RV Custom Fabrication for San Clemente Owners

Fabrication at this shop starts with a load question and a mounting question, in that order. What is this part going to carry, in what direction, under what dynamic load on a freeway, and what part of the vehicle is strong enough to take that load. Everything after that is material selection and metalwork. Skipping straight to the metalwork is how you get a beautiful rack bolted through a roof skin that had nothing behind it.

Practically, that means we open things up. A hitch receiver on a Class C means getting under the coach and looking at what the cutaway chassis actually offers behind the bumper. A roof rack on a laminated RV roof means finding the ribs and often adding backing plates or spreader bars inside the ceiling. A cargo shelving install in a work van means locating the factory reinforcement points and using them instead of drilling wherever is convenient.

The output is a fabricated part with a documented mounting method, finished so it does not become a corrosion problem later. Bare steel on a vehicle that spends weekends near salt water is a rust stain within a season, so everything gets primed and coated, and stainless or aluminum gets specified where the environment justifies the cost.

Structural welding is the highest consequence work in the building and we treat it that way. Trailer frames crack at predictable places: at the spring hanger, at the transition where the A-frame meets the main rails, at suspension mounts, and at the frame flex points on long fifth wheels that have been overloaded. A cracked frame is not a cosmetic problem and it does not stop growing on its own.

The repair is rarely just running a bead across the crack. A crack is evidence of a load the section could not carry, so welding it closed without adding section or changing the geometry usually produces a new crack an inch away. We drill stop holes, grind out and prep the crack to full penetration, weld it correctly, and then add fish plate, gusset or additional section so the repaired area is stronger than the original in the direction it failed.

We also do frame extensions and modifications, suspension mount relocation, outrigger repair and cargo floor structure. Frame and structural welding runs $750 to $20,000 and up depending on how much of the frame is involved, which is a wide band because a single spring hanger and a full rail section replacement are genuinely different jobs.

This is the largest category of one-off work we do. Rear bumpers on RVs and trailers get bent by tow bars, by steep driveway breakover and by the same backing accident everyone has had at least once, and replacements are frequently discontinued. Building one to the original mounting pattern in heavier material costs about what a used takeoff would and gives you a part that will outlast the coach.

Roof and ladder racks are a structure problem before they are a rack problem. A laminated RV roof will not carry a point load through a lag screw, and a van roof will oil can and eventually crack at the rib if the rack is mounted without spreading load. We locate structure, add backing where there is none, and seal every penetration with the correct chemistry rather than a bead of silicone.

Hitch receivers get the most scrutiny. A receiver on a motorhome has to tie into frame rails, not into a bumper cover, and its rating has to match what you actually intend to tow. We build to a stated capacity, wire the 7 way properly with a fused feed for the trailer battery charge line, and set the brake controller up so the trailer brakes actually do their share coming down the 73 or the Ortega grade.

Work van interiors are a fabrication job with a safety consequence. Unsecured cargo in a van becomes a projectile in a hard stop, and a shelving unit anchored into sheet metal will pull out under exactly the load it was installed to survive. We install Adrian Steel, Ranger Design and Weather Guard systems and we fabricate custom shelving where the catalog units do not fit the build, in both cases anchoring into factory reinforcement points and adding backing where those points do not exist.

Tie-down systems are the same argument in the trailer world. E-track, L-track and D-ring anchors are only as good as what they are bolted through. In a toy hauler, that means landing anchors on the garage floor structure, not on plywood decking. In a flatbed or a cargo trailer, it means through-bolting into the frame with backing plates and choosing anchor ratings that match what you are actually strapping down.

Toolbox and crane body installations on service trucks close out this category. A crane body install is 10 to 40 hours because the mounting, the subframe, the hydraulic routing and the electrical all have to be done together, and the truck has to still be able to carry its rated payload afterward.

A mobile business build-out is a construction project inside a vehicle that has to pass inspection, carry its own power, survive freeway vibration and still be a workspace someone can use for eight hours. We build food trucks and trailers, mobile medical and dental units, mobile workshops and tool trucks, mobile offices and retail units, and race and work support trailers. Full conversions run $5,000 to $80,000 and up across 40 to 400 hours, because the range from a simple mobile office to a fully equipped medical unit is enormous.

The pieces that matter most are the ones that are invisible in the finished photos. Electrical has to be sized to real equipment load with a proper distribution panel, shore inlet and often a generator or a large inverter bank. Plumbing in a food or medical unit has to meet the requirements the inspecting authority is going to apply. Cabinetry has to be fastened for road vibration rather than built like a retail counter. Ventilation and heat rejection are usually the thing owners have not thought about at all.

We plan the build before we cut anything, in a layout that accounts for workflow, weight distribution over the axles and access to everything that will eventually need service. A unit that puts all the heavy equipment behind the rear axle handles badly and eats tires, and it is very expensive to move once it is plumbed and wired.

Toy hauler garage conversions are one of the most satisfying jobs in the shop. Owners buy a hauler for the toys, then stop hauling toys and want the space back as a bunk room, an office, a second living area or a mobile workshop. The conversion is real work: insulating a space that was never insulated, running climate and electrical into it, building a floor over tie-down anchors, and deciding what to do with a ramp door that now needs to be either sealed properly or converted into a patio deck.

Accessibility modification is the other side of this. Wheelchair lift and ramp installation with a proper structural mount, doorway widening where the wall structure allows it, roll-in shower conversions, transfer bench and grab bar mounting into backing rather than into a panel, and lowered or relocated controls. This work is highly individual and we build it around the actual person who will use it, with the equipment supplier involved where a specific lift or restraint system is being specified.

Both categories share a requirement: the modification cannot compromise the structure it goes into. Cutting a doorway wider in a sidewall that carries roof load, or building a floor across a garage that provides frame stiffness, changes how the unit behaves. We evaluate that before we cut and we reinforce where the analysis says to.

Body and paint labor is posted at $210 per hour. Mechanical and electrical is $260 per hour. Diagnostics run $285 per hour with a one hour minimum that is credited back against an authorized repair. Ranges below reflect jobs we have actually completed.