We all know how expensive RV repairs have gotten. In the past few years, service rates have skyrocketed. Some places charge $200 or more an hour! It might be hard to believe, unless you’ve experienced it for yourself. Even basic maintenance tasks can quickly add up, leaving RVers wondering how they’ll keep up with the rising costs of owning and maintaining their rigs.
For many, the high price of labor isn’t just a financial strain—it’s a source of frustration and even distrust. What exactly justifies a $200 hourly rate? Are we paying for a skilled technician’s expertise, or are we being taken advantage of? Some RVers argue that the costs might be acceptable if the work is top-notch and done right the first time. Others feel like they’re gambling with their money, especially if the repairs don’t last or lead to even more problems down the road.
These prices also raise a bigger question: How do RV repair shops calculate their rates? Factors like overhead costs, specialized equipment, and certified mechanics all play a role. However, that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow for those living on a fixed income or trying to stretch their travel budget. And let’s not forget the inconvenience—scheduling an appointment, waiting for parts, or being stuck in a hotel while your RV is in the shop can add even more to the overall expense.
How do you feel about paying a price like this for labor? Will you pay it without question? Would you try to find a cheaper shop and take your business elsewhere? Or do you think that kind of price tag is downright robbery? Some RVers have even started learning to do their own repairs to avoid these high costs. If you’re handy with tools, this is certainly something to consider.
After you vote, please leave a comment explaining your answer. Whether you’ve found a trustworthy shop, taken on DIY repairs, or simply gritted your teeth and paid the price, your experience could help other RVers facing the same challenge. Thank you!
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##RVT1193
We always find a mobile RV tech. You schedule a date & time to show up plus you can watch them work. The last time I scheduled repairs at an RV dealership the travel trailer sat in their storage lot for 2 months before they got to it. I gave up when they kept moving the repair out week after week and cancelled the work, brought it back home, and within a few days a mobile RV tech fixed it. NEVER MORE will I bring my RV’s into a dealership. That & he charged 2/3 the rate quoted by the dealer.
If we have to pay $200. hour than we need to quit buying RV’s and get rid of what we have. They charge it only because they know people will pay it.
I disagree. They charge $200 an hour because tools, trucks and training isn’t free.
If you think anyone in the Service Department is getting rich, look in the employee parking lot and count the luxury cars that aren’t there. Now look at the RV you’re driving and tell us how you got that by selling your skills on the cheap like you expect others to do.
It’s amazing many complain about the price of campsites, but have no problem paying $200. hour to fix their RV. There’s nothing complicated knowledge wise about working on RV’s if you’re mechanically inclined. Just like working on your house. Except if they have electronics or a motor they can get complicated. Most of the parts used is cheaply made. Most employees are not paid well and have to provide most tools. I bet many are not trained or certified. In NEPA most people can’t afford to pay $200. hour to repair something. It’s the business owners who have the expensive vehicles and homes. Especially when they say Americans are having a hard time affording food and medications.
I agree…look no farther than most any Camping World…some of the lowest paid freeloaders in the business.
The 38% who voted “not willing to pay that much and will go elsewhere”; don’t you think that the standard p/hr labor rate will be the same. Just as you have with plumbers and electricians. All the while you’re driving an RV or towing a Fiver/TT around town, burning up fuel and who knows how long it will sit till it’s worked on. I have a go to RV repair center, but it’s been about two years since and their labor rate was then $160/hr which is posted at the front counter. If it’s now $200/hr, that’s what I’ll have to pay, like I do with gas prices, insurance, food, CG fees, reservation admin fees, Netflix and Wi-Fi. All part of life’s pleasure!
I don’t necessarily object to the cost just based on the dollar amount. What my experience has been, is that in many cases, the repair takes an extraordinarily long time (Not including waiting for parts), and then the repair is not complete or correct. Higher cost should equal expertise to get it done in appropriate amount of time AND correctly (IMO).
Fortunately I can do most myself, but cringe when someone else has to work on it.
Unfortunately that rate is overhead. The person who actually does the work may be paid as much as 20% of the labor charge.
Little or no incentive to train mechanics on the specialized needs of the RV.
I pay the service department at my local BMW and Triumph (motorcycle) dealership $205/hr. I’m in a State on the “Left” Coast. EVERYTHING is expensive on the Left Coast.
Do they do a good job? Do they have a good reputation? Then it is worth it. You can go somewhere else, but only if the other place does a good job. A poor job isn’t worth the savings.
Hopefully your work and parts are good quality and you can always get a second or third opinion and in 2026 we may be even more unhappy with $250? hr labour rates. I often tell people when the say our taxes, insurance, bus fare is going up, that in my sixty years they never go down, yet we are shocked when they go up.
Try $275/hr at Rush Truck Centers.
Gotta love them diesels…
I worked in field service doing in home appliance and tv repair for a nationwide company.
Many customers complained about the cost, thinking I was making big money. I tried to explain the reasons but most wouldn’t listen and just complained even more.
