30 articles
Field Notes
The short answer
Practical guides on RV, van, trailer, and fleet repair from a working Southern California body shop. Insurance claim process, real cost ranges, climate specific failure modes, and what actually happens during a repair.
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Most recent
2026-06-02
What Happens During Teardown and Why It Changes the Estimate
The first estimate is written from what is visible, which on a laminated RV is a fraction of the damage. What teardown finds, and why the number moves.
2026-05-19
Why Your Rooftop AC Stops Cooling in a Southern California Summer
A rooftop RV air conditioner that quits cooling is almost never a dead compressor. Ranked causes, how to measure the temperature split, and what heat does.
2026-05-07
Diagnosing 12-Volt Electrical Problems on an RV
Most 12-volt RV faults are connection faults, not dead components. Measure voltage drop under load, then work the circuit in order from battery to branch.
2026-05-05
Santa Ana Winds and Awning Damage Across the Inland Valleys
Santa Ana events from October to December tear awning fabric at the roller seam, bend arms at the elbow and pull mounting rails out of the sidewall.
2026-04-23
How To Inspect Your RV Roof Without Making It Worse
Not every RV roof is rated to carry you, and walking one that is not cracks it at the truss lines. Confirm the rating first, then survey in the right order.
2026-04-17
Coastal Salt Air and What It Does to Your RV
Salt deposited by the marine layer every night never washes off. It corrodes steel fasteners in aluminum panels and opens the seal at every rivet.
02 / 5
Insurance Claim Guides
These guides cover how RV and fleet claims actually get paid in California. What to photograph, how a supplement works, why the first estimate is never the last one, and which handful of denial reasons account for most disputes. Written from the shop side of the file, not the carrier side.
- How To File an RV Insurance Claim in CaliforniaHow to file an RV insurance claim in California: the first 72 hours, the Fair Claims timeline, choosing your own shop, and why supplements exist.
- What To Do When Your RV Insurance Claim Is DeniedYour RV claim was denied. Read the letter for the cited policy language, then use teardown documentation, re-inspection, and the appraisal clause.
- How To Document Aftermarket Modifications So Your Claim Actually PaysCarriers pay actual cash value on what is documented, not what is bolted on. How to inventory solar, lithium, lifts and build-outs before a loss.
- Hail Damage Claims on RV Roofs and Fifth WheelsHail on an RV membrane roof shows as bruising, not holes. How to survey it, prove date of loss, and handle a separate wind and hail deductible.
- Sudden vs Gradual: Why That Distinction Decides Your Water Damage ClaimSudden and accidental water intrusion is generally covered. Gradual seepage from a failed sealant generally is not. How that line gets decided.
03 / 5
RV, Camper and Fifth Wheel Repair
Diagnosis and repair of the failures specific to recreational vehicles: roof leaks, delamination, slide-outs, frame cracks, and hidden water damage. These are the four or five problems that account for most of what comes through the door, explained with the mechanism rather than the symptom.
- How To Tell If Your RV Roof Is Leaking Before It Reaches the FloorThe first sign of an RV roof leak is a seam line on the ceiling panel, not a drip. Here are the early indicators in order, and where water enters.
- What Causes RV Delamination and How It Gets RepairedRV delamination is adhesive bond failure in a sandwich panel, caused by water or by heat alone. How the extent gets mapped and what repair costs.
- Seven Signs Your Slide-Out Needs Service NowSeven signs an RV slide-out needs service: racking travel, a seal with compression set, water at the floor, a laboring motor, gear rack wear.
- How To Know If Your RV or Trailer Frame Is DamagedFrame damage on an RV or trailer announces itself operationally. A door that must be lifted to latch, a binding slide, and a floor wave near the axles.
- Finding Hidden Water Damage Before You Buy a Used RVA used RV can hide five figures of water damage behind fresh paint and new flooring. Where to press, what to smell for, and what a moisture meter finds.
04 / 5
Commercial and Fleet Maintenance
Body and paint work on trucks, vans and municipal fleets, written for the person who has to explain the downtime to somebody else. Covers reducing time in the bay, box truck and Sprinter repair specifics, lift gate and service body work, and how public agency procurement changes the schedule.
- How To Reduce Fleet Downtime on Body and Paint WorkFleet body repair turnaround is decided before the truck arrives. Advance parts ordering, teardown authority and a standing PO cut days that labor rate cannot.
- Box Truck Collision Repair: What Fleet Managers Should ExpectA cargo box is five structures bolted together. Knowing which one a dock strike actually damaged decides the repair, the parts list, and the downtime.
