Frequently Asked Questions for West Covina Owners

Photograph everything before anything moves, including wide shots that show position and close shots that show the damage itself. If another party was involved, get their insurance information and a police report number. Then call your carrier and open a claim, and call us at (949) 799-3387. Do not authorize any repair anywhere until the damage has been documented, because once a panel is disturbed the evidence of what happened is gone.

No, and there are cases where you should not. If the damage is small enough that the repair may land near or under your deductible, it is worth getting a written estimate first so you can decide whether filing is worth it. Bring the vehicle in, get the document, then decide. If you have already opened a claim, bring the claim number and the adjuster contact information with you.

Call (949) 799-3387 and tell us the vehicle type, length and what specifically prevents it from moving. We do not offer roadside or mobile service, so the unit has to reach the facility, but we can point you toward transport operators who move oversized recreational and commercial vehicles and we will stage the arrival so the unit is not sitting on the street. Many policies include towing coverage worth checking first.

Year, make, model and length. Vehicle type, whether that is a Class A, fifth wheel, box truck or van conversion. What happened and roughly when. Whether the unit is drivable. Whether there is an insurance claim and, if so, the carrier and claim number. If it is a systems problem, describe the symptom and whether it is constant or intermittent. That call takes five minutes and saves an hour at intake.

Photos help us tell you whether the job is in our scope and roughly what category of repair you are looking at. They cannot produce a written estimate. On laminated construction especially, what a photo shows and what a tap test and moisture meter show are very different things. Email photos to info@ocrvcenter.com for an initial conversation, then plan on bringing the vehicle in for the actual document.

Usually not long. Estimating capacity is separate from repair bay capacity, so you can generally get a written estimate well before a repair slot opens. Call ahead so we can put you with an estimator rather than having you wait on the lot. Repair scheduling depends on shop load and, more often, on parts lead times for your specific model.

A rinse helps, particularly on a body that has been sitting, because dirt hides cracks and hairline damage. Do not wax, polish or apply anything to the damaged area. Do not attempt a temporary sealant repair over a leak you want us to find, because covering an entry point makes it substantially harder to trace. Leave the interior accessible where the damage is, so panels can be checked.

Bring it in and bring whatever paperwork you have. A large share of our work is repairs someone else started, abandoned or performed poorly. We will assess honestly what is salvageable and what has to be undone, and we will document the condition on arrival so there is a clear record of what we inherited. That documentation matters if there is any dispute with the prior facility.

Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, AAA SoCal, AAA Enterprises, Mercury, Allstate, American Family, Wawanesa, National General, CSAA, Foremost, Liberty Mutual, Tesla, Cincinnati and AGWS. Carrier names are listed to show claim experience. OCRV Center is an independent shop and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting as an agent of any insurer. If your carrier is not on that list we can still work the claim, it simply may not settle through a direct billing arrangement.

No. Most RV claims are handled at a desk rather than by a field adjuster, which means the file moves on documentation. Bring the vehicle in, we write the estimate and build a photo package, and that goes to the carrier. If the adjuster does want to inspect, they can do it here. That is usually faster than trying to coordinate an inspection at a storage lot in West Covina.

A supplement is an addition to an approved estimate covering damage found after work begins. Laminated RV bodies conceal damage: the visible crease is the smallest part, and core separation, wet framing or a displaced crossmember only become visible once the skin is opened. We submit supplements with photographs, moisture readings and part numbers before proceeding, so you are never billed for work the carrier has not approved.

No. In California you select your repair facility. A carrier may recommend a direct repair program shop and may explain why it prefers one, but it cannot require it. Tell your adjuster the vehicle is going to OCRV Center in Yorba Linda and give them our phone number. If you feel you are being pressured, that is worth documenting, and the California Department of Insurance handles complaints on the subject.

Betterment is a deduction some carriers apply when a worn component is replaced with a new one, on the theory that you gained life you did not previously have. It shows up most often on roof membranes, awning fabric and tires. It is negotiable with documentation of the actual pre loss condition, which is one reason we photograph and record component condition at intake rather than after teardown.

We reconcile it before any work starts. That means sending the adjuster the specific documentation supporting the disputed lines: photographs at scale, measurements, manufacturer procedures and part numbers. Most disagreements on RV claims come from a general estimating system that has no proper entry for laminated sidewall repair or cap bonding, so the fix is usually explanation rather than argument. You are kept in the loop throughout.

To us, at pickup, along with any owner elected upgrades that fall outside the claim. On a direct billed job the carrier pays the shop for the covered repair, so you are not fronting the full amount and waiting for reimbursement. We keep claim work and owner elected work on clearly separate lines so there is never confusion about what the carrier paid for and what you did.

The written estimate remains valid and the repair becomes customer pay, which you can proceed with, defer or decline. We will also tell you plainly if we think the denial reason is worth challenging. Denials on RV claims frequently rest on a wear and tear characterization of damage that actually had a specific triggering event, and photographic documentation is what changes that conversation.

We can supply the documentation that makes a dispute possible: a detailed repair estimate, teardown photographs and a written condition assessment. Request the carrier valuation worksheet and the comparables behind it, because RV comparables are frequently drawn from listings that do not match your floor plan, mileage or options. Most policies also contain an appraisal clause for resolving valuation disagreements without litigation.

Parts, by a wide margin. RV parts supply is genuinely unreliable, particularly for discontinued models and for molded caps and panels that are made to order. Six week lead times on a cap are routine. The second cause is carrier approval time on a supplement, which is outside our control although documentation quality strongly affects it. Shop capacity is a distant third.

It depends on whether teardown is the gating step. On collision work where parts cannot be ordered until we see behind the panel, the vehicle goes in quickly because teardown has to happen first. On planned work such as a repaint or an interior project, we usually schedule a start once materials are in hand rather than holding your vehicle here waiting on a shipment.

Sometimes on scope, never on cure times. Composite bonding, sealant curing and refinish flash and cure schedules are chemistry, and compressing them produces a repair that fails. What we can sometimes do is stage the work so the vehicle is safe and usable for your trip and complete the remainder afterward. Tell us your date at intake so we can plan around it honestly.

A straightforward seal set replacement on one room usually runs a few days once the vehicle is in a bay, because the room has to be operated, supported and accessed regardless of how many seals are involved. It stretches significantly if we find that a compressed seal has already been leaking, since at that point the slide floor or the wall cavity below has taken water and becomes the real job.

You hear about it the same day we do, along with the options. Those usually include an LKQ recycled original part from a comparable unit, a quality aftermarket equivalent where one exists, or fabrication. On molded caps, an LKQ part can turn a six week wait into a few days. We do not sit on backorder news and we do not substitute parts without telling you.

You get contacted at every stage change: authorization, teardown findings, supplement submitted, supplement approved, parts arrival, entry into paint, and ready for pickup. If a stage is going to run long, you hear it when we know rather than when you ask. Tell us at intake whether you prefer phone, text or email and we will use that channel throughout.

On a large coach, plan on several weeks of shop time. The spray itself is a small fraction of it. Decal removal, adhesive cleanup, sanding failed clear back to a stable base, gelcoat chip and stress crack repair, sealing, and color evaluation under natural light all happen before the first coat of base. Rushing preparation is the single most common cause of a repaint that fails early.

Because photographs cannot be tap tested and cannot be metered. On laminated construction the visible damage is the smallest part of the story, and a hollow area extending three feet beyond a bubble does not photograph at all. Moisture mapping, structural measurement and operating a mechanism to reproduce a fault are all physical. Photos are useful for triage and for telling you whether the job is in our scope.