RV Tech Talk

Today I will be speaking with a couple from the Los Angeles area who had been RVing for more than 40 years before building one of the largest RV inspection firms on the west coast.

When COVID took away Brad Siedschlag’s job at a large-format printing company in early 2020, the 60-year-old debated retirement, but knew he still desired to work.

After stumbling upon an opportunity to become an RV inspector and doing more research, Brad realized his experience with hydraulics and electronics would help him in his new career. He started taking an online class offered during the COVID lockdowns by the National RV Training Academy (NRVTA). By doing so, Brad knew he would learn more skills to be able to fix his own RV as well as repair units owned by other people.

About half-way through the online class, Brad and his wife, Eileen, decided he should jump in with both feet, so he enrolled in a live class at his earliest opportunity.

One month later, Brad returned home to California and turned on his pin locator on the National RV Inspectors Association (NRVIA) website.

He wondered if anyone would ever call, but wound up getting three calls that first day. In fact, he drove about 150 miles to do his first inspection because Brad was so nervous. He didn’t want to make a mistake in his own backyard, so he figured if he traveled that far and messed up, nobody would know about it.

But, Brad didn’t mess up. He completed that first inspection and got a great review at the end. His business soon exploded.

Originally hoping to get just three inspections a month to help cover his bills so the family wouldn’t go backward financially, today Brad is one of the busiest inspectors on the west coast. He makes more money from inspections than he did as a general manager for the printing business.

I was very interested to hear Brad and Eileen Siedschlag’s story about becoming RV inspectors. They started small by focusing on developing Brad’s profile with the National RV Inspector’s Association. Then they added some Google advertising to gain traction, and ordered magnetic signs for his truck that displayed his business name and phone number wherever he travels.

Today, most of Brad’s inspections come from word-of-mouth advertising to the point he has traveled to Phoenix and San Diego to complete inspections.

Although Brad inspects RVs of all types, he specializes in premium inspections that can take seven hours or longer to complete his 600-point evaluation. He has already completed more than 150 premium inspections alone.

Brad’s previous job estimating the cost of print jobs has helped him develop a unique way of pricing his inspections. It involves looking up an RV’s floorplan to see what comes with the coach, how many bathrooms are in it, and what type of appliances may be included, such as a washer, dryer, dishwasher or satellite equipment.

Although Eileen still works at a job she loves, she helps the inspection business with accounting and scheduling. She also maintains the website and Google listings, and proofreads final reports, as well as sends out invoices, processes payments and helps with research upon occasion.

Eileen has even helped Brad with some inspections. Eventually, she plans to retire so the couple can hit the road in their RV working together to do inspections wherever they travel.

Brad’s passion for RV inspections is reflected in his attitude toward helping people evaluate what is likely a major purchase for them. Consequently, Brad said his customers don’t just leave reviews of his inspection services, they leave love letters.

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.

To connect with Brad, email him at

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 bought their fifth wheel, he found it difficult to understand many of the instruction manuals that came with the unit. So, he enrolled in an RV Fundamentals course at the National RV Training Academy.

During that week-long class, Henri learned about the need for RV inspectors to evaluate recreation vehicles for customers who are about to make what is often the second-largest purchase of their lives. It required an additional two weeks of training to learn the skills needed before taking a test to become a certified RV inspector.

Henri talks about the training and the types of things he learned in classes, but also outlines the steps he took to launch his inspection business. He explains why certification is essential for consumers to have confidence in the people they hire to evaluate their RVs.

He discusses ways he marketed his business, which mostly centered around keeping his profile updated at the National RV Inspectors Association website. That way, when people are looking for inspectors in the greater Chicago area or southeast Wisconsin, Henri’s profile is visible to them. Potential clients can click on that to learn more about his company, and then contact him to arrange for an inspection.

Henri also talks about the mindset independent RV inspectors need in order to run successful businesses, and how that differs from a job mentality where people show up for work and get paid a set salary. For him, inspecting RVs has been a lucrative, but time-consuming business where a single inspection can take up to eight hours to complete, followed by several additional hours to compile a 100-plus page report.

