RV Maintenance training

[Hey Louie]

Was wondering if there is anyone that has taken the RV Maintenance training class that I have seen offered online. I have seen it an in home version for around $400 or a 5 day live hands on class at $1600.
I am interested in the hands on class but not sure I will get the return on my investment or not. Also would the in home class be much different then finding You Tube how to videos.
Seems like with the long waits at the dealerships for service it may help avoid that headache.

[travelin texans]

Wow! $1600!!! Afterwards are you a RVIA technician. Just kidding!
If you have tools & can use them with some mechanical skill there's not too much that you can't do with a Utube video or 2 plus questions on here answered by those that have done it.
I haven't taken any course like that, but I'm thinking the 5 day $1600 course will be getting into more technical issues that you may never ever have to deal with unless you're planning on hanging out a shingle at the parks you stay at.
Just my .02 cents!

[chuckster57]

Training here is FREE. Post your question and odds are you’ll get an answer the same day. With a few hand tools and YouTube you can probably figure it out.

ALL RV’s have pretty much the same things and the basic “systems” are all the same. Save your money.

[E Rod]

Originally Posted by Hey Louie

Was wondering if there is anyone that has taken the RV Maintenance training class that I have seen offered online. I have seen it an in home version for around $400 or a 5 day live hands on class at $1600.
I am interested in the hands on class but not sure I will get the return on my investment or not. Also would the in home class be much different then finding You Tube how to videos.
Seems like with the long waits at the dealerships for service it may help avoid that headache.

heck ... for $1600 i sure can buy quite a bit of tools and accessories .Actually i have. If you're mechanically incline you can do almost anything. There are plenty of youtube videos to help you. You can Google just about anything nowadays.
I've re-routed water lines, ran electrical ( check panel to not overload circuits) . ,changed out the converter/charger, added lighting ,installed outlets, added a by pass switch for my slideouts in case the In Command messes up again, replaced the solenoid with a heavier duty one, and purchased many camping toys and tools . There is plenty to improve what the manufacture failed to do so.
Take plenty of photos as back ups just in case. Use tape to mark / label wires and water lines.

[JRTJH]

Seems I'm using this phrase more and more, but here goes again:

LET'S DO SOME BASIC MATH:

$ 1600 for a 5 day course is $ 320 a day
$ 320 a day for 8 hours is $ 40 an hour....

Most RV techs don't make $ 40 an hour, so you're paying more to get "lectured" than the guy doing the "lecturing" gets paid to do the job....

Hmmmmmm

I think (JMHO) that you can get "personalized advice tailored to your specific needs" for free on this and other websites, U-tube videos are also free, many manufacturers offer free customer service/technical advice, so why would someone want to spend $40 an hour for a week learning to do what you can learn for free ???? YMMV, but........

[Pull Toy]

Rule #1:
If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!

Rule#2
As Chuckster mentioned, we usually can help you fix it for FREE with tons of GOOD ADVICE from GOOD PEOPLE who've probably already: dealt with it!

Rule #3
U-tube is your 2nd best friend (after us of course)!

We accept AMEX, VISA, and MasterCard... please contribute to the charity of your choice!

Welcome to the GANG, and Good Luck,

[ken56]

That's a big outlay for what is not all that complicated. Think about the basics of what you would really be called upon to do, and that is basic maintenance. The systems are not complicated but do take some understanding of components and function. Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing without a modicum of experience to go along with that knowledge and a 5 day course is too short to call it experience.


In spite of some of the horror stories posted here about things breaking down I have only experienced 1 on the road breakdown from a bad bearing, and then I let someone else fix it. Save your money and put it in a separate account if you want for the times you need to pay someone else for a fix.

[TJO]

I have to go with the rest on here that is pretty exspensive for what you can find on here or youtube. The internet is a wonderful thing when it is available. Sucks when you break down and don't have it that's why i have all my manuals and videos I think I would need stored on an iPad. Just my 2 cents hope it helps you.

[Hey Louie]

Thanks for the replies. I'm on board with you all. I will generally try to make all repairs and with a combo of some forums and other internet searches can usually obtain the knowledge I need.
Out last unit we purchased from out of state I did all repairs during the 6 years we had it. However we purchased our new unit j just about 100 miles from home. Had it a little less than a year. It has few things that need addressing so I thought I would take advantage of the warranty. Called in early January to make an appointment and was given a date of March 13 and that's when I dropped it off. Called today to check on the progress and they haven't even looked at it yet. A bit frustrating but it sounds as if that is the current state of the industry.

[bobbecky]

Here is an option that costs way less than the course you describe. http://rvrepairmanual.com/

Looks like this could be another option. https://www.ebay.com/p/RV-Repair-and...d=264191042084

But, like was said, this forum is probably one of the best sources for repair training and assistance.

[chuckster57]

I didn’t think of the $40.00/hr. I’m surely NOT anywhere near that.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Hey Louie

Thanks for the replies. I'm on board with you all. I will generally try to make all repairs and with a combo of some forums and other internet searches can usually obtain the knowledge I need.
Out last unit we purchased from out of state I did all repairs during the 6 years we had it. However we purchased our new unit j just about 100 miles from home. Had it a little less than a year. It has few things that need addressing so I thought I would take advantage of the warranty. Called in early January to make an appointment and was given a date of March 13 and that's when I dropped it off. Called today to check on the progress and they haven't even looked at it yet. A bit frustrating but it sounds as if that is the current state of the industry.

