RV/Camper Van Repair Costs

[OCBlue88]

There was a post about their recent repair costs for their Diesel powered Class A's. I expect those be quite high. I'm so new to this game and I only have a vintage Class B Ford Econoline. It's been decades since I had to use an independent shop to do big jobs on a vehicle, so I got some sticker shock on repair costs for even my modest camper van.

I'm having the F&R suspension replaced, as well as a number of rubber bushings in my van's front end. The labor costs are $2.5k! I'm in Southern California. This seem normal to you long time members? This on a 1988 Econoline E350.

I need to get my chassis AC recharged/repaired since it's blowing barely cold air. I wonder how much that will cost?! I'm pretty sure it's got a freon leak somewhere.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

And you wonder why so many are leaving California , including major businesses..>>>Dan

 

[IBTripping]

I cringe every time I take my F250 to my mechanic for repairs because of the cost. I tease him that I'm making the payments on his motorhome. Recently, he charged me $1,000 to change the spark plugs. But, it is a big job because the truck has 2 plugs per cylinder and you have to remove a lot of stuff to get to the plugs.

 

[Professor David]

For how many labor hours and what is the hourly rate?

 

[OCBlue88]

For how many labor hours and what is the hourly rate?

I truly have no idea. I had two other shops give me quotes and one was $2.3k, another was $2.7k. All assuming everything goes well and they don't discover anything else and nothing fights them as they try to take the front end apart.

 

[OCBlue88]

And you wonder why so many are leaving California , including major businesses..>>>Dan

My roots are here so I really don't want to leave. Like UT, CA is a beautiful state to have an RV or Camper. I'm in love with Big Sur/Hwy 1.

 

[OCBlue88]

I cringe every time I take my F250 to my mechanic for repairs because of the cost. I tease him that I'm making the payments on his motorhome. Recently, he charged me $1,000 to change the spark plugs. But, it is a big job because the truck has 2 plugs per cylinder and you have to remove a lot of stuff to get to the plugs.

My van is the same. It's not easy to replace the front plugs. A number of things have to come off the engine before access can be gained to those two front plugs.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I'm having the F&R suspension replaced, as well as a number of rubber bushings in my van's front end.

"Suspension" meaning what? "Bushings" like isolation mounts? Sway bar? At a nominal $125/hr that's 20 hours. If it was a set of shocks and sway bar bushings I'd say you're getting hosed. Ball joints, linkage and control arms could easily take this. So exactly what they're doing will show if this is acceptable or not.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[JudyJB]

I am an expert at repair shops trying to rip me off, so I also was going to ask you what their hourly rate was and how many hours they were estimating. I am also glad you got two other estimates. Some RV dealer and a notorious one I used in LV, make a habit of finding things that don't need to be fixed. I once went into a California RV shop new Davis for an oil change when my motorhome was about a year old and was quoted $5,000 for a bunch of things, including $2,800 for a set 6 tires when they were just going to drive it down the street to a tire dealer and charge me the extra $800 for the privilege. The piece-de-resistance was their saying I needed new wiper blades, which my son had replaced the day before!!! I did not bite, and I never went back to that place! Another California dealer said I needed all new springs and shocks for a whopping $8,000. Had it checked by Ford dealer who said they were fine--and that was 8 years ago! (I just gave up full-timing two months ago.)

Also, is one of these estimates from a Ford dealer? And secondly, what brought about these estimates? What has your van been doing that made you go for these repair estimates? Can you agree to just the most critical part of that estimate?

 

[DonTom]

And you wonder why so many are leaving California , including major businesses..>>>Dan

You're using old news:


"California’s population is currently increasing, marking the third consecutive year of growth after a significant decline during the peak of the pandemic.

• Recent Growth: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population increased by 232,570 people between July 2023 and July 2024, reaching approximately 39.43 million. The California Department of Finance reported a separate increase of 108,000 residents in calendar year 2024, bringing the total to 39.53 million by January 2025. "

 

[OCBlue88]

"Suspension" meaning what? "Bushings" like isolation mounts? Sway bar? At a nominal $125/hr that's 20 hours. If it was a set of shocks and sway bar bushings I'd say you're getting hosed. Ball joints, linkage and control arms could easily take this. So exactly what they're doing will show if this is acceptable or not.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Labor only for the following:
Front and rear shocks and springs replaced.
Front Radius Arm Bushings replaced.
Front Sway bar bushings replaced.
Alignment.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Automotive shops tech labor is typically billed at $125-$160 per hour these days. Independent shops are usually toward the lower end and dealerships higher. RV dealerships are still higher, around $200/hr, so avoid those as much as possible.
For the items you described, that's quite a bit of labor hours as well as some parts, and the shop isn't charging Amazon prices for parts. I'd say $2500 is reasonable and less than I would have guessed for California. And the shop time is probably taken from a flat rate manual with so many hours/tenths of hours for each & every task.

