RV & Camper Van Body Repair in Austin, TX

What Is Behind That Panel Is Not Empty

This is the single biggest difference between a camper van and a cargo van, and it is the reason a shop that treats them the same causes damage that was not there before the repair.

On a cargo van the inside of a side panel is bare metal and insulation. On a conversion, the same space can carry twelve-volt and shore-power wiring, water lines, a propane run, a heater duct, or the mounting for a cabinet that is structurally tied to the wall. Drilling, welding or pulling a panel without knowing what is behind it is how a straightforward dent turns into a water leak or an electrical fault two months later.

So we ask first. Bring the conversion's build documentation if you have it, or tell us who built it. Where we cannot establish what is behind the work area, we open it carefully and look rather than assuming - and if that adds time to the estimate, we would rather tell you up front than explain it afterward.

Roof Damage Is a Water Problem, Not a Cosmetic One

A camper van roof is full of holes on purpose - an air conditioner, a fan or two, solar panels, sometimes an awning rail down the side. Every one of those is a sealed penetration, and every one is a place water gets in once the surface around it is disturbed.

That changes how roof and upper-panel damage has to be handled. On a work van, a dented roof is cosmetic until it rusts. On a conversion, the same dent can break a seal you cannot see from outside, and the first symptom is soft cabinetry a season later. Water intrusion is what destroys campers, far more than collisions do.

Central Texas hail makes this a live issue rather than a hypothetical. A Class B presents a large, flat, high roof and two tall flat sides - close to the worst possible shape in a hailstorm. If your van has taken hail, we handle that as its own repair path.

Where Our Work Stops

We would rather draw this line clearly than take your van in and hand it back half-solved.

We do: collision and structural repair, panel replacement and alignment, roof and upper-body repair, hail repair, rust and corrosion work, and refinishing in our own downdraft paint booths.

We do not: propane systems, plumbing and water tanks, appliances, house electrical, solar arrays and battery systems, cabinetry, or interior finish work. Where a repair runs into any of those, we stop, tell you, and coordinate with your converter or your RV service shop rather than improvising on a system we are not the right people to touch. Tell us at the estimate what is installed - particularly a large battery bank and where its wiring runs - so the work can be planned around it safely from the start.

We also do not produce wraps, decals or graphics in house. Where artwork has to come off, we note it on the estimate so replacing it is part of the plan.

Insurance, Value and Timing

A camper van is usually insured differently from a car, and often for a great deal more money. We work with all major carriers and bill them directly, and we are a State Farm Select Service shop. We do not accept Fred Loya or Alinsco claims.

Get the estimate in writing before you decide anything, and read your own policy or call your agent on how your van is valued - a conversion can be worth well beyond the base vehicle, and that is between you and your carrier, not something we will guess at for you.

On timing: tell us if you have a trip booked. It does not always change what is possible, but it changes what we order first and how we sequence the work, and it is the kind of thing that is useless to mention after the fact.