Bay Area school trains mobile RV techs to b entrepreneurs
By FOX 13 News Staff I Published July 16, 2022 1:21PM I Pinellas County I FOX 13 News
RV tech school
Many people are hitting the open road in a camper this summer and a Bay Area school is teaching RV technicians how to help if it breaks downLARGO, Fla. - Students at a Pinellas County school are learning more than just tools of the trade, they are learning how to run their own business.
RV Tech Training Center specializes in training mobile techs to go out into the real world and start their own business.
"Our goal is actually focused on the mobile techs and not just techs that go into a dealership. All of our students are going into business for themselves where they will be helping people out that have broken down or in RV parks and they can't
get their RV into a dealership, so the mobile tech has to go out and run everything as if they are the dealership. They're just on wheels," shared Kenneth Hernandez the lead instructor at RV Tech Training Center.
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Hernandez is a former student who operated his own business as a mobile tech.
American RV Rescue LLC. Which is licensed in both Texas and Florida.
"I am actually a proud graduate of the school," he said, "I came through a couple of years ago and now I'm back instructing other mobile techs."
He's not just any former student, Hernandez is a retired veteran who was looking for a second chapter in life.
"Educating the veterans and giving them another life when they come out is very important to us," Hernandez said. "So, when they retire out of the service or they just left a branch, they're able to come here. It's paid for by the G.I. Bill. The military will actually pay for them to come to this school and get certified. We provide an avenue and the hope and from the love of humanity and helping them, they get to take it and run with it."
During the 10-week program, students are taught everything from how to start the business, how to run their business, tools they need and how to be a certified mobile tech with the state.
"When summer's coming up, 80% of what we do is going to be AC-driven, where we're getting into the AC's, they're breaking down," Hernandez said. "We always have to have a multi-meter with us because everything is a lot of electric. So, they have to test the AC's. They have to clean them and get them ready for the season."