Note: This is an UNSPONSORED, honest review containing the opinions of two people who attended the school. Other’s opinions/experiences may vary.
Prior to attending classes for the NRVTA, I scoured the internet for reviews and opinions from past students, but didn’t find anything. My husband, Mark, and I didn’t want to invest a lot of money before diving into something that might not work out. So, here’s our review of our experience with the NRVTA, including what happened after we finished the program.
What is the NRVTA?
The National RV Training Academy is a school is Athens, Texas that offers courses in RV maintenance, repair, and inspections.
Programs
They offer a week-long fundamental training course which covers the RV basics. This class is also the required foundation course for anyone becoming a technician or an inspector. RV owners who want to learn more about their rigs, even if they don’t plan on becoming technicians or inspectors, can take this class.
Other classes include subjects like refrigeration, exteriors, air conditioners, heaters, furnaces, and inspections.
Our Experience with the School
My husband attended the fundamentals and air conditioning courses in November 2021. In April 2022, he completed the certified technician program while I attended the fundamentals course and the inspector program.
Review: The Fundamentals Course
The fundamentals course had a lot of great general information about how RVs function and how their systems work. This is a good class for RV owners, even those who don’t plan to take any other courses. It provides a basic understanding of electricity, RV maintenance, and troubleshooting minor problems.
Chasing an electrical issue in our own RV.
Review: The RV Technician Courses
Pros: Each class is a week long and covers different systems from absorption refrigerators to exteriors. Click here to the NRVTA's programs. The RV Technician Courses provided a great foundation for learning how to repair RVs.
The classes were hands-on and intensive, which gave my husband the confidence he needed to troubleshoot problems in the field. After taking the final exam to become a Certified Technician, he felt he had the knowledge he needed to start his business.
Cons: Though Mark didn’t have any cons regarding the classes NRVTA offered, he wished they had a few more on their roster – particularly classes that dealt with RV toilets, plumbing, and tanks.
Overall, Mark recommends the RV Technician Courses.
Interior of a new motorhome.
Review: The Inspector Courses
Pros: These courses helped me to understand what to look for when purchasing an RV.
Cons: The NRVTA teaches most of the inspector class through PowerPoint presentation. There are two hands-on inspections, on students’ RVs, conducted by small teams of students. We could call the instructor if we had questions, but the instructor did not lead us through the inspection process.
For the amount of money the school charges for this program, I expected more than a PowerPoint presentation. Inside the classroom, they devoted most of the time to teaching students how to use the outdated inspection software program they pushed onto us. The instructor dismissed concerns raised by students about areas they expected us to know that we didn’t cover in the fundamentals course, instead of taking time to go over them.
After the first week of class, I didn’t feel like the class was worth it. I stayed for the second week and regretted that I didn’t quit like a few other students and get a refund.
I know three other students who also finished this course. Two are in an area saturated with RV inspectors, and after a year, they have not conducted a single inspection. The other student is in an area that doesn’t have as many inspectors and lands about one inspection a month.
Overall, I would not recommend the Inspector Courses.
Two beautiful new awnings we installed on a customer's fifth wheel.
Was It Worth It?
It’s been over a year since we attended classes at the NRVTA. I believe the time and money we invested in the technician courses were well worth it. In a matter of several months, Mark worked on enough RVs to cover what we’d spent on classes. However, I wish I hadn’t taken the inspection courses.
Can You Actually Make Money as a Mobile RV Technician?
The quick answer is yes, you can make money as a Mobile RV Technician.
In the last several months, the area where we’re staying in central Florida has become inundated with mobile technicians. This means that calls have dwindled, as there are more people available to handle these jobs. But there are places out there in need of mobile technicians.
Besides the costs we had for attending training, we barely spent any money starting our business. We set up a website, had someone place custom decals on our truck, and purchased business cards. From there, the job calls started rolling in.
This can be a viable business. However, you may need to take into consideration where you’re located and how many other mobile technicians are nearby.
Other Considerations
The school pushes sales of things like their business program, and tries to convince you to use their attorney. We did not purchase the business program class or use their attorney, so we can’t review either.
There isn't much to do in Athens, Texas. If you’re looking for weekend activities while attending classes, you’ll have to drive some distance to get there. There is an RV park next to the school. If you don’t want to stay at their RV park, there are other more affordable options available nearby.
My hope is that this review has answered some questions you may have had (like we did), before deciding if this school may be right for you.
Looking for FREE RV advice? Check out 3 Money-Saving Tips from an RV Tech and 5 Things You Need to Maintain Annually on Your RV!