Any rv techs on these boards?

[suprz]

You don't have to reply on this thread if you want to remain anonymous. (send me a private message) But what kind of training do you need, etc... Length of time for training. Just questions i have

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Here is a factual story.

Visited a friend in Antioch, a machinist while purchasing an unsmoggable Nissan for pennies. To return to Mexico and sell the car. Friend's neighbor had a multi-thousand dollar fuel injector cleaning machine (on-car).

"Hey I hear you know electricity" "Rob" asks. "I have a car that is driving me nuts the customer is angry. Step on the throttle and it shuts the AC fan off".

"Rob" has charged the customer hundreds of dollars trying to fix the problem.

I walk over to the car, start the engine, turn on the A/C and sure enough, give it gas and the A/C stops.

I know what the problem is but I want to turn this into a cheapskate game that costs me nothing.

"Say" I ask, those cars over there, the one's with all the dirt on them, what gives?"

"Not fixable" Rob replied

"What do you want to diagnose and fix this car?"

"How about a full course treatment on your fuel injection cleaner?"

"That's a ninety nine dollars service" Rob explained.

I sighed and smiled and turned to leave

"OK OK" he agreed. "I have to go to court and I'll be back around five"

He leaves. I select one of his junkers sans engine.

I go under the dash and look for vacuum tubing fittings.

I find an Ell non return valve, plastic 1/8".

I get under the dash of the Chevy pickup and install the valve.

Rob returns and was incredulous to find car fixed.

The Nissan enjoys two hours on the SMART injector washer.

NOTE: The "wash" did not make the Nissan smog legal but chopped HC by 60%

Car was purchased for $300 and sold for $1700 in Ensenada. The purchaser was a mechanic who checked tailpipe color which was no longer black.

Should I feel ashamed of myself?

I found "Rob" was a genius compared to some USA "Electrical Technicians"

I can only shake my head.

[Reddog1]

Kayteg1 wrote:
... I am old-school mechanic and for me "auto technician" is a guy who works on keyboard and needs VIN to tell M6x20 from M8 x30 bolts.
When was last time you have seen technician rebuilding water pump, or starter?
Even replacing $10-20 alternator brushes becomes a problem as all technicians will force you to spend $500-1000 for new alternator.

You and I went to the same school on this subject. I think in times past, an "auto technician" would be referred to as a helper or maybe an apprentice.

Wayne

[D_E_Bishop]

To me a good RV Tech is one who has a good grasp of how things work and can apply that knowledge with hands on work.

A hydraulic system has very few parts, a storage system for oil, a pump to create pressure, a transportation system to send that energy to a point where a device can convert energy to work and then a return back to the storage supply point.

Almost every system in an RV is just like that, water in a tank, pump for power, water heater to do work and a drainage system to carry the left over or dirty water back. Electrical systems work the same way. Power on one side of a light and a return on the other side.

The hard part is not understanding that principle but in knowing how to apply that knowledge. Because the rate of change or advancement in technology is so great, it is in my opinion, impossible to keep up with everything a good tech needs to know.

Another thing a good tech needs to know is that he doesn't know everything but does know where to go to get the information he needs. That is why things come with manuals.

Good Techs are Jacks of All Trades, but most likely not the Master of but one or two.

Doug and Chris are really good probably great techs but admit they don't know everything and that they use manuals.

[Kayteg1]

pnichols wrote:


For example, there's probably very few folks on the planet that individually over their lifetime can mult-task as: An astrophysicist, a molecular biologist, a brain surgeon, a 100+ MPH baseball pitcher, and a Ferrari master mechanic. The reason being that each of these "tasks" is so complex..

"Few" I agree, but having tour of NASA recently, one of new recruited astronauts was Navy Seal with XX combat missions on his resume.
Then he's got engineering degree in mechanics (?), that was not enough for him and he went back to school to get doctor diploma.
He is in his 30's.
I am old-school mechanic and for me "auto technician" is a guy who works on keyboard and needs VIN to tell M6x20 from M8 x30 bolts.
When was last time you have seen technician rebuilding water pump, or starter?
Even replacing $10-20 alternator brushes becomes a problem as all technicians will force you to spend $500-1000 for new alternator.

