and many DIY’s to keep costs down. If you love watching renovations or are interested in seeing DIY’s, you’re more than welcome to join us!

Learn More:

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Our big thanks to Susan for sharing! 🙏

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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)

{ 11 comments… add one }
  • Ann
    January 20, 2021, 8:57 am

    Nicely done! One of the nicer ones I’ve seen. I’m a little confused, though. For the bedroom door, it seems to show 2 different ones?
    Is there a video of it as well? Would love to have seem a little more of the inside.
    Thanks.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      January 20, 2021, 9:17 am

      I think they ended up renovating it. I usually take photos from Instagram so they aren’t all taken on the same day.

      • Ann
        January 20, 2021, 9:25 am

        Ahh ok, thanks. : )

  • Marsha Cowan
    January 20, 2021, 11:53 am

    Really lovely home! I love the kitchen layout and the eating nook. The master bedroom is really nice, too. It there a bathroom? You guys did a great job of turning this into a beautiful, cozy home.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      January 20, 2021, 2:46 pm

      Yes there is 🙂

  • sheila plourde
    January 20, 2021, 12:25 pm

    Love your home. Tastefully decorated and not cluttered. Kitchen sink is making me drool. Is beautiful.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      January 20, 2021, 2:45 pm

      I loved that sink!

  • Amber
    January 24, 2021, 11:20 am

    I love her honesty and advice as much as I love their home. I have a very limited budget and even less ability to fix things and build from scratch. I sit and drool over THOW and dream about converting a shed home but then it all seems too hard and I think, right travel trailer it is because it’s all done for me. Which is when truly honest insights from those doing it, really count – the need for the skill to make constant fixes is great advice and very much appreciated. As is the term “Moochdocking.” Which is just the best – I really need to up the number of moochable friends I have – though thoughts of Eddie from National Lampoon’s Christmas are worrying!

    • Natalie C. McKee
      January 25, 2021, 1:24 pm

      Hahaha oh man remember the scene where he’s dumping the black water? Ew!!

      • Amber
        January 26, 2021, 12:09 am

        Oh I remember lol Every time I had to empty the black waste cassette when I stayed on my brother’s farm, I channeled Eddie as I staggered to the septic!

        • Natalie C. McKee
          January 27, 2021, 1:37 pm

          Hahaha!

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