Louie, the course, IMO, is a waste of money. You said you took care of your previous RV for 6 years. What you are dealing with now, from your selling dealership 100 miles away, is pure bull. As a purchaser, with a new unit, IMO you need to be on their case, front and center, face to face. Forget the "service advisor", deal with the service manager or the manager. What they are doing is dragging things out until your warranty expires and they no longer have to deal with it instead of jumping right on it and trying to fix it right away for you, their new customer. Poor, poor customer service. Step into it, forget about the phone and insist, through management, that they take care of you as they should. The timelines they are giving you are....incompetent and are a slap in your face - don't accept it.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Louie, the course, IMO, is a waste of money. You said you took care of your previous RV for 6 years. What you are dealing with now, from your selling dealership 100 miles away, is pure bull. As a purchaser, with a new unit, IMO you need to be on their case, front and center, face to face. Forget the "service advisor", deal with the service manager or the manager. What they are doing is dragging things out until your warranty expires and they no longer have to deal with it instead of jumping right on it and trying to fix it right away for you, their new customer. Poor, poor customer service. Step into it, forget about the phone and insist, through management, that they take care of you as they should. The timelines they are giving you are....incompetent and are a slap in your face - don't accept it.

Totally agree!
They need to work with YOUR timeline NOT theirs. I'd be there Monday morning toe to toe with service manager & GM of the dealership, 6 weeks to do absolutely nothing is completely ridiculous. Not sure what warranty issues you had, but that kind of customer service is the reason I've always done my own repairs, I could've NEVER gotten by with that of incompetence at my job.

[Hey Louie]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Here is an option that costs way less than the course you describe. http://rvrepairmanual.com/

Looks like this could be another option. https://www.ebay.com/p/RV-Repair-and...d=264191042084

But, like was said, this forum is probably one of the best sources for repair training and assistance.

Thanks for these. Looks like some nice reference material.

[cookinwitdiesel]

Other benefits of doing it yourself:

-You have a sense of ownership on the trailer and are therefore likely put more attention into your work and complete it to you satisfaction (not only good enough).

-Once you do something yourself, you will now have the knowledge and tools needed to do it (and other things) again in the future.

-By taking stuff apart and fixing it, you will learn a TON of useful information about the inner workings of you RV. This will also make future upgrades and modifications much less scary or daunting.

-If you CAN do the work yourself (not the case for everything) it is essentially like you are paying yourself instead of the repair shop since you would have had to spend that money on them (good long term strategy to wealth accumulation).

[Hey Louie]

Originally Posted by cookinwitdiesel

Other benefits of doing it yourself:

-You have a sense of ownership on the trailer and are therefore likely put more attention into your work and complete it to you satisfaction (not only good enough).

-Once you do something yourself, you will now have the knowledge and tools needed to do it (and other things) again in the future.

-By taking stuff apart and fixing it, you will learn a TON of useful information about the inner workings of you RV. This will also make future upgrades and modifications much less scary or daunting.

-If you CAN do the work yourself (not the case for everything) it is essentially like you are paying yourself instead of the repair shop since you would have had to spend that money on them (good long term strategy to wealth accumulation).

Well put. Excellent points. Thanks.

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I didn’t think of the $40.00/hr. I’m surely NOT anywhere near that.

Chuck, what you get and what you're WORTH are two entirely different things.

[fatcatzzz]

[Greggde]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Training here is FREE. Post your question and odds are you’ll get an answer the same day. With a few hand tools and YouTube you can probably figure it out.

ALL RV’s have pretty much the same things and the basic “systems” are all the same. Save your money.

Not to mention the care associated with the repair

[atkinsb3]

Originally Posted by Hey Louie

Thanks for the replies. I'm on board with you all. I will generally try to make all repairs and with a combo of some forums and other internet searches can usually obtain the knowledge I need.
Out last unit we purchased from out of state I did all repairs during the 6 years we had it. However we purchased our new unit j just about 100 miles from home. Had it a little less than a year. It has few things that need addressing so I thought I would take advantage of the warranty. Called in early January to make an appointment and was given a date of March 13 and that's when I dropped it off. Called today to check on the progress and they haven't even looked at it yet. A bit frustrating but it sounds as if that is the current state of the industry.

We bought our 2670bh last year... speaking of naming an RV, I'm thinking about "A Box of Tears"!?!?
The gas on the water heater quit working during our first trip out(one of several small frustrating issues that the dealer can't seem to find time to fix). After it set at the dealer for 4 weeks they said they got it to light. Got it home and it still didn't work. Next time it sat for 2 months and they said it worked. Checked it out in the parking lot (I am trainable) and it still didn't work after the service tech swore it did. I asked him to come show me because that little switch on the panel was outsmarting me... it didn't work for him either.
I took it home anyway. Between all that I did some checking and am 99.8572% sure it's the control board, which I had told the service department.
I'm going to call the dealer back and see if I can "get in line" and have them call me a day before they can work on it vs. leaving it there for weeks or months... I've seen how they move RV's around with their fork lift that are in the waiting line (explains the mystery dings that appear after the trailer had sat at the dealer for weeks and months) and I no longer want to leave mine there for an extended period.
If that fails I'm gonna wait until the initial 1 yr keystone warranty that I have to work through our local "authorized keystone" dealer expires then work with another dealer in the area to get the water heater fixed. If all that fails I'm going to buy a Dinosaur controller and replace it myself. All that to say, I feel your frustration...and I'm not the only one.
I eased my frustration by fixing most of the things myself and writing off working the warranty through our local "authorized keystone dealer" as worthless. It has without a doubt also been the single most frustrating thing I have had to deal with in my nearly 50 years on this earth. So much so, that unless my memory is shorter than I think, that nationwide RV dealer will never get another dime of my money.
Our last RV was used and I did most of the work on it myself, but we just had to have a new one...and now I know. BTW, this forum is truly an awesome resource! (could extend the logon time though cause after I get on a rant like this and try to post it, it says the login has expired...just kidding).