Becoming an RV Service Technician

I Can Fix That!

What do you think of when you here the word RV Service Technician?

I've been looking into making the change from a HVAC Service Technician to RV Service Technician, and digging into what I need to be competitive in this market.

Even though a HVAC Service Technician is one of the most challenging and exciting careers available today, and maintaining today's high-tech HVAC equipment is an area with tremendous growth and earnings potential with the promise of a bright and rewarding future, so it is imperative that you have a strong desire to develop your talents. A career as a service technician requires the appropriate education and/or experience, good interpersonal skills, good solid technical skills, determination, confidence, the will to work hard, and the desire to succeed achieve your professional goals.

Being a Seasoned HVAC Service Technician, I feel, gives me a great foundation to enter into the
RV Service Technician market with the "Comfort Business" being the focal point to any job.

I was lucky when I started into the HVAC Business by serving an Apprenticeship in the Sheet Metal Industry, and later continuing my education into refrigeration.

My education in this Industry has opened doors and given me the chance to work in Sweetwater/Texas, Spring Hill/Tennessee, Minneapolis-St. Paul/Minnesota, Boston/Massachusetts, Providence/Rhode Island, and WilksBerre/Pennsylvania.

Then I was able to go International and work in China, Albania, Qatar, Denmark, Iraq, Afghanistan, and my latest adventure was in the White Sands area of Southern New Mexico; "Back in the USA!"

While in New Mexico, I purchased my "Second Fifth Wheel" Travel Trailer (29′ Fleetwood Cougar with 2 Slides), and started searching for ways I cold use it to travel the US, with this being my Mobile Office.

Before completing the project in New Mexico, a bracket broke on the "Stabilizer Bar" of the Awning, and I didn't feel comfortable extending my awning for a couple of weeks. I was planning on repairing it after I returned to the Dallas / Ft. Worth area until I met a man named Richard (RV Service Technician), of Richards "Mobile RV Service", and the wheels in my mind started turning!

I let him take a look at the bracket, and discussed what he thought it would cost to get it repaired. Of course, I was throwing around numbers like $100 Deductible, and putting it off until I got home.

I'm sure he was curious about the other questions I was shooting at him about his business, as I was prodding for information while drawing myself into his shoes. That will be another story about "mind control".

Drawing projects in my mind is a technique I learned from the Masters I studied under during my Apprenticeship in the Sheet Metal Trade.

People say we make things look so easy.

What they don't know is, we have done the project several times in our mind. Trying to view the possibilities from all different directions, and answer as many "What Ifs", before starting a project, so that you "Start with the end in mind!"

As I'm researching what others are doing in the RV Service Technician business, I am building the foundation I want to stand on as I enter this field.

As a RV Service Technician, I want to be involved with "Onsite services for all makes and models, including Bumper Pull and Fifth Wheel Trailers, by adding Coach and Chassis as time and challenges present themselves.

With this in mind; as a RV Service Technician, I will have to include all Brands and Types, with becoming an "authorized repair center" for manufactures of appliances like:

Air Conditioners- Duotherm, Colman (rooftop and basement models)

Furnaces, Stoves and Ovens, and Hot Water Heaters- Suburban, Atwood

Plumbing- Bathtubs, Waste tanks, Fresh water supply, Faucets, Commodes, Showers

Electrical- 12 volt or 120 volt troubleshooting

Converters- Progressive Dynamics, World Friendship, Atwood, Elixir, Lota, Parallax

Refrigeration- Dometic, Norcold

Awnings- A&E, Carefree

Generators- Onan, Honda, Generac

Inverters- Magnum, Xantrex, Freedom 458

Satellite- KVH, Winegard, Trac-Star

Slides- Cable operated, Electrical, Hydraulic

Leveling Jack- HWH, Lipert, Power Gear

Cabinetry- Doors, Drawers

Winterizing and De-Winterizing

The one thing I've learned and most people are unaware of is, "Manufacturer Warranties" do not cover service call for "on site service", but the way I look at this is;

How much will Diesel or Gas cost you to drive to a "Service Center?"

How much do you have to pickup and put into storage to take your rig to a "Service Center?"

Do you have a place to stay if you have to leave your rig at the service center?

Questions like this are the ones to ask yourself before making choice of going to a Service Center, or calling the RV Service Technician.