Drew Callahan

I’m holding a run capacitor right now that came out of a DRV Mobile Suites — the metal cylinder is visibly swollen at the top, and the casing shows a hairline crack where the electrolyte leaked out. This single $40 component was the reason the rig’s AC compressor would spin but the condenser fan wouldn’t … Read more

“Drew, my AC fan is making this grinding noise and the compressor barely kicks in anymore. I’m stuck at a campground in Arizona and it’s 104 degrees. What am I looking at?” That’s Sarah, texting me from her Class C somewhere outside Sedona. I’ve had that exact conversation maybe fifty times in the last three … Read more

I’m standing under the Brinkley Model Z with my multimeter in one hand and the AC unit shroud already off—and I can hear the compressor trying to cycle but it’s barely limping through, almost like it’s fighting itself. The fan spins but there’s no real torque behind it. Three hours ago the owner called me … Read more

A dealership quoted me $380 to diagnose and replace the AC capacitor on a Forest River Impression last summer — labor alone was $220, parts maybe $45. That gap between what a shop charges and what you actually need to spend is what I’ve learned to close over 80,000 miles and three rigs. When your … Read more

Most RV owners treat their rooftop AC like a black box: it cools or it doesn’t, and anything in between means calling a dealer. That costs you $400+ in service fees before you even know what’s broken. The truth is simpler and cheaper than that. On a Keystone Arcadia, when the compressor hums but produces … Read more

Your AC unit is grinding, hesitating on startup, or blowing lukewarm air—and you’re wondering if it’s the capacitor or something worse. Here’s the straight answer: on a Grand Design Reflection, a worn run capacitor will do all three of those things, and catching it before the fan motor burns itself out is the difference between … Read more

It was late July, 105 degrees on the thermometer and climbing, somewhere outside Barstow — which is to say nowhere you want to be when your AC quits. I was three weeks into a trip down the California coast in a Cedar Creek I’d owned for about eighteen months, and the rooftop unit had been … Read more

Walk into a Keystone Sprinter with a dead AC and you’ll hear two opposite diagnoses: the dealer service department will tell you the compressor is shot and quote you $800–$1,200 for replacement labor plus parts. Meanwhile, RV forum regulars will swear it’s just the capacitor — $30 to $60, fifteen minutes of work, problem solved. … Read more