Episode 001 – Terry Cooper lays foundation for new podcast

Let’s face it. There is a critical shortage of technicians in the RV industry. Wait times for repairs at RV dealerships can now stretch months before an opening. There are way too few technicians serving a growing population of RV owners.

The good news is that it creates unlimited opportunities for people to make money fixing things. The demand for mobile RV technicians is flourishing and people engaged in that line of work can easily make $100,000 or more every year working their own schedules in businesses of their own.

Campgrounds are hiring trained technicians to provide service for RVers who roll in to their facilities needing minor repairs, winterization and dewinterization.

RV buyers are starting to embrace the idea of getting RVs inspected before they pull the trigger on a purchase – and so are banks, insurance companies and firms that offer warranties.

Like I said, the opportunity is abundant to make good money providing a valuable service to RV owners and buyers.

Our first guest is Terry Cooper, the owner of the National RV Training Academy. He’s going to explain why this podcast will be an important tool to recruit, train and retain RV technicians. He outlines some of the opportunities that are available and what you can do to capitalize on those opportunities.

I’ve known Cooper for many years, and I have interviewed him several times when I worked as the editor of RV Daily Report. He is a true visionary. Not only does he see the problems the industry faces because of the critical shortage of technicians, he has taken steps to fill that void.

Years ago, students in junior high and high school could take shop classes to learn a trade. Then, for some silly reason, our country started telling students the only way to be successful was to take out a boatload of student loans, go to a four-year university and go get a job working for someone else.

What a disaster that has proven to be. But, it creates an incredible opportunity for people who like to work with their hands to make an above-average income running their own businesses from their homes or their RVs.

I have already interviewed nearly a dozen people who support their full-time RV adventures by providing RV service. I have also interviewed people making a good living by helping people avoid buying RVs that may have been problematic.

The key is to get solid, reliable and professional training. That’s what the National RV Training Academy will do. This podcast will augment that training by showing what other people are doing in RV tech careers

Even consumers who simply want to be able to fix their own RVs will benefit from the training provided by the academy and from this podcast.

I’m excited to launch this podcast to help train and support RV technicians and talk about the myriad of opportunities available to professionals and consumers alike.

For more information about different types of training available, visit the National RV Training Academy’s website at www.nrvta.com.