A SAVVY motorhome owner has revealed how he upgraded his vehicle on a tight budget.

Not only that, but Darren King, 49 from Milton Keynes, also shared some handy money-saving tricks that'll help even those who don’t have a motorhome – including a £20 hack to help save on heating bills.

Speaking to money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, the dad-of-one explains: "I wanted to freshen up my old motorhome, as cheap as I could and still do a good job.

"Myself and my partner wanted to make it more enjoyable, functional, easier to use and prettier! 

"We established two key areas we wanted to improve – the seating area and a paint job.

"Plus, while we were shopping for supplies, we picked up a number of cheap items that have made a big difference to the functionality of the motorhome."

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Darren says the first step was painting to help spruce the place up.

"I like simple designs, but most of the colours were selected due to the price of the paint as well as what colours went well together," he explains.

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"The majority of the paint came from Wilko as we were on a tight budget, and it cost about £80 overall."

Darren continues: "We removed the cupboard doors, washed them down with sugar soap, then sanded them down.

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"I used a cheap primer, then two coats of the main cupboard paint.

"I haven't done a lot of painting before but it turned out really well."

The next step was to upgrade the seating area.

"To do this on a budget, we got cushion covers from Shein," Darren says.

"They were very cheap and very stretchy, so easy to fit…

"We got some sponge cut, took the old cushions away and then covered it all. I think it’s made a huge difference.

"Plus, you can take the covers off and they’re washable, plus it protects the old cushions.

"Considering the price, I’m really impressed with the end result."

Darren says he bought the sponge from GB Foam Direct for £39.85, while the four three-seater covers cost £11.75 each, and three single-seat covers £9.50 each.

"The total cost of the foam and cushion covers was just over £115, which is much cheaper than I was quoted," the savvy dad admits.

He continues: "We also added two pop-up tables to the motorhome.

"One was bought from eBay, and the other was made from a chopping board.

"This helped with space and convenience, as we took the table out of the kitchen."

And Darren also came up with a super savvy way to keep the chill out without having to fork out a small fortune on heating.

"When we first went away in the winter there was a massive draught and it was very cold, even with the heater on, so we got a thermal door curtain from Amazon for just £19.99 and it made a huge difference," he says.

"It also means we can save on heating bills as using this curtain has made our sleeping area warmer."

The next thing Darren did was to add cupboard lights which cost £10.49 for a pack of three on Amazon, working out at just £3.49 per light.

"These were really cheap, and they operate with motion sensors," he explains.

"They were easy to install and now there’s no more rummaging through dark overhead cupboards.

The DIY whizz continues: "Another problem we had was that curtains were opening when driving.

"We sorted this by getting magnets to hold them in place.

"They were just £13.99 for a pack of 10 on Amazon, which is just £1.39 per magnet."

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He concludes: "Overall we are very pleased with the way our motorhome looks and functions now.

"It took more time to research products and to complete tasks like the painting, compared with getting a professional quote, but we are happy with the savings and the results."

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