Jessica Chen

Different brands fail in different ways — and once you’ve serviced enough of them, you start building a mental map of which rig is going to have which problem. That brand-specific pattern recognition is what separates a tech who’s been doing this for years from someone who’s just good with tools. With Grand Design Reflections, … Read more

RV repairs are either thirty minutes or three days — there’s rarely an in-between. The difference is almost always whether you understand the system before you start, whether you have the right tools, and whether you ordered the correct part the first time. I’ve learned all three lessons the hard way, multiple times. On a … Read more

RV dealer service departments are backed up. Have been for years. If you’re a full-timer waiting six to ten weeks for a warranty repair appointment, that’s six to ten weeks where you’re either living without that system or paying out of pocket for a mobile tech. Learning to handle repairs yourself isn’t optional — it’s … Read more

Knowing how to diagnose and repair RV systems isn’t just a maintenance skill — it’s a negotiation weapon when you’re buying. Every mechanical issue I can identify on a walkthrough is money off the asking price. Most sellers don’t know what’s wrong with their own rig, which means an informed buyer has all the leverage. … Read more

Some repairs on an RV are DIY-friendly. Others involve propane, 120-volt shore power, or structural load-bearing components where a mistake has real consequences. Part of my job is knowing which category a job falls into — and being honest with owners about the line between a competent DIY fix and one that needs a professional … Read more

The thing that separates a good RV flipper from someone who just cleans up old rigs is systems thinking. When one component fails, I always ask what else failed alongside it, what caused it, and what’s about to fail next. RV systems are connected in ways that aren’t obvious until you’ve taken enough of them … Read more

I pull up to broken rigs for a living, and I can tell you without hesitation which repairs show up on my schedule over and over. Not because RVs are poorly built across the board — but because a handful of systems get neglected in exactly the same ways by exactly the same owners. AC … Read more

When your rig is your permanent address, calling a dealer and waiting three weeks for a service appointment isn’t an option. You fix it yourself, you fix it now, and you fix it right — because your home doesn’t get to sit broken on a lift. On a Crossroads Redwood, the rooftop AC unit is … Read more

After buying, repairing, and reselling more than thirty rigs, I’ve crawled into every corner of every coach body style you can name. I know exactly which systems manufacturers cut corners on, which repairs look scary but are actually straightforward, and which ones will drain your wallet if you wait too long. The rooftop AC on … Read more

There is no worse feeling in full-time RV life than a critical system failing in the middle of January with nowhere to be towed and no mobile tech available until Monday. I’ve been there. That experience is why I now maintain everything on a schedule and know how to handle the repairs myself. On Rockwood … Read more