By Kevin L. Vaughn 

When you look at RVs of all makes and models, it is not your imagination that many of the same critical parts seem to be on each. One corporate name, Lippert (aka LCI), stands out from interior appliances to exterior leveling jacks.

For over a decade, Lippert has grown in leaps and bounds, acquiring many of the leading component companies for RVs, but they are much more global than that.  Lippert is involved in the Marine, Commercial, and Rail industries, just to name a few, encompassing brand names such as Taylor Made, Curt, Furrion, Girard, Everchill, Ranch Hand, Greystone, Solera, Thomas Payne, and many others.

Over the past several years, I have attended a significant number of expensive and comprehensive RV training courses. Recently, I read about a week-long course Lippert was hosting at their Elkhart, Indiana Technical Institute. The price, time, and venue location were just right for my schedule, and I dove into a week that has filled in many voids in my knowledge bank.

For a mere $250 per entrant, Lippert hosted an introductory meet-and-greet dinner on Monday night for about 50 couples before kicking off the day-long educational modules running the rest of the week.

Course topics this week included; Furrion Air Conditioners, Curt towing products, Furrion Ranges & Ovens, Refrigerators, Furrion/Girard Tankless Water Heaters, Solera Awnings & Slide Toppers, Kwikee Steps, Pinboxes/Axles/Brakes/Frames, Entry Door Upgrades, OneControl, Ground Control/Titan Leveling, Hydraulic Motorized Leveling, Slide-outs, Schwintek, and Slideouts, Furrion Solar.  In addition, there were extended courses on Power Management, Basic RV Electricity, and RV Plumbing.  Every class I took included both lecture and hands-on experience.

This event was heavily attended by travel trailer and fifth wheel owners in the area for Forrest River and Grand Design rallies. Still, I was amazed by how many products were incorporated into higher-end motorized RVs.  Each course was taught by Lippert employees with significant experience who were eager to address individual issues/questions.  Lippert showed their true colors by extending several free products to solve particular problems discussed by participants.  In addition, Lippert extended a 20% discount to all participants on Lippert products during the event.  There was at least an hour each day to engage Lippert SMEs about product questions during the catered lunches.

I would love to share pages of my key learnings with you, but I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment.  Just when I thought I was 100% sure of everything I needed to keep my eye on, this event gave me a window into areas I had very little knowledge of and would allow me to help others.  For participants, this vast Lippert knowledge will surely accelerate DIY RVers to do more of their repairs. For others, it will make them more literate in discussing their needs with repair facilities.

Although this series of Lippert training events conclude in 2024, I highly recommend inquiring with Lippert about their schedule for 2025. I can guarantee that this exposure will make what seems impossible probable!

Jacks Up!…. see you down the road.