RV Tech Talk: Recent Episodes
Greg Gerber
Today I will be interviewing a gentleman from Canada who is both an NRVIA Certified RV Inspector and an RVTAA Certified Technician. In fact, he operates a business on both sides of the border, and even serves as an instructor at the National RV Training Academy.
Bryan Carbonnell started his business in 2015 by focusing on inspecting RVs. However, as he performed more inspections, he learned there was a real need for quality, competent and qualified technicians.
He completed the advanced training to become a certified technician in 2019. Today, the vast majority of Bryan’s income comes from fixing RVs, but he still carves out time to complete inspections, too.
During summer months, Bryan’s operation is based in the northwest Toronto area. In the winter, he heads south to warmer climates and has been spending more time in Texas.
A former corporate trainer, Bryan loves teaching people, which he has been doing for NRVTA since the fall of 2021. But, he also tries to teach his customers about their RVs as well.
Bryan was motivated to switch careers in 2013, when he and his wife, Patricia, bought a brand new fifth wheel and it had to go back to the factory for repairs three times. Bryan had enough bad experiences trying to get his own RV fixed, and he heard a lot of stories from other people who bought RVs with extensive water damage or similar problems.
Through it all, Bryan knew he could make a good income by providing quality services to frustrated people.
As a North American Indian, Bryan has special status which enables him to work on both sides of the border. It required him to complete some special paperwork and to find an accountant who was familiar with both Canadian and U.S. tax laws.
To build awareness of his services, Bryan first met with local RV dealerships and offered to perform mobile RV service for their customers who didn’t want to bring their RVs in for repair. Today, Bryan gets between 40 and 45 percent of his business from that collaborative relationship.
He did not have to get any special tools to start his business because he had accumulated basic tools over the years. But he does keep a set of tools in Canada and keeps another set on his truck when he heads to the United States.
Because Bryan can often get parts within a day or two of needing them, he does not maintain a large inventory of parts, especially of the more expensive items, like furnaces and water heaters.
Bryan’s wife, Patricia, is in the process of completing her training to become a certified RV technician. She may not fix RVs herself, but the training will enable her to better supervise an apprentice in Canada when Bryan is teaching classes in Texas. It will also help her to better understand what a customer needs when calling for service.
Demand for RV repair services often requires a three-week wait for Bryan’s clients, which was down from a nine-week wait in 2021. 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.
The amount of income people can make as RV technicians and inspectors is limited only by how many hours they want to work each week and how far they want to travel to complete a repair or perform an inspection.
People can connect with Bryan by visiting his website at www.techreational.com. There they will find Bryan’s phone number and email address.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. The podcast will be taking a break for a while because I need to focus on my new business. That means when RV Tech Talk resumes, there will be a new host interviewing RV technicians and inspectors. I am sure it will be fantastic.
All of us at the National RV Training Academy, National RV Inspectors Association and RV Technician Association of America invite you to check out the fabulous business opportunity that exists to help others on a full- or part-time basis. So thank you for listening to today’s episode of RV Tech Talk.
Today I will be speaking with an RV technician from Santa Barbara, Calif., who shared a wonderful idea for promoting a new RV repair business by targeting Workampers, or the folks who work as camp hosts at area campgrounds.
A few years ago, during the COVID lockdowns, Tim Lavender and his wife considered selling everything and moving out of California. Then they opted to sell their home and move into an RV instead.
However, when they bought a brand new RV, the couple discovered how much repair work needed to be performed on it. Yet, there was a four-month wait for service at the RV dealership where they bought the unit. The closest mobile RV technician was 60 miles away, and also had a three-week wait.
In response, Tim turned to Google for information on how to fix problems the couple was experiencing. That’s how he stumbled upon information about the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. Ironically, the school was an hour away from their son in Dallas.
So, 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.
His idea to offer discounted repair service to Workampers who had jobs as campground hosts was a brilliant decision. Not only did it give him immediate repair experience and income, but those hosts were in a position to refer Tim to other RVers at the campgrounds.
He simply visited each campground in his market area and delivered a stack of business cards. He discovered pent-up demand for repair services because the campground hosts were not in a position to leave their RVs at a repair center for weeks at a time.