In large market areas, like the one he services in northeast Illinois and southeast Wisconsin, it is not uncommon for inspectors to be able to schedule three to four inspections a week. Averaging $1,000 per inspection, that can add up to a sizeable monthly income.

The beauty is that inspectors can control their own schedules to determine how busy they want to be and how far away they want to travel to complete an inspection.

Henri also augments his income by doing minor maintenance for RV owners, such as helping them to winterize and dewinterize their RVs. In fact, Henri teaches RV owners how to complete the basic maintenance themselves by showing them how to go through the step-by-step process.

In addition to the locator feature on the RV Inspectors Association website at www.nrvia.org, Henri also developed his own website to promote his business. He does not rely upon online advertising because that can get very expensive, very quickly.

However, Henri does pass out business cards to RV salespeople whenever he is inspecting an RV at a dealership. That has resulted in several referrals from salespeople who find Henri to be honest and reliable.

I appreciated his description of why it is important to get an RV inspected whether buying it from a dealership or a private seller. Henri explained that many private sellers think there is nothing wrong with the RVs they’re trying to sell. Yet, they rarely climb on the roof to look for problems or for places where water could enter the RV.

He made a good point about having to test each appliance thoroughly to make sure it works so buyers can make informed decisions before proceeding with the purchase. For example, few people test a refrigerator to ensure it gets cold enough to properly store food, nor do they look at the age of tires to ensure the rubber is still sound.

Henri provided some great advice about ensuring t...

It has been three years since we have recorded an RV Tech Talk podcast episode. Everything sort of came to a halt in March 2020 when COVID shut down in-person training, campgrounds we shuttered, and confusion reigned throughout the world.

Yet, ironically, more RVs were built and sold that year than ever before. When campgrounds reopened, people flocked to the RV lifestyle and demand for recreation vehicles went through the roof. That created an even greater need for RV technicians and RV inspectors – and demand for those services has not subsided.

The National RV Training Academy decided to relaunch this podcast in hopes of building awareness of opportunities available to consumers to get RVs evaluated by certified RV inspectors before buying them, and fixed by certified RV technicians – including mobile service technicians – whenever a problem occurs.

NRVTA also wanted people to be aware of opportunities to make money by providing valuable inspection and repair services. So I will usually be interviewing a technician or an RV inspector every week going forward.

This week, however, I am interviewing the two women at the helm of the trade associations representing RV technicians and RV inspectors. Renee Wynsma is the director of administration for the National RV Inspectors Association as well as the RV Technician Association of America. Gilda Mitchell is the director of member benefits for both associations.

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

As director of administration for the associations, Renee helped facilitate the RVTAA rollout and handles administrative responsibilities for both groups. She also acts as a point-of-contract for members, potential members and consumers.

As director of membership, Gilda is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating membership strategies for NRVIA and RVTAA. She also oversees member engagement and working with industry connections to build a strong membership culture.

It’s helpful that Renee and her husband have both completed training at NRVTA and have worked as inspectors and technicians. It really gives her credibility to lead both associations.

Although getting an RV remains on Gilda’s to-do list, she is instrumental in working with association members who serve on advisory groups guiding the associations’ future. The fact Gilda and Renee can tap into the knowledge and experience provided by advisory group members ensures that the associations will be serving the needs of consumers, inspectors and technicians for years to come.

Both women noted how the RV industry has been booming in recent years. With 1,200 new RVs being built every day and 2,000 used RVs sold every day, demand for RV inspection services is incredibly strong. Consumers and even some lenders are realizing the value of having an RV professionally inspected before purchase in order to make informed decisions about the vehicle’s condition.

The RV Industry Association continues to report there are 11 million RV owning households in America. Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are only 17,000 active RV technicians working in this country. That’s just one technician for every 650 RVs on the road today.

If there is one thing common to all RVs, regardless of brand, it’s that they shake, rattle and roll as they rumble down the highway. As a result, things break frequently. Add in annual maintenance just to keep RVs running smoothly, and demand for knowledgeable RV service technicians has been high for years with no relief in sight.