- Sprinter Van Body Repair in Southern CaliforniaSprinter bodies use high-strength steel that will not take heat, and every panel repair puts ADAS aim in question. What that changes about the repair plan.
- Municipal Fleet Body Repair and How Procurement Actually WorksMunicipal body repair runs on the purchase order, not the estimate. Bid thresholds, vendor packets, June 30 fiscal year end, and change orders on supplements.
- Lift Gate and Service Body Installation for Working FleetsA lift gate hangs 800 to 1,600 pounds behind the rear axle and subtracts that from payload. Rear frame reinforcement is the real work, not the gate itself.
05 / 5
Cost and Pricing Guides
Real numbers at posted rates: body and paint at $210 per hour, mechanical and electrical at $260, diagnostics at $285, detail at $95. These guides break down what actually drives the total on collision, roof, paint and delamination work, and why the same damage can produce two very different estimates.
- How Much Does RV Collision Repair Cost in Southern CaliforniaRV collision repair runs $1,000 to $150,000 and up at $210 per hour. Here is the arithmetic: labor, supplies, parts markup, hazmat, tax and deposits.
- RV Roof Replacement Cost vs Repair CostRecoat runs $900 to $3,500, targeted repair $500 to $4,000, full membrane replacement $4,500 to $18,000. The decking under it decides which one you get.
- What Actually Drives the Cost of an RV Paint JobPreparation is the cost of an RV paint job, not paint. Masking, disassembly, cutting oxidation and reproducing graphics drive the hours at $210.
- Delamination Repair Cost ExplainedDelamination repair runs $1,500 to $20,000 and up, 10 to 100 plus hours at $210. Mapped extent and substrate condition set the number, not the bubble.
- Why Body, Mechanical and Diagnostic Labor Rates Are Different NumbersBody and paint bills $210 per hour, mechanical and electrical $260, diagnostics $285, detail $95. Equipment, compliance and output explain each number.
06 / 5
Seasonal and Climate Advice
Southern California is six climates, not one, and a coach stored in Palm Desert fails differently than the same coach stored in Newport Beach. These articles cover low desert heat, coastal salt air, Santa Ana wind damage, high desert hail and freeze, and who in this region actually needs to winterize.
- Protecting Your RV From Low Desert Heat in the Coachella ValleyCoachella Valley heat puts RV roof membranes at end of life in half their rated years and delaminates sidewalls with no water involved at all.
- Coastal Salt Air and What It Does to Your RVSalt deposited by the marine layer every night never washes off. It corrodes steel fasteners in aluminum panels and opens the seal at every rivet.
- Santa Ana Winds and Awning Damage Across the Inland ValleysSanta Ana events from October to December tear awning fabric at the roller seam, bend arms at the elbow and pull mounting rails out of the sidewall.
- High Desert Hail and Freeze Damage: Victorville to LancasterHigh desert hail bruises membrane roofs instead of puncturing them, and freeze splits in lines and pumps stay hidden until spring pressurization.
- Winterizing an RV in Southern California: Who Actually Needs ItCoastal Orange County almost never needs winterization. Big Bear, Wrightwood and the high desert do. Here is the temperature rule that decides it.
07 / 3
How-To and Diagnosis
Diagnostic procedure you can run yourself before spending money: how to inspect a roof without cracking it, how to trace a 12-volt fault to the connection rather than the component, and why a rooftop air conditioner stops cooling in July when the compressor is fine.
- How To Inspect Your RV Roof Without Making It WorseNot every RV roof is rated to carry you, and walking one that is not cracks it at the truss lines. Confirm the rating first, then survey in the right order.
- Diagnosing 12-Volt Electrical Problems on an RVMost 12-volt RV faults are connection faults, not dead components. Measure voltage drop under load, then work the circuit in order from battery to branch.
- Why Your Rooftop AC Stops Cooling in a Southern California SummerA rooftop RV air conditioner that quits cooling is almost never a dead compressor. Ranked causes, how to measure the temperature split, and what heat does.
08 / 2
Process and What To Expect
What actually happens to your vehicle between drop-off and delivery. Teardown and why it changes the estimate, how long a collision repair really takes, what drives the schedule, and which parts of the timeline are the shop, which are the carrier, and which are the parts supply.
- What Happens During Teardown and Why It Changes the EstimateThe first estimate is written from what is visible, which on a laminated RV is a fraction of the damage. What teardown finds, and why the number moves.
- How Long Does RV Collision Repair Actually TakeA minor cap repair runs two to three weeks. Mid-size structural work runs six to twelve weeks. Major structural repair runs three to six months. Here is why.
Written by the people who do the work.