There was a building that included staff to run the business. A fleet of vans needed for the field service people. A warehouse area stocked with repair parts.
Building and vehicle maintenance. Property taxes. Healthcare and liability insurance.
I made less than 10% of the total cost.
BTW, most of the people that complained were well to do. The ‘normal’ people were just glad that we were there.
I don’t have a problem contacting and paying the expert when something goes wrong with my RV but I expect the Service Company or RV Tech to be experienced and knowledgeable enough to fix or repair the MH. What ticks me off is they arrive, unable to diagnose or fix the issue because of their lack of experience, expect you to pay for their education and then leave without being able to fix or repair the problem. I have been forced to educate myself on many things in and on our MH and learned to repair them myself. DIY is now my first step toward any repair. Only when I am stumped will I reach out to the “so called expert” and even then I remain cautious. For all DIY’ers, Youtube helps!
I do most of the repairs on my TT. But, some things require work that I am not comfortable with doing.
Watching youtube videos are OK if you have the ability, tools and understand how to do the repairs. If not, the repair may cost more in the long run.
Youtube videos make it look easy, and some are just WRONG. Plus, you need the proper tools.
I worked in service and maintenance all my life, so I can do most things. Now age is creeping up on me. Things I could do when younger are more difficult now.
I recently bought a fifthwheel trailer and after I got it home, had questions about the suspension. I finally found a shop to look at it “in a couple weeks”. I got a call stating they got my trailer confused with another trailer and had already started doing work on it, without my authorization. The work was stuff I would have authorized any way. They assured me that the suspension was mostly good. They repacked the bearings, replaced the brakes, equalizer and emergency brake actuator. Again, these are thing I would have authorized. I am satisfied with the work! I was shocked to pick up the trailer and receive a bill for $3300. I was happy to find a shop to work on it.
I just had a mobile RV tech to our site in Palm Springs to weld a new spring hanger on our 5th wheel suspension. $175/hour. Take your car to a dealer and the price is the same. It hurts when I convert it to Canadian which is about $260/hour.
Just a cost of doing business for repairs we are not equipped to do ourselves.
I don’t have an issue paying this (my current wage is much more than this) IF the tech and the repair facility fix my problems the first time correctly, and if they don’t, stand behind the work and resolve the issues quickly with good communication. Running a repair business, or really any business, is very expensive and good facilities should make enough for the workers to have a decent standard of living. I wont get into the politics of the why, but we can all probably agree that this is a different country than the one we grew up in when it comes to making a living wage as a skilled laborer.
I said too much, but pay if necessary. When I say it is too much, what I am saying is it is too much from my side as the customer. I ran a side business for 17 years offering computing support for mom&pop businesses. When I started, there was nobody else in the area. I charged close to $100/hour, offered very good service – and my tax return said I paid myself about $25/hour on a good year. The rest was sucked away in operational expenses. I quit because (usually young) competitors charged less – and every 18 months, go out of business with somebody else to take his or her place.
My local Freightliner dealership charges $350/hr for diesel and chassis work. I thought that was expensive until I took my rig to a small local shop at $175/hr. It took the small shop twice as many hours and they had to wait weeks for parts. I had to take it to Freightliner to fix all the mistakes the local shop made. Freightliner had all the parts, it was done in a few days, and it worked the first time. I ended up paying for the repairs twice. Lesson learned, you get what you pay for.
This is one of the main reasons I bought a 1968 Ultra Van. It’s a simple, old school rig that I have rehabbed and know intimately. A simple, six cylinder, air cooled engine that I have worked on on the road and a couple of off ramps! It, believe it or not, part of the enjoyment. I have NEVER had to go to an rv repair shop.
If you need a really good mechanic, then you need to pay for it. Sometimes you do get what you pay for. Owning an RV isn’t cheap, we all know that, and if we want it cared for, we end up paying the price.
I do my own maintenance and repair. In over 40 years I have only taken my RVs in three times and two of those were warranty items.
The 3rd was a 100% incompetent (or intentional?) ripoff by a Freightliner Oasis center that charged me 5 hours ($675 in 2017) and couldn’t find an intermittent dash electrical failure. I called Freightliner directly and was informed it was a known connector issue with a TSB issued to its centers. Parts were <$100 and it took me 10 minutes to fix myself.
I have NO special skills. Almost anyone can fix most things themselves…perhaps better than the "experts."
The poll question itself is too broad. If you are taking a TT in for service, then $200 per hr is highway robbery. Move up to a 5th wheel, little more complicated, but $200 is still way too high. Driveable RVs, from gas class Cs, gas motorhomes, and diesel pusher motorhomes, well maybe now you can’t question the labor cost. Mercedes Benz B, B+, and small MB class Cs warrant the high labor rate. Dealers traditionally have young, low-wage, and experienced techs working on your rig at a huge profit. Take your DP to a shop specializing in Freightliner, Spartan, and other chassis builders with Cummins or Catapillar power call for a lot of proprietary tools and code reading programs so pay the man
I agree.
If it’s taking multiple trips and work not getting done properly or things being made worse you’re being cheated no matter what they charge. Properly trained people are hard enough to find but when they claim to not be able to get proper parts the industry is definitely scamming the public. Fortunately any work that my TT’s have needed I have been able to do myself.
I recently paid $400/hr (grand total) for a plumber. It was 2 workers, their truck full of stuff and all the little parts required for 2 hours.
The inflation over decades is hard to adjust to, but adds up!
Blame the federal reserve and their reckless monetary policies. It’s always been painful to see labor rates for vehicle repairs. It is just the devaluation of our currency that makes us always playing catch up.
The Federal Reserve certainly has played a material role in inflation over the last several years. They greatly underestimated inflationary pressures and tenacity thus kept expansionary programs like QE and near zero interest rates in place for FAR too long.
They are not the totality of the issue. A lack of qualified resources (supply/demand) and continued excessive gov’t spending and growing debt are also key to high inflation.
My motorcycle dealers also charge that kind of rate — I’m in the Silicon Valley area, everything is pricey. I hate it, and do my own work whenever possible… which is almost always.
If that’s the total price and the work is quality then be happy because you are not just paying for labor (which is what these people do for a living) but also every other cost to stay in business from rent and utilities, medical and business insurance, taxes (state, local, federal, employment), accountants and lawyers, etc. etc. etc. That’s why I also still give the guy who does the work a couple bucks.
I DIY as much as possible in every aspect of my life, whether it’s my home, vehicles, or whatever. I relish in the feeling of self-sufficiency and enjoy learning how to repair things I’ve never seen before. From that standpoint, owning our class B+ rig has been a fun and educational experience, and I view it as an ongoing project.
So far, we haven’t needed to take it to anyone for service or repairs, but that day will eventually come. At least I’ll have a thorough understanding of what kinds of problems can happen and what it should cost to fix them. We’ll end up paying what we have to, but should be able to avoid being ripped off.
Knowledge is power!
Many repair shops do not have certified or factory/component trained employees. A shop near me advertises a shop rate of $170. Costs of labor isn’t based on the skill (and certified training) of the employee as much as it is the rate to retain them. Auto dealers and most independent shops proudly display those training certificates. Until the RV industry adopts repair training standards and certifications we will continue to face expensive poor service from most RV repair shops.
The thing that bugs me the most about those charges is that, if several repairs are made, there will be separate charges for each one according to “the book”. So, you may be charged several hourly rates even though each individual job may have taken only 15 minutes or so in actual clock time.
For drivetrain issues on our DP, I am willing to pay the $160 per hour at our local Cummins Coach-Care facility. They do good work and in a short time frame. They know what they are doing with skilled techs. I’m hoping they don’t go to $200 per hour anytime soon.
All other coach related repairs I either fix myself or call a mobile tech. They are usually about $100 per hour and I can watch and learn something too.
Thank you, RV Travel! Ultimately, my reaction depends on how good they are and how bad their predecessors were. For example, we were broken down for two weeks in Rocky Mount, North Carolina because the techs at the Freightliner shop were novices in dealing with a Cummins 9-liter diesel engine in an RV. We finally limped to the Greensboro, North Carolina Freightliner dealer and their techs were knowledgeable. They looked upstream of the location of the chief symptom, correctly diagnosed the cause, and repaired our engine. The Rocky Mount techs would have been excessively expensive at $10/hour and Greensboro cheap at $200/hour. Have a great week, safe travels! 🙂
In Scripture, Jesus said the workman is worthy of their pay. I am not going to debate with the Lord over His statement. But I don’t have to be happy about paying $200/hour. And I would sure explore other repair shops first. If I’m unable to locate lower price and the repair is necessary I would grudgingly pay up but would be glad the repair was made. It helps me when I acknowledge that I’m really not paying for what they do as much as I’m paying for their knowing what to do.
Most things RV related can be fixed by YOU the owner. Learn to do it or pay the fiddler.
People forget that it costs money to run a business. I recently closed a business due to owners death. For almost 3 years I paid taxes on a building with no income coming in. Electric was around 800 a month. Now if it was a working business you’d have employees. Wages insurance workmans comp social security. company vehicles more insurance… Would you like a little profit? Of course you would. Do you think $200 is enough?. It’s a terrible thing to think about but it’s true. better learn how to repair things or get a job
Auto dealerships and truck mechanics are cheaper. Actually, most skilled labor is cheaper.
I usually use a bus and truck repair facility when it is too much for me to do myself.
I would much prefer to pay a high hourly rate for quality work done in a timely manner than a lower rate for poor workmanship that takes forever. Plus, higher rates will encourage quality workers to stay put instead of moving frequently seeking better opportunities.
What does your lawyer charge..???
How about your doctor…???
What did YOU charge for your labor..???
The worst part is when they are an unethical shop and they charge that much. I had one that tried to sell me on all kinds of unneeded repairs, including a new roof. YIKES!