Welcome to my mini “Behind the Scenes” series on choosing a mobile RV repair technician! As a practicing RV tech myself, I hope this series educates and empowers you. Feel free to leave a comment sharing what you’ve learned with other RV owners. And on behalf of all independent techs, thank you for supporting us! To read other articles in this series, click here.

If this is your first time paying for mobile RV service, you might be wondering what a fair market price is. Federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr, right?

Yes, but that would put you well below the federal poverty line. In reality, $12/hr is the “minimum wage” for most full-time jobs, with $25-$50/hr being the most common pay range for hourly employees. People have a right to enjoy the fruits of their labor, not merely survive hand-to-mouth. 

In this article, I’ll break down common pricing structures for RV mobile service, what you can expect to pay for parts and labor, and some fine print fees you may encounter along the way. 

What Are Typical Pricing Structures for RV Repair Service? 

The answers below are loosely based on my similar blog post on my business website at Sterling RV Services .

1. Shop/Flat Rate

RV dealerships usually charge a shop rate, which is confusingly quoted as “$X per hour.” You’re often not actually being charged by the hour; the dealership is charging you based on a certain amount of “time” assigned to each task.

Usually, these tasks are listed and costed by industry-accepted Flat Rate Guidebook manuals (usually from Spader Business Management (now NCM Associates) or the RV Technical Institute). For instance, a Flat Rate Guidebook might assign 0.8 hours for system diagnostics and 1.2 hours for a motor replacement. The dealership will charge you their shop labor rate multiplied by the theoretical time allowed by the Flat Rate Guidebook. Whether it actually took 1 hours or 3 hours makes no difference. If they finish the job faster, they make more money.

If a shop or technician is performing warranty work, then they may not be using the Spader rates. RV manufacturers and OEMs like Lippert and Suburban often issue their own flat rates, which state the allowed times for some warranty repairs, safety recalls, and service bulletins. (I will tell you from experience that some rather large RV manufacturers are notorious for their stingy rates, and they’ve driven away many independent technicians because of this treatment).

Some technicians may accept these flat rates, others may request additional time, and still others may say that any portion of the work not covered under warranty is the customer’s fiscal responsibility – so do your homework ahead of time! 

2. Hourly Rate

An hourly rate is just that: The RV technician or Service Center charges by the time on the clock. Most will charge in 10, 15, or 30 minute increments. This time usually begins when the technician arrives on site and ends when the technician has completed their work and cleaned up the job site. Be aware: If you’re late to the appointment, the technician may be charging you for time spent lollygagging in the truck! 

Some RV dealerships and most mobile technicians will charge a minimum labor time as well. Usually, this is 30 minutes or one hour. Some technicians will charge the full hour even if they replace a fuse in 5 minutes (although in my opinion, the technician should offer assistance on other projects for the remainder of the hour).

On the other hand, some technicians will limit billed hours on certain tasks. For instance, an RV technician might charge an hourly rate for diagnostics up to a maximum of 1.0 hrs per diagnosis. 

An hourly rate is perfectly acceptable – if you trust the integrity and workmanship of the technician. Some customers worry that an RV technician who charges by the hour will streeeeetch out the time to skim money off the top. On the other hand, other customers worry that an RV technician who charges by the Flat Rate Guidebook will cut corners to get the job done faster. The truth is there is no perfect pricing structure. An unethical or incompetent technician can take advantage of a customer either way.

3. Fixed Fee

A fixed fee is the simplest kind of pricing: You’re charged a fixed amount for the project, regardless of time, tools or supplies. A Service Center may offer a winterization service at a fixed fee, for instance, such as “$199 to winterize any towable RV!”

Simple maintenance services are often offered at a fixed amount. For example, an RV Technician may clean and perform annual maintenance of your air conditioner for $249, regardless of its condition.

(To muddy the waters, some people refer to the fixed-fee structure as a “flat cost,” but the term “flat” is usually associated with the aforementioned Flat Rate/Shop Rate, not fixed fees.)

4. Project/Contract Basis 

On larger, multi-faceted projects, it is often best to charge per project. For instance, installing a 10,000-watt solar power system on an RV is a lengthy process that involves several client consultations, removal of the roof components, installation, lots of testing, and checkup. Agreeing on a contract quote is usually the best way for all parties to manage their finances and their time.

What’s a Reasonable Hourly Rate for a Mobile RV Service Technician? 

Fair warning: Hourly and shop rates vary across the country. They tend to be higher in more affluent and more trafficked areas. It’s not uncommon to find shop rates exceeding $200/hr in parts of Texas, Arizona, and California. However, $125/hr is common in more rural areas such as the Midwest.

Also, please remember that mobile RV service technicians have significant business overhead. I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty of Quickbooks accounting, but don’t make the mistake of comparing a mobile service technician to, say, a contractor. While $70/hr may be a fair market price for your kitchen remodeling contractor, it’s not a “fair” price for a mobile RV service technician, since running a mobile service business usually requires many more unpaid administrative hours. 

At the risk of gross oversimplification, here’s my breakdown of hourly fee rates. If you live in the PNW, California coast, or a snowbird state, add $25/hr for equivalency. 

