If you’ve been around RVs for very long, you’ve probably seen the occasional color-matched rigs. You know, mega-thousand dollar motorhomes towing a vehicle or trailer behind that has duplicated the color scheme to perfection.
That’s all well and good if you’re like Jay Leno who unapologetically claims to have more money than sense.
For the rest of us normal people, there’s still a way to coordinate your vehicles so they look like they belong together!
RV Stripes Are Simple To Paint
Adding a discreet trim stripe of color to your motorhome that mimics the colors of your toad can bring the whole package together.
You’ll be traveling in style with an RV and a towed vehicle that look like they were meant to be together.
And the best part: it’s a simple project that you can do yourself!
How To Paint RV Stripes Yourself
Of course you can take your RV to a body shop, and spend hundreds of dollars (or more!) to add a simple stripe to your motorhome.
But, especially if your RV is older, that cost may be more than you care to spend.
Fortunately, painting a simple straight trim line is a pretty easy task.
In the case of my 22-year-old Pace Arrow, there were many places along one wide trim piece where the paint had chipped away — leaving unsightly stretches where the paint finish was less than ideal.
By adding a couple of simple color stripes to the motorhome that match my Jeep, I was able to repair the damage in the easiest way while adding a bright splash of color that brightened up the faded finish on the motorhome.
Here’s how I did it myself…
The first step is to outline the actual stripe using blue painter’s tape.
This is the critical part of the masking process: make sure to press the tape into the old finish well. Otherwise, the paint will leach underneath the tape and leave runs outside the lines that the tape is there to define.
Once you have the stripe defined by painters tape, go back and use any cheap masking tape to attach newspaper or some other inexpensive paper or even more painters tape to the blue tape that is defining your line.
A trip to Walmart or any home center is all it takes to buy a cheap can of spray paint.
In my case, the Jeep was painted a standard primary orange color, so it was simple match up. I used Rustoleum Protective Enamel Spray.
After applying 3 or 4 thin layers of paint, you’ll have a nice stripe will that will last. It doesn’t get any simpler than that!
A few weeks later, I added a second black stripe to match the roof on the Jeep.
I also finished covering the stretches where the original paint finish on the motorhome had chipped away.
I’ve gotten nothing but compliments about the outcome of my DIY motorhome striping. And I did it all for less than $20!
TIP: In some cases, when the colors of the motorhome and the toad are a poor match, it might be better to add a contrasting color stripe to both items.
The key here is to not trust your own judgment. Even if you think you have good color matching skills, have 3 or 4 other people review your plan and see your color choices. Trust their opinions — because this is one DIY project that will cost more if you do it wrong. If you make poor color choices, it will cost much more to remove the stripe after it has already been applied.
I asked a friend who was a professional car restorer for his opinion before I did mine.
I’ve been involved in RVing for over 50 years — including camping, building, repairing, and even selling RVs and motorhomes. I’ve owned, used, and repaired almost every class and style of RV ever made. I do all of my own repair work. My other interests include cooking, living with an aging dog, and dealing with diabetic issues. If you can combine a grease monkey with a computer geek, throw in a touch of information nut and organization freak, combined with a little bit of storyteller… you’ve got a good idea of who I am. To date, I’ve shared my RV knowledge in over 300 articles here at The Fun Times Guide! Many of them have over 25K shares.