Since starting his business, Tim has enjoyed a steady income all year round. To maintain his profitable venture, he invests $750 to $1,000 per month in Facebook and Google advertising. However, he can recoup a month’s worth of advertising in a single day of service to those customers the marketing attracts.
Tim has learned some valuable lessons through trial and error, such as to never work on a black tank without wearing a face mask. Yuck! He also bought a work van that enables him to stand up in it, which makes it easier for him to find parts and tools.
The couple’s desire to use their RV for travel remains strong. Consequently, Tim is contemplating following RVers along the NASCAR circuit to provide repair services at racing events.
The greatest joy Tim gets from being a mobile RV technician is from seeing the sense of relief in his customers’ faces when he resolves a problem. That means they don’t have to cut a trip short or cancel a needed vacation.
He also enjoys the tremendous flexibility that comes with being his own boss. People can connect with Tim by visiting www.rvtechfinder.com.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be interviewing an RV technician and inspector from Canada who also works as an instructor at the National RV Training Academy. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
Scott Wade is a mobile RV technician and inspector based in the lakes region of New Hampshire. His business, DogCrate RV, has been in operation for about 18 months.
The unique company name is based on a nickname he gave his own RV, which he described as just a 45-foot dog crate.
As a child, Scott grew up in the service business because his father owned an Exxon service station for 19 years in Massachusetts. He didn’t have any formal training, but would often assist the mechanics and he would work on his own car, as well.
For a career, Scott worked for Enterprise Car Sales. When he decided he wanted to do something different with his life, Scott began taking courses at the National RV Training Academy.
He really enjoyed developing a network among instructors and other students. Doing so reassured Scott that, if he encountered a problem in the field, then he was not alone.
Finding his first client was relatively easy. In fact, he received a call from someone seeking an inspection while he was taking his final exam in Athens.
Soon, Scott had a bunch of people calling him despite the fact he hadn’t done any advertising. All his business came from the locator pin on the National RV Inspectors Association website as well as the RV Technician Association of America.
In addition to inspecting RVs, Scott feels obligated to educate new RV owners about how to operate the equipment found on their RVs.
Today, about 70 percent of his business comes from fixing RVs rather than inspecting them. However, by doing both, Scott is assured of having income year round.
The thing about Scott’s business which amazes me that he has been able to make a full-time living as a technician and inspector for 18 months without even having a website. In fact, he completed his Google profile a month ago.
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.
Scott is so busy he said he could put two more technicians to work right now, if he could find them.
It’s important for technicians to identify areas they’re good at and then focus on those rather than trying to be all things to all people. By staying in his lane, so to speak, and passing off other types of jobs to his personal network of technicians, Scott is able to get more done in less time.
If people would like to connect with Scott, they can email him at dogcraterv@gmail.com.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be interviewing a mobile RV technician from California who started a business out of frustration over the inability to get his own RV fixed. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
Today I will be speaking with Gilda Mitchell, the director of membership for both the National RV Inspectors Association and the RV Technician Association of America.
Gilda will be discussing the upcoming NRVTA Expo. It is a virtual event hosted by the National RV Training Academy to provide 18 different webinars to help sharpen the skills of RV technicians and inspectors.
By participating in the classes online or watching presentations at a later date, association members can receive 27 continuing education credits. A total of 24 credits are required every year in order to maintain credentials as certified RV inspectors, or as registered and certified RV technicians.
This year’s expo is open to association members at no cost, but non-member technicians and inspectors can register for just $199.
The annual event is a great way to accumulate more than enough continuing education credits to maintain membership credentials.
More importantly, it is an excellent way for inspectors and technicians to keep abreast of changes in the RV industry, or with products and components.
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.
After viewing a session, either when it is presented or by watching a recording, participants must complete a short quiz and achieve a score of 100% to receive credit. Fortunately, inspectors and technicians can take the quiz as often as necessary to pass.
There are a wide variety of presentations planned for this year, and people can view the entire scheduled line-up by visiting www.nrvtaexpo.com.
