Motorhomes and trailers are houses on wheels. You fix the plumbing, propane, electrical and chassis, all in one trade.
Click through it
Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
An apprenticeship: you are hired by a sponsor, paid while you learn on the job, and go to class for a few weeks at a time. Every fact here is from Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) and the Ontario government. See every Ontario trade side by side
You are paid from your first day. Over the 6,280 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $112,726 before tax while you train, and most sponsors pay more as your skills grow.
The trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's site(opens in a new tab)
Still in high school? In Grade 11 or 12, with at least 14 credits and age 15 or older, you can start an apprenticeship through co-op placements and earn credits at the same time. Ask your school's OYAP recruiter, guidance counsellor or co-op teacher. Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP)(opens in a new tab)
Not ready to find a sponsor? Free pre-apprenticeship programs (up to a year at a college or community agency, tools and books covered, with a work placement) get you ready and in front of employers. Employment Ontario helps you apply. Pre-apprenticeship training(opens in a new tab)
Ontario sets no percentage of full pay for apprentices. Your sponsor agrees your wage with you, and it can never be below the minimum wage: $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026. Source (opens in a new tab)
Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.
The median pay is about $62,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $42,000 at the lower end to about $83,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
3 to 4 years, on the usual route, and you are paid while you train from the first day.
$1,500 to $5,600 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
It depends where you work. You need a licence, certificate or registration in Alberta. Elsewhere there is none to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$62,000
Lower end
$42,000
Upper end
$83,000
Job Bank's national median is $30 an hour, about $62,000 a year at 40 hours a week. The lower end ($20) and upper end ($40) are the bottom and top of the wage range for everyone in the group. The figure is for a wider occupation group that includes RV (recreational vehicle) technicians.
$32 an hour
The Job Bank median in BC (British Columbia), the highest of any province
Newfoundland and Labrador is $31.92 and Ontario $31.55. New Brunswick is lowest at $26.87. Apprentices start on pre-delivery inspections, sealing roofs, winterizing and hitches.
Roughly, all in
$1,500 to $5,600
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
This is a paid apprenticeship, so there is no tuition year to fund. The low end is the in school blocks at the cheap end and a starter tool kit. The first exam try is free in Ontario once your apprenticeship is complete. The high end is pricier blocks, a proper 3,000 dollar tool set and the Red Seal exam. The Canada Apprentice Loan has no interest while you are in class, EI (Employment Insurance) covers the wage gap, and an industry bursary of up to 5,000 dollars exists, so most people finish owing nothing.
Paid while you learn, so debt is rare. EI (Employment Insurance) covers school blocks.
Staff pricing on RVs (recreational vehicles), parts and camping gear
Health and dental
At larger dealer groups.
Manufacturer and industry training
The dealers' association runs technical clinics and certification programs.
Winter work
Storage, repairs and warranty work keep many dealers busy year-round.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A Red Seal apprenticeship, about 3.5 years in Ontario.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Shop, math, physics and any electrical or plumbing exposure. OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) can start you early.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
RV (recreational vehicle) dealerships and service centres. Spring is hiring season. A lot handling or detailing job gets your foot in the door.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
Skilled Trades Ontario calls it Recreation Vehicle Technician (690H). Other provinces register it under the Red Seal name, Recreational Vehicle Service Technician.
Work and study
3 to 4 years
Ontario: 7,000 hours, 6,280 on the job plus 720 in school. Other provinces run 3 to 4 periods.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the exam. The Red Seal endorsement works across Canada.
Shop or construction technology
An RV (recreational vehicle) is a small house: framing, roofing, plumbing.
Electrical basics
12-volt systems, 120-volt shore power, solar and inverters.
Math
Loads, gas pressures and measurements.
Physics
Propane, refrigeration and electricity.
Alberta makes RV (recreational vehicle) technician a compulsory trade: you must be a registered apprentice or certified. Everywhere else it is voluntary and the Red Seal is the recognized ticket. Then there is propane: in most provinces you need a separate gas technician or propane fitter certificate to work on gas appliances and lines. Dealers pay for it because nearly every RV has a propane furnace, stove and water heater.
In Quebec you learn on the job through a workplace apprenticeship, and you need a provincial gas certificate as well.
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
Math and mechanics help. There is no required school program for this trade in Quebec.
Get hired
Varies
At an RV (recreational vehicle) dealer, repair shop or campground. You must be 16 or older and employed to join the PAMT (workplace apprenticeship program).
Gas appliance certificate
During the apprenticeship
The Quebec certificate requires the gas appliance technician certificate, class 4 (TAF-4). You need it before the certificate is issued.
Workplace apprenticeship
At least 2 years
Under the PAMT (workplace apprenticeship program), an experienced technician trains you on 10 core skills. At least 2 years if you start with no experience.
Quebec qualification certificate
End of apprenticeship
Issued when you master the skills. The trade is recognized under the Red Seal program, which helps if you move provinces.
If you have at least 2 years of experience in the trade and hold the gas appliance technician certificate, class 4 (TAF-4), you can have your skills assessed for the Quebec RV (recreational vehicle) technician certificate without going through the full apprenticeship. It is a voluntary certificate: the trade is not regulated in Quebec, but it shows employers what you can do.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Propane or gas technician certificate
Required for gas work in most provinces. Makes you far more useful in the shop.
Solar and lithium battery systems
Off-grid camping is the fastest-growing request at dealers.
Chassis and automotive skills
Motorhomes sit on truck chassis. A second automotive ticket adds engine and brake work.
Industry certification
The dealers' association runs certification programs for service and parts staff.
Driver's licence with trailer experience
Moving 35-foot trailers around a lot is daily.
Comfort on roofs and in tight spaces
Roof sealing and underbelly work.
Basic carpentry
Water damage repairs are a huge share of the work.
Customer skills
Owners want their trip saved, today.
Some technicians go independent with a van and drive to campgrounds and driveways. Summer demand is intense, and winter is your problem. It is a common path after 5 or more years at a dealer.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Spring: a lot full of trailers coming out of storage. De-winterize the plumbing, pressure-test the propane, check the furnace and fridge, reseal a roof seam, fix a slide-out that will not retract. Then a pre-delivery inspection on a new unit before the buyer arrives. Summer: warranty claims and roadside disasters. Fall: winterizing by the dozen. Winter: water-damage rebuilds and shop repairs.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
A single RV (recreational vehicle) carries a propane system, a 12-volt and a 120-volt electrical system, fresh and waste water plumbing, a fridge, a furnace, a roof and, on a motorhome, a truck engine. One technician has to understand all of it.
Recreational Vehicle Service Technician is a Red Seal trade, which puts it on the same interprovincial footing as electricians and plumbers. Ontario's apprenticeship is 7,000 hours, close to the 7,220 for its automotive service technicians.
Job Bank counts about 12,500 people in Canada in 2023 in the group that includes RV (recreational vehicle) technicians, and 42% of them are 50 or older.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Vehicles and equipment first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
Tell us about this page. A person reads every message.
No email app on this device? Use Gmail instead: report a mistake in Gmail or say what you like in Gmail.