Mobile RV Repair in Fort Myers, Florida
A county rebuilding, a lot of coaches that have been through weather, and generators that sat unused for a year.
Two things dominate the RV work in Lee County and both trace back to storms. A lot of local coaches have been through high water or wind at some point, and water that got into a structure once does not leave on its own - it shows up later as a soft floor or a delaminated wall rather than as a leak.
We are mobile - we come to your RV in Fort Myers. Call 888-759-1438.
Fort Myers has spent recent years rebuilding, and that shows up in the coaches we are called to more than the weather forecast ever does.
This page is about the two things that follow from that: what a storm-affected RV looks like months later, and what happens to a generator that spent a year standing still.
How do I tell if a coach has been through water?
Not by looking for water, because by the time anyone reads this it has long since dried. Look for what it left behind. A musty smell that returns when the coach has been closed up is the earliest and most reliable sign, and it is organic material decomposing where you cannot see it. Then doors and drawers that have started to catch, because cabinets are fitted to a square opening and softened structure moves a fraction. Then a wall panel that has stopped being flat, which shows in raking light and is close to invisible face on. Then a slide that binds at one corner. Soft floor comes last on that list, not first - a floor only flexes noticeably once it has lost a great deal of its strength, so by then the repair is a large one rather than a small one.
The Fort Myers Beach KOA job: an Onan that would not start
A 2018 Tiffin Phaeton Class A at Fort Myers Beach KOA with an Onan generator refusing to start. We cleaned the carburetor, replaced the fuel filter and exercised the choke, and it started and ran. The useful part is why it happened rather than what we did. Fuel degrades while a set stands - light fractions evaporate, the remainder oxidizes, and what is left varnishes the very small passages inside a generator carburetor. Ethanol blends make it worse by pulling moisture out of humid air. That set had not been run in a long time, which describes a lot of coaches in this county for reasons that had nothing to do with the owner. Cranking it harder would have flattened the battery and washed the cylinder. The fuel system was the fault and the fuel system was the fix.
Why do so many generators fail after sitting?
Because a generator is the least used and most demanding system on the coach, and standing still is what damages it. Running it is not the problem; leaving it is. Fuel turns, the carburetor varnishes, rubber components dry out, moisture condenses in the windings and the starting battery flattens. The fix is a habit rather than a part: run the set monthly under real load, meaning an air conditioner rather than idling, for long enough to reach full operating temperature. That does three things at once - it moves fresh fuel through the entire fuel path, it drives moisture out of the oil and windings, and it tells you the set works before you need it. Five minutes at no load achieves almost none of that and on some engines encourages carbon buildup, so it is worse than useless.
Is it worth repairing an older generator or replacing it?
Usually repairing, and more often than for most RV systems. The failures we find are overwhelmingly fuel system and consumable failures rather than worn machinery, because the rotating parts inside have typically done very few hours - that is the whole problem with how RV generators get used. A set that has stood for years and will not start is generally suffering from stale fuel, a varnished carburetor, perished rubber and a flat battery, and all of that is serviceable. The picture changes if the engine has genuine wear: loss of compression, heavy oil consumption, a knock under load. It changes again if the generating end itself has failed, since that is often the more expensive half of the machine. The honest first step is a diagnosis, not a replacement quote. It is fairly common for the answer to be a fuel service and a battery, and replacing a generator over that would be a poor outcome.
Should I get a storm-affected coach inspected before buying it?
Yes, and in this county it is the single most valuable thing a buyer can spend money on. Water damage is the failure most likely to make a used coach not worth buying, it is the hardest thing to see on a walk-through, and a seller may genuinely not know it is there. A moisture meter reads through finished surfaces and maps how far a wet area extends, which is the information that decides whether you are looking at a section repair or a structural one. There is a ten-second check you can do yourself first: take the cover plate off a switch or an outlet and look at the cut edge of the panel. Visible wood plies mean a porous panel that has to come out if it has been wet. A homogeneous gray composite is non-porous and often cleans in place.
