Mobile RV Tech's

[sunshine 1]

I am presently at Salt lake city area. I have some problem with my furnace, the fan is running for 20-30 seconds and then stop.Furnace never ignites. Would likely be a sail switch ???
I have also problem with my refrigerator, quit working.
I called a mobile RV Tech, he said he would not come out unless I paid him $175 on a credit card before doing the service call.I told him I didn't think that was right. He said that was common business practice among RV Tech's.
Since I haven't used a mobile RV Tech before, I like to know from you guys if that is true.

[Daryles]

For the furnace, that is classic sail switch problem.
Just for giggles (and it's the easiest to start with) swap out the black 15A self resetting furnace fuse with a regular blue 15A fuse. The self resetting ones are unreliable.
Next the sail switch. Remove and clean it. Clean the fan blades of the squirrel cage blower fan. Reseat all the connectors around the furnace that you can reach. Check for evidence of water intrusion (residue) around (under) the circuit board.
Try bending the sail switch a tiny bit to catch more air.
The furnace manual is in the files section.
If you order a new sail switch get one from Dometic. The knock off ones are not good.

[Kyle and Lisa]

Originally Posted by Daryles

For the furnace, that is classic sail switch problem.
Just for giggles (and it's the easiest to start with) swap out the black 15A self resetting furnace fuse with a regular blue 15A fuse. The self resetting ones are unreliable.
Next the sail switch. Remove and clean it. Clean the fan blades of the squirrel cage blower fan. Reseat all the connectors around the furnace that you can reach. Check for evidence of water intrusion (residue) around (under) the circuit board.
Try bending the sail switch a tiny bit to catch more air.
The furnace manual is in the files section.
If you order a new sail switch get one from Dometic. The knock off ones are not good.

Check for dirt dobber nest in the exhaust system first,insuficient flow will not let the unit ignite and run.

[DutchmenSport]

Excellent advise from the above posters about the Sail Switch / Furnace functionality. They are spot on.

A word about RV mobile tech's. I attempted to use a mobile tech a few years ago in SW Indiana at a State Park. They said they could not come out for 2 weeks. It's quite obvious I never used them.

RV mobile tech at the closest dealership to my house serviced ONLY RV's sold new at their location and ONLY when they delivered the RV to it's present location. Never used them.

Then we had a problem with the refrigerator (Samsung residential) in North Carolina and found out the refrigerator still had warranty on it. Made arrangements for service from an authorized Samsung repair center. That worked out great. They came out to the camper within a week and got us all fixed up.

Then another time in Louisiana (earlier this year) when one of the front landing jacks went out. Got me fixed up, but charged a flat fee of $300 just to come out, plus time, plus the parts. The total bill for the new jack and he did the work was around $1000. But I was over the barrel.

Then just a week ago, another mobile tech in South Sioux City, Nebraska when a cable slide motor gear-box stripped out. I purchased the new gear box from a local RV dealership, but was hesitant to install it myself. I was going to wait till we reached Louisiana and then either tackle it myself (I would have time -- 3 months), or I could call the same mobile tech I used earlier in this year for the broken front jack leg. By luck of the Irish, there was a mobile tech in the park we spotted. He looked at my slide, we set up an appointment, he came out a day early, installed the gear box and the total charge was $175. The gear box cost me $125 from the RV dealership, so total cost for that repair was $300. And we are now in Louisiana.

So, in one respect he flat out lied to you. There is no "standard" for RV mobile tech's. They are all independent workers, not affiliated with large RV dealerships, and in business for themselves. They set their own prices. They set their own schedules. They select their own customers.

Evidently, the RV mobile tech you talked to has been "stiffed" on a bill before by someone who either could not pay or refused to pay after the work was done. So now, he is requiring money up-front, enough up-front money the customer won't cancel the appointment or won't pay when the final bill is complete.

So, I think your RV mobile tech is OK. He's protecting his own interests and I don't think his price is totally unreasonable.

We had our washing machine and dryer serviced (in our house), just about a month ago. Before they came out, we had to pay the service charge fee first with a credit card over the phone. If there were any issues that resulted in a repair, that would be additional when the service tech did the work.

So, your RV tech is not being unreasonable. He's protecting his own interests, and hopefully, you can understand why? The first time someone "stiff's" YOU on a bill, you'll understand!

[sunshine 1]

Thank you guys for all the advice, that helps me out a lot.

[Gonefishing]

That’s sounds correct for Rv mobile tech. They charge a service fee to come out then anything they do and replace is extra. I have one in my area I use all the time. His service fee is 150.00. If it turns out to be something that didn’t take a new part he doesn’t charge me for the work he did. Such as checking to see what it is then finds out it was something that needed an adjustment.