I saw a post on-line recently where a person asked “if I am really not handy can I still fix things on my Travel Trailer”? The short answer is probably no. If you haven’t guessed already, today we are going to talk about Anti-Handyman and his RV.

After reading this post I immediately thought of my Dad who we referred to as the “Anti-Handyman”. If something needed fixing around the house or with one of the cars, it wasn’t going to be my dad fixing it. My Dad was smart; he knew his limitations and realized that he could actually make things worse by doing it himself. As my brother Bill and I got older we both became quite handy which worked in my Dads favor.

After reading the post I looked at a series of comments and was surprised to see some folks actually encouraging this RV owner to “go for it…if its already broke, you can’t make it any worse”. Actually, this is really bad advice, if you don’t have the knowledge and basic skills to do a job you actually can make things much worse. Just ask amateur mechanics that have broken engine bolts and then had to go through the extra work of having the broken stud removed.

I’ve restored eight vintage motorcycles. I can take them apart, get the frames painted, replace bad parts, fix brakes and bearings, and reassemble the bikes – no problem. I would never attempt to dig into their engines, why? Because if I make a mistake outside of my knowledge area, it will probably cost me a lot more money to get it fixed correctly.

A Travel Trailer is just another vehicle, it just doesn’t have a motor. However, there is still a lot that can go wrong, and if you don’t have the basic skills to handle it, you can make things worse.

Many RV novices end up with broken water lines each year because they winterized their trailers incorrectly. Even resealing your roof the wrong way can set you up for trouble.

So what can the anti handyman do? Here’s a few suggestions:

  1. There are classes on RV maintenance that are being offered at RV dealerships. Sign up for classes that you think will benefit you the most.
  2. Pair up with a trusted friend that has an RV. Have him/her help you with whatever needs to be done. Don’t just watch him/her do the work; be actively involved doing the repair while they coach you.
  3. YouTube – There are many great videos on how to do things. Repacking wheel bearings comes to mind because there are quite a few videos on that. Keep in mind, even though the videos go into great detail, they are not interactive; so that if you have a problem (Such as removing a bearing race), you will be on your own. So have a back-up plan.
  4. Facebook – I found Facebook to be good for finding some information but many times the routines are just photos. Remember photos only tell one second of a story. Now one thing that might help is if you can leverage a person from your Facebook group (that lives nearby) to teach you in person.

These are just a few suggestions. I am sure that a simple google search on RV repair classes etc. may give you even more ideas.

My main caution is just “don’t make things worse”. Additionally, if you’re under warranty, it’s probably best to have your trailer fixed by the dealership. Screwing something up under the warranty period may just void your entire travel trailer warranty. This will make you really sad and frustrated when something big happens and you need to rely on that warranty.

Learning how to maintain your RV is a great thing; it makes you independent and can save you thousands of dollars. You just need to make sure to take your time and learn the proper way to make the repairs. Even an Anti Handyman can become quite skilled given patience and good instruction.