# Custom Bumpers and Racks for Eastvale, California > Welded bumpers, receivers, cargo platforms and roof racks designed around real frame structure and finished against corrosion. Source: https://ocrv.info/services/custom-fabrication-and-detailing/custom-bumpers-and-racks Custom bumper and rack fabrication designs and builds welded steel or aluminum structures for recreational and commercial vehicles: rear bumpers, receiver assemblies, ladder and cargo racks, spare tire carriers, bike and generator platforms and roof rails. OCRV Center engineers the mounting into frame structure and finishes the work in shop. ## Pricing Range $1,000 to $10,000+. Labor band 8 to 45 hours. Performed in shop at 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. The bumper on most travel trailers is a thin wall square tube that exists to hold a sewer hose and support a rear ladder. Owners discover its limits when they mount a spare tire and a cargo box on it and the tube twists visibly on the first rough highway. Rebuilding that assembly properly means a heavier section, a mount that reaches forward into the frame rails, and gussets that carry the moment rather than letting a single weld take it. Racks fail for a related reason. A cargo platform bolted to a sidewall through the skin concentrates load into thin material backed by nothing. Every bump multiplies the static weight, and the fasteners eventually elongate the holes and open a leak path in the process. Doing it correctly means locating structure, adding backing plates that spread the load across several members, and sealing the penetrations against water with the same care a roof repair receives. Design happens before fabrication. We measure the vehicle, identify the frame members and sidewall structure available, ask what the owner intends to carry and how often, then draw the assembly with real dimensions. The drawing gets reviewed together so clearances are checked against tail swing, ramp door travel, awning arms, spare tire access and departure angle. Building first and discovering an interference afterward is expensive, and it is avoidable. ## What brings this in - Rear bumper tube visibly twisting under a mounted spare - Cargo rack fasteners elongating their holes - Water staining below a sidewall rack mount - Ladder pulling away from the rear wall - Rust bleeding from inside a welded tube - Receiver hitch sagging under tongue weight ## Bumpers, Receivers and Load That Reaches the Frame A rear bumper that will carry weight has to transfer that weight into the frame rails, not into the sheet metal skirt around it. On travel trailers and fifth wheels that means welding or bolting a heavier tube to brackets that run forward along the rails for a meaningful distance and tie into more than one crossmember. On motorhome chassis it means working with the existing frame extension and reinforcing where the original design assumed nothing would be hanging off the back. Receiver hitches follow the same logic and add rating considerations. A receiver welded to a bumper tube has the strength of that tube and its mounts, regardless of what the receiver itself is rated for. We build the mount to carry the intended tongue weight, state what the assembly is designed for, and refuse to install a receiver on structure that cannot support the load an owner describes. Saying no to that request is part of doing the job correctly. - Mounting brackets extended forward to engage multiple frame members - Gusseting added where a joint carries bending rather than shear - Receiver assemblies built to the intended tongue weight, not to a catalog figure - Departure angle and tail swing checked before final dimensions are set - Sewer hose storage, ladder mounts and spare carriers integrated in the design ## Cargo Racks, Bike Platforms and Generator Trays Rear cargo platforms create the most leverage of anything owners commonly add, because weight hanging behind the rear axle multiplies through a long overhang. A hundred pounds at the tail of a thirty foot coach behaves like considerably more at the mounting point, and it also unloads the front axle enough to change steering feel. We calculate the effect, discuss it honestly, and sometimes recommend moving the load somewhere else entirely. Generator trays and slide out platforms add complexity because they need to lock in transit and move reliably on demand. Linear slides sized for the load, positive latches at both extremes, and stops that prevent the tray from leaving the rails are all part of a build that stays safe. Weight distribution and access clearance get checked with the tray extended and the vehicle level, since a tray that only works on flat ground is a design that failed. ## Roof Racks, Rails and Sealing the Penetrations Roof racks are common on van conversions, skoolies and expedition style builds, and every mount is a hole in a roof. On a metal roof the fastener can land in structure and be sealed conventionally. On a coach with a membrane roof over thin decking, backing plates inside the cavity are required, and the sealing method has to be compatible with the membrane material rather than whatever tube is nearby. Getting that wrong produces a leak that