Photo by Graham Cullen Russell Pipkin, owner of a new business called Happy Traveling Mobile RV & Trailer Repair LLC, sits in his mobile shop in Mount Airy.

Russell Pipkin bought his first trailer in the late 1980s, a 1958 Early Bird pop-up trailer. The living quarters in these trailers are folded down in the camper and raised up with a crank or hydraulic lift.

"There was no crank in those days. I had to physically pull up the tenting myself," Pipkin said.

In the early 1990s, he traded the pop-up for a 25-foot travel trailer, a 1979 Prowler. A travel trailer comes in various sizes, and the living quarters are permanent structures.

Both the pop-up and travel trailer are pulled by vehicles, unlike many RVs that include the vehicle and the trailer in one.

Later, Pipkin honed his skills further by working as a service technician for Beckley's Camping Center in Thurmont .

A friend at Beckley's suggested that Pipkin should go into the fixing trade.

"He planted the seed for a mobile repair business," Pipkin said.

Pipkin became certified for RV service and repair through the RVDA-RVIA RV Service Technician Certification Governing Board in Fairfax, Va.

RVDA is the Recreational Vehicle Dealer Association, and RVIA is the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. The two groups worked together to create the certification program.

He named his business Happy Traveling Mobile RV & Trailer Repair. His slogan is "We Come to You."

Pipkin services and repairs the trailers and what's in them: propane furnaces, refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners and plumbing.

He can install video and audio equipment and the sound systems that go with them.

Pipkin doesn't work on engines or transmissions, he said, but can work on the electronics that control the braking and lights on RVs and trailers.

Pipkin said RV and trailer owners can save time and money by hiring him to drive his mobile repair shop to their location, rather than drive to a repair shop.

Pipkin works full time as a warehouse manager for AMSCO, a Damascus-based seller of building maintenance supplies.

Pipkin operates his business after work and on weekends.

Before starting his business, Pipkin sought the advice of AMSCO's founder and company president, Mike Runkles.

"I told him to take it slow in the beginning and to expand as he got more business," Runkles said, "and to set up a business plan, become incorporated and seek the advice of a lawyer."