• <$70/hr: I cannot imagine any full-time mobile technician would charge less than $70/hr. You’d make just as money working in fast food.  
• $70 – $120/hr: Most technicians charging this rate are new recruits, semi-retired, part-time/side gig, too kind for their own good, or working “below the table” (don’t tell the IRS).
• $120 – $175/hr: This is a common rate range for general maintenance, diagnostic, and RV repair work. Mobile service tends to cost about $25/hr more than shop work.
• $175 – $225/hr: These rates are typically reserved for warranty work (due to the extra headaches and delays involved), advanced/specialized technical repair, and emergency services.
• $225-$250/hr: This is usually the “I don’t want to do it, but I will if you pay me enough” rate.
• >$250/hr: This is quite rare except in certain parts of the country. If you’re paying this much, ouch! 

What’s an Appropriate Markup for RV Repair Parts Sold?

Curious to know if the technician is charging you a fair price for the part you just bought?

The short answer is: Expect to pay MSRP on ordered parts and MSRP + 30-50% on parts already in stock. This roughly corresponds to a markup between 30% and 100%, with 50-75% being the most common range.

Margin Vs Markup – What’s the Difference?

Markup is based on the difference between what the business paid for a product versus what they’re charging you for it. Markup is usually expressed as a percentage. 

Markup and margin are often used interchangeably, but the two have different meanings.

• Markup = Profit/Cost Price
• Margin = Profit/Selling Price

As an example, let’s suppose Widget X costs $60 and retails for $90. The gross profit markup is $90-$60/$60 * 100% = 50%. Meanwhile, the gross profit margin is $90-$60/$90 * 100% = 33%. We use the prefix “gross” to distinguish these percentages from other “net” markups and margins taken after subtracting taxes, expenses, and other costs.

In this article, we’ll focus on markup, since that number makes more intuitive sense to customers.

Why Do Mobile Service Businesses Charge a Markup?

First, let’s consider the cost of the product itself. You might assume that an RV technician gets preferential wholesale pricing on parts, but that’s not always the case. With the mega-influence of online retailers and resellers like Amazon, the online “retail” price is often surprisingly close to a local distributor’s “wholesale” price. And unless an RV technician spends at least $5,000 per year with a supplier, they are unlikely to receive preferential pricing. 

Next, let’s consider the value that the technician adds. In most cases, the Technician should have the part in stock, on the service vehicle, ready to be installed. That means he researched it, sourced it, purchased it, received it, inventoried it, and dragged it around in his gas-chugging service vehicle for weeks, months, or even years. There are significant sourcing and carrying costs to a mobile inventory. A technician may have $5,000 to $10,000 worth of parts in stock at any one time; that’s cash tied up in the business, not accessible. 

Let’s not forget the liability. By selling you a part, the Technician accepts liability for if that part is defective. If so, he will be responsible for replacing or fixing the part – at no cost to you, of course. A single defective part can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars of lost wages, so a technician should increase the selling price to “pay for” the risk assumed. 

What’s an Appropriate Markup for Mobile RV Service Parts? 

Even though most businesses look at margin, most customers look at markup. So what’s an average markup for a retail product?

Well, that answer varies widely across industries. Commodities and staples might only have a markup of 10-20%, whereas most retail lands between 25 and 75%, with 30-50% being “average.” Fashion and premium goods can easily have margins between 100-300%. (For reference, a 100% markup means the product is selling for double its actual cost, a 200% markup sold for three times, a 300% markup for four, etc.) These markups are based on the difference between the wholesale and retail costs.

I would use MSRP as our starting benchmark. This is the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. Typically, this is similar to what you’ll pay at a brick-and-mortar store (like Camping World), but typically less than what you can find online. In the RV service industry, MSRP is often close to 30-50% markup compared to the wholesale price. 

However, MSRP is not appropriate for small-ticket items. For instance, consider plumbing fittings. An RV technician likely carries hundreds of fittings, clamps, and plumbing accessories, but he only sells a handful at a time. If these items were to be sold at MSRP, then they would be a net loss. $0.40 in profit for a PEX fitting doesn’t even pay for the time it took to source and inventory that part. So it’s not uncommon, nor unreasonable, for a technician to charge much higher markups for small-ticket items ($20 or less) because at MSRP, he would be essentially giving them away. 

In short: An appropriate markup for most RV repair parts is 30-70%.  So if a circuit board costs $100 wholesale, the technician might resell it for $170 (70% markup). However, if an air conditioner costs $1,000, a technician might resell it for $1,300 (a 30% markup). Both markups could be considered fair considering the relative cost of the part and the value added. 

What Are Common Fees for a Mobile RV Service?

Mileage/Service Call Fee

Most RV technicians will charge a flat or variable service call fee. Some charge a flat rate limited to a certain service area; some charge by the mile. Common mileage rates are $2.00 – $4.00/mile on a 1-way basis (with $2.50-$3.00/mile being the most common). Some technicians expect this fee to be paid upfront before the job is scheduled. If a job is cancelled within 24 hours, the mileage fee is often forfeited. 

Emergency/Weekend Fee

Jobs scheduled the same-day, after hours, or on a weekend are often charged an emergency fee, usually ranging from $50 to $150. 

Credit Card Processing Fee

It’s not uncommon for small mobile businesses to tack on a 3% card processing fee for accepting debit and credit cards. 

Insurance/Warranty Processing Fees

Some technicians may charge a higher rate or an additional flat fee for processing an insurance or warranty claim. Hourly rates are generally $25/hr more; a flat fee ranges from $35 to $100. 

Appliance Disposal Fees

If your repair involves the disposal of an HVAC or large appliance (air conditioner, refrigerator, water heater, range, etc.), then you may need to pay an additional fee for disposal. This fee commonly ranges from $25 to $100. 

Dirty Jobs Fee

Got a leaking black tank? Some technicians charge extra for sanitation jobs due to the PPE and cleaning required. The fee varies by job.