Setting Up your RV Bedroom and Bathroom

Setting up your bathroom and bedroom efficiently and comfortably is one of the things that will help make your RV feel more like a vacation home.  When we bought our first trailer over 15 years ago, it was a big deal to both my husband and I that our trailer be very different from tent camping. That meant no sleeping bags, having things already in the trailer like linens so we didn’t have to pack them, and above all, it had to be comfortable.  Here are some tips.  Of course, everyone’s opinion on comfortable is different.  This is my Trailer Girl opinion!  Take what you like!

The bedroom:

The bedroom has to be comfortable!  Chances are good when you’re on an RV trip, you’re going to wear yourself out driving, hiking, or exploring.  A good night’s sleep can make a huge difference in how your day goes!

• The mattress– Don’t let the mattress be a deal-breaker when buying your rig.  Odds are, the mattress that comes with your rig won’t be to your liking.  They almost never are!  Our first trailer had a foam mattress (it pre-dated memory foam so it was just plain foam that was covered nicely) and it was great!  We put a nice mattress pad on it and had zero problems!  When we bought our second trailer, it never occurred to us that the mattress might be garbage … and it was!  There was no making it work!  We bought a memory foam mattress from Camping World, put a nice mattress pad on it and slept great after that!  In our current trailer, our mattress seems to be nicely made, but is super firm.  I bought a memory foam mattress pad from Macy’s and guess what?  It’s just fine!  The mattress will be a trial an error thing.  You’ll feel a bit like Goldilocks until you get it … just… right!
• Sheets– Get your favorite kind of sheets!  Don’t skimp on your rig!  You’re on vacation!  Your sleep is important!  For those of you with strange sized mattresses, like short queens, might I recommend jersey sheets?  I used them for 15 years on short queens and bought full sized sheets (not queen).  The bottom sheet stretched nice and tight over the mattress and everything else worked fine.  
• Pillows – Don’t demote your old house pillows and put them in your trailer! Get comfortable pillows you love and put them in your trailer.  Again, your sleep is super important!
• The pretty stuff – Sometimes RV’s come with a bedspread.  I have hated every RV bedspread I have ever met!  They make nice moving blankets and dog beds though! Put a comforter or quilt that you love on the bed.  Add throw pillows that you like.  Add a throw blanket to the foot of the bed and it’ll feel like a cozy B&B!  If you have room on the walls, hang a picture you like.  Our trailer has night stands on either side of the bed.  My side has a favorite picture of my kids.  Your bedroom should make you feel comfortable, cozy, and happy!
• Your closest – See my earlier blog post on Weird RV Closets for more information on closets.  Some favorite things for closets – velvet hangers!  Not that I’m some princess that needs my clothes hung up fancy.  It’s more that I hate picking them up off of the bottom of the closet after they’ve fallen off the hangers in transit.  There’s lots more information about setting up your closet in my Weird RV Closet blog post.
• If you’re lucky enough to have drawers – After 15 years of RVing, we finally have drawers in the bedroom!  I put clear dividing bins in the drawers so that things stay neat and don’t jumble on the road.  I also put them in my husband’s drawer.  Here’s what he had to say about that, “Ugh!  You and your bins!!!”  he proceeded to stack his bin under another bin and not use it.  I promptly re-possessed the bin and used it the pantry. If you snooze you lose … your bin! 

• If you don’t have drawers – You can make them by using Rubbermaid or Sterlite storage bins with drawers.  Be sure to measure before you buy.  We used these for years and they worked great!
• What to keep in your closet/bedroom:  I keep 3 coats in my closet (we live in the Pacific Northwest, so we have various crazy weather); a windbreaker/raincoat, a fleece jacket, and a heavy coat.  I purchased my heavy coat for $27.99 from a souvenir shop. You can find cheap coats that are great for leaving in your trailer at a lot of towns you visit.  They make a great, useful souvenir!  I also keep an extra set of sheets in the storage under the bed.  That way, when I can change the sheets at the end of the trip and be ready for the next trip!  I know other people that have a trailer wardrobe.  We are mostly weekenders and have to keep our trailer in storage.  This would be way too much of a pain to wash everything and get it back to the trailer after a trip.  It’s much easier for us to pack clothes just before a trip. 

The bathroom:

When we bought our first trailer, we thought we should stock the medicine cabinet with all kinds of things we might need like cold medicine, Tylenol, cough syrup, etc.  It turns out, we’re rarely ever so far from a pharmacy or a grocery store that that is really necessary.  Everytime I’ve moved out of a rig, I’ve emptied out 3 years past expired medicine.  So, now we only buy as needed and buy the smallest size.  One thing we always keep on hand, Tylenol PM because sometimes you wear yourself out hiking or exploring and you need to sleep great so you can get up and do some more the next day!  

• The medicine cabinet– We keep things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and other toiletries in the medicine cabinet so we don’t have to pack them each time.  I like Clinique skin care products.  I save my purchases for when they have a free gift (they almost always have one somewhere!) and use all of the samples in the trailer.  Pack your medicine cabinet with things you use every trip (or almost every trip).  
• Earthquake hits the medicine cabinet! – This is what happens to your medicine cabinet when you’re on the road.  Everything is on its side, slid over to one side, etc. It’s a mess!  I am known as the “Straightening Up Fairy” and fix it.  I recently purchased some long skinny clear bins that help hold things up.  The Straightening Up Fairy has been much less busy straightening up.
• Towels and where to put them – If you ever want a dry towel, don’t buy nice luxurious thick towels!  Get the fast-drying kind.  RV bathrooms usually come with a towel bar challenge – as in, where the heck are you going to put a towel bar?   For 15 years, we had one hanging over the door and hung everyone’s towels on it.  For the first time, we actually have a spot for a normal towel bar.  We keep an extra set of towels in the trailer so that we can put out fresh ones for the next trip at the end of a trip.  

• Toilet paper and where to put it – RV toilet paper is a strange subject.  We use one-ply from the normal grocery store and have no problems with our tanks and sensors.  You don’t have to buy the fancy, expensive stuff from the RV supply. Our first two rigs had no place to put a toilet paper holder.  Like most RV bathrooms, our first two were tiny and you could reach the inside of the cupboard from the toilet.  That’s where the toilet paper lived.  (Aren’t you glad you read this?  These are the things nobody ever tells you!).  We were pretty excited when we bought our current trailer because we found a place to hang a toilet paper holder.  It’s the little things….
• Shower Caddies – I could write a whole blog post about shower caddies!  I found one I love at Bed Bath and Beyond that has knobs that make the suction cups actually stick to the shower wall.  We just traveled over 1,000 miles and everything stayed put!  
• Blowdryers, curling irons, etc – Let’s face it, we need our stuff!  I keep one of each hair tool that I use at home in the trailer.  Be careful when using them in your trailer.  I’ve had to re-set the GFI because I tried to use the blow-dryer when the air-conditioner was on and messed up the power to the trailer.  Also, beware of weird RV park electrical issues.  I’ve blown out a hair dryer motor and melted a curling iron.  Someone who knows things about electrical things could probably tell you why.  This might be a time not to put your best stuff in your trailer – just in case.  

The most important things when setting up your trailer bedroom and bathroom are to make it your own, make it comfortable, and make it work efficiently for you.  You also want to avoid packing things every trip like toiletries, towels, etc. so that getting ready for a trip isn’t exhausting. Always remember, you’re on vacation!  It shouldn’t be a bunch of extra work!  Enjoy your set up and your time in your own little portable B&B!

Next Trailer Girl Blog Post – Favorite Things for Storage