So, I’m thankful to Renee Wynsma and Gilda Mitchell for describing ways the National RV Inspectors Association and RV Technician Association of America are working to make life easier for RV buyers,

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.

He and his wife manage a campground in Colorado in the summer, and he felt compassion for campers who can’t get appointments at dealerships for months in order to get their RVs repaired. That’s why he sought training to become a technician and took advantage of his time at NRVTA to become an inspector, too.

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.

One thing he has found to be very helpful is the willingness of instructors to spend as much time with students as necessary to ensure their questions are answered. Scott describes some of the more memorable aspects of training that really stood out.

He also offers advice for others to get the most out of the training.

As he wraps up training, he wants to go to work conducting inspections and fixing problems for campers staying at his RV park.

Scott Young’s experience sounds pretty typical of the students I have interviewed who have completed classes at the National RV Training Academy. I appreciate him taking time to describe those experiences with us.

Demand for technicians is super high at the moment, and many people are turning to whomever they think might be able to help diagnose and repair an issue with their RVs. That doesn’t always turn out well if the handymen aren’t really familiar with RV components.

But, as Scott has learned, trained technicians have the resources, tools and hands-on experience to properly diagnose equipment and get it fixed.

He was not joking in suggesting that people coming into campgrounds are really looking for alternatives to get RVs fixed on-the-spot so they don’t have to pack up and drive to a dealership – if they can get an appointment.

Advanced training can really open the doors to people who want to be in business for themselves. Based on people I have talked to; I am confident that a trained technician could keep himself very busy running a profitable business just by serving people living in three to four campgrounds near wherever they happen to be at the moment.

I appreciated what Scott said about the instructors at the academy. They really are knowledgeable experts in RV repair. One of these days, we’ll get them to sit down for an interview, too. The problem is that the classes are selling out, and these guys are tremendously busy.

With summer approaching and everyone worried about traveling by plane or on cruise ships because of corona virus, there will be above-average interest in RV travel this summer. When RVs are used, they tend to break. The need for trained technicians will be even higher this year than it normally is.

If you ever considered becoming an RV inspector, campground technician or mobile RV tech, now is the time to pursue training in this recession-proof business. For more information about the courses available at the National RV Training Academy and what it takes to enroll, visit www.nrvta.com.

In this episode, we are going to speak with someone who had an RV inspected and learn what he thought of that experience.

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.

So, he turned to Yelp to learn if there were any experienced RV inspectors in his area. That’s how he discovered Ted’s RV Inspection Service, a company out of San Diego.

After speaking with Ted, they made an appointment for two days later to have the RV inspected at the seller’s home. The inspection took six hours to go through the motorhome from top to bottom.

At the end, Chad received a 160-page report that verified the RV was is great shape, so he went ahead with the purchase and will be picking it up yet this week.

Chad Seeman’s experience is exactly what the folks at the National RV Inspectors Association hope every person receives when having an RV reviewed by a certified RV inspector.

I suspect the seller was shocked when he thought the inspector would be there for an hour or less only to find him still combing through the motorhome six hours later. The seller must have been impressed because he offered to buy a copy of the report from Chad if he wasn’t going to purchase the RV.

Imagine getting a 160-page report filled with pictures and results of every component and circuit that was tested. You would know that every inch of the RV you wanted to buy was thoroughly inspected, especially when you go the results of the fluid analysis regarding the condition of the engine and transmission.

Chad was impressed that the inspector – Ted’s RV Inspection Service – was willing to go on location to review the motorhome without requiring the RV to be brought to a specific location for review.

If I were to independently review an RV I wanted to buy, I don’t think I would know to check every electrical outlet, and test the generator under a load to see how it performed, but that’s exactly what Chad’s inspector did.

When the inspection was completed, Chad said he was confident that he was purchasing an RV that he could enjoy for many years.

If you’d like more information about getting an RV inspected, visit www.nrvia.com.

We have a great interview today. 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.

