05/16/2026
RV owners, don’t overpay for RV service.
Most RV dealerships and service centers use some form of flat rate labor guide. Basically a “bible” full of preset labor times for repairs and maintenance.
And to be fair, flat rate can work for or against both the customer and the technician.
If a job pays 5 hours and the technician takes 7 hours, you technically win because you only paid the flat rate time. If the job pays 5 hours and the technician finishes it in 3, the technician wins. That’s just how flat rate works.
But where flat rate almost ALWAYS benefits the shop is when multiple related services are performed together.
Perfect example:
* Bearing repack/service
* Brake backing plate replacement
A bearing service typically pays around .5 hours per hub. A brake backing plate assembly replacement also typically pays around .5 hours per hub.
Here’s the problem… during a bearing service, the technician is already MOST of the way through the brake job. The wheel, hub, bearings, and grease seal are already removed. Adding the backing plate at that point may only add another 10–15 minutes per wheel.
So on a tandem axle RV, you might realistically only be adding about an hour of actual labor total… but because of flat rate overlap, you could still be billed the full additional labor time for every hub.
At some shops, that can mean an extra couple hundred dollars on routine RV maintenance.
When I worked at dealerships, these were what technicians called “gravy jobs.” Even dragging your feet, you were probably still coming out ahead on time.
Now that I’m independent, I don’t bill that way. I charge based on actual labor time involved.
So don’t be afraid to ask questions:
* Ask for itemized invoices
* Ask for labor times
* Ask what overlaps with other services being performed
Especially at RV dealerships.
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