Campers and Trailers

Two systems nobody inspects

Towables are simpler than motorhomes, which is exactly why they get neglected. There is no engine to service and no annual reminder, so owners tow them, park them and repeat until something fails.

The two failures that matter both happen out of sight.

The roof. Sealant at every penetration has a service life measured in one to two years in Southern California sun. When it fails, water enters, travels down inside the wall, and destroys substrate and framing for a year or more before anything appears inside. Roof repair and resealing is inexpensive. Delamination repair is not.

The running gear. Bearings, brakes, springs and axles. A bearing that has never been repacked is the most common cause of a trailer fire on the freeway, and you can see the evidence of it on the shoulder of any interstate. Brake, axle and suspension work is cheap. A separated hub at 65 miles an hour is not.

Neither is glamorous and both are the difference between a trailer that lasts fifteen years and one that is written off at seven.

What we handle

Collision and structural repair, frame and tongue repair, fiberglass and delamination, full repaints and graphics reproduction, roof work across EPDM, TPO, fiberglass and aluminium, slide-out mechanism and structural repair, water damage restoration, interior remodels, electrical and solar, plumbing and tanks, appliances, and running gear.

Fifth wheels specifically

A fifth wheel carries load through its pin box into the upper deck structure in a way no other towable does. That creates failure modes unique to the type.

Pin box mounting damage from overloading or from a hard hitch. Upper deck structural damage. Front cap damage from jackknifing, which is the single most common serious fifth wheel accident. And delamination on the front cap, which takes direct sun and road debris and is the most exposed panel on the vehicle.

Jackknife damage in particular needs measurement rather than inspection, because the visible cap damage frequently accompanies frame movement that only shows on a rack.

Lightweight units

Ultra-lite and lightweight trailers use thinner substrate and lighter framing, which is the trade for towing weight.

The practical consequence is a shorter tolerance for neglect. Water that takes three years to cause structural damage in a heavy fifth wheel causes it in eighteen months in an ultra-lite. Inspection intervals should be shorter on a lightweight unit, not longer.

What towable repair costs

Body labor is $210 per hour, mechanical $260. Full posted rates are on the pricing page.

The inspection that prevents most of this

Twice a year, and it takes under an hour.

Get on the roof if it is rated to walk on, or have someone do it. Press the sealant at every vent, fan, air conditioner, skylight, antenna mount and marker light. Cracked or shrunken sealant is a leak waiting to happen and it is a tube of sealant to fix.

Inside, walk the floor barefoot feeling for soft spots, particularly at slide openings and along the perimeter. Press the wall below every window. Open every cabinet and press the back wall.

Underneath, look at the tyres including their date codes, because trailer tyres age out before they wear out, and check for grease staining around the hubs, which is a seal that has failed and a bearing that is next.

None of that requires tools beyond a torch, and it catches the two failure modes that write off towables.

Storage

Most towables spend most of their life parked, and how they are parked matters.

Store level or as close as the ground allows, because a unit sitting on a slope pools water at the low corner and stresses the frame over months. Keep the roof clear of leaves and debris, which hold moisture against the membrane. Cover it if you can, since UV is what destroys sealant, membrane and tyres alike. Chock rather than relying on the brakes, and take weight off the tyres where a unit will sit for a season.

And cycle the slide-outs occasionally. A seal left compressed for a year takes a permanent set and stops sealing.