We’re the Wickes family
(pronounced Wix)
A few years ago we would have laughed if you told us that we would spend a couple years in a 400 sq ft RV with our 3 crazy little boys. Yet here we are and we’ve loved it!
A gradual curiosity led to full-time living in our 5th wheel RV trailer. We watched TV shows about the tiny home movement. Then we started checking out RV tradeshows. And next thing you knew we created Pinterest boards and started receiving camping trailer brochures in the mail.
We purchased a brand-new 5th wheel from the manufacturer. The day it arrived, we drove a couple hours to the dealer. As we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a large trailer parked out front. We looked at each other and said, “that can’t be ours, is it??”
We knew that a 42 ft long trailer would be big, but we were not prepared for the project ahead.
Unlike an actual home (often called “sticks and bricks” by people in the know), you can’t really order a customized RV. You can choose between one slightly ugly carpet color vs another even uglier carpet color. And maybe you can swap out the valences with a different pattern. But who even wants those old school valences in the first place!?
The RV world is far behind the consumer demand. Manufacturers continue pumping out hundreds of thousands of new trailers a year, but little changes from one year to the next.
Most new RVs might have modern conveniences like a big screen TV or an electric fireplace or even a residential refrigerator, but the overall package just looks and feels dated and dingy.
We bought a new trailer for the solid construction, not the dated design.
We had always planned on renovating the interior of our home on wheels. We bought a new RV for the “bones” knowing we would end up painting and building and remodeling along the way.
We opted to go all in with the RV lifestyle by selling nearly everything we owned and we moved into our trailer. That required multiple rounds of selling and donating most of our possessions to live the minimalism lifestyle, but that’s a story for another day. 🙂
We didn’t want to travel across the country in a cookie cutter design straight off the factory line. We still wanted to feel comfortable and make our RV our “home”, so we customized nearly every square inch of our trailer.
No design experience. Just a huge dose of determination!
We had very little design or building experience before we tackled each project, but YouTube and forums and a little help from friends moved things along.
After we finished our renovations and started traveling around, we received compliments and lots of questions like, “how would we do this…”?
People saw our trailer and realized that the RV lifestyle didn’t have to feel like traditional tent camping.
Those questions and our desire to help and inspire others to make their home on wheels a little (or a lot) more comfortable and cozy led to the creation of Love That RV.
There are many different types of recreational vehicles (RVs) out there… the traditional motorhome, small popup camping trailers, 5th wheel trailers (like we own), school buses converted into “skoolies”, and even small cargo vans turned into a glamping experience like no other.
All these vehicles have something in common… they’re a home on wheels. We hope you enjoy exploring this site as you browse through the galleries seeking inspiration for your very own project. The road is calling, but you don’t have to live in a cookie cutter design. Make it your own and live in style!
Walk-Through Tour of Our Rig
You can watch a tour we did of our renovated RV. And yes, I know we sounded a little monotone and boring… we’re not professional video people and I was so nervous doing this video!
@So.Wickesited
Follow along on our family travels
(pronounced so-wix-cited… as in “so excited”… see that pun?)