Environmentally Responsible Nomads: A guideline for the renovation of a recreational vehicle using sustainable principles

Abstract

There are people who would like to renovate an old recreational vehicle to create a personalized travelling or living experience. Although the restoration of recreational vehicles can be done in many ways, there are not many guidelines or design books to direct the renovation using sustainable principles. The general public usually does not know appropriate considerations, processes, systems, and methods for the sustainable redesign of a recreational vehicle. The goal of this thesis is to provide a set of design guidelines to direct the renovation process of a recreational vehicle in a way that the vehicle is in harmony with its ephemeral environment. The guidelines include material suggestions, insulation properties, passive solar techniques, heating and cooling, electronic appliances and devices, water and waste management, and photovoltaic energy options. They also provide design principles, used in interior design, that deal with issues of space management and multi-use of furniture. The guidelines developed and described in this thesis are demonstrated by using an existing recreational vehicle shell and conceptually renovating its interior and exterior. The demonstration uses hypothetical appliances and equipment due to budget constraints