Owner of Gold Coast Mobile Weigh, Alan O’Neill loves caravans, campers, and RVs. Now owning one caravan here in the Gold Coast, and a fifthwheel RV in California, USA.
Alan began his working life as a commercial charter pilot, flying throughout Australia’s outback and far northern regions. This career demonstrated the need for correct weight and balance. Aircraft cannot fly unless accurate weight and centre of gravity is recorded and measured.
After a 12 year career as a pilot in charter and corporate flying duties, Alan owned various businesses in the southern Gold Coast in computer graphics, business marketing, website design, and online software development. Alan was consulted by many companies, small and large, for these services for over twenty years.
Alan’s leisure activities engaged hiking in Queensland and New South Wales national parks. His introduction to the camping and caravan lifestyle began with a trusty Toyota Hi-Ace camper van way back in the late 1980s.
Retiring to full time RV travel in the USA, Alan and his wife Carolyn purchased a Chevy diesel dual-wheel pickup and a 27 foot fifth wheel RV. A fifth wheel is a type of RV that hitches in the centre of the truck bed. This type of hitch offers a central centre of gravity for the truck, making towing safer and way more comfortable than towing at the rear tow bar. Alan gained much first-hand experience while travelling throughout the USA from Ohio, through West Virginia to New Jersey, Connecticut, Bar Harbor in Maine, across to Niagara in New York State, then moving westward back through Cleveland Ohio, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming – and the beautiful Yellowstone National Park. With Carolyn and Sparky the westie, they continued through Idaho to Washington State, Oregon and up and down the coast of California. This trip required hands-on maintenance to keep the rig reliable and roadworthy. Along with keen detail in keeping vehicle weights in check.
Alan and Carolyn finally resided in Sonoma County, California, an hour north of San Francisco in the northern California wine region. They purchased another fifth wheel and lived full-time in a vacation style RV campground located right on the banks of the rugged Russian River. The 27 foot Durango fifth-wheel was kept for weekend getaways and extended travel, while the 40 foot Heartland Big Country became a luxurious home base.
Certified Master RV Technician
After many years of maintaining his own RVs and helping fellow campers, Alan put his experience to work in a local RV repair facility, and after two years decided to formally train as a Certified RV Technician recognised by the national RV body, the RVIA. (RV Industry Association). This full time training course in Athens, Texas compiled of hands-on experience and intensive factory training for repairs to absorption refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, RV furnaces, RV water heaters, 12 volt systems, 120 volt electrical, plumbing, gas systems, slide room systems, levelling systems, chassis frame, brakes, suspension, roof and wall materials. Ongoing training continues every year to keep informed of the latest appliances and techniques in the industry. (January, 2024: Alan has now fully qualified as a certified master RV technician in the United States.)
Alan opened the popular mobile RV repair business, Happy Campers RV Repairs, servicing many customers throughout Sonoma County over the years.
Returning to Australia
Alan returned to Australia to train with Leader and Supreme Caravans as a warranty administrator in 2021 and as demand was increasing back in the USA, he moved back to Sonoma County to assist his regular clientele with general RV repairs along with solar power and lithium battery conversions.
In 2022, Alan moved to another part of California, San Luis Obispo County, where the central coast cities of Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, Pismo Beach, and Morro Bay are located. Alan served the busy local RV campgrounds, offering emergency breakdown services for RV air conditioners, refrigerators, solar / inverter power, generators, plumbing and roof repairs.
Later in 2022, again back in Australia, Alan was engaged at Gold Coast’s SLRV, a local company manufacturing expedition vehicles based on all wheel drive 15 tonne trucks. This was Alan’s first experience in the building and manufacturing side of RVs. SLRV promotes high standards of finish and quality, and Alan’s involvement in general fit-outs and installation of the prestigious Mastervolt battery and inverter systems was welcomed by this growing company.
A new step forward in Australia: Throughout the years, Alan observed overloading of RVs, caravans, tow vehicles, and many trailers owned by travellers throughout the USA. He noted that many people randomly filled every space in the tow vehicle and the RV, caravan or camper. Almost as if it was an addiction to taking every convenience from home on a camping excursion. In Australia, he saw people with full size refrigerators in the back of utes, while still towing the caravan for an extended Christmas holiday stay at local resort towns in Queensland and New South Wales. Some even packing heavy commercial loading pallets and plywood flooring to complete the annexe floor of their campsite.
He observed those campers arriving at the campground, some utes would be down to the stops, loaded beyond the manufacturers’ standards. Tyre’s would be squashing along, squelching and with wheels and brakes squeaking as they moved slowly to their allocated campsite. Those days should be long gone, now with new policing standards requiring caravan owners to stay within manufacturer’s limits, or have their vehicles declared unroadworthy!
Now Alan has introduced a whole new service in Queensland’s Gold Coast. ‘Gold Coast Mobile Weigh’ is dedicated to caravan safety advice and compliance. A portable weight-certified scales system, the same as used by Police services in Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia, can be brought to your location where you will be provided with a written computation of axle weights, individual wheel loads, tow ball loading, and aggregate loads. You can then learn how much extra camping gear and home conveniences you can safely take with you.
Caravan and trailer service and repairs too!
When timing permits, Alan can be available to help you with repairs and maintenance of your caravan, RV or camper.
Maintaining your caravan in smaller tasks is far better than a complete overhaul when a caravan needs major repairs throughout. Alan can advise how you can maintain your caravan or RV to prevent major faults later. If available, Alan can also attend to repairs and maintenance should you need the support.