This year’s NRVTA Expo was sponsored by
- Tom Manning & Associates
- Henderson’s Line-Up Brake & RV
- HomeGauge
- Miller-Farrell Insurance Agency
For more information or to register, members of the National RV Inspectors Association and the RV Technician Association of America should visit www.rvservicegroup.com. Non-members of the associations can register at www.nrvtaexpo.com. People can also email info@rvtaa.org.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be interviewing a mobile RV technician and inspector from New Hampshire. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
Today I am speaking with a mobile RV technician from the Chattanooga area of Tennessee, which is where he opted to move after retiring from his career in the tech industry.
However, Allen Look was retired for all of five minutes before he realized he needed something to do. He saw tremendous need for RV technicians in the Chattanooga area, and Allen though it would be a good business he could establish with his brother, Kevin.
Together, they excelled in courses at the National RV Training Academy when they went through the program in 2022. Allen was impressed by the different types of people from all sorts of backgrounds who were pursuing business opportunities providing mobile tech services and RV inspections.
Allen had owned RVs in the past, which is why he knew demand for repair services was very high. That is especially true for technicians who will complete repairs on-site without requiring people to drive their rigs to a repair center.
One of the challenges Allen faces as a mobile technician is sometimes having access to resources he needs in the field, especially when cell service is weak and there isn’t an internet connection.
However, one of the greatest benefits he received from NRVTA training was the ability to connect with 150 to 200 other professionals, which have remained very beneficial resources for Allen.
He describes some of the challenges and rewards of being a small business owner, as well as how the experience has opened his eyes to ways Allen can help other technicians build successful businesses of their own by harnessing the power of technology.
Allen is working with investors and other partners to create a platform to help those independent business owners with scheduling and the financial aspects of operating a successful business. His primary goal is to help reduce the level of “administrivia” that independent business owners must wade through every week.
If Allen were going to provide any advice to new mobile RV technicians, it would be to get out of their house and just drive around. He specifically suggests they print up a bunch of business cards and drop them off at campgrounds in the area.
Doing that brought in 80 percent of Roving Handyman’s business when he was just getting started. Today, Allen and his brother are so busy that they can’t handle all the demand for repair services.
He also suggests networking with RV dealers in the area who cannot provide mobile service to their customers, especially to those RVers who live in their rigs full-time and are reluctant to leave them at a repair facility.
One of the biggest surprises Allen has discovered is the difficulty mobile RV technicians have in getting Google to recognize their businesses. That’s because the mobile technicians don’t have a physical location and can’t provide a storefront. Therefore, Google doesn’t see the company as being legitimate.
That’s what is motivating Allen 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.
People who want to connect with Allen either for repair services on their own rigs, or as business owners interested in joining his online network, should visit www.rovinghandyman.com.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be interviewing the membership director the National RV Inspectors Association and the RV Technician Association of America about the upcoming NRVTA Expo. The virtual event takes place in October to provide continuing education credits for technicians and inspectors. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
Today, I am interviewing a full-time RVer who spends his summers in the mountains of Arizona and his winters in the warm-weather of the Phoenix and Mesa valley.
Chad Bell, otherwise known as The RV Yogi, named his business in honor of his first grandchild. When she was born, Chad started calling her Boo Boo, which meant everyone started calling him Yogi, and the name stuck.
A former diving instructor and industrial maintenance technician, Chad started his business in September 2020. At first, he focused on RV inspections. However, he completed his advanced training classes in June 2021, to become a certified RV technician as well.
After working for a short time at an RV dealership to learn the ropes, Chad ventured out on his own. Soon, he discovered that he liked turning wrenches more than he liked using a computer to complete an inspection.
That’s because Chad likes the hands-on challenge of diagnosing a problem and following it back to the root source, then fixing it to get something to work again.
The most important decision he made was to go to work for an RV dealership for a short time to gain experience. He started doing pre-delivery inspections for the dealership. That helped Chad develop a process to evaluate RVs for customers.
It was also convenient for Chad to ask another technician for help or advice, which accelerated his learning curve. Add the benefit of learning how to process warranty repair claims, and Chad thinks being paid by the dealership for a while saved him a lot of time trying to figure things out on his own.
