Tidyverse / RcppArmadillo on RHEL

I'd like to install the tidyverse on a server that I use for research. I know other people have done so successfully but so far I've been unable to replicate their success.

The server runs RHEL and only has gcc-4.4 installed. I'm pretty sure this is causing a number of package installation issues, since

install.packages("RcppArmadillo")
>> configure: WARNING: Only g++ version 4.7.2 or greater can be used with RcppArmadillo.
>> configure: error: Please use a different compiler.

This also shows up when I try to install lubridate, as per this issue.

My understanding at the moment is that I need (1) to get a different compiler (I don't have admin privileges), and (2) tell R to use that new compiler. Any advice on how to do this appreciated.