[Lynnmor]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:
There are a large number of wannabee techs everywhere including here.

Including most RV dealer service departments. All the large dealers around here have a constant help wanted shingle out, and will hire whomever. Walk in and tell them you can hold a screwdriver or have installed some gutter leaf catchers on a house, and you can start tomorrow. They all have a big sign saying RVDA-RVIA certified service somewhere, but do not mention that's one guy out of the 10 they have employed. A guy we hired, and I fired 3 days later as he was a complete hack of a carpenter who could not read a tape measure, now works in the service department of a local dealer near me lol.

Ralph, you are being more than generous in your assessment.

[Ralph_Cramden]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
There are a large number of wannabee techs everywhere including here.

Including most RV dealer service departments. All the large dealers around here have a constant help wanted shingle out, and will hire whomever. Walk in and tell them you can hold a screwdriver or have installed some gutter leaf catchers on a house, and you can start tomorrow. They all have a big sign saying RVDA-RVIA certified service somewhere, but do not mention that's one guy out of the 10 they have employed. A guy we hired, and I fired 3 days later as he was a complete hack of a carpenter who could not read a tape measure, now works in the service department of a local dealer near me lol.

[time2roll]

dougrainer, glad to have you here even if you need to fly a bit low 🙂

[Reddog1]

I find the dictionary definition of a technician very interesting.

"A person who is trained or skilled in the technicalities of a subject."


A craftsmen: "A person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft; artisan."


Based on the above, it appears many members on RV.NET are skilled in the technicalities of RVs. Some at the top of the class and some at the bottom. Unfortunately, some just blurt out anything for the attention.

Wayne

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I for one am not a technician. I'm a grouchy old man.

[drsteve]

The major difference between all the DIY-er types (like me) who have been RVing for decades and fixing their own rigs, and an RV tech with decades of experience, is the tech has seen EVERY brand of RV and appliance out there. They have detailed knowledge of how different manufacturers do the same things, chronic issues, recalls, best practices, etc. They know why things break, and how to fix them so they stay fixed.

A guy who has worked on RVs for a living, 8 hours a day for years, has a breadth of experience much greater than the rest of us, who fix our own stuff if it breaks, or might help a friend with an RV problem.

I'm happy to have these guys posting here, and grateful that they freely share their expertise and experience.

[pnichols]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
It's called 'Multi-Tasking' something MANNY folks are quite adept at.

I'm guessing that how much "multi" can be handled by one singular mortal depends heavily upon how demanding each task might be.

For example, there's probably very few folks on the planet that individually over their lifetime can mult-task as: An astrophysicist, a molecular biologist, a brain surgeon, a 100+ MPH baseball pitcher, and a Ferrari master mechanic. The reason being that each of these "tasks" is so complex.

So ... if one claims to be a master of many tasks, I tend to question either their assessment of their capabilities or the depth and complexity of the various tasks that they claim to be master of.

From my experiences over the years, I have found very few technician level experts working on issues for me that come up absolutely clean whenever I carefully ask questions about what they are about to do. It has nothing to do with whether or not "I personally know anything about their trade". It has everything to do with me listening attentively to their explanations and my detecting if something doesn't smell right. Very often we share together on what they are about to do and jointly come up with some tweek(s).

I stand by my position that collective knowledge and skill triumph over individual knowledge and skill every time. These forums prove it for me.

P.S. However, often RV construction or repair has little to do with knowledge or skill - collective or otherwise - but everything to do with the motivation for quality of workmanship of the one or ones doing the constructing or repairing.

[dougrainer]

pnichols wrote:
In all seriousness - how can one be, or honestly call themselves, "an RV tech" ... with so many system types and technologies involved?

