# Custom Fabrication, Detailing and Inspection

> Additional services covers the work that does not follow from damage: custom fabrication, detailing and reconditioning, and inspection and evaluation. Fabrication runs from a bumper to a full interior build out at $2,500 to $50,000. Detail labor is posted at $95 per hour. Pre-purchase inspections run $400 to $1,200 with a written report.

Source: https://ocrv.biz/services/additional/
Business: OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. Serving Tustin, California.

## What gets fabricated in a shop like this?

Anything that has to fit a vehicle nobody sells a part for. That is most of what walks in. A rear bumper for a coach whose manufacturer folded, a rack that carries a specific generator on a specific tongue, a storage box that fits between two frame crossmembers that are 1 inch narrower than the catalog assumes.

Fabrication work here runs in steel and aluminum, both cut and welded in shop with the vehicle present. That last part matters. A bumper built to a drawing and then brought to the vehicle is a bumper that needs rework. A bumper built on the vehicle, tacked in place, checked for clearance against the hitch, the spare carrier and the tail lights, then finish welded, fits the first time.

Common categories are custom bumpers and racks at $400 to $3,500, custom storage and shelving at $750 to $7,500, and full interior build out and conversion at $2,500 to $50,000 across 20 to 250 hours. Welding and structural metal fabrication carries the frame and structural band at $750 to $20,000. Every one of those figures traces to the [posted rate sheet](/prices/).

The service line is [custom fabrication](/services/custom-fabrication/), and it overlaps heavily with [frame and structural repair](/services/frame-structural-repair/), because a hitch receiver that carries tongue weight is structural whether the owner thinks of it that way or not.

## Does detailing matter on a vehicle this size?

More than on a car, for a specific reason: surface area and sun. A 40 foot coach presents several hundred square feet of horizontal and near-horizontal surface to Southern California ultraviolet exposure, and the finish on it is often gelcoat or an older single stage paint with no clear coat protecting it.

Oxidation on gelcoat is the pigment layer breaking down at the surface into a chalky residue. Left alone it keeps eating downward, and once it reaches through the pigment there is nothing to polish back. Caught early, a compound and polish cycle brings it back to gloss. Caught late, the only route is refinishing, which is a $5,000 to $35,000 conversation rather than a $500 to $2,000 one.

The same math applies to sealants and coatings. A ceramic coating on a large vehicle is expensive in labor because the prep is the job: the surface has to be corrected before the coating goes on, or the coating locks in the defects. Detail labor is posted at $95 per hour and full interior and exterior detail runs $500 to $2,000 across 5 to 21 hours. Roof cleaning is part of it, and on an EPDM roof it also removes the chalk that streaks the sidewalls after every rain. See [detailing and reconditioning](/services/detailing-reconditioning/).

## What does a pre-purchase inspection actually check?

Everything an owner cannot see and a seller may not mention. A full RV systems inspection runs $400 to $1,200 across 3 to 6 hours and produces a written report with photographs, which is the document a buyer negotiates with.

The walk covers structure, water intrusion, systems function and cosmetic condition. Structure means frame, framing, delamination and evidence of prior repair. Water intrusion means moisture meter readings across the walls, ceiling and floor, with attention to the known entry points: roof penetrations, window frames, slide seals, the wet bay and the awning rail. Systems function means every appliance run in every mode it supports, the generator started and loaded, the water system pressurized, the propane system drop tested, all twelve-volt and shore power circuits exercised, and every slide and awning cycled.

What the report says matters as much as what it finds. A finding of "soft spot at rear slide, 24 percent moisture reading" with a photograph and a location is actionable. A finding of "some water damage" is not. Buyers use these reports to reprice deals, and sellers occasionally commission one to preempt the argument.

The other inspection types under [inspection and evaluation](/services/inspection-evaluation/) are insurance claim assessment, in-shop damage evaluation and annual maintenance inspection. Cosmetic and structural body inspection runs $250 to $600 across 1 to 3 hours. Annual maintenance service runs $400 to $2,500.

## How do these three lines fit with the rest of the shop?

They bracket it. Inspection comes before, fabrication happens during, detailing finishes after.

An inspection is how most large jobs start, because it converts an owner's list of symptoms into a scoped estimate. A pre-purchase inspection on a unit a buyer has not closed on yet frequently turns into a repair order two weeks later. An annual maintenance inspection catches the roof sealant that has three months left in it, which is the cheapest roof repair anyone ever buys.

Fabrication shows up inside other jobs constantly. A collision repair on a discontinued model needs a bracket nobody makes. An interior remodel needs a cabinet carcass built to a measured opening. A van conversion needs a bulkhead, a shelving system and a roof reinforcement before the solar array goes on.

Detailing is the last operation before delivery on nearly every job that involved paint, and it is also a standalone service for owners preparing to sell or coming out of storage. The three lines are grouped here because they share a trait: none of them are triggered by damage. They are chosen. That changes how they get scheduled, and it means they can usually be booked into the calendar rather than fitted around a carrier's timeline. [Request a Quote](/contact/) to get one on the books.

## What is included

- Vehicle present fitment on all fabricated brackets, bumpers and racks before finish welding
- Written inspection report with dated photographs and moisture readings by location
- Surface correction before any ceramic coating or sealant is applied
- Roof cleaning and chalk removal as part of full exterior detail
- Finish coating on fabricated steel to resist corrosion in coastal air

## Questions

### Can you build a rack for a specific piece of equipment?

Yes. Bring the equipment with the vehicle. Racks and carriers are built to the actual item rather than to a published dimension, because published dimensions leave out the mounting feet, the cable exit and the clearance the unit needs to be serviced in place.

### How long does a full detail take on a Class A?

Five to twenty one hours of labor depending on length, finish condition and how much oxidation has to be corrected. A unit that has been waxed regularly is at the low end. A unit that has sat outdoors for several seasons with no protection is at the high end and may need paint correction rather than detail.

### Will an inspection tell me if a used RV has hidden water damage?

It will tell you where the moisture is and how much, using meter readings across the walls, ceiling and floor plus a visual inspection of every known entry point. It cannot see inside a sealed wall cavity without opening it, so a report will flag suspect areas and recommend teardown where the readings justify it.

## Related

- [Services](https://ocrv.biz/services/)
- [Custom Fabrication](https://ocrv.biz/services/custom-fabrication/)
- [Detailing and Reconditioning](https://ocrv.biz/services/detailing-reconditioning/)
- [Inspection and Evaluation](https://ocrv.biz/services/inspection-evaluation/)
- [Interior Services](https://ocrv.biz/services/interior/)
- [Prices and Posted Rates](https://ocrv.biz/prices/)
- [Request a Quote](https://ocrv.biz/contact/)