Body work for Class A

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wvpete

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2016
Posts
14
Location
West Virginia
Well, I am proving that I really am new at this.  Yesterday, I hit a post turning into my road.  It was a very tight turn and when my wife said "wait", I kept moving.  So, there is now some damage to paint and fiberglass near the back wheel. 

Does anyone know where you would go to have something like this repaired?  We are planning to leave on an extended trip very soon and the damage is cosmetic, not functional.  We are headed to Florida for a brief period then west through Texas to AZ.  I'm not sure if we can stop somewhere and have it done or not.  Any insight will be appreciated.

On the plus side here, I have learned two things, listen to my wife, and be very, very, careful.  I know, they should both be a given but.....
 
Posts and trees have a habit of moving when we least expect them to.

When we needed bodywork on our coach, I called the nearest Monaco dealership and asked who handled their bodywork. Their referral (an independent body shop) did a first class job.
 
There are various places that specialize in RV body repair, but you would need an appointment and be willing to take a week out of your schedule. Some larger RV dealers have body shops, e.g. Alliance Coach in Wildwood, Fl, and Lazydays in Tampa, and there are specialist body shops as well.  I've had good results at Mikes Collision in Wilmington, NC, for example.

If its basically just a scrape and paint damage, most any auto body shop ought to be able to do the work. Many cars have fiberglass panels these days, and the paint process used on Rvs is the same as on cars. The shop just needs to be physically large enough to handle a big RV.
 
When I bought my rig (used) before I picked it up I had the dealer's contract mobile painter touchup a couple spots. I later used them to repair a boo boo when I tried to put too much RV through too small of a space (I was soooo close, I just needed one more inch  ::) ). They came to my house with a van, filled a groove in the fiberglass and matched the paint perfectly, and I mean perfectly. And I felt the cost was very reasonable.
 
I had a problem covered under warranty, and the camping world dealership did the repair.  they have a collision center at the dealership closest to me.  Replaced the entire back wall of my MH.
They actually did a nice looking job of it, complete with matching paint..... the glass color of my MH is now discontinued, so the factory supplied a white wall and they matched it with paint.

BUT it took a long time.
If yours is cosmetic, and not going to be a water damage problem if left alone for a while, I'd go on your trip and deal with it later.
 
Every time I have been to Quartzsite I have been approached by someone or another that want to give me an estimate on repairing the fiberglass on my DP.

These fellows are free lance workers.  I cannot vouch for thier work.  Just mentioning that there are several there during the winter.

I do admit that I have several dings and oops on my coach. 

I just live with them because I always give my old rigs away rather than trade them in.

If you are in Q you might get a deal as they have very little overhead.
 
Thank you everyone for all of this advice and information.  We have started on our first excursion and I am not happy about my error being so easy to view.  Last night in bed however, I figured that this situation is good for my character. 

I didn't respond sooner because I forget I have to come back to the forum and look for the answers!  Anyway, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help.  I will see if I can get it fixed at a local body shop since it is not a crazy bunch of damage!
 
I forget I have to come back to the forum and look for the answers!
Click to expand...

Click the Notify button above the top message or below the bottom message, and you'll be sent an email when a reply shows up.
 
I doubt if there are any of us who have not backed into something. 

In my case, the rear end of my motorhome is protected by the bike and the bike rack on the back end, so I generally tend to bend the bike or the rack--saving me body work on the motorhome! 
 
thanks for the "notify" tip. 

We got backed into a really tough spot yesterday without incident.  We will get better!
 
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