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

 

[otherclive]

Where I last stored my caravan there was an MCEA training Center and admin, the large barn workshop could accommodate two caravans or motorhomes. There was also an AWS mobile engineer who shared the workshop and also had his own on site shop too. When the AWS engineer had to stop work for a lengthy period through illness the MCEA engineers took on extra work. One sorted out my cooker that was giving problems.

 

[borderbilly]

The way caravans are built today ( or thrown together) we are going to need loads of aws engineers 😀

 

[Jamesi1983]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

Id just be doing it part time too, well at least to start with.

Question - the AWS is warranty approved, yes. So, lets say a leaking window which im assuming will be a warranty repair. Where or how has the AWS technician learned how to do this? Or the damp testing? Where/how has this been trained? Or if I was approached about a faulty fridge……..yes there is a 1 day Thetford course but it’s not necessary to achieve the AWS certification and would 1 day really be enough to cover everything Thetford? What im saying is for a warranty approved scheme there seems to be alot of areas missed whereas the MCEA does appear to cover these types of items.

It would seem that the NCC is the necessary route to go as you'd be throwing away a very large proportion of the market if you couldn’t maintain vans in warranty. Equally the MCEA course looks like it fills in the voids of the NCC.

Have you any idea of the cost to become an NCC member as there are sizeable savings offered on the courses?

Its a big commitment and in the £2.5k region for the NCC electric, gas & trailer training together with the service award, not including the MCEA training, accommodation or flights.

I should point out that im in Northern Ireland which is holding me back somewhat as trying to get away for 5 days training at a time is going to be tricky, most of the others are 1 day courses so could probably fly over & back in the one day. I have looked but to no avail but is anyone aware of a STGW gas course in Northern Ireland, I suspect not but worth asking.

Thanks again.

 

[otherclive]

I guess that most owners fridges, gas heaters, cookers etc fall out of warranty very quickly as their warranty terms are far shorter than the caravan warranty. Also, unless things have changed those items require to be specifically serviced as an extra action to the standard caravan makers standard service schedule.

 

[Martin_E]

Most manufacturers other than I think coachman won’t let you do warranty work on say a leaking window, a lot of them will let you repair third party items, fridge, toilet, cooker etc providing you have done the coarse for said manufacturer.

The MCEA I think don’t do in depth training on individual items, it covers core stuff, the rest will be self taught or manufactures coarse’s of from what Ian says closed forum where you can ask those who know along with some who think they do 🤔🤣

 

[Buckman]

I guess that most owners fridges, gas heaters, cookers etc fall out of warranty very quickly as their warranty terms are far shorter than the caravan warranty. Also, unless things have changed those items require to be specifically serviced as an extra action to the standard caravan makers standard service schedule.

Aren't warranties for fridges, gas appliances etc separate to the actual caravan warranty i.e. repairs are done by the manufactures approved technician? If I remember correctly out Thetford appliances had a 2 or 3 year warranty whereas the caravan it self only 1 year?

 

[otherclive]

Yes the various appliances had to be serviced by an appliance makers approved service agent. I never bothered as my annual caravan service checked such items for safety but did not service them. So unless anything went wrong they were not touched. Mind you mine didn’t have lots of bells and whistles like modern vans and rarely gave any trouble. The only mischievous appliance was the Thetford electric flush, but I sorted out the errant flush button pcb and its poor contacts.

 

[Jamesi1983]

Im just off the phone there with Paul at the MCEA who has cleared up any queries i had - a gentleman and couldn’t have been more honest & helpful.

In a nutshell MCEA is the starting point whereby your taught hands-on. Their training includes approved gas & electrical so competent in that regard. Once completed you can then choose to become AWS certified should you wish, and most do by doing the AWS courses over the future months or years.

He also advised not to be put off by not immediately being able to do warranty services as it will not be as great an issue as i am anticipating e.g a lot of warranties will be already voided buy the owner not keeping up servicing or transfers of warranties not being done correctly and some wont go anywhere other than a main dealer anyway and so on.

And as Martin said, most manufactures wont let warranty work be done by anyone other than the main dealer so that answered that question.

I think ive most queries I had addressed and will now be looking to get booked in on one of the courses.

Thanks again

 

[otherclive]

Im just off the phone there with Paul at the MCEA who has cleared up any queries i had - a gentleman and couldn’t have been more honest & helpful.

In a nutshell MCEA is the starting point whereby your taught hands-on. Their training includes approved gas & electrical so competent in that regard. Once completed you can then choose to become AWS certified should you wish, and most do by doing the AWS courses over the future months or years.

He also advised not to be put off by not immediately being able to do warranty services as it will not be as great an issue as i am anticipating e.g a lot of warranties will be already voided buy the owner not keeping up servicing or transfers of warranties not being done correctly and some wont go anywhere other than a main dealer anyway and so on.

And as Martin said, most manufactures wont let warranty work be done by anyone other than the main dealer so that answered that question.

I think ive most queries I had addressed and will now be looking to get booked in on one of the courses.

Thanks again

Good luck in your new venture. 👍

PS Will your qualifications when completed allow you to carry out work on Republic of Ireland caravans/motorhomes. either in the Republic or whether brought into Northern Ireland? Would open up the customer base.

 

[Jamesi1983]

Good luck in your new venture. 👍

PS Will your qualifications when completed allow you to carry out work on Republic of Ireland caravans/motorhomes. either in the Republic or whether brought into Northern Ireland? Would open up the customer base.

My inital feeling is that it wouldnt however ive no idea what the legislation is in the Republic but i will ask. That said, MCEA does have persons from the Republic attend the course.

 

[IanB1485]

Good luck with your new venture , start slowly and when a member of MCEA ask to join our private facebook group , start slowly with servicing only , then as you gain more knowledge and confidence you can take on repairs , Youtube is a wonderful resource as lots of professional engineers post actual repairs on various bits of kit , including damp repairs . Also as an MCEA member you can get trade accounts from the various suppliers and also access to their technical help and information not available to the public.