On this page (7 sections)
Cutaway cab, separate box, bolted together
The cab comes from a van production line and stops behind the seats. Everything aft of that is an upfitted box body: fiberglass reinforced panel or aluminum sheet over a framework, on a floor structure that sits on the chassis rails through body mounts. The two assemblies are engineered by different companies and joined at the boundary. Neither one knows much about the other.
That construction has a real advantage. Box damage does not necessarily involve the cab, so a vehicle with a wrecked rear corner may need no cab work at all, and the parts involved are upfitter components rather than dealer parts. It also means a box can be repaired, re-skinned, or in extreme cases replaced while the drivetrain stays in service.
The disadvantage is the seam. There is a gap between cab and box that has to be closed with a boot or seal assembly, and it lives in a high-pressure airflow zone right behind the cab. When that seal degrades, road spray gets in and, more seriously, exhaust can find its way toward the cab area on some configurations. That is a condition worth treating urgently.
Corners, roofs, and roll-up doors
Lower box corners take the most abuse. Forklifts, dock plates, and pallets loaded in a hurry all strike the same eighteen inches of panel, and FRP responds by delaminating locally: the outer skin separates from its core and the panel goes soft over an area larger than the mark suggests. Painting over that hides a compromised panel. We map the soft area by tapping it out first.
The box roof is the signature loss. Drive-through canopies, older parking structures, and low branches on a delivery route all sit near the height of a twelve foot box, and drivers who normally operate a pickup do not think about clearance. Roof and header damage from those strikes is the most common reason a high cube arrives here. Drivers usually remember the sound rather than the sign.
Roll-up doors deserve their own inspection. The tracks are formed sections attached