# Camper Van Repair and Build Documentation

> Camper van owners face a documentation problem more than a repair problem. The Sprinter, Transit or ProMaster shell is a known quantity to any adjuster. The $60,000 conversion inside it is not. We repair both and itemize the build so it is valued rather than ignored.

**Type:** Customer situation  
**Canonical:** https://ocrv.pro/who-we-serve/personal-and-recreational/camper-van-owners  
**Updated:** 2026-07-29

## Summary

A van claim is two claims: the chassis and body on one side, the conversion build on the other. Undocumented build value gets written off the estimate.

A camper van is two vehicles in one registration. Underneath is a commercial cargo van with published repair procedures, available panels and a labor time guide any adjuster can look up. Inside is a hand built house with lithium batteries, a diesel heater, a compressor refrigerator, custom cabinetry and a poured shower pan, and none of that appears in any estimating system in the world.

That mismatch is where van owners get hurt. The first estimate covers the sliding door skin and the B pillar, which the software knows about, and says nothing about the galley that got destroyed when the cabinet tore loose, because there is no line code for a galley somebody built in a garage in Costa Mesa. If that value is not itemized and proven, it disappears.

We do the body and structural work and the build work in the same building at 23281 La Palma Ave in Yorba Linda, about 45 minutes from San Clemente. In shop only, no mobile service. That matters for vans specifically, because a lot of van electrical faults get chased by mobile techs for months and never resolved without a bench and a load.

## Your Van Damage Is Really Two Separate Valuations

Treat the chassis and the conversion as separate line groups from the start. The chassis side is straightforward: panels, pillars, doors, glass, ADAS calibration on the newer Sprinters and Transits, and paint. That side gets written from the estimating system and rarely causes an argument. The conversion side needs a different approach entirely, because it has to be described, valued and proven rather than looked up.

On the conversion side we build a line item list with part numbers, invoices, install labor and photographs of the build before the damage where you have them. A Victron inverter, a 400 amp hour lithium bank, a Nations alternator charger and forty hours of cabinetry labor is a real number and a defensible one. Adding one line saying interior damage to the van is not, and it will get valued at almost nothing.

- **Chassis and body scope:** Panels, sliding door track and structure, B and C pillars, roof rail, glass and ADAS recalibration on equipped vehicles, priced from published procedures and factory measurements.
- **Conversion scope:** Electrical system, water system, heater, refrigeration, cabinetry, insulation, wall and ceiling panels and flooring, each itemized with part number, cost and installation labor.
- **Proof of build value:** Original invoices, builder contract, part numbers and pre damage photographs. Without documentation an adjuster has no basis to pay for a build and will default to almost nothing.
- **Insulation and moisture:** Wet insulation behind a damaged panel has to come out even though it costs almost nothing, because leaving it in a sealed steel wall guarantees corrosion and odor within a year.
- **Weight and payload effects:** Heavy builds sit near or over GVWR. Repairs that add material need to be weighed against remaining payload, especially on rear axle loading with a garage or a bike rack.

## What Actually Fails on a Converted Van

Water is first, and it is almost always a roof penetration. Fans, solar mounts, antenna bases and vent boots on a steel roof rely entirely on sealant and fastener discipline, and a builder who used the wrong sealant on a Sprinter roof rib creates a leak that shows up two winters later as rust behind the headliner. Steel does not forgive standing water the way fiberglass does.

Electrical is second. Van builds push a lot of current through space that was never designed for it, and the failures cluster in predictable places: undersized or unsupported battery cable runs, lugs crimped without the right die, shunts and busbars in inaccessible spots, alternator chargers overheating in an enclosed bay. Those are diagnostic jobs, one hour minimum at $285 credited against an authorized repair, because guessing at them costs more than testing.

## Collision Repair on a High Roof Van

High roof cargo vans have some specific structural behavior. The roof is a large unsupported span, so a side impact or a rollover deforms it in ways that are hard to see and easy to underestimate. Sliding door tracks bend and then the door binds, which owners often mistake for a roller problem. And a fiberglass or composite high top added on a standard roof van has its own bond line to the steel that fails independently of the metal underneath.

