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Three very different vans in one category
A ProMaster is front-wheel drive with a low floor and a boxy, upright body that maximizes usable volume. A Transit is a unibody with several roof and length combinations and a considerably different structural layout. An Express or Savana is old-school body-on-frame with a separate ladder frame under a steel body. They wear the same job description and repair three different ways.
That matters for estimating. Body-on-frame vans tolerate frame straightening as a distinct operation. Unibody vans require measured structural repair with published sectioning points. Front-drive vans concentrate a great deal into the front structure, so a moderate frontal hit reaches driveline and suspension mounting points that a rear-drive van would not have in that location. The estimate should say which van it is.
Interior fitment differs too. Wall thickness, stud spacing, and factory anchor locations are not interchangeable across these platforms, which is why shelving transplanted from a retired van to a new one so often ends up bolted into the wrong places. We check anchor points against the platform rather than against the holes the old racking used, which is how shelving ends up loading structure instead of thin panel.
Damage that starts in the load area
Sidewall dents pushed outward from inside are the signature cargo van finding. A pallet of product, a loose tool chest, or an unsecured ladder shifts under braking and hits the wall with everything it weighs. From outside it reads as a mystery dent with no paint transfer, which sometimes confuses an adjuster who is expecting an impact story. The pattern itself is the evidence.
Shelving anchors pull through for the same reason. Racking bolted through thin sidewall panels without proper backing transmits every cornering load into a few fasteners. Over a couple of years the holes elongate, the rack loosens, and then it starts working the panel around it. The repair adds backing structure and relocates anchors to load-bearing points. Fastener count alone does not solve it.
Rear door alignment drifts on vans that are loaded heavily every day. The body flexes slightly under load, the door apertures move with it, and eventually the doors need persuasion to close. Bulkhead mounts crack for the same underlying reason, since a partition is tied to both floor and roof and resists that flexing. Reinstalling a partition into a flexing body without checking its anchors simply repeats the crack.
Keeping a fleet moving through a repair cycle
Fleet vehicles rarely arrive one at a time. A company running fifteen vans will have three needing attention in the same month, and taking all three at once is not a viable answer for a business with routes to cover. We stage the work so you are down one or two vehicles, with parts ordered and received before each unit comes in.
Graphics and wrap work belongs in the same visit. A repaired panel with no branding on it advertises that something happened, so we plan for graphics removal, panel repair, refinish, and reapplication as one sequence rather than sending the van elsewhere afterward. Colour on a repaired panel is matched to the vehicle as it sits today rather than to a factory formula, because a working van has been in the sun for years.
Everything happens at our building. We do not run route service or send technicians to a yard, and being straightforward about that upfront is more useful to a fleet manager than a maybe. Body and paint labor is posted at $210 per hour, with mechanical and electrical work at $260. Diagnostic work is billed at $285 per hour and credited toward an authorized repair.
How this body is built
Steel unibody with an unfinished cargo area, commonly fitted with shelving that loads the sidewalls.
Chassis: RAM ProMaster front-wheel drive, Ford Transit, or GM Express body-on-frame.
Fleet vans come in batches. We schedule multi-unit work so a company is never down more than one or two vehicles at a time.
What fails on it
These are the failure patterns we see repeatedly on this body style. They are not generic RV problems. They come from how this particular vehicle is built and how it gets used.
- Sidewall dents pushed out from inside by unsecured cargo
- Shelving anchor pull-through
- Rear door alignment drift from repeated heavy loading
- Bulkhead mount cracking
Claims we handle on this vehicle
- Fleet collision
- Backing damage
- Cargo shift interior damage
Services for this vehicle
Frequently Asked Questions
A dent appeared with no paint damage and nobody reported an accident. What causes that?
Almost always cargo. Something in the load area struck the wall from inside, which pushes the panel outward without any paint transfer or scuffing on the exterior. It is worth documenting because the pattern is distinctive, and it usually points to a securement problem that will produce another dent next month if nothing changes.
Can you reinstall my shelving after the body work?
Yes, and we will usually recommend changing how it is anchored. Racking bolted into sheet panel without backing is what caused the pull-through in the first place. We add load distribution at the anchor points and fasten into structure where the platform provides it, so the same failure does not repeat in another eighteen months.
Do you repair the same way on a ProMaster as on an Express?
No, and treating them alike is a mistake. The Express has a separate frame under a steel body, so frame and body work are distinct operations. The ProMaster is a front-drive unibody where a frontal impact reaches structure that carries suspension and driveline loads. We follow the procedures for the specific platform rather than a generic van method.
How do you handle billing on commercial fleet work?
Either directly to the company or through your insurer, whichever fits the situation, and we can split a job so a deductible-level repair and a maintenance item are billed separately. Estimates are itemized by operation so a fleet manager can see labor, parts, materials, and refinish time rather than a single total.