RV 101® - The RV Book Electronic version

7th Edition published 2020 - Your personal guide to understanding and enjoying your RV.

DISCOVER-LEARN-ENJOY

The RV Book Electronic Version

The 7th Edition published 2020 - The RV Book - Your personal guide to understanding and enjoying your RV. "RV Expert" Mark Polk turns complex into easy, making all of your experiences safe, fun & stress free. We purchase RV’s so we can travel to new destinations, relax and build lasting memories with our family and friends. We want to get away from work, the phone calls and other day-to-day hassles. RVs give us the freedom to go wherever we want, whenever we want. But, nothing will ruin a trip or a vacation quicker than not understanding how to properly use and maintain your RV.

Take a tour with Mark Polk and get all of your RV questions answered
➢ What is an RV?
➢ RV Terminology
➢ Selecting your RV
➢ Buying your RV
➢ Using your RV
➢ Maintaining your RV
➢ Weighing your RV
➢ Winterizing your RV
➢ Storing your RV
➢ RV Insurance
➢ RV Towing
➢ RV Safety
➢ RV Campground Basics
…and everything in between

Review by: GREG GERBER Founder of RV Daily Report ~
"Mark Polk has written a superbly insightful book on how to use and properly maintain any recreation vehicle. This indispensable guide will save RV owners plenty of money and countless hours of frustration. With the possible exception of a sewer hose, The RV Book should be the first thing new RV owners buy. After reading it, they should store it in the cabinet above their refrigerator - it will be like taking an RV service technician with them on vacation. As a seasoned RV user himself, Mark knows first hand what all RV owners need to know to enjoy a hassle-free and safe experience on the road and in the campground. Don't have an RV yet? The RV Book can help anyone select the right motorhome or travel trailer based on the unique needs of his or her family. Mark skillfully guides even the most novice of RV users through the sometimes complicated maze of buying, owning, storing and maintaining a recreation vehicle. The book's resource section lists the names of scores of companies and associations directly involved in the RV industry, along with their web addresses should further information be desired. Reading The RV Book is just like buying 10 years of RVing experience."

"My personal advice is to get a copy of The RV Book by Mark Polk. It has an excellent section in it which covers why one type of RV is suitable for some people but not for others. He clearly points out things to consider which, in my personal experience, I unfortunately did NOT consider prior to purchase. It's water over the dam now but I wish I had had the book years ago"....Rick Young

"Dawn,My husband LOVES The RV Book I ordered him - I think he sleeps with it! LOL! Thanks to you and Mark's info - we bought a 1989 Bounder 34' and thanks to you, we made a more educated decision"...Mrs. Redding

Here at Rousseau's RV we find that our customers want to understand how their RV works and how to protect their investment for the long term. The RV Book, by RV Education 101 is a great source of knowledge, spelling out the details in layman’s terms for easy understanding. I think anyone that owns an RV should be required to read chapter 6 explaining the basic operation of all the mechanical systems in a typical RV. Additionally, many people new to RVs have picked up a copy to not only familiarize themselves with what’s involved in owning an RV but also to help them decide what they really need for their planned usage. Everything is explained in an easy to read format from: “So you’re thinking about a camper…” to “How do I winterize and put my unit in storage off season?” This book is a solid gem of knowledge every RVer should own!

