RV Doctor in Fort Myers is named in two active Lee County civil cases and a run of customer complaints over motorhomes their owners say sat unfinished for a year or longer

RV Doctor, Inc. of Fort Myers is named in two active Lee County civil cases and in a series of customer complaints over motorhomes and a commercial truck their owners say were held for a year or more without the work being finished, according to an eight-month investigation by WINK Investigates published Tuesday evening and reported by Chief WINK Investigates Reporter Chorus Nylander.

The company denies wrongdoing. Its management and its lawyer told WINK that industry-wide supply chain disruption, backordered parts, customers who stopped communicating and the limits of what insurers would authorise account for the delays and the disputes.

What the customers told WINK

Mel Henderson took a 2014 Winnebago Vista in after Hurricane Ian damaged its roof and turned over a 20,000 dollar insurance cheque, WINK reports. He said he pulled the vehicle out a year later with the work unfinished and paid more than 10,000 dollars to another shop to complete it, and that the vehicle had been left exposed to the weather rather than kept under cover as he says he was promised. RV Doctor confirmed to WINK that he signed a hold harmless and non-disclosure agreement to retrieve the vehicle. Henderson said he signed it only to get the vehicle out quickly. The company said Winnebago roof parts had gone on backorder during the regional hurricane recovery and that Henderson told staff to stop work so he could take the vehicle on holiday.

James Ludway, who lives in his motorhome full time, said he paid more than 7,000 dollars for a custom furniture installation and left a second, smaller RV for engine work, then went more than two years with neither the furniture nor the second vehicle. RV Doctor cited manufacturer lead times of three to four months and said Ludway had abandoned communication, which he denies. The company told WINK it had returned the furniture to the manufacturer, would refund his deposit and had arranged to return the smaller RV. Ludway said on Monday that the refund had not arrived, though the RV was released to him that afternoon.

The timing of that release is in the report. WINK told RV Doctor's leadership on 17 August that it intended to publish. About three hours after that email, according to the report, Ludway received a voicemail from the company's chief operating officer, Rachael Akard, and was offered the refund and the return of his vehicle when he called back.

Kevin Hunt said he left a 75,000 dollar custom sleeper truck and a cheque of more than 13,000 dollars, and that the truck sat exposed with incomplete repairs for more than three years while it was out of service. RV Doctor said every insurance payment it received was spent on authorised work, that supplemental claims were denied, and that Hunt had committed by text since March 2026 to tow the truck to his own mechanic and had not done so. Akard wrote to WINK that Hunt had been belligerent on visits, that Fort Myers police had been called to the location multiple times and that he had threatened staff safety. A Fort Myers Police spokesperson told WINK the department saw nothing involving a trespass or a removal from the property, and one incident in which he was reportedly aggressive with owners.

None of those three men has sued.

The two cases that are filed

Len Aaron Brown filed in Lee County Court alleging breach of contract, violations of the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act and unfair trade practices. The complaint alleges, as reported by WINK, that an estimate carrying a cut-and-pasted signature was sent to his extended warranty provider to secure payment before the work was done, that an incorrect generator sensor was fitted, and that a cracked oil pan case was concealed. Brown says he paid 8,408.56 dollars to a different shop for a replacement generator assembly. RV Doctor's counsel and Akard told WINK the generator housing arrived already cracked and altered, and that Brown had said he relied on shore power, told staff not to work on the generator, declined a quote and signed an oil leak disclosure on collection. The case is ongoing.

John and Carolyn Smith filed in Lee County Circuit Court, seeking damages in excess of 50,000 dollars on counts of breach of contract, conversion, civil theft and replevin. The suit says they delivered their motorhome in July 2021 and paid a 7,000 dollar deposit for paint, tyres, carpeting and air conditioning work, and that the shop neither finished within a reasonable time nor returned the vehicle. Akard told WINK the owners had said they were relocating and told the shop to take its time to get the work right, and that technicians are finishing the repairs to make the unit roadworthy. WINK reports the case was filed last month and that RV Doctor has not yet filed an answer. The case number is 362026CA004238A001CH.

Akard told WINK the business is under new management and dealing with family medical hardship, and that it is working to reach clients, complete legitimate repair orders, return property and issue refunds where appropriate. The company's attorney, Stephen McGuire, declined an on-camera interview and said in a written statement that allegations made inside court filings carry Florida's litigation privilege and that the company is a family-owned small business.

The corporate record

The state register shows the company is still trading. Florida's Division of Corporations records RV Doctor, Inc. as a Florida profit corporation filed on 28 August 2000, document number P00000082694, status active, with its principal address at 2954 Van Buren Street in Fort Myers. Daniel Akard is listed as director, president and secretary and Rachael Akard as director, vice president and treasurer. Its most recent annual report was filed on 9 April 2026, the same date its registered agent was changed.

What is not in this account

The Lee County Clerk's records inquiry could not be queried from here. A case-number search for the Smith docket was refused by the site's edge security, and the clerk's main site returns a block to every direct request, so neither complaint nor either answer was read. Every allegation above is therefore the account of the party making it, as reported by WINK, and none is presented as read from a filing.

Both cases are pending. No court has found against RV Doctor on any claim described here, and the company denies wrongdoing.