 

[OCBlue88]

Also, is one of these estimates from a Ford dealer? And secondly, what brought about these estimates? What has your van been doing that made you go for these repair estimates? Can you agree to just the most critical part of that estimate?

The R&R of front suspension is my choice. My van has 87k miles and is 38 years old. The suspension just bounces around feeling overly soft with very little damping (takes a couple of bounces before it settles). The rear leaf springs are not quite flat with no arch to them. The steering feels ok (for an Econoline). She goes straight, doesn't pull, is smooth at highway speed. The Radius Arm bushings are almost rotted out. Two of the sway bar link bushings are missing, one is rotting.

I knew I had to do this. Just getting sticker shock since it's been a while since I've needed major service on a vehicle's chassis.

 

[OCBlue88]

Automotive shops tech labor is typically billed at $125-$160 per hour these days. Independent shops are usually toward the lower end and dealerships higher. RV dealerships are still higher, around $200/hr, so avoid those as much as possible.
For the items you described, that's quite a bit of labor hours as well as some parts, and the shop isn't charging Amazon prices for parts. I'd say $2500 is reasonable and less than I would have guessed for California. And the shop time is probably taken from a flat rate manual with so many hours/tenths of hours for each & every task.

I'm supplying most of the parts. Only parts they're supplying are the bushings for the front sway bar.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

OK, so the $2500 is mostly labor and miscellaneous shop hardware like washers and such and shop supplies. No wonder it seemed modest for California prices. But you also took away the shop's profit on the parts, so they can't afford to give you any breaks on labor. One way or the other, the shop space & overhead has to be paid for. The mechanics pay is only a portion of that bill.

 

[Kirk]

Doing a search, I found that as of April–May 2026, most mechanics in California earn between about $25 and $36 per hour, depending on the shop and job type. If you compare that to the CA minimum of $16.90 per hour, it isn't too surprising. Google says that most CA auto shops charge between $150 7 $200 per hour.

 

[CharlesinGA]

That would be the twin I beam suspension. Radius arm bushings (rubber, replace with urethane if available), axle pivot bushings (again, rubber, but replace with urethane), ball joints possibly, sway bar bushings (use urethane) and end links and shocks.

Ball joints practically never wear out on those vehicles.

my '91 Ranger has virtually the same but smaller version of the suspension on the E series. I have replaced the radius arm bushings and the shocks, but at 300+K miles nothing else is worn out.

It is mostly labor, the parts are not a huge part of it, so really might now be too bad a price.

Charles

 

[OCBlue88]

Ball joints practically never wear out on those vehicles.

my '91 Ranger has virtually the same but smaller version of the suspension on the E series. I have replaced the radius arm bushings and the shocks, but at 300+K miles nothing else is worn out.

It is mostly labor, the parts are not a huge part of it, so really might now be too bad a price.

Charles

That's good to know that the ball joints are something I don't have to worry about. They look ok and the steering doesn't feel loose....if one can describe the Econoline steering that way! It's definitely 3.5 turns lock to lock! I went ahead and got the job done (full suspension refresh).

The mechanics had a bear of a time with seized bolts at a few locations. In addition to the springs and shocks, they ended up replacing the sway bar end links, the Radius Arm mounting brackets, U-Bolts, and various other bolts that they destroyed during the process, as well as the rubber bushings. But man alive! The van feels great! No more bouncing like a drunken sailor. The excessive and scary body lean in corners is gone. I can now go at normal speeds going around 90 degree turns, sweeping freeway on ramps, left turns, and so forth. So much more stable. The excessive rear end squat accelerating from a standing start is gone. The ride is firmer and much more controlled. Going over speed bumps feels rock solid. The rear of the van looks like it's slightly higher than the front. I was told it will take time for the heavy duty leaf springs to settle.