diff --git a/pkg/agave/assets/check-validator.tmpl b/pkg/agave/assets/check-validator.tmpl
index 2859f65..7d75ae7 100644
--- a/pkg/agave/assets/check-validator.tmpl
+++ b/pkg/agave/assets/check-validator.tmpl
@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@ set -euo pipefail
 WAIT_FOR_RPC_HEALTH={{ or .StartupPolicy.WaitForRPCHealth false }}
 RPC_BIND_ADDRESS={{.Flags.RpcBindAddress}}
 RPC_PORT={{.Flags.RpcPort}}
-RPC_SERVICE_TIMEOUT={{.TimeoutConfig.RpcServiceTimeout}}
+{{if .TimeoutConfig}}
+RPC_SERVICE_TIMEOUT={{or .TimeoutConfig.RpcServiceTimeout 120}}
+{{else}}
+RPC_SERVICE_TIMEOUT=120
+{{end}}
 
 $WAIT_FOR_RPC_HEALTH || exit 0