She describes the training she took and how it prepared her to do a thorough inspection of any RV. Elisa also describes some of the challenges she faced when conducting inspections. She’s got a pretty funny story about watching for mousetraps.

Her advice is valuable in the way it pertains to the tools used to perform inspections and why photographic documentation is essential to show not only what doesn’t work, but also what worked at the time the unit was evaluated. Pictures saved her and her client from a big headache.

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.

She is very candid in her description of the challenges inspectors face in running their own businesses, but she still recommends the opportunity for people who are looking for full- or part-time work.

I just loved Elisa Norman’s story. She was stuck at a job she liked as an English teacher, but she didn’t make enough money to help her four kids with college expenses. So, acting on the advice of friends, and with the encouragement of her husband, Elisa took training to become an RV inspector.

That initial training opened the door for her to work with insurance companies by evaluating RVs before extended warranty coverage was offered. After doing that for a while, she saw more opportunity and drove from Texas to Iowa for advanced training.

That paved the way for her to conduct inspections for people looking to buy new or used RVs. Even though her business was growing and she liked the ability to work outdoors on her own, her strong work ethic, attitude and personality caught the attention of the staff at an RV dealership where she was actually conducting an inspection on behalf of a client.

One thing led to another and Elisa found herself working full-time for that dealership by inspecting RVs when they came in from the factory, evaluating the units before they are delivered to customers, and helping customers understand how to operate various components on the RVs they’re buying.

Those are the type of opportunities that are available to people of all ages who take training to become a certified RV inspector or technician with the National RV Training Academy. If you don’t want to work for a dealership, you can make a good living by running your own inspection or mobile repair business.

Elisa confirms that the work can be challenging, but also very rewarding in the way it helps other people. She’s also living proof that this career isn’t just for men and that women can make a very good living performing inspections or fixing RVs.

With 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.

Today, we are going to talk with an RV inspector based in Florida who has a very successful business.

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.

He describes the differences between home inspections and RV inspections, and explains why it is important for buyers to get any RV inspected before signing a loan document.

Geoff explains the inspection process and all that it covers, and how fluid analysis can provide a glimpse into the inner workings of an RV engine and transmission.

He describes some of the surprising things he has uncovered during the inspections and how the training he took at the predecessor to the National RV Training Academy prepared him to look for and identify any issues that may impact an RV’s value.

He also talks about what he likes most about inspecting RVs and why he recommends the business to others who are looking to make a good income by helping other people.

I really appreciated his detailed description of all that goes into an RV inspection.

People don’t truly understand how complex recreation vehicles are and why it is essential that all the systems work well together.

I appreciate all the little steps that Geoff takes to ensure that he inspects RVs properly, such as crawling along the roof to get an even closer look at the condition of the roof and the equipment installed on it.

I also like how after he sees something that just seems out of place that he works to track down the true source of the problem, whether it is dripping water on a nice day or moist areas on the inside of an RV.

For more information about Geoff and his company, visit www.inspectrv.com, call 484-432-9002 or email [email protected].

He is right in that demand for RV inspections is increasing all the time and some areas of the country are really underserved when it comes to having enough inspectors available to meet demand.

If you’d like to know more about how to become an RV inspector and get the training needed to do thorough inspections, check out the National RV Inspectors Association at www.nrvia.com.

Today we are going to talk with another person who helped finance his technical education by serving as a workamper at the RV park adjacent to the Big Red Schoolhouse in Athens, Texas.

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.

AJ was able to accelerate the process because his wife, Phyllis, also worked at the RV park. They worked 16 hours per week to cover the cost for a campsite at the Texan RV Park, but they also worked extra hours to generate more credit so that AJ could complete the training faster.

By doing jobs around the Texan RV Park along with his wife, Phyllis, AJ was able to accelerate his education because they earned $10 toward the cost of his training for every hour they worked doing jobs around the park and at the academy.

To earn the credit, AJ was involved in construction of the academy. He laid carpet tiles on the floor and installed false ceilings in the restrooms and classrooms.

