Value of NRVTA training

[CBF1955]

Any other RV newbies that took the National RV Training Academy self-study? Was it of value?

[ReiMan1776]

I just finished 6 weeks of classes at this school. The RV fundamentals is a good class for any owner.

The fundamentals class is a prerequisite for the courses needed in in order to take the exam to become a certified technician:

Refrigerators
Exteriors
Air Conditioners
Water Heaters / Furnaces

The certification exam is given on a Saturday and consists of a written test followed by a hands on diagnostic session in which you have to troubleshoot two refrigerators, two air conditioners, one furnace and one water heater.

I elected to stay another week to take the generators class which I am glad I did.

The school, instructors, facilities, course materials along with the hands on labs are outstanding in my opinion. There is considerable material devoted to understanding electrical theory and practice.

I would be glad to share my experiences with anyone interested in attending the school.

Dan

[trailrydr]

I just finished 6 weeks of classes at this school. The RV fundamentals is a good class for any owner.

The fundamentals class is a prerequisite for the courses needed in in order to take the exam to become a certified technician:

Refrigerators
Exteriors
Air Conditioners
Water Heaters / Furnaces

The certification exam is given on a Saturday and consists of a written test followed by a hands on diagnostic session in which you have to troubleshoot two refrigerators, two air conditioners, one furnace and one water heater.

I elected to stay another week to take the generators class which I am glad I did.

The school, instructors, facilities, course materials along with the hands on labs are outstanding in my opinion. There is considerable material devoted to understanding electrical theory and practice.

I would be glad to share my experiences with anyone interested in attending the school.

Dan

Please send me the details using the forum msging. Thank you!

[Viper02]

I would be curious to know if CANBUS theory was discussed as most of the new RVs use some sort of CANBUS communication now in place of physical switches for lights, etc and to include HVAC control via CANBUS instead of a convention RV style thermostat

[ReiMan1776]

I would be curious to know if CANBUS theory was discussed as most of the new RVs use some sort of CANBUS communication now in place of physical switches for lights, etc and to include HVAC control via CANBUS instead of a convention RV style thermostat

Nothing in detail on these advance control panels except being able to access error codes. Much of the training involves trouble shooting to isolate a issue or failed component. This is in contrast to those who we refer to as "parts swappers" those who pull and replace components until an issue is solved.

[johndeerefarmer]

I would be curious to know if CANBUS theory was discussed as most of the new RVs use some sort of CANBUS communication now in place of physical switches for lights, etc and to include HVAC control via CANBUS instead of a convention RV style thermostat

Back in the day I was a TV repairman for a few years before I started teaching electronics. RCA in their infinite wisdom in about 1995 decided to use a data bus for the microprocessor to "talk" to the tuner, video chip and audio chips. Well about 99% of the techs out there couldn't fix the sets after that. I worked for 20 years in electronics and don't have any problems working on any of the high tech stuff including my John Deere tractors but expecting a RV, or automotive, or farm equipment tech to work on this stuff without a lot more than a 6 week course in electricity is poor thinking. I think every shop needs a tech with a 2 year degree in Electronics that can actually diagnose and repair vs just parts swapping