Building a Parts List a Shop Can Actually Order From
Written by RV Systems Lead, RV Systems and Electrical Lead, OCRV Center. Reviewed by Claims Coordinator
In shortComponents are catalogued by their own serials, not by the coach. Nine plates live on a typical towable, and photographing all of them once removes most parts delays permanently.
How do you identify RV parts using the data plates on the unit?
Find and photograph each component's own model and serial plate rather than relying on the coach year. Owners who arrive at our Yorba Linda counter with those images get parts ordered the same day, which matters when the unit is sitting in a Rancho Santa Margarita storage lot an hour away.
- The coach year identifies almost nothing about its components
- Furnace, water heater, fridge and roof air each carry their own plate
- Axles are stamped on the tube rather than labelled
- Photograph every plate once and keep the folder on your phone
- Plates on a typical towable
- About 9
- Parts markup at or under $100
- 100 percent
- Parts markup over $100
- 35 percent
- Special order parts
- Full deposit at order, not refundable
- Written estimate
- $150Credited in full against an authorized repair
Last verified
A parts counter conversation goes one of two ways. Either the owner has photographs and the order goes out that afternoon, or the owner has a model year and a floor plan name and we spend twenty minutes narrowing possibilities that a data plate would have settled instantly. The difference is not knowledge. It is five minutes with a phone camera, done once, at a time when nothing is broken.
Recreational vehicles are assembled from components sourced by the coach builder from a dozen suppliers, and each of those suppliers catalogues its own products by its own numbers. The builder's model year tells you when the unit left the line and very little about what went into it, because supplier part numbers change mid year and options vary by dealer order.
The three plates that describe the whole unit
The vehicle identification number appears on a plate riveted to the A frame or the forward road side of the frame rail on a towable, and inside the door frame on a motorhome. That number identifies the unit and it is what a carrier, a lender and the DMV work from. It is also the least useful number for ordering a component part, which surprises people.
The federal certification label carries the gross vehicle weight rating, the axle ratings, and the tire and rim size the unit was certified with. That label is the authority when somebody has fitted tires of a different rating, which we see regularly. Third is the builder's own serial plate, often inside a cabinet or a wardrobe, which is what a manufacturer's parts department will ask for when a piece of trim or a specific window has to be matched.
- VIN plate: A frame or forward frame rail on a towable
- Federal certification label: weight ratings plus original tire and rim spec
- Builder serial plate: often inside a wardrobe or a base cabinet
- None of the three identify a furnace, a fridge or an axle
Where the appliance plates actually hide
The furnace label is on the housing, usually visible through the exterior vent or reachable once the return air grille comes off inside. The water heater label sits behind the exterior access door, commonly on the flue collar or the side of the tank shroud where soot eventually makes it hard to read. The refrigerator label is inside the fresh food compartment, most often on the left hand wall near the top, and it is the one owners find easily.
The rooftop air conditioner carries its label on the base pan under the shroud, which means climbing up and removing four fasteners. The converter or inverter has its plate on the case. The water pump has a label on the motor body. Slide motors carry a sticker that is often unreadable after a few years and sometimes only a casting number. That is seven, and none of them are visible without opening something.
Axles and running gear, which are stamped rather than labelled
Trailer axles carry a stamping on the axle tube, usually on the forward or upper face near one end, giving a serial and often a capacity code. There may also be a sticker that has long since gone. Finding the stamping means getting under the unit with a light and a rag, because road film hides it completely.
Brake assemblies, hubs and bearings all follow from the axle identification rather than from the coach. This is the area where a wrong part is most expensive in time, because a brake assembly that does not match the backing plate bolt pattern is discovered with the wheel already off and the unit on stands. Ten minutes under the trailer with a phone prevents that entirely.
On cost
Special order parts carry a full deposit at the time of order and that deposit is not refundable, because the supplier will not take the part back. That is exactly why a correct number matters more than a fast one.
How to photograph them so they are readable later
Get close, get light on the plate, and take two shots of each: one square on filling the frame and one from a step back showing where the plate is located. The second image is the one that helps in two years when you cannot remember where you found it. Clean soot and film off a plate with a dry rag before shooting, never with solvent, because solvent lifts printed labels.
Put all of them in one album on your phone named for the unit. Then take one screenshot of the album and email it to yourself, so the information survives a lost phone. This is a fifteen minute exercise done once in the life of the vehicle and it pays for itself the first time something fails on a Friday.
- VIN plate on the frame, then the federal certification label
- Builder serial plate inside a cabinet or wardrobe
- Furnace, water heater and refrigerator labels
- Rooftop air conditioner label under the shroud
- Converter or inverter case plate and the water pump motor label
- Axle tube stamping, cleaned with a dry rag first
Why this changes what the job costs
Parts pricing on this site follows a published structure: items at or under $100 carry 100 percent markup and items over $100 carry 35 percent, with sales tax applying to parts and materials but not to labor. None of that changes based on how a part was identified. What changes is the number of shipping events and the number of labor hours spent waiting or reworking.
A wrong part means freight out, freight back, a restocking arrangement if the supplier permits one, and a bay occupied by a unit that cannot be reassembled. On a job with a two day labor content, a single wrong appliance part can add a week of calendar time. The photographs remove that risk for the cost of fifteen minutes on a Saturday.
Appendix: questions and answers
- Why is the coach model year not enough to order parts?
- Because the builder sources components from many suppliers, and those suppliers change part numbers within a model year. Options also vary by dealer order. The model year tells you when the unit left the line, not which furnace, fridge or axle went into it, so component plates are what identify parts.
- Where is the water heater label on an RV?
- Behind the exterior access door, usually on the flue collar or on the side of the tank shroud. It is often obscured by soot after a few years of use. Wipe it with a dry rag rather than a solvent, because solvent lifts printed labels and destroys the only copy of the number.
- How do you identify a trailer axle for brake parts?
- By the stamping on the axle tube, generally on the forward or upper face near one end, which gives a serial and often a capacity code. Road film hides it, so bring a light and a rag. Brake assemblies, hubs and bearings all follow from that identification rather than from the coach.
- Why take two photographs of every data plate?
- One square on and filling the frame so the characters are readable, and one from a step back showing where the plate lives. The second image is what saves you in two years when you cannot remember whether the label was inside the wardrobe or behind the access door.
- What does ordering the wrong RV part actually cost?
- Freight both directions, a restocking arrangement if the supplier allows one, and a bay occupied by a unit that cannot be reassembled. On a job with two days of labor in it, one wrong appliance part routinely adds a week of calendar time, which is the real expense rather than the part itself.
Open a file on this repair
Tell us the vehicle, what happened and whether a claim is open. We will tell you what the scope looks like and what it takes to get you back on the road.
Or call (949) 799-3387