Randy White
Store Manager
Rousseau’s RV Center
Lakeville, MA


345 pages


Your Instructor


Mark J. Polk
Mark J. Polk
Who is Mark Polk and why is he qualified to teach RV technical content?
Mark is an RVer and has a very extensive background in the RV industry. He began at age 15, washing RVs at a dealership in North Central Pennsylvania. It wasn't long before he was working as an apprentice RV technician under the guidance of the RV service manager.
His maintenance plans were interrupted when he enlisted in the military. Mark completed airborne training in 1979 and served with some of the most elite U.S. Army Airborne units, including Service Company 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 82nd Signal battalion, 82nd Airborne Division and the 16th Military Police Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps. He spent the next 18 years with the U.S. Army eventually retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 Automotive Maintenance Technician.
In the military, he managed large fleet maintenance operations, and had to teach young soldiers how to maintain and operate ‎expensive vehicles and equipment. These soldiers came to him from very different backgrounds, and their prior experience with heavy equipment and mechanical skills were similarly varied. Mark had to learn how to ‎communicate with all of them clearly, concisely, and effectively, and he found he had a ‎talent for teaching. The Army agreed, and eventually he was asked to produce written ‎instructional materials, including driver training manuals and operating procedures for motor ‎pools.‎
When he retired from the Army in 1996, he went to work for an RV dealership in ‎sales and service. He talked to customers about their needs and desires and helped them select ‎the right RV for them. He inspected used RVs for trade-in, he serviced customer RVs, and he ‎educated customers on how to operate and enjoy their vehicles. As an RV owner himself, throughout the years, he has owned and used all the classifications of RVs (travel trailer, motorhome, pop up, 5th wheel and truck camper). He even restored, from the ground up, a 1967 Yellowstone travel trailer. It was clear to him there ‎were limited resources available to RV owners who wanted to learn more about how to operate and maintain their RVs. Owners’ manuals provide limited information, and most consumers ‎find them confusing. Anecdotal information learned around campfires from other RV owners is ‎incomplete and can be unreliable.
Mark realized he had the knowledge and teaching ability ‎to fill that gap, and so in 1999 he began writing articles and books about how to choose, buy, ‎maintain, repair, and operate a variety of RVs. To date, he has produced more than 500 educational ‎videos, and authored 15 e-books, 3 paperback books, and more than 1,600 articles educating millions of RVers. His best-selling book, titled The RV Book, has sold over 53,000 copies to date.
‎Mark's first priority is the safety of his audience. To Mark, ‎this means anticipating the risks and challenges RVers will encounter when following his ‎instructions, ensuring that the information he provides is complete and accurate, and providing ‎enough information so his audience can make informed decisions about when to tackle ‎maintenance tasks themselves and when to take their vehicles to professionals.
His second ‎priority is his audience’ empowerment. He sends his students out on the road with confidence that they are equipped, prepared, ‎informed, and ready to enjoy themselves.‎Producing material that achieves those goals is a very difficult thing to do. RVs come in ‎a bewildering variety of different types, makes, models, and vintages, and when Mark writes ‎about tasks such as winterizing an RV plumbing system, (as we know there are many ways to winterize an RV), his instructions need to walk his readers through the process ‎regardless of what RV the reader happens to own.
Like his soldiers, his RV students come to him ‎with widely disparate levels of expertise, experience, talent, and motivation, and his instructions ‎must speak to all of them. Mark’s writing and video presentations are accurate and comprehensive. It is also clear, ‎concise, and easy to understand. He breaks complex, intimidating tasks down to easy steps.

Chief Warrant Officer Three Mark J. Polk was awarded a first place US Army maintenance award from General Shelton.

Mark started RV Education 101 in 1999

  • Writer/ Columnist/ Contributor for numerous RV consumer & RV trade newsletters and magazines (RVBusiness, FMCA, RV News, RV Companion, Pop-Up Times, RV Free Wheelin’, Trail Blazer, RV Executive Today and RV Magazine,)
  • RV Technical Writer for several newsletters and blogs, (Go RVing blog, KOA Kompass Newsletter and Blog, Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA), RV Net Expert Blog, RV University This Week, Camping World e-newsletter, RV Travel, RV Trader, Rollin On TV website, HGTV and Geiko Insurance blog)
  • Script and host television segments for Rollin On TV
  • Scripted & hosted television segment titled RV Savvy for four seasons (52 episodes) with RVTV on The Outdoor Channel and three Canadian TV Channels.

Course Curriculum


  First Section
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!