Meet Tara Coalter | Mother, scientist, artist, and administrative support.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tara Coalter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Andrew and I have lived our lives side-by-side for the last 13 years. In that time, we have experienced a lot together – learning about each other as well as learning about our own strengths and weaknesses. Andrew grew up in a family owned business atmosphere. His mother owned and ran a printing business for the first few years of his life, and after that she transitioned to owning a pool business that he frequently assisted with. While he knew he was good at taking care of customer’s needs when it came to their pool, he had a passion for cars and mechanical engineering. He pursued that route with his education. He then spent over 10 years working as a technician at a small handful of auto shops, he spent some time as a Shop Forman/Service Manager and a mobile forklift technician, but the most relevant experience came from his time working at a RV dealership in Tucson.

I am on the opposite side of the spectrum. I’m a research biologist – I got my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona and specialized in laboratory work. I started at the university with a plan to become a Nurse Practitioner, but discovered I preferred helping people from behind the scenes instead of face-to-face. Customer service is something I deeply value, but am often not confident in my abilities to properly convey my intentions – people have always kind of made me nervous. Everyone I’ve ever worked with in the lab has always felt exactly the same, which gave me a sense of validation that I was in the right line of work. I will be going back to school, but for now I have refocused my attention to learning how to help Andrew and ensure our customers get the very best service. It’s also turning out that our customers are far less scary than I thought they’d be – RV owners are generally very understanding, appreciate open communication, and are happy to work with us.

Everything changed when we found out about our son. We had been living in Georgia for about a year thanks to a Fellowship I was granted working at the CDC post-graduation. Once we knew our little one was on the way, we immediately started planning our move back home so we could be with our families. We both left our jobs in the summer of 2022, and weren’t sure what we’d be doing for work when we got back. At that point everything was so chaotic, we were just trying to make it one day at a time. We had a lot of financial help from family as we tried to figure out our plan. Andrew applied to several jobs, but nothing was sticking – we were much pickier about what kind of work he was willing to do, what hours he’d be willing to work, and how much money he’d accept fully knowing the worth of his skill. This left us in a tough position. It was almost an ah-ha moment when we started doing the research that would lead us through obtaining our L.L.C. and the other licensures. We knew he had the skill, and knew the market needed us. We both just held our breath and jumped in with everything we had. Our son was only 2 months old, our debt far outweighed our assets, and we were optimistically terrified. With the cumulative support of our close friends, we got a website established and a business plan written up. This path provides incredible promise for the future. Not just financially, but will give us a stable work and home balance for giving our son the time he deserves as well as an amazing learning environment for him to grow up in.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
T&A Mobile RV Repair! We bring the convenience of a fully functional shop to the customer. Any service need that doesn’t include a welder or a lift can be taken care of. Andrew is extremely skilled in all aspects of RV repair and maintenance. One of our core business values is to teach customers about their RV/trailer so they are able to recognize common issues before it becomes a bigger problem while also communicating the importance of preventative maintenance. We want to be a convenient resource for our customers, but also want to provide information that allows them to take care of small problems on their own if they desire.

We provide bumper-to-bumper repair and maintenance for all RVs, campers, toy haulers, tow-behind trailers, pop ups, conversion vans, and schoolies. We love jumping into unique modification projects and aim to be as helpful as possible with each encounter. We use our professional resources to research the best deals on quality parts and are happily able to work with extended warranty companies.

Andrew’s time at the RV dealership taught him a lot about customer service. Particularly where the shortcomings are in regards to customer service at a dealership level and we strive to ensure we don’t treat people like numbers. We are a local mom and pop small business that will be reliant on our close relationships with customers, so treating them well and fairly is incredibly important to us.

We have just started our family business, so the story will continue to develop as we do, but we are very proud to have made it this far this quickly. Within days of deciding we were starting the business, we had our LLC, TPT license, and a website. Now we are consistently making posts on social media, advertising our services on google, and attending gatherings hosted by RV parks that allow us time to network and get involved with the community.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A day trip up to Mount Lemmon with a pit stop at The Cookie Cabin would be first on our list. Closely followed by a trip to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum and a scenic drive through the Sahuaro National Park. We’d drive up Gate’s Pass during the day, catch the sunset at the top, and come down the mountain at night to get the view of the Tucson lights. We would also take them on an off-road adventure through the Rincon Mountains with an overnight camping stay to star gaze. Next on our itinerary would be some walking downtown, stopping at a few art galleries and taking time to admire the murals. We’d also need to get them a Sonoran Dog from our favorite food cart, and bring them down to the Drag Strip near the Pima County Fairgrounds. Our must visit food spots would include Mr. An’s, El Guero Canelo, Eegee’s, and Angelo’s Pizza & Gyros. We’d visit Black Crown Coffee Company and Barista Del Barrio. If time permitted we’d also bring them to Reid Park for a stroll around the lake and the rose garden, Bookman’s for some shopping, and lastly a trip to the Swap Meet.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There is a pretty extensive list of people that are directly responsible for helping us become the people we are today, and thus responsible for making this business venture possible.

Firstly, our family. Their unwavering love and support has played a critical role in our lives. Andrew’s family for teaching him the do’s and don’ts about running a business, and mine for their willingness to financially support us when we were stuck in the worst money situation we had ever faced.

Secondly, our friends. Rob for his masterful website creation and marketing advice, Mike and Charlie for the effort they extended to getting our accounting organized and business plan written, the friends we’ve made through the bowling league for their unwavering words of confidence and for helping us spread the word about our business, and my mentor in college, Lisa, without whom I wouldn’t have had the endurance to finish my degree which is directly responsible for my personal professional development.

The last words of appreciation are for us. Andrew and I are a team. Without the love and support we provide each other, we would have never made it to this place of joy and determination. We fuel our dreams together and always encourage each other to do our best and to strive for the best.

Website: https://azrv.tech

Instagram: tna_mobile_rv_repair

Linkedin: Tara and Andrew

Facebook: Page: T&A Mobile RV Repair ; Profile: Tara N Andrew

Other: Tara@azrvtech.com ; Andrew@azrvtech.com