Do you cover the islands as well as the mainland?
Yes, across Lee County - Fort Myers, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs and the beach communities, plus the storage yards inland. Travel sits inside the service call rather than being billed separately, so where you are in the county does not change the price of the visit. What is worth telling us when you book is the access rather than the address: causeway traffic in season is genuinely unpredictable, and if a coach is somewhere with a height or weight restriction on the approach we would rather know before the truck sets off. Tell us the park and site number, or the storage facility and space, and any rules about contractors signing in, and we will have it arranged before anyone arrives. Booking earlier in the day generally gets a better slot for the beach communities, which is a traffic problem rather than a pricing one.
Camping around Fort Myers
Lee County has beach parks, a river park and one of the better-known KOAs on the Gulf coast, and availability here swings hard with the season.
What a visit costs in Fort Myers
The service call is $299 and covers the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site. Work past that first hour is quoted to you once our technician has found the fault, before we carry on. Written estimates are free and you approve one before any work starts. Call 888-759-1438.
Sources for the Fort Myers detail
- Cummins RV generator operator manual (PDF) - manufacturer maintenance, storage and exercise guidance for Onan RV sets
- Cummins RV generator operator manual, KY series (PDF) - the equivalent document for another common gasoline RV generator family
- US EPA - mold cleanup guidance - the public-health guidance behind where a mobile technician stops and a remediator starts
- Lovers Key State Park - the state park's own page for the barrier island south of the city
What Lee County owners book most
- RV generator service - fuel systems, carburetors and sets that have stood
- RV water damage - moisture surveys and structural repair after weather
- RV inspections - pre-purchase inspections in a storm-affected market
- RV roof repair - terminations and the damage that follows a failed one
Fort Myers and Lee County RV questions
My generator has not run in over a year. Should I try starting it?
Not by cranking it repeatedly. Old fuel in the tank and the carburetor is the likely problem, and running on it spreads the contamination while flattening the starting battery. On some sets repeated cranking also washes the cylinder with unburnt fuel. Have the fuel system assessed and serviced first, then start it.
How do I know if my RV took on water during a storm?
Look for the aftermath rather than the water. A musty smell that returns when the coach is shut up, doors or drawers that have started to catch, a wall panel that is no longer flat in raking light, or a slide that binds at one corner. Soft floor is a late sign, not an early one.
Is a moisture survey worth doing on my own coach, not just a purchase?
If it has been through weather, yes. The point is not to confirm there is water - you suspect that already - it is to find the boundary of the wet area. A repair scoped without that boundary is a guess, and water inside a closed wall does not dry on its own in this climate.
Can an old generator be worth fixing?
Usually. The rotating machinery inside has typically done very few hours, and what fails is the fuel system and the consumables, which are serviceable. It changes if the engine has real wear - lost compression, heavy oil use, a knock under load - or if the generating end has gone, which is the expensive half. A diagnosis first, not a replacement quote.
How often should I run the generator?
Monthly, under real load, long enough to get properly hot. An air conditioner is the honest test. Five minutes at no load does almost nothing useful - the set never reaches temperature, moisture condenses instead of being driven off, and on some engines light running encourages carbon.
Do you work at the Fort Myers Beach KOA?
Yes, and at the county and state parks and at homes and storage yards across Lee County. Give us the site number when you book and mention anything about access - causeway traffic in season is unpredictable and a height or weight restriction on the approach is better known in advance.
What does a pre-purchase inspection cover here?
Roof and every sealed termination, a moisture survey through walls and floor, appliances run on both LP and 120 volt, slides and leveling cycled, structure and running gear, and a written report you can use in the negotiation. In this county the moisture survey is the part that matters most.
Do you charge extra to come to Cape Coral or Bonita Springs?
No. Travel is inside the service call across Lee County, so there is no mileage to calculate. Booking earlier in the day tends to get a better slot for the further parts of the county, purely because of traffic rather than price.