Jessica Chen

Most of the service calls I get aren’t emergencies — they’re deferred maintenance that finally gave up. The owner noticed something off weeks ago, ignored it, and now they’re calling me from a campground two states from home. Nine times out of ten, this repair could have been done for a fraction of the cost … Read more

The first thing I do when I buy a used rig at auction is skip the cosmetics entirely and go straight to the mechanical systems. How a previous owner maintained the furnace, the AC, the water heater — that tells me everything I need to know about how the whole coach was treated. On DRV … Read more

I taught myself to handle most RV repairs through a combination of YouTube videos, forum threads, and expensive mistakes. The expensive mistakes were the best teachers. This guide covers what I eventually figured out — without the part where you strip a bolt, order the wrong component, and wait a week for the right one … Read more

I keep the most common failure components stocked in my van because certain repairs come up so predictably I’d lose time driving to a supplier. When I show up to a rig and already know what’s wrong before I open the access panel — that’s not experience, that’s pattern recognition from seeing the same failure … Read more

Every RV brand has a price point where the build quality starts compromising. I’ve bought rigs at every level, from entry-level travel trailers to high-end Class A coaches, and the failure patterns are consistent: manufacturers save money in the same places every time, and those are the systems that need attention first. On Forest River … Read more

When you boondock regularly — no hookups, no campground services, no one nearby to help — you develop a different relationship with your rig’s systems than a weekend camper does. Everything has to work. You learn the failure modes, the warning signs, and the repairs before you need them, not during. The furnace is one … Read more

The calls I get on holiday weekends are always the same energy: a family parked at a campground, kids in the background, and a very stressed adult trying to describe a sound or a symptom over the phone. I always ask the same first question: when did you first notice something was off? The answer … Read more

Here’s what most RV owners don’t realize until they’re trying to sell: neglected mechanical systems tank resale value faster than almost anything else. A rig with clean cosmetics and a history of deferred maintenance sells for thousands less than one that’s a little road-worn but mechanically solid. I’ve bought plenty of both. The Keystone Sprinter’s … Read more

The most expensive mistake RV owners make is replacing parts before they’ve diagnosed the actual problem. I’ve walked up to rigs where the owner has already swapped three components and the real issue is something a five-dollar fuse or a loose connector would have fixed. Diagnosis first. Always diagnosis first. With furnace igniter and control … Read more

Living full-time in an RV changes your math on repairs fast. You start calculating the cost of parts versus the cost of a mobile tech, and you realize that most of these jobs — once you understand the system — are absolutely within reach for someone who’s willing to read a guide, watch a video, … Read more