# Our Process > Stage by stage: how a damaged coach, trailer, or work van moves from intake walk-around to the delivery inspection lane. Source: https://ocrv.info/about/our-process Repair at OCRV Center runs in ten stages: intake walk-around, estimate, teardown and blueprinting, supplement, parts ordering, structural repair, refinish, systems reassembly, water and road testing, then a delivery lane inspection. Collision estimates are complimentary. RV systems estimates cost $150, credited toward an authorized repair. Every vehicle enters the same way, whether it is a thirty eight foot diesel pusher or a cargo van with a creased slider. The unit parks in the intake lane and gets walked from front cap to rear cap with the owner present when possible. Roof, seams, slide seals, storage bay doors, and the underside are all examined, not only the panel that took the hit. Findings go into the file as written notes and measurements before anyone quotes anything, because damage on a large body rarely stops where the impact stopped. Two kinds of estimates come out of intake. Collision damage, whether it routes through insurance or is paid directly, is estimated as a complimentary service. RV systems work is different. Chasing a slide that will not retract, an inverter that drops out, a leak with no visible entry point, or a generator that starts and dies takes bench time and test equipment, so that assessment is billed at $150 and credited back against an authorized repair. In depth diagnostics bill one hour minimum at $285 per hour, also credited. Nothing gets torn down without written authorization, and on jobs over $2,000 a fifty percent deposit is collected at that point. From there the file moves through the departments in sequence, with parts lead time as the usual constraint rather than labor. The stages below describe what actually happens on the floor, in order, including the parts owners tend to ask about: how supplements get written, why refinish waits on structure, and what the water test is meant to catch before the vehicle heads back toward Eastvale. ## Intake, estimate, and the teardown blueprint The walk-around produces a damage map, not a price. Panel edges get checked for bond separation, roof seams get probed at the transitions, and a moisture meter goes across suspect laminate. On a slide, the room is cycled if it is safe to cycle. On a fleet vehicle, upfit equipment such as shelving, racks, or a service body gets listed separately because it is often the part with the longest lead time. Only after that map exists does the estimator write a number, and the number carries line by line labor hours. Teardown is where the real scope appears. Trim, fascia, skirting, and interior panels come off in the structural bay, fasteners get bagged and tagged by location, and the substrate underneath gets inspected with light and hands rather than assumptions. Blueprinting means writing the complete repair plan at that moment: every operation, every part number, every refinish hour, sequenced. A blueprint written properly reduces the number of surprises later, which matters most on insurance files where each addition needs approval before the work can proceed. Supplements come out of blueprinting rather than out of the middle of a repair. Each added operation is written with the reason, the labor time, and the part cost, then submitted to the payer for approval. Owners paying directly receive the same document. Work on a supplement line does not start until the line is approved, which occasionally stalls a vehicle for a few days and is still better than performing unapproved work and arguing about it at the pickup counter. - Bond separation behind trim that looked intact from outside - Framing damage in a sidewall where the skin only showed a scuff - Water tracking along a seam far from the visible stain - Slide mechanism binding caused by a shifted floor rather than the motor - Corrosion at fastener lines on older aluminum framed units ## Parts, structure, and the refinish sequence Parts are ordered the day the blueprint closes, and lead time is the honest variable. Common fasteners, sealants, laminate stock, and general body materials sit on the shelf. Model specific items such as a molded front cap, a tinted frameless window, a slide topper of an exact width, or a discontinued light lens can take weeks and sometimes require a fabricated substitute. Owners are told which category each part falls into at authorization, and the schedule is built around the longest item rather than the shortest. Structural work happens before anything cosmetic. Chassis and unibody damage goes to the measuring and pulling area, where reference points are measured against specification, pulls are made in stages, and the measurements are re-taken between stages instead of at the end. Composite sidewall repair moves to the lamination area, where temperature is held steady so resin cures predictably rather than kicking early on a hot afternoon. Cabinet and floor structure gets rebuilt in the interior shop. None of this is visible when the job is finished, which is exactly why it is documented in the file. Refinish follows a fixed order because paint does not forgive shortcuts. Substrate repair and block sanding come first, then adhesion promoter or epoxy primer depending on the surface, then filler primer, then a full re-block. Panels are masked to a natural break, not to the middle of a flat surface where a halo will show later. Base goes on in the booth, clear follows within the window, and the unit bakes. Full body repaints on a coach are shot in planned sections with deliberate overlaps, since a sidewall that long cannot be pulled in one continuous pass without the edge going dry. ## Systems, water test, and road test Systems reassembly happens after paint has cured, not before, because pulling wire and plumbing through fresh