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There is a special kind of irony reserved for RV life.
It’s the kind where you finally decide to update, refresh, and lovingly renovate the coach you’ve spent years making memories in… only to turn around and sell it. And that, my friends, is exactly what happened with our American Eagle 42F – affectionately known in our family as Twin Eagle.
If you saw our recent short set to a parody of Pure Imagination, you already know the gist: I poured my heart, energy, and more hours than I care to admit into giving her a glow-up… just in time for someone else to enjoy it.
And yet… I wouldn’t change a thing.
The “Easy Wins” That Made a Huge Impact
It started with the cabinet hardware. You know the look – that dated gold finish that screams early 2000s luxury. Functional, yes. Attractive? Not anymore.
I ordered modern brushed nickel cabinet pulls and knobs from Amazon and once they arrived, I knocked out the entire coach in about 2–3 hours. Every cabinet. Every drawer. Galley, bath, bedroom, everywhere.
One of the simplest upgrades ended up being one of the most satisfying. Using my cordless Makita drill with a Phillips screwdriver tip, I was able to remove all of the old gold cabinet hardware quickly and efficiently—no sore wrists, no endless twisting by hand. The built-in light on the drill was especially helpful inside darker cabinets and corners, letting me work fast without missing a screw. As soon as each piece came off, the new brushed nickel hardware went right back on, making the transformation almost instant. What could have been a tedious project turned into a smooth, efficient upgrade that refreshed the entire coach in just a couple of hours.
It was one of those rare projects that is inexpensive, fast, and dramatically transformative. Those are my favorite kind.
Also… I decided to tackle this while my husband napped after church one day. No… I didn’t tell him I was doing it. He just woke up… and found me working on his beloved coach unsupervised. Ha!
Another hour and I had all the other gold fixtures like the hand towel rings and toilet paper holders swapped out, too. I found every last one of them either on Amazon or at my local Lowe’s store. For the bathroom fixtures, I took the same residential brand fixtures and bought updated color options and swapped them out. Using the same brand made the swap easy because most methods of attachment for things like this haven’t changed in 20 or 30 yrs. So the only real change was the visible portion of the fixture.
Faucets, But Make Them RV-Friendly
Next came the faucets. I was determined to update them without creating a domino effect of new countertops, new sinks, new plumbing… you get the idea.
The galley faucet was replaced with a modern brushed nickel model that fit the original Corian holes perfectly. That meant we could keep the countertops – which were still in great shape – and just freshen the look.
We repeated the process in both the half bath and full bath, swapping out the old faucets for matching brushed nickel versions. Same drill. Same result. Huge visual upgrade with minimal drama.
This is a recurring theme in my life:
Maximum impact, minimum chaos.
The Shade Situation (and Why I’ll Never Go Back)
If you’ve owned an older diesel pusher, you know the accordion day/night shades. They were fine… once. But ours had seen better days, and more importantly, they were terrible for heat control. We live in Arizona, afterall.
So we replaced every single one with cellular accordion shades from Lowe’s.
Let me just say: these things are amazing.
Not only did they instantly modernize the look of the coach, but they made a noticeable difference in insulation. The interior stayed cooler in the Arizona heat, and the coach felt quieter and more comfortable overall. It was one of those upgrades you appreciate every single day.
The Valance Project (AKA: Why My Arms Still Hurt)
Then there were the valances.
Every. Single. Window.
The original fabric was that familiar RV “mud brown” – you know the one. Not quite chocolate, not quite taupe, and somehow always looks dirty even when it’s clean.
I removed every valance in the entire coach and reupholstered them by hand using a beautiful bone-colored microsuede fabric that closely matched the original style but completely transformed the feel of the space.
This project was simple… but extremely time consuming. It involved an electric cordless Makita staple gun, heavy duty staples, and a manual staple remover. All from Amazon. All lifesavers. I was able to keep the cording from the original coverings by being careful with removal. I wanted to replace it. But in the middle of this project, my local Jo-Ann Fabrics went out of business. They were the one place I used to be able to get upholstery materials. And all of a sudden they were GONE. I defauted to Hobby Lobby, but they didn’t really carry the colors or the quantity needed for the whole coach. So, I was extra careful when removing the cording and old fabric. It worked out perfect and allowed me to tie everything together without making the updates look cheap like some do.
