Frequently Asked Questions

We measure the frame before touching anything. If the diagonal measurements are out of square, or the body mounts show shear, it is structural regardless of how the exterior looks. A coach can have a lightly scuffed panel and a bent frame rail underneath, and it can also have a badly torn skin over a perfectly square frame.

Yes. Structural measurement is a documented, billable operation on every major carrier estimating system. We include the before and after readings in the file, which is also what protects you if a supplement is needed later.

Simple panel and paint work runs one to two weeks. Structural jobs run four to twelve weeks, and the parts wait is usually the longest single stage, not the labor. Cap and sidewall components on older coaches are frequently made to order.

In California you choose the shop. A carrier can recommend a direct repair program shop, but it cannot require you to use one. We work with every major carrier regardless of program status.

Run the numbers first. If the repair lands near or below your deductible, paying out of pocket avoids a claim on your record. We give you the written estimate either way, and that estimate costs $150 which is credited back if you authorize the work.

Yes, with blending. A ten year old coach has oxidized well past its original color code, so we spray the repair to the current condition of the surrounding panels and fade the transition across the adjacent surface.

It happens on older coaches once hidden damage is exposed. We stop, document the full findings, and give you the file. If you want to retain and repair the unit you can, and the estimate we produced is what supports that negotiation.

For structural and body components, yes. Fiberglass caps, sidewall sections, compartment doors and framing members get fabricated in house. Discontinued appliances and electronics we source rather than build.

In phases. We do a paid teardown and assessment first, produce a written scope from what we find, and then price the build in stages you authorize individually. Nobody can honestly quote a fixed number on a closed-up vintage coach.

Often not on pure resale math, and we will tell you that. It makes sense when the coach has personal or collectible value, or when the alternative is a modern unit that does not fit how you actually travel.

Almost always repaired. Full frame replacement on a coach is rarely economic and rarely necessary. Rails get pulled back to specification, cracked sections get cut and replaced with correct-gauge material, and outriggers get rebuilt.

Manufacturer specification where it exists, and symmetry measurement where it does not. Many RV frames have no published spec, so we measure diagonals and reference the undamaged side.

Done correctly, no. Done with excessive heat, yes. We pull cold wherever the material allows and log any heat applied, because uncontrolled heating permanently reduces yield strength in the affected zone.

Typically $4,000 to $18,000. The variable is the number of anchor and pull points and whether any rail section has to be cut out and replaced rather than pulled.

Usually collapsed or cracked body mounts letting the coach shift on the chassis. It is a cheap fix caught early and an expensive structural repair once the shifting has been working on the framing for a few years.

If the cause is chassis geometry, yes. If it is suspension, tire or steering related, alignment of the chassis will not touch it. We diagnose which one it is before quoting.

Nine times out of ten the subframe under it deflected. Fiberglass does not spontaneously crack in a straight horizontal line. Repairing the cap without correcting the steel means the crack comes back.

Only if it resulted from a covered event such as a collision. Progressive deflection from overloading is treated as wear and is not covered. We tell you which one you have before you file.

If it has lane keeping, adaptive cruise or collision warning, yes, and it is required not optional. Recalibration runs $285 to $1,800 depending on how many systems need static and dynamic procedures.

Straightened, in most cases. Unibody structures are designed to be sectioned and replaced at defined points. What determines repairability is whether the damage extends into zones the manufacturer prohibits repairing.

Yes. The report includes measurement readings, photographs and a written scope. It is the same documentation we would produce internally to support a supplement, which is what makes it useful in a dispute.

It is credited, not refunded. The $150 comes off your invoice if you authorize repair work with us. If you take the report elsewhere, the fee stands as payment for the inspection.

Surface crack and gelcoat work runs $750 to $3,000. Delamination repair runs $1,500 to $20,000 because the price is driven by how much wall has to come apart, and that is only known once tap testing maps the debonded area.

Repaired in most cases, by injecting adhesive and vacuum bagging the panel back down. Replacement is the answer when the substrate itself has rotted, because there is nothing left for the skin to bond to.

Grind the crack out to a V, verify the substrate behind it is dry and sound, laminate with matched cloth and resin, fair the surface, then spray and blend gelcoat. Filling a crack without opening it just hides it until it moves again.

On a coach under about five years old, generally not. On an older oxidized unit, a perfect match on one panel can actually stand out, so we blend across adjacent panels to carry the transition.

Map the debonded area by tap testing, drill small injection ports, inject structural adhesive, then pull the skin flat with vacuum bagging while it cures. Ports are then filled and the surface refinished. The critical step people skip is finding and fixing where the water came in.

A contained area on one panel runs $1,500 to $4,000. A full sidewall runs $8,000 to $20,000. The spread is entirely about area and whether the substrate underneath survived.

Properly repaired. The laminate is rebuilt in overlapping plies so the panel recovers its strength, then faired and refinished. A patch that is only cosmetic will telegraph and re-crack within a year or two.

Most single-point impacts run $800 to $3,000. It climbs toward $5,500 when the framing behind the skin was damaged or when the hit crosses a seam or a moulding line.

When the substrate is wet or rotted, when more than about sixty percent of the panel has debonded, or when the wall has already been repaired twice. At that point replacement is cheaper over the life of the coach.

Yes. We pull a mould or fabricate flat laminate to the original schedule. It costs more than an available factory panel but it is usually the only route on a coach more than fifteen years old.

If there is enough gelcoat thickness left, restoration works and costs far less than paint. Once the oxidation has eaten through to the laminate in places, paint is the only durable answer. We measure before recommending either.

Two to four years in this climate if it is sealed and the coach is stored covered. Uncovered coastal storage cuts that closer to eighteen months.

Request the denial in writing with the specific policy language cited. Most denials on RV claims hinge on a wear-versus-event distinction, and an independent structural assessment that documents impact evidence is what reverses them. We produce that assessment for $150.

That is usually because the estimate was written without teardown. The remedy is a documented supplement with photographs taken while the unit is apart, not an argument about the original number. Carriers pay supplements routinely when the evidence is there.

No. In California you choose the repair facility. A carrier may recommend a direct repair program shop and may tell you it guarantees the work, but it cannot require you to use one.

Simple panel and paint claims close in two to four weeks. Structural claims run six to sixteen weeks, and the parts wait is typically the single longest stage rather than the labor.

Yes, with all 16 carriers we work with including Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, AAA SoCal, Mercury and Allstate. You are responsible for your deductible, not for fronting the repair.

When the substrate behind the skin is dry and sound and less than about sixty percent of the panel has debonded. Past that, replacement costs less over the life of the coach than repeated re-bonding.

Sometimes. It works when the structure is sound and the total was driven by a low valuation rather than by real damage. It does not work when the frame is compromised. Get the assessment before deciding.

Yes, directly. Progressive is one of the more common carriers we see on recreational vehicle work and their supplement process is well documented, which makes hidden damage claims relatively straightforward when the photographs are there.

No. In California the choice of repair facility is yours. A carrier can recommend a direct repair program shop and can tell you it guarantees that shop, but it cannot require you to use one.