clear is how a finished job gets ruined. Twelve volt circuits are terminated and tested to load, not just to continuity. One hundred twenty volt circuits are checked for polarity and ground, and any inverter or transfer equipment is exercised on both shore power and generator. Slide rooms are cycled repeatedly with the room loaded, since a slide that moves empty can still bind once the interior weight is back in place. Every unit that had a seam, roof, window, or sidewall opened goes through the wash and water test bay. Water is directed at the repaired area under pressure and from angles that mimic driving rain and a wind driven side spray, held long enough to find a slow path rather than an obvious one. Interior surfaces are checked during and after, including inside cabinets and along the floor edge where water shows up last. If anything wets, the unit goes back to the bench and the test repeats after the correction. A road test follows anything structural, anything involving a door or window, and anything that touched mounting hardware. The loop includes surface streets and a stretch of highway at speed, because wind noise, a rattle, or a door that shifts under load will not show in the parking lot. The driver listens with the radio off and reports findings in writing. On a fleet vehicle, the loop is run with the upfit loaded to a normal working weight rather than empty. - Roof seams and any transition where two materials meet - Window and door frames, including the sealant bead behind the flange - Slide seals top, bottom, and at both wipers - Storage bay door gaskets and the floor line under them - Sealant at every fastener penetrated during the repair ## Delivery lane, payment, and what happens after pickup The delivery lane is a separate inspection performed by someone who did not do the repair. Panel gaps and fit are checked against the opposite side of the vehicle. Color is evaluated in daylight at the lane, not under shop lighting, because metallic and pearl finishes read differently outside. Every system that was touched is operated once more. The interior is cleaned, protective film comes off, and the file is assembled with the estimate, the supplements, the parts list, and the technician notes so the owner leaves with the complete record. Payment terms are set at authorization so nothing is negotiated at the counter. Jobs over $2,000 take a fifty percent deposit up front. Jobs over $10,000 take an additional twenty five percent when the ordered parts arrive, which is the point where the shop has real money committed to the file. The balance is due at pickup. Card payments above $1,000 carry a three and a half percent surcharge, which is disclosed in writing before authorization rather than added quietly to the final invoice. After pickup, the file stays open. If something related to the repair needs a second look, the vehicle comes back to the same building and the same department that performed the work, and the original notes are already in the record. That is our workmanship standard, and it is the reason handoff documentation gets the attention it does. Owners in Eastvale can email info@ocrvcenter.com with the invoice number to schedule a return visit, and the shop will say plainly whether the concern is inside the repair scope or a separate issue. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does a repair take? Duration depends on parts more than labor. A single panel repair with paint blending typically occupies the floor for several days once materials are in hand. Structural repair with a molded cap replacement can run several weeks, most of that spent waiting on the cap. At authorization the schedule is built around the longest lead item and shared as a range, then updated when parts confirm. Vehicles are not torn down before the critical parts are secured unless teardown is required to identify them. ### Why is the RV systems estimate $150 when collision estimates are complimentary? A collision estimate is largely visual and measurable at intake. A systems assessment is not. Finding out why a slide stalls at half travel or where water is entering a sealed wall requires meter time, disassembly, and a bench, which is labor rather than looking. Charging $150 keeps that time honest and keeps the bench available for people who intend to repair. The full amount is credited against the repair if the work is authorized, so an owner who proceeds pays nothing extra for it. ### What is a supplement and why did my total change? A supplement is a written addition to the original estimate covering damage that was not visible before teardown. On laminated bodies this is common, because a scuffed skin can hide separated bond lines or a cracked frame member underneath. Each supplement line lists the operation, the hours, and the parts, and it goes to the insurer or the owner for approval before the work begins. Totals move for that reason and not because a rate changed midstream. ### Can I stop by to check on my vehicle during the repair? Yes, during posted hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM. The shop is closed Sunday. Sending a note ahead helps, because a unit in the booth or on the measuring rack cannot be walked up to safely. For owners driving in from Eastvale, most prefer a written status update instead, which the estimating desk sends at each stage change rather than on a fixed day of the week. --- OCRV Center. 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Eastvale, California in Riverside County, about 20 miles from the shop. All work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility. No mobile, roadside or on-site service is offered. Scope is body, paint, structural, fiberglass, interior and vehicle systems work. Engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, drivetrain work, DOT inspections and emission testing are not performed.