Fabrication
Storage, Racks and Bumpers
In short: A rack that fails does not fail quietly at 65 miles an hour, which is why the mounting engineering matters more than the rack and why we will not bolt a heavy carrier to a sidewall that cannot take it.
- Typical range
- $900 to $12,000+
- Labor hours
- 5 to 55 hours
- Updated
Racks, carriers and storage are the most commonly requested fabrication work and the most commonly done badly, because the parts look simple and the engineering that makes them safe is invisible.
Why mounting is the whole job
A rear-mounted carrier on a motorhome applies a large cantilever load to the rear frame extension. That extension on many coaches is a light structure supporting a bumper and a rear cap, not a load-bearing member designed to hold a couple of bicycles or a motorcycle bouncing at highway speed.
A roof rack loads a roof that is light framing under a membrane, designed to keep weather out and to support an air conditioner at a designed mounting point. It is not designed for concentrated point loads anywhere else.
So the first thing we do is inspect what is actually there. Frame extensions, roof framing, sidewall structure, and whatever backing exists at the intended mounting points. Then we add structure where it is needed, spread the load across enough of it to matter, and design the fastening so the load is in shear rather than pulling fasteners out of thin material.
Where a vehicle genuinely cannot take the load a customer has in mind, we say so. A rack that lets go at speed is a serious event for whoever is behind you.
What we build
Roof racks and platforms. Solar mounting frames, cargo platforms, roof tent mounting on overland builds.
Ladder racks. Trade and service vehicles carrying pipe, ladders and conduit.
Rear carriers. Bike, motorcycle and cargo carriers, receiver mounted or frame mounted.
Spare tyre carriers. Swing-away and fixed, on coaches, trailers and expedition vehicles.
Custom bumpers. Front and rear with integrated receivers, recovery points, lighting and tyre carriers built into one structure rather than accumulated as bolt-ons. Related: bumper repair.
Underbody storage. Boxes and trays in the space between the frame rails, which is usually wasted.
Bay organisation. Dividers, shelving and slide-out trays inside existing compartments.
Slide-out trays. For generators, batteries, tools and equipment that needs to be serviceable without unloading everything in front of it.
Secure storage. Lockable compartments for tools and equipment on service and mobile business vehicles.
Storage that survives the road
The difference between storage in a building and storage in a vehicle is that everything in a vehicle is being shaken continuously and shock-loaded under braking.
Drawer slides need to be rated for the load and fitted with a positive detent, because a drawer that opens under braking becomes a hazard. Boxes need mounting to structure with fasteners loaded in shear rather than tension where the geometry allows. Heavy items go low, both for stability and because a high load applies more leverage to whatever is holding it. And everything needs restraint in all directions rather than just downward, because vehicles do not only accelerate forwards.
Weight and where it sits
Two considerations, and both get overlooked.
Total weight against the vehicle rating. A comprehensive package in steel adds up quickly.
Where the weight is. A hundred kilograms on the roof affects handling and rollover behaviour far more than the same weight in an underbody box. A hundred kilograms hanging off the back of a coach behind the rear axle transfers weight off the front axle, which reduces steering authority.
We track both during design and will recommend a different location or a lighter material where the numbers warrant it.
What it costs
| Project | Typical range | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Roof or ladder rack | $900 to $2,500 | 5 to 12 |
| Rear carrier or receiver system | $1,800 to $4,500 | 9 to 22 |
| Spare tyre carrier | $1,200 to $3,000 | 6 to 14 |
| Custom bumper with integrated features | $3,500 to $8,500 | 18 to 40 |
| Underbody storage system | $2,500 to $7,000 | 12 to 34 |
| Full storage build-out | $4,500 to $12,000 | 22 to 55 |
Fabrication labor is $260 per hour. See the pricing page.
Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.
Access, and the mistake that ruins good storage
The most common complaint about storage systems is not that they failed. It is that the owner stopped using half of it.
Storage that requires unloading three things to reach a fourth stops being used within a month. A box that needs two hands to open while standing on a step gets used once. A drawer that only opens fully when the vehicle is not on a slope gets avoided.
So the design conversation starts with what gets reached for daily, what gets reached for weekly, and what genuinely lives in the vehicle untouched for a season. Daily items get the easiest access even if that means the least efficient use of space. Seasonal items go wherever is left.
On service and mobile business vehicles this matters commercially rather than just practically, because time spent finding a tool is time billed to nobody. A layout organised by task rather than by what fits produces measurably faster jobs, and that is worth more than the storage volume it costs.