We ordered parts.
We started projects.
We committed.
There were moments where I questioned my life choices.
But when they went back up? Worth. Every. Staple.
Bright. Clean. Modern. Fresh. Below you can see the finished product once the valences were finished and reinstalled in the coach.
Let There Be (Better) Light
Lighting is one of the most underrated upgrades in an RV.
We swapped out all the old reading lights for LED brushed nickel versions from Amazon and also replaced the ceiling puck lights with LED upgrades.
Not only did this modernize the look, but it significantly reduced the heat output and energy use. The coach instantly felt brighter, cleaner, and more current.
The Stove That Never Worked (Not Once. Not Ever.)
Now… the stove. This part was a little thorn in my side for over a decade.
Our RV stove never worked. Not from the day we bought Twin Eagle. Not once. Not even to fry a single egg.
For over a decade, I cooked on the grill outside, in the microwave, with Crack an Egg cups, or not at all. We lived on frozen microwave meals, sandwiches, camp food, and creative workarounds. I tried. Trust me. But that stove was a decorative feature at best.
So when we finally decided to go all-in and renovate our Twin Eagle, replacing that stove was a huge logistical win for me. I found an awesome replacement on Amazon, and we pulled the old one out.
We decided on this particular propane stove and oven combo because honestly… it fit the exact space, wouldn’t leave an ugly, unfished gap like some DIY RV renovations, and matched the updated hardware we had just installed. I didn’t want an update that took away value. At minimum I wanted to maintain value… or even increase it a little.
After days of scouring the internet for something that would actually fit, we settled on the AMZCHEF RV Gas Range. It had a 3 burner stove, plus a well-reviewed oven. So I pulled the trigger and got that loaded into my Amazon cart and went to town pulling out the old one.
We thought about also updating the convection microwave. But it worked just fine, so we didn’t worry about that and moved on to the next thing.
But… whew! Finally. A real kitchen. Or so I thought.
When the Universe Has Other Plans
At the same time, we had been quietly searching for a different coach. Something that could grow with our family. Something that didn’t require us to give up horsepower, towing capacity, or space for two growing boys. Something that fit our lifestyle and a budget we felt good about.
And honestly… we were coming up short. For over a year. We had basically given up. Which lead to all of the above updates.
We were so convinced what we wanted didn’t exist. So we finally said, “Let’s just commit to Twin Eagle. Let’s make her exactly what we want.”
And then… a 2018 Entegra Cornerstone popped up at our local NIRVC location.
Literally the day after we pulled the trigger on the stove replacement.
We dropped everything and went to see it… with our brand new stove unit sitting in the middle of the floor at home.
And when we walked through that coach?
It was everything.
Exactly what we had been looking for.
The 24-Hour Mad Dash (and the Stove I Never Used)
There was just one small problem. We had an Eagle in pieces.
So in a 24-hour mad dash, we reinstalled the brand new stove, finished reinstalling the reupholstered valances, put the bathroom fixtures back in, buttoned everything up, loaded the coach, and drove her across town to trade in.
I never got to cook on my new stove.
Not once.
Not a single egg. 😅
Saying Goodbye
When we finished unloading and the sales guy pulled Twin Eagle out of the bay…
I got choked up.
Our babies grew up in that coach.
She carried us to weddings. To funerals.
To Disneyland with our host daughter from Latvia.
Family road trips.
Milestones.
Memories.
We had her for 11 years. And she served us well. But it was time to unload the Eagle and move into our new home-on-the-road.
She was more than a motorhome. She was part of our family story.
And Then… the Next Chapter
We will miss Twin Eagle dearly. Truly.
But every chapter ends so a new one can begin.
And in a future post, I’ll be introducing you to the coach that changed everything — the one that made this whirlwind renovation, emotional goodbye, and mad dash make sense.
Trust me… it’s a good one.
Copper State Homeschoolers & Roadschoolers 