The other repeated problem is the rear. Vans get rear ended and they get backed into, and the rear door frame on a loaded conversion carries more load than the factory intended because of a bike rack or a tire carrier bolted to it. Repairing the skin without addressing the frame and the mount reinforcement means the doors will not seal properly six months later.

## What Van Work Costs and How We Bill It

Van collision repair runs $1,500 to $40,000 and up depending on structural depth. Build out and rebuild work runs $5,000 to $80,000 and up. Solar systems are $1,500 to $12,000 and up, inverters $750 to $4,500. Body and paint labor is $210 per hour, mechanical and electrical $260 per hour, diagnostics $285 with a one hour minimum credited to an authorized repair, and detail $95 per hour.

Parts on van builds are frequently special order, especially European chassis parts and specialty 12V components, and those require a 100 percent non refundable deposit because the vendors will not accept returns. Standard deposits otherwise: 50 percent at authorization over $2,000, another 25 percent when parts arrive on jobs over $10,000, balance at pickup, and a 3.5 percent surcharge on card payments above $1,000.

- **Body and paint labor:** Posted at $210 per hour, with paint supplies at $55 per paint hour and body supplies at $5 per body hour. Insurance billed work may run at carrier negotiated rates instead.
- **Electrical labor:** Mechanical and electrical work bills at $260 per hour. Diagnostics bill at $285 with a one hour minimum, credited in full against a repair you authorize.
- **Special order deposits:** European chassis parts and specialty 12V components require full non refundable deposits. Once a Sprinter panel is ordered against your VIN, no vendor will take it back.
- **Tax treatment:** Sales tax of 7.75 percent applies to parts and materials. Labor is not taxed in California, which is why the estimate separates the two rather than showing one blended figure.

## Pricing

| Line item | Range | Hours |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Van collision repair | $1,500 to $40,000+ | 7 to 190 |
| Van build out and interior rebuild | $5,000 to $80,000+ | 24 to 380 |
| Solar system repair or installation | $1,500 to $12,000+ | 6 to 46 |
| Inverter replacement or repair | $750 to $4,500 | 3 to 17 |

## What is included

- Separate line groups for chassis and body scope and conversion scope
- Itemized conversion inventory with part numbers, invoices and install labor
- Removal of wet insulation behind any damaged panel before reassembly
- Roof penetration inspection and correct sealant reapplication
- Instrumented electrical testing on battery, charging and inverter systems
- Sliding door track and rear door frame alignment verification
- ADAS scan and recalibration on equipped Sprinter and Transit chassis
- Payload and axle loading review on heavily built vans

## Questions

### Will insurance pay for the conversion inside my van?

Only if it is documented. The chassis and body come out of an estimating system the adjuster already trusts. The build does not exist in any system, so it has to be itemized with part numbers, invoices, install labor and photographs. Owners who supply that paperwork routinely get the build paid. Owners who describe it verbally usually do not.

### My van has an electrical fault nobody can find. Can you chase it?

Yes, and it needs to be in shop. We bill one hour of diagnostics at $285 as a minimum, credited against an authorized repair. Most persistent van faults come down to cable runs, crimps and connection points under load rather than a bad component, and finding them requires load testing rather than reading voltages at rest.

### Do you do mobile service for camper vans?

No. Everything happens in shop at 23281 La Palma Ave in Yorba Linda, roughly 45 minutes from San Clemente. Van work in particular needs a lift, a load bank, a water test bay and a paint booth. A lot of the electrical problems we solve had already been chased in driveways for months without resolution.

### There is rust behind my headliner. Where is that coming from?

Almost always a roof penetration: a fan flange, a solar mount, an antenna base or a vent boot sealed with the wrong product or fastened without a proper bed. Water tracks along a roof rib and appears far from the entry point. We pressure test and water test the roof rather than guessing from where the stain shows.

## Related

- https://ocrv.pro/sprinter-van-repair
- https://ocrv.pro/what-we-fix/vans-and-camper-vans
- https://ocrv.pro/repairs/solar-and-power-systems
- https://ocrv.pro/repairs/upholstery-and-cabinetry
- https://ocrv.pro/claims/documenting-modified-vehicles