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When you purchased your home, you likely scheduled a home inspection before the sale went through. Your inspector probably spent several hours at the property, going over every detail and reporting back to you on any potential issues, damages and/or concerns. A home inspection ensures that you’re kept safe from a bad investment — so what’s keeping you from making a bad investment when you purchase your RV?
According to Lisa Carletti, owner at My RV Resource, “A lot of people don’t understand that it’s vital to have an RV inspection on a brand-new unit. They think it’s like a car coming from the factory and it's in tip-top shape, but that’s not the case… You may even think an inspection on a custom-ordered RV is unnecessary, but be assured RV manufacturers are slapping these new units together as quickly as possible.”
As Lisa points out, while RV inspections might be expected when you’re purchasing a pre-owned RV or when it’s a requirement for insurance purposes, a lot of RVers simply assume that a brand-new RV comes with zero issues — but that’s not the case at all. “We’ve had special-order RVs delivered with the wrong furnishings, the wrong fixtures and even incorrect axles,” Lisa says.
Lisa and her husband, Jason, aim to connect RV owners and buyers with RV service providers via their business, My RV Resource, which they call “the yellow pages for RV services.” The website boasts more than 5,000 RV service providers, including several hundred vetted RV inspectors, so you can find exactly the service provider you need, when you need them.
In order to schedule third-party, independent RV inspection of your newly-delivered RV, all you have to do is fill out a quote request form on any of the business listing pages on My RV Resource. Prices vary according to things like RV class, age and length, as well as the distance the RV inspector will need to travel to get to you, but, in general, Lisa says the cost of an inspection is $400–$800, plus the costs of travel and fluid analysis (aka, the “blood work” for your RV).
On inspection day, you can expect the inspector to spend four to eight hours thoroughly covering over 130 different points of inspection on your RV. Then, the inspector will send you a report on their findings within 24 hours.
“RV owners and buyers should always find out how the inspection is delivered,” Lisa further advises. Some inspectors may simply give you a Word document and file of photos, while others will send you an interactive document that allows you to zoom in on photos, view issues from 360-degree angles and more.
The inspection report will include issues categorized four ways — life safety issues (issues that are literally life-threatening, such as problems with the tires or even the smoke detectors); major issues (fixes that are immediate or costly); minor issues (fixes that can wait a while); and “notice comment” issues (odd problems that aren't necessary to fix, but that are notable).
Beyond price, what else should you consider when booking an RV inspector? According to Lisa, there are a few things to ask your inspector before booking, including…
Learn more about RV inspections and receive quotes from RV inspection companies today, at https://myrvresource.com.