RV and coach
RV House Systems
House systems are the living-space half of a coach: water in, water out, power, heat and the jacks that hold it level. They are the systems most likely to end a trip without anything actually breaking down, and they are the half most chassis shops send you elsewhere for.
What it usually turns out to be
You do not need a diagnosis to call. Describe what it is doing and we will tell you whether it is a shop job.
The furnace runs but the coach never warms up
A furnace that lights and blows is a different problem from one that will not light at all. When it runs without heating, we look at the ducting first, because a collapsed or disconnected run dumps your heat into a basement bay, and at the thermostat and its wiring. When it will not light, the question is whether it is getting gas, air and ignition, and that is where we tell you plainly if the answer is on the gas side.
The lights dim when something switches on, and the batteries never seem full
Usually the converter, which is the box that turns shore power into the 12 volts everything in the coach actually runs on. We measure what it is putting out under load rather than at rest, check the transfer switch and the shore cord, and look at the battery connections, because a corroded lug looks exactly like a dead battery until you put a meter on it.
No hot water, or hot water that runs out in a minute
Water heaters run on gas, on electric, or on both, and which one has failed narrows it fast. We check the element and thermostat on the electric side, the flame and the vent on the gas side, and the condition of the tank itself. A tank half full of sediment holds half the hot water it should.
The water pump cycles when nobody is running a tap
The pump is telling you the system will not hold pressure, which means a leak somewhere between the tank and a fixture. This is the one worth bringing in rather than chasing at a campsite: we can pressurize the system and leave it under pressure for as long as it takes, which is how you find the slow one behind a wall instead of the obvious one under the sink.
The tank monitor reads full right after you dumped
Usually the sensors rather than the tank, and usually paper or residue bridging them. We look at the sensors, the valves and the vent, because a tank that will not vent does not drain properly either. If the gate valve itself is leaking or will not seat, that is a different job and we will say so.
The jacks will not retract, or the coach will not sit level
Hydraulic and electric jacks fail differently. On hydraulic we look at fluid level, the pump, and the lines and cylinders for weeping. On electric it is usually the motor, the gearing or the control. Either way, a coach that will not retract its jacks is not going anywhere, so tell us when you call and we will treat it that way.
What we do
- 12-volt and 120-volt electrical diagnosis
- Converter, inverter and transfer switch troubleshooting
- Shore power and generator feed faults
- Fresh water plumbing, pumps, lines and fixtures
- Water heater service, including flame adjustment and vent cleaning
- Furnace troubleshooting, ducting and thermostats
- Rooftop air conditioning service
- Holding tank, valve and sewer system repair
- Leveling jack repair, hydraulic and electric
- Leak inspection, inside and out
Will it fit
The question owners ask first and almost nobody answers on a website.
- Service bays
- 7
- Sized for a Class A
- 4
- Yard entrances
- 2
Two yard entrances is what makes a long rig easy to get in and back out of. Call with your length before you drive over and we will tell you whether it fits and when the bay is free.
What we do not do here
- We are a shop, not a mobile service. On house systems that matters more than it sounds: finding a slow leak means putting the system under pressure and leaving it there, and holding a coach overnight to do it is not something a mobile visit can offer.
- This page is the house half of the coach as installed systems: the ducting, the thermostat, the plumbing runs, and the 12V and 120V distribution behind everything. The engine, brakes, transmission and chassis batteries are the chassis page.
- When a single branded unit has failed on its own, a refrigerator that will not cool or a furnace that needs replacing rather than repairing, that is the appliances page. Same building, same crew, different question.
- We are not describing LP-gas system work here. Propane runs the furnace, the water heater and usually the refrigerator, so if what you have is on the gas side, say so when you call and we will tell you straight whether it is ours before you drive over.
- We do not quote this work sight unseen. An electrical fault or a leak is found by measuring, and anyone giving you a firm number over the phone is guessing at what they will find.
Before you call, have this handy
None of it is required. It just gets you a real answer on the first call instead of the second.
What it was running on when it happened
Shore power, generator, or battery alone. House systems behave differently on each, and a fault that only appears on one of the three has already told us most of what we need.
The make, model and year of the coach, and the floor plan
Floor plan matters more than people expect on this side of the rig, because it determines where the runs and the tanks actually are. If you have the original paperwork, bring it.
For a water heater, whether the tank is steel or aluminum
It is usually on the plate or in the manual. The two take different service: a steel tank has a sacrificial anode rod that gets replaced, and an aluminum tank does not take one at all. If you are not sure, tell us the brand and we will look it up rather than guess.
What the monitor panel says, and what you think is actually true
Both numbers are useful, especially when they disagree. If a tank reads full right after a dump or a battery reads charged while the lights dim, that gap is the symptom.
Whether anyone has already been in there
A previous repair, an upgrade, or an owner-added appliance changes what we are looking at. Nobody is judging the wiring. It just saves us tracing something that was never factory.
Questions
Questions we get asked
Do you come to me?
No. This is shop work. Mobile operators do good work on the house side and there are several around the valley, so if what you need is a quick call-out, they are a real option. What a building gives you is time: a system held under pressure overnight, a coach out of the wind while the floor is open, and a parts counter in the same building.
I have a leak somewhere and nobody can find it. Can you?
That is the job this page exists for. A slow leak is found by pressurizing the system and waiting, not by looking, and waiting is the part that does not fit into a service call. Bring it in and tell us what you have already checked so we do not repeat it.
Can you work on the house side and the chassis in the same visit?
Yes, and that is the unusual part. Most shops do one or the other and send you elsewhere for the rest. If the coach is here for brakes and the furnace is also acting up, say so when you book and we will look at both while it is in the bay.
My problem is the refrigerator, not the plumbing. Is that here?
Same building, different page. A branded unit that has failed on its own is on the appliances page. If you are not sure which side of the line your problem sits on, call and describe it. Sorting that out is our job, not yours.
Do you stock the parts, or does everything get ordered?
We keep a parts counter with the consumables this work runs through: plumbing supplies, sewer system parts, water pumps, replacement vents and sealants. Anything we do not have, we order. The counter is open to walk-ins whether or not we are doing the work.
How long will you keep it?
We tell you the soonest realistic date when you call rather than booking you in and holding the coach while it waits. On this side of the rig diagnosis is often the quick half and the part is the slow one, so if something has a long lead time we would rather you keep using the coach until it lands.
Talk to someone who works on these
Call the shop and we will tell you the soonest realistic date rather than book you and hold your rig. Mon-Fri 8:00 - 5:00, Saturday 8:00 - 12:00.