The last time I checked ... it takes framing techs, plumber techs, HVAC techs, foundation techs, roofing techs, satellite techs, cable techs, landline techs, home theater techs, home security techs, gutter techs, siding techs, window techs, door techs, sheetrock techs, lightening rod techs, septic tank techs, and painting techs (did I miss any tech types - not counting engineering types) ... to properly construct a stick house.

How can you trust only one kind of "tech" to properly address all the issues in the coach portion of an RV?

What I've found is that the best way to personally take care of one's RV - or keep one's eye on an "RV tech" who is supposedly taking care of one's RV - is to first become an avid reader and absorber of what comes out in these forums. The ultra deep reservoir of collective knowledge and experience that resides here far surpases what any singular person on the Face of the Earth could ever have on tap - whether it be from that singular person's IQ, formal training, photographic memory, or on-the-job experience.

I guess you are one smart guy. I have 38 years experience repairing RV's. BEFORE that, I built RV's for Coachmen/Holiday Rambler/Shasta. So, I have production line experience and also HANDS ON experience repairing almost everything out there excluding the chassis. BUT, I can fix Cruise Controls and Dash AC systems also. The ONLY limit I stop at is the $750k and up Prevost type Motorhomes. Never worked on them and they have totally different systems. YOU CANNOT GET THE LEVEL OR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE I HAVE FROM BOOKS OR READING AND THE INTERNET. MOST of the so-called Forum postings make a good laugh for me. People shotgun ideas out there left and right. Sometimes the pellet hits the right spot:B But, not before a LOT of misinformation or downright stupidity is posted. Doug

[dougrainer]

Reddog1 wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
The Forum's various Moderators Discourages KNOWLEDGABLE Techs from posting. They told me years ago that I could NOT post my level of expertise in my Signature. Doug

I am not aware of the specifics you are referring to, but I am a Moderator and have been for twelve years. The only time I have seen "KNOWLEDGABLE Techs" discouraged from posting is when they frequently hijack Threads, use the threads to promote their business, and discourage others from posting by showing an "all knowing attitude". They can also overexpose themselves by posting on almost every thread.

NOT being allowed to post my level of expertise in your Signature needs to be explained. If in your signature you stated you had x number of years experience in RV Repair, I doubt that would be a problem. If included your place of business and/or website, it would be a clear rule violation. My suggestion would be to use PMs and discuss the signature with Admin.

We have quite a few "KNOWLEDGABLE Techs" that post, and they do so with respect to the Forum and its members. They post as members and do not use RV.NET as a platform to promote their business.

I am the Moderator of the TC Forum.

Wayne
Moderator

This is what I had on my signature. I wanted it listed so people could research and see what and why my advice is based on. Doug

30 years RV Technician experience
MASTER Certified since the inception of the Master RVIA program
I was told to remove those. I have NEVER stated who I worked for or ever solicited work in all the years I have been on various forums.

[Old-Biscuit]

pnichols wrote:
In all seriousness - how can one be, or honestly call themselves, "an RV tech" ... with so many system types and technologies involved?

The last time I checked ... it takes framing techs, plumber techs, HVAC techs, foundation techs, roofing techs, satellite techs, cable techs, landline techs, home theater techs, home security techs, gutter techs, siding techs, window techs, door techs, sheetrock techs, lightening rod techs, septic tank techs, and painting techs (did I miss any tech types - not counting engineering types) ... to properly construct a stick house.

How can you trust only one kind of "tech" to properly address all the issues in the coach portion of an RV?

It's called 'Multi-Tasking' something MANNY folks are quite adept at.

As a Construction Track Superintendent I HAD to know all the trades in order to keep building on schedule and not let the 'subs' get by.
As a Control Operator in Power Plants I Had to know all the various trades (mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, line-protection etc) in order to keep plant on line AND allow safe work to be preformed.

YES..RV Techs have to know ALL systems.
And manny do a very good job at it.

Muti-Tasking