Book a bay for an evaluation

A walk around settles what is visible from outside. The questions owners actually arrive with are about things that move or carry current, and those cannot be answered without running the system. A slide is driven through its full travel under observation and checked at both ends of the stroke, with a rail driven mechanism assessed on a different failure pattern than a through frame one. Water intrusion is traced back to its entry point rather than guessed at from a stain on a ceiling panel. Electrical faults are chased with a meter instead of by replacing components in sequence until the symptom stops, which is the expensive way to find a bad ground.

The charges are posted and they are real. An RV systems estimate covering slides, awnings, water, electrical or a generator is $150. An in depth diagnostic is one hour at $285, the posted diagnostic rate, with a one hour minimum. Each is credited against an authorised repair, so if the work goes ahead the money returns to you as credit on the order. If you decide not to proceed, the charge stands. Paying for an hour of a technician's time and leaving with a written answer is still usually the cheaper end of that decision.

The most valuable thing you can bring is a record of the symptom rather than a diagnosis. When it happens, what you were doing at the time, what it sounded like, and whether it has changed over the last few months. A fault that only appears on shore power, or only when the slide is halfway out, is a different fault from one that appears every single time, and that distinction often saves an hour of chasing before anyone opens a panel.

• The vehicle, with the house batteries connected and any disconnect switch left on.
• Model year, floor plan, and the maker of the slide, awning or appliance if you happen to know it.
• Any previous repair paperwork, particularly if somebody has already been inside the system.
• Your claim number, if the work is going through a carrier.
• A note of any date the vehicle has to be back on the road, and whether that date can move.

You leave with a written finding, photographs of what was found, and an estimate with hours and parts separated so you can see what is labour and what is material. If the repair is going through a carrier, that document is what gets submitted and those photographs are what an adjuster reads. If it is not going through a carrier, it is a number you are free to take somewhere else, which is a legitimate use of the appointment and one we would rather you do openly than pretend otherwise.