Caravan technician training

[Jamesi1983]

Hi everyone.

Im considering investing in the training to become a mobile technician.

Please correct me if I’m wrong but, as per the NCC website, to become aws certified you have to complete the following:

- Electrical Maintenance Online - Level 1 & 2
- STGW gas course
- Caravan/Motorcaravan Service Award

The NCC website appears very helpful by way of laying out what courses are needed to become an ‘approved workshop’. However, whilst they give good guidance for the gas & electric aspects they appear to offer no training on the actual caravan or chassis side.

The electrical & gas courses are fine - it’s the Caravan/Motorcaravan Service Award whereby they say it is only an assessment and not training. They do reference the syllabus, and I’ve found a 2018 one, but with the amount of checks (10 pages) I’d have expected some type of training to have been done.

I’ve also had a quick look at the MCEA website and gather that it is a 5 day course only but I’m unclear how it can be adequate when the NCC STGW gas course is 5 days alone but it does seem to be more hands on in relation to the actual caravan & chassis.

Now I am very hands on and nothing of the electrical or gas side would concern me nor would the checks & tests to the caravan/chassis (from the syllabus) but with the sheer amount of them it would be terribly difficult to memorise them all.

Can anyone offer further advice or guidance?

Thanks

 

[Jcloughie]

I don’t know, but perhaps Alko may do a training course on their chassis. It is to their advantage to encourage excellence. Or, they may point you in the right direction.

You could also, get in touch with practicing technicians and see if you could accompany them for a few days. Perhaps someone not too close to home.

John

 

[IanB1485]

I am an experienced electronics engineer and have looked after lots of different systems over the years , when I retired I became bored and having fixed a few of my friends caravans I contacted Paul Stapleton of the MCEA. After discussing a few issues, I signed up for a weeks course at the MCEA , where the missing bits of what I knew were taught to me including the gas testing and the crucial method of damp testing and a few other, things like familiarisation of the various appliances fitted in caravans . I would recommend you go on their coarse to become a mobile engineer . The qualifications and support it gives will lead you to become a good caravan service and repair engineer and there are add on courses, such as the gas Acops and electrical certification courses you can do later.There is a private chat group where you can get additional information/help from more experienced engineers .Please be aware that the NCC is a trade body and has no regulatory standing . Its main remit is to support the caravan and motorhome manufacturers and their type approval has no legal basis. The only downside is that having qualified as a mobile engineer , unless you then apply for AWS approval from the NCC you can't work on warranty issues . In my part time business thats not a problem as I deal a lot in the older caravans and Motorhomes and a lot of my clients have had bad experiences with main dealers and don't rate the warranty

 

[Martin_E]

Trailer servicing https://www.nccacademy.org.uk/AWS-Trailer-Servicing
My understanding is the MCEA course is basic training, quite a few then go onto manufacture training as in Thetford, Dometic etc, but a lot of these courses are now done by the NCC academy only. But the MCEA do get some courses direct for their members only.
As Ian says the NCC are a trade body that anybody can join from lots of trades. Caravan manufacturers recognise their training and the AWS membership for maintaining vans in warranty but not necessarily for doing warranty work, some will allow warranty on third party items.

A lot of vans now have 10 year warranty AWS members can do servicing on AWS manufacturers supporters vans where the MCEA members can’t