To find customers, Chad ensured that his profile was relevant and up-to-date on both the National RV Inspectors Association website as well as the RV Technician Association of America website.
When it came to creating signage for his work truck, Chad thought putting RV Yogi in big letters on his truck may cause people to think he provided yoga lessons. So, he ensured the words “RV repairs and inspection” was the focal point in big letters.
Chad said the $300 he spent for decals for his truck was the best money he spent on advertising. By keeping a box of business cards in his truck, and ensuring his customers receive several cards after he completes a job, much of his business today comes from word-of-mouth advertising.
Chad is fortunate that his wife helps him with his business by answering phones and taking care of administrative details. However, he also finds time to mentor other technicians and inspectors around him. By doing so, Chad builds his own little network of professionals who can support him when he needs extra help.
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.
While some technicians don’t like customers standing over their shoulder, Chad embraces that and works to help educate RV owners on how their rigs work. It all helps to establish Chad as an expert.
To connect with Chad, visit www.thervyogi.com.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be interviewing an RV technician from Chattanooga who is working to develop a nationwide referral system for technicians who roam the country. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
Today I am speaking with a man who has been full-time RVing with his wife and dog since 2016. Although he was working remotely for a corporation when he launched his RVing adventure, today Chris Ratcliff supports himself by fixing and inspecting RVs for other people.
He went through training in 2020 to learn more skills to be able to save money by fixing his own RV. After learning about additional training he could take, Chris became a certified RV inspector to give himself a Plan B.
When he was laid off from his job a short time later, Chris already had a business foundation in place to which he could devote his full attention.
As a result, the layoff was little more than a hiccup in the overall direction of their lives. Chris returned to the National RV Training Academy to complete advanced classes to become a certified RV technician as well.
That gave Chris and his wife even more flexibility to make money wherever they traveled, and they move to a new location every three to six weeks.
Chris’ business, RFactor RV, does some inspections, but not a lot. The majority of his work involves fixing RVs for people in whatever area he is in at the moment. But, he also provides training to new RVers as well to help them better understand how their equipment works.
Although Chris travels frequently, he often stays in an area long enough to get the word out about his business and to address some pressing needs for fellow RVers before moving on to a new place he and his wife want to visit.
Finding new clients is as easy as placing magnetic signs on his truck and driving through campgrounds. When the campgrounds he stays at allow it, Chris puts a sign in front of his RV advertising his services, as well.
He also leaves a stack of business cards at various campground offices, and that alone is often enough to bring in business for weeks.
For inspections, he simply updates his pin locator on the National RV Inspectors Association website. Inspections are a one-time type of business anyway, and his clients are often thrilled to know an actual RVer is evaluating their RV.
Chris has been in business long enough to have established some relationships with long-term customers who will reach out wondering if or when he will be in their area again. Chris has even had RVers plan their travel around where he might be just so he could work on their unit.
I found it interesting that many times Chris offers some type of discount on services he provides based on the situation. It’s a good marketing strategy because who doesn’t like to get a discount?
In making repairs, Chris identified an area that many seasonal RVers often overlook. They need to routinely sweep off the tops of their slideouts and clean out their air conditioners to keep bugs and rodents from building nests, especially mud daubers. They also need to maintain their slideout seals to ensure they work when needed.
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.
To connect with Chris, visit www.rfactorrv.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Today’s episode was sponsored by the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. The academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.
You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.
That’s all for this week’s show. Next time, I will be speaking with another RV inspector and mobile service technician whose business supports his full-time RVing lifestyle. I’ll have that interview on the next episode of RV Tech Talk. Thank you for listening!
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.
RV inspectors must truly enjoy helping people first and foremost, Brad explained. They must take their jobs seriously because people are relying on inspectors to identify issues upfront to ensure safe travel and memorable experiences.
Today I will be speaking with an RV inspector from Illinois who got into the career after buying an RV and seeking training on how to maintain it. Henri Boodee was employed in the pharmaceutical industry for many years. When he retired, Henri and his wife had a dream to travel across the United States and Canada. Yet, when they ... Read More
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.