# Tiny Home on Wheels Repair and Road Load Correction > A tiny home on wheels is house construction on a trailer chassis, which means residential materials meeting road vibration and axle loads they were never designed for. OCRV Center repairs the chassis, the structure and the finishes in shop. Interior build out and conversion is posted at $2,500 to $50,000 across 20 to 250 hours. Source: https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/mobile-tiny-home-trailer-repair/ Business: OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. Serving Tustin, California. Ballpark range: $2,500 to $50,000. Posted rates at https://ocrv.biz/prices/ ## Why do house materials struggle on a trailer? Because a house is designed for a static load in one direction and a trailer sees dynamic loads in all of them. Residential framing relies on sheathing nailed off to resist racking, and the whole assembly assumes it will never be lifted, twisted or shaken. Tow that assembly at freeway speed and the frame beneath it flexes with every joint in the road. The building above has to either flex with it or crack, and rigid finishes crack. Drywall goes first, at the corners of openings. Tile follows. Then trim opens at the mitres, and cedar or shiplap siding starts to show gaps where the fasteners have worked. The fix is not simply to repair the finish. It is to look at how the building is attached to the trailer, whether there is any isolation between them, and whether the sheathing and the connections were detailed for movement. Frame and structural welding and repair is posted at **$750 to $20,000** across 5 to 80 hours, and interior build out at **$2,500 to $50,000** across 20 to 250 hours. ## Is the chassis actually up to the load? This is the question that decides most tiny home estimates, and it frequently has an uncomfortable answer. A tiny house is heavy: framing, sheathing, insulation, siding, roofing, drywall, tile, appliances and often a loft. Builders and owners regularly underestimate the finished weight by several thousand pounds. The symptoms are visible from outside once you know what to look for. Springs flattened or inverted. Tyres wearing on the inner or outer shoulder. The trailer sitting nose high or nose low. A frame that has taken a permanent bow between the axles. Axle service and replacement is posted at $500 to $5,500 across 3 to 22 hours, trailer suspension service at $400 to $6,500 across 2 to 25 hours, and brake service at $300 to $5,500 across 1 to 22 hours. Upgrading axle capacity is a real option and it is discussed honestly rather than sold. Engine and drivetrain work on the tow vehicle is not performed here. ## Where does water get in? At the same places it does on a house, plus a few a house does not have. Residential detailing assumes a building that does not move and does not get sprayed from below at seventy miles an hour. - Siding laps and corner boards, where fasteners have worked loose from vibration and opened a path. - Window and door flashing, often detailed for a static wall with no allowance for movement. - Roof to wall junctions and any change in roof plane, particularly on a shed or gable roof over a loft. - The floor perimeter, where road spray is thrown up into an underside that was never designed to take it. - Utility penetrations for water, waste and power, cut and sealed once during construction. Water damage restoration and subfloor replacement is posted at $750 to $15,000 across 4 to 60 hours. On a tiny home the subfloor sits directly on the trailer deck, so wet subfloor and frame corrosion usually arrive together. ## What can the shop do that a builder cannot? Treat the thing as a vehicle. Most tiny homes are built by people who are good at building and less familiar with what a chassis, an axle, a brake system and a road load actually demand. The gap between those two disciplines is where the failures live. So the work here covers both: chassis, running gear, structural attachment and road worthiness on one side, and siding, roofing, interior finish, electrical and plumbing on the other, all under one roof at the Yorba Linda facility with the height and access for a full size unit. Rust treatment and anti corrosion coating is posted at $400 to $3,500 across 2 to 14 hours, insulation and sound deadening at $750 to $4,500 across 4 to 20 hours, and solar installation at $1,500 to $12,000 across 8 to 40 hours. [Request a Quote](/contact/) and bring it in for an assessment before the next move. ## Questions ### My drywall cracks at the corners of the windows every time I move the house. Why? Because the building is racking as the trailer flexes and drywall has no ability to accommodate that. Repairing the crack repeatedly is a losing game. The durable answers are improving how the building is tied to the chassis and, in some cases, replacing rigid finishes with materials that tolerate movement. ### How do I know if my trailer is overloaded? Weigh it, and in the meantime look at the springs, the tyre wear pattern and whether the frame has taken a bow between the axles. Flattened or inverted springs and shoulder wear on the tyres are the trailer telling you the answer before a scale does. ### Can axle capacity be increased? Frequently, and on an overweight tiny home it is often the right call rather than living with the consequences. Axle service and replacement is posted at $500 to $5,500 across 3 to 22 hours. Brakes and suspension are specified together with the axles rather than separately. ### Do you build tiny homes from scratch? The shop performs interior build out, conversion, structural work, siding, roofing and systems, posted at $2,500 to $50,000 across 20 to 250 hours for build out work. Whether a project is a build or a repair is settled at the estimate, and the estimator will be direct about scope. ### Is a tiny home insured like an RV? It depends how it was certified and how the policy was written, and it is worth confirming with your carrier before a claim rather than after. The shop bills carriers direct and the collision estimate carries no charge for insurance walk ins. ## Related - [Campers and Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/) - [Park Model RVs](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/park-model-rv-repair/) - [Destination Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/destination-trailer-repair/) - [Enclosed Cargo Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/cargo-trailer-repair/) - [Frame and Structural Repair](https://ocrv.biz/services/frame-structural-repair/) - [Interior Remodeling and Repair](https://ocrv.biz/services/interior-remodeling/) - [Custom Fabrication](https://ocrv.biz/services/custom-fabrication/) - [Prices and Posted Rates](https://ocrv.biz/prices/)