Feb 22, 2014
RV Repairs in Mazatlan
Eventually an RV needs a repair of some sort. Most RVers do annual maintenance that goes a very long way in keeping your unit in great shape. However the unforeseen always happens. When the unexpected happens in Mexico it can be a huge problem. Personally over the years while travelling in Mexico we have had to deal with a non functioning A/C unit, a hydraulic slide that would not come in, total corrosion of our house batteries that almost resulted in a fire, a fire in the generator and our toad breaking away from the RV itself not to mention a multitude of small issues. All of our problems have eventually been resolved somewhere in Mexico.
Here in Mazatlan we are extremely fortunate to have a resident RV tech. Erik Kaasgaard lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba during the summer months where he works as an RV Service Tech and during the winter months he lives here in Mazatlan where he services all of us snowbirds. The best of both worlds for all of us. Erik can be reached at 669 269 6979 in Mazatlan or by email at Erik/ rv repair Maz <freemanerik99@gmail.com>. He has been beyond busy this winter as many RVers have been saving their regular maintenance for Erik to do. This winter he has has added boat maintenance to his list.
Two years ago we had a major problem with one of our front jacks not lifting unless we helped it with a shovel. On the way down here that year the jack would sometimes start to descend. It was a situation that needed to be addressed before heading North and Erik did a great repair job. This year we had a few small items that cropped up and once we got Erik here the list grew. He is a wizard at finding the problem and most specifically the cause of the problem and then resolving the issue. His task is even more difficult as parts are not plentiful here in Mexico.
We first called Erik ( at the fan ) and his new helper Dal in to check out our bedroom Fantastic fan. It would only pull air in from the outside when we really wanted to expel the hot air from the inside to the outside. It took him some time but it turns out that the fan had never been installed properly in the first place. It works great now.
As it happens our electric hot water heater went out the same day that Erik arrived. We were ready to install a new one but he simply hit the reset switch and it works just fine. You might notice that it is dark outside. He started his day at 9AM and did not get to us until after 6PM and worked for a few hours. He then had to drive “the road” back to Mazatlan.
I have been complaining about our freezer for several years now. It freezes up in one area and forms heavy blobs of ice that slowly gets bigger and bigger. It doesn’t matter how much the fridge is defrosted, this clear ice keeps forming.
I thought we needed a new seal for the door but Erick being the detective that he is was able to determine that the door was just not closing tight in one area.
I have had this problem looked at by other RV techs to no avail. At least Erick found the problem and created an easy fix. He simply put something behind the seal to make it puff out more so it closed more efficiently. It worked and when Erik returned four days later there was only one tiny speck of ice. Well he added a bit of silicone here and there and the freezer is now perfect.
So then we decided to have him look at our water pump. The trickle of water has been slow for a few years now. Colin had it into an RV repair shop last year and they said the water pressure was low as the pump was far from the tap!!!???!!!! We also had a mobile RV tech look at it in Kelowna a few months ago. We actually have a spare water pump with us, as that is something one needs while travelling and boon docking as we do in the USA. We asked Erik if he would install the new pump. Instead he found that our water pump was set at the lowest setting possible. That likely happened over the past few years due to vibration. He simply reset it to high and we have great water pressure once again. Why did no one else find that problem years ago? Such an easy repair.
Seeing as Erik was doing so well Colin challenged him with a problem we have had from day one with this coach. We had a leak in our basement and have spent a huge amount of money doing repairs over the years only to have the leak reoccur.
Our wheels kick up water when we drive through rain and of course we always have rain coming and going from Canada and eventually our basement gets wet, in particular this one basement compartment. Erik looked and looked and found the source of the leak. It was how the coach had been built in the first place and he knew how to repair the problem. So he came back for a third time and applied fiberglass to the problem area. It will never leak again. In the past we had special undercoating placed under the RV and it still leaked not to mention all the other sealants that had been used.
Thank goodness for Erik and his attention to detail. We wish him many more years of travelling of Mexico and helping us all out. His rates are 400 pesos per hour, and he is worth more than double that amount. We might just have one more challenge for him. Again over the years no one else has been able to do the repair but we have confidence in Eric. It involves our awning but as we are under our palapa we can’t do anything until we pull out of our site. Perhaps in April just before we leave the Isla.