AJ Fields was one of the first people to take advantage of the work study program developed by the National RV Training Academy.

As AJ completed one training course, it seemed that he became aware of new opportunities, which required more training. He paid for the introductory training course, but they applied work study credit to cover the cost off additional training.

That put him on the fast track for learning how to fix a variety of RVs. Like AJ said, it is almost impossible for someone to learn how to fix all the different equipment on an RV, let alone all the different RV models, on their own.

He was especially appreciative of the variety of equipment he was exposed to at the Texan RV Park and at the National RV Training Academy. The training was so thorough that AJ is comfortable helping troubleshoot problems over the phone for other RV owners.

The training also aided him in opening Home on the Road RV Services to offer a variety of services to people from inspecting RVs to showing people how to use their equipment to fixing problems when they occur. You can find out more about AJ and his company at www.hotr-rv.com.

There are a number of courses available at 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.

Today we are going to talk with a couple who were among the first people to take advantage of a new work-study program to help pay for technician training.

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 were among the first people to take advantage of that program.

They spent several months living at the Texan RV 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.

They both banked extra hours to apply toward tuition so that Bobby wouldn’t have to work while going to school. That way he could focus on learning as much as possible, as quickly as possible and passing the certification test at the end.

Robin worked in the office checking guests in and out of the park, and Bobby served as a maintenance technician performing various jobs.

In this interview, they describe the jobs they did to earn the credit, and how having the training has really made a difference in Bobby’s life.

He already knew a lot about RVs and had been fixing RVs for other people for quite some time, but attending the training helped him fully understand how all the components of an RV work together.

By workamping at the Texan RV Park and being able to bank several hours of compensation toward training, that made the education more affordable.

It wasn’t very difficult work for either of them, but they were able to accumulate enough credit to cover the full cost of taking the training. In the end, that opened the door for Bobby to become a mobile RV technician and make money fixing RVs for other people.

The National RV Training Academy needs help with lots of jobs. Some of them require specialty construction skills or marketing. But many of the jobs require no special skills at all.

To learn more about the work-study program and how you can get it to pay for your training, call NRVTA at 903.386-0444 or email [email protected]. For information about the training courses offered by the academy, visit www.nrvta.com.

Today we’ll talk with an Australian native who found a way to make a living in America by inspecting RVs, and later by fixing them as a certified technician.

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. The couple traveled nearly 30,000 miles in an RV until they decided to settle in California wine country after she got a job.

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. That opened his eyes even further, and he jumped into the four-week advanced training course that led to him becoming a certified RV technician.

In fact, he scored so high on the test, he qualified to become a master certified technician. He just needs to spend time working as a certified tech before he can formally attain that title.

When Alan was traveling, he saw how frustrated people were trying to get problems with their RVs fixed in a timely manner.

With Santa Rosa, Calif., as a base, he now works as a mobile technician to help people either get on the road or stay on the road should they encounter a problem with their RVs.

He describes what the training was like and what types of things he learned in the classes. Alan also explains how the instructors would inject bugs into some of the components to challenge students to diagnose the problems an come up with the right solutions to fix them.

The crash-course in RV repair helped build his confidence and gave him the skills to fix about 99 percent of the problems he sees with RVs.

What really stood out for him was the fact that, unlike courses offered by RV component suppliers, the National RV Training Academy educated him to the strengths of every brand as well as the little nuances that make fixing the units a challenge.

Just knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each brand of a particular component – and the ability to work on different brand types while undergoing training – helped prepare him for the problems he will encounter in the field.

Demand for technical support is so high among RV consumers, he noted, that they often call local parts stores hoping to find someone who can fix their problem.

When the interview was recorded in December, Alan had only been out of class for a few weeks, but he had already found work fixing RVs.

Demand for technicians is so high that it doesn’t take much effort for a trained and certified technician to hit the ground running in a profitable business.

And that’s what Alan O’Neill did in starting Happy Campers RV Repairs. You can learn more about Alan and the types of services he offers by visiting www.happycampersrvrepairs.com.

The National RV Training 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.