RV Tech Talk

Bryan encourages everyone from high school students contemplating a good-paying career to retirees looking for a part-time income to consider becoming mobile RV technicians.

Because he recently retired from a career in the telecom industry, Tim devised a plan to attend the school to learn how to maintain his own RV, then return to California and start a business to address the critical shortage of trained technicians.

For Scott, turning on his locator pins on the association websites and passing out business cards, then serving his customers so efficiently that they refer others to his company, has brought in 100% of his business.

The benefit of attending virtual sessions, as they are recorded between October 3rd and 6,th is that participants can ask questions of presenters as sessions unfold. The NRVTA Expo is an excellent way for inspectors and technicians to keep abreast of changes in the RV industry, or with products and components.

Allen is motivated to expand RV Handyman to other regions of the country just to give mobile service technicians an opportunity to connect with clients wherever they may be.

If he had to start over again, Chad says he would have jumped into fixing RVs earlier. He also encourages technicians and inspectors to attend every type of training they can. It helps improve their skills, and with more skills, their confidence improves.

If Chris had to start over, he said he would have sought technician training even earlier than he did. He found there was much more work available for people skilled in fixing RVs rather than in inspecting them, especially when Chris was traveling from place to place.

As master certified RV inspectors, Jason and Lisa Carletti have completed more than 930 inspections by serving clients throughout central Florida. They also help promote other RV-related businesses.

Today I will be speaking with a full-time RVer who not only inspects recreation vehicles, but he has developed a side business to help market other companies. He learned about the business opportunity from another RV inspector.

Jarrod admits that people who want to devote more time to their inspection or mobile repair businesses could certainly develop a profitable business with the flexibility to enjoy life, too.

As we relaunch the podcast, I asked Renee Wynsma and Gilda Mitchell to come on the show to explain what has changed since 2020 and how their associations are working to help RV consumers as well as their member inspectors and technicians.

Scott Young started training in the middle of February to become an RV inspector and RV technician. He had a background in industrial arts and saw a need for more mobile RV technicians. Scott describes his impression of the instructors he has had and the types of things he has learned. He also explains how the hands-on lab expose him to six to eight different types of brands of equipment typically found on RVs.

Chad Seeman lives just outside of San Diego, Calif. He was looking for a used RV when he stumbled on a 33-foot Thor Chateau Super C diesel motorhome for sale by a private seller. Because he had owned a boat in the past, and the inspection he had done on that unit was immensely helpful, he wanted to see if he could get an RV inspected, too.

Elisa Norman is an RV inspector from Texas. In fact, she was one of the first people to complete training to get her certification, and she was one of the first women to become certified. Elisa was so good as an inspector that it caught the attention of a rather large dealership in Dallas that enticed her to accept a full-time job. She’ll explain what she does for the dealership and how the training prepared her for that.

Geoff Baker was an engineer for the Royal Navy who really understands how engines and mechanical systems work. After moving to Florida several years ago, he stumbled across an opportunity to put his skills to work helping RV owners. While attending the Tampa RV Supershow in 2014, he learned about the new National RV Inspectors Association, which as just getting started. He was one of the first people to go through training to become a certified RV inspector.

AJ Fields is a mobile RV repair technician based out of Oklahoma. He wasn’t always working as an RV technician. In fact, he was a former air traffic controller who took training just to learn how to fix his own RV.  During that class, he decided to become an RV inspector. While he was taking that course, he saw the opportunity to make a good living as an RV technician. After he found a way to help finance that training, he attended all of the advance classes as well.

Many people are not aware of a program offered by the National RV Training Academy that allows people to earn credit to pay for instruction by working various jobs at the academy or at the adjacent Texan RV Park. Bobby and Robin Parish spent several months living at the park and workamping as well. They received an RV site in exchange for doing routine tasks around the park, but they also worked extra hours and applied the credit to pay for additional training.

Alan O’Neill is a native of Australia. He met his American wife there more than 20 years ago, but in 2016, they opted to move to America. Last year, Alan started looking for income opportunities himself. Being familiar with RVing, he took the home-study course offered by the National RV Training Academy to become a Level 1 inspector, and later jumped into the four-week advanced training course that led to him becoming a certified RV technician.

Chris Travaglino was one of the first people to complete all five weeks of technician training at the National RV Training Academy’s new Big Red Schoolhouse in 2018. He saw an opportunity to become a mobile service technician when he researched the market in south Florida and realized how few options were available to RV owners to get their rigs fixed without having to pack everything up, drive it to a dealership and wait weeks just to get an appointment.

Most of Paul Witherspoon's training was self-taught as he took apart components to see what was wrong with them, and then reassembled the units after making a repair. When his son wanted to become an RV technician as well, they both attended the National RV Training Academy. In the process, both Paul and his son became certified RV technicians.

Logan Beavers became an RV technician earlier this year after deciding that fixing RVs would help fund his ministry. A father of two daughters, he considered fixing RVs as a way to support his family while he seeks work at a smaller church that can’t afford to hire a full-time pastor.