shows up two seasons later. Track systems that bolt through existing rain gutters or roof rails avoid new penetrations entirely on vehicles equipped for them, and that is the preferred approach when it is available. Where penetration is unavoidable, we use a proper mounting boss bedded in sealant, seal the fastener heads with a compatible lap product, and photograph each penetration before it is covered so there is a record of how it was built. - Existing rails or gutters used in place of new penetrations when possible - Backing plates installed inside the cavity for through bolted mounts - Sealant selected for the specific roof membrane material - Wind noise and clearance considered in rail placement - Each penetration photographed before it is closed ## Finish, Corrosion and Making Steel Last Bare welded steel on the back of a vehicle that sees coastal air will show rust within a season. Fabricated assemblies get media blasted or mechanically prepared, primed with an appropriate epoxy or etch primer, and topcoated. Where the customer prefers it, powder coating gives a harder finish that resists chips from road debris better than a wet coating, at the cost of needing the assembly complete before finishing since welding after coating destroys it locally. Dissimilar metal contact deserves attention on any aluminum work. Aluminum bolted directly to steel in the presence of road salt or coastal moisture corrodes at the interface, sometimes aggressively. Isolating washers, coatings and correct fastener selection prevent it. Drain holes go in any closed section that could trap water, because a sealed tube that fills with condensation rusts from the inside out and gives no warning until it fails. ## Sequence of operations ### 01. Measure the vehicle and define the load Frame members, crossmembers and sidewall structure are located and measured. The owner describes what will be carried, how heavy it is and how often it travels. Those two inputs define whether the existing structure can serve or whether reinforcement has to be built into the design. ### 02. Draw the assembly and check clearances A dimensioned drawing is produced and reviewed with the owner. Tail swing, ramp door travel, awning arms, slide clearance, spare tire access, departure angle and lighting visibility are all verified against the drawing before any material is cut. ### 03. Cut, fit and weld Material is cut and tacked in place on the vehicle so fit is verified before final welding. Gussets go where bending loads concentrate. Welds are made in position where required, and any closed section gets drain holes before it is closed up. ### 04. Finish, mount and verify The assembly is prepared, primed and coated or powder coated, then mounted with correct hardware and isolation where dissimilar metals meet. Fasteners are torqued, penetrations sealed and photographed, and the finished installation is loaded and inspected before release. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you add a receiver hitch to the back of my travel trailer? Sometimes, and it depends entirely on the structure available. The rating of a receiver means nothing if the tube and brackets holding it cannot carry the load. We evaluate the frame extension, design a mount that reaches forward into the rails, and state what the finished assembly is built to carry. Where the structure genuinely will not support the intended load, we say so rather than building it anyway. ### Will adding a rear cargo rack affect how the coach drives? It can, noticeably. Weight behind the rear axle acts through a lever and lifts load off the front axle, which changes steering feel and can reduce stability. The longer the overhang, the larger the effect. We calculate it against the vehicle dimensions and axle ratings, then discuss whether the intended load belongs at the rear or would be better placed elsewhere. ### Steel or aluminum for a rack build? Steel is stronger for the same section, easier to modify later, and heavier. Aluminum saves meaningful weight on a vehicle already close to its cargo rating but needs different joint design because it fatigues differently under repeated loading. We recommend based on the load, the weight budget and how the vehicle is used, and we state the choice and the reasoning in the estimate. ### How do you keep a roof rack from causing a leak? By avoiding penetrations when existing rails or gutters can be used, and by building penetrations properly when they cannot. That means backing plates inside the cavity, a mounting boss bedded in a sealant compatible with the specific roof membrane, and fastener heads capped with the correct lap product. Every penetration gets photographed before it is covered so there is a record. ### How long does a custom bumper or rack take? Design and measurement typically take a day, fabrication several days depending on complexity, and finishing adds time when powder coating is involved since the assembly leaves for coating and returns. The published price band and hour range for this service appear on the prices page. All work happens in shop, so the vehicle stays through fitting and final installation. --- 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.