The National RV Training Academy has opened enrollment for the next five-week training series to become certified RV technicians. The next class begins April 6 in Athens, Texas, and concludes May 7, at which time students will be eligible to take a test to attain NRVTA RV technician certification.
The series kicks off with the one-week RV basic maintenance training course during which students become acquainted with RV electrical, propane and water systems, as well as the tools needed to fix 80 percent of the problems most RVers encounter.
That course is followed by a one-week advance training class that focuses on RV air conditioners and heat pumps. It includes four days of classroom instruction plus hands-on experience working on a variety of components made by Dometic and Coleman.
The next series is exclusively dedicated to RV absorption refrigerators and the propane and electrical circuitry of Dometic and Norcold equipment. Students learn to troubleshoot 12-volt DC and 120-volt AC test points as well as to remove and replace a cooling coil.
The fourth series zeros in on water heaters and furnaces during four 10-hour days of classroom and hands-on lab instruction. Training addresses Suburban, Dometic and Atwood components and how to diagnose, repair or replace thermostats and ignition systems.
The final week is dedicated to RV exterior systems, which includes special attention to hydraulic slideouts and leveling systems plus RV sidewalls and roofing material. The session involves four 10-hour days of classroom instruction plus a variety of hands-on lab work exploring common issues with the above systems as well as RV tires, suspensions and axles.
AFTER THE FIRST WEEK of training, students can take a test to become an NRVTA registered RV technician. Upon completion of all five weeks, students can take a proprietary test to earn their NRVTA RV service technician certification, which qualifies the graduate to work at any RV dealership or operate their own business as a mobile RV technician.
The cost to complete the five-week session is $8,538 and includes five course exams and two certification exams. Coursebooks are included in the fee; however, students will need to supply their own tools, which may add up to $500 to the cost of training, depending upon what the student may already have in his or her toolbag.
Students can stay in their own RVs at the adjacent RV park or take advantage of on-site cabins and RV rentals. A variety of hotels are available within a few miles of the training center.
To maintain an ideal teacher-student ratio, enrollment is limited to 30 students in each class.
Three other five-week sessions are slated to take place in Athens May 25 to June 18, July 13 to Aug. 6, and Oct. 19 to Nov. 12. For more information and an enrollment application, visit www.nrvta.com.
Started full timing in late 2017. Became interested in RV repair as way to earn money after remodeling my fifth wheel. Began researching ways to get educated fast and found only four schools in the nation that specialize in RV tech training. They all offer the RVIA curriculum which is now old and in process of being updated. This course is only five weeks compared to the others that are 14 weeks. The cost of this course is almost $2,000 more than the others. That being said it’s Terry Cooper and probably well worth the price but I just felt I needed more experience before getting serious about doing this for a living. I wanted to get my hands on as many RVs as possible so I got a job at a major dealership in Florida. After almost two years now I do not feel that five weeks would have sufficiently prepared me.
Become an RV technician in 5 weeks? My Certified automotive program for a college was 2 years, 1,800 hours, and cost around 6 K, and this just scratched the surface to become a professional automotive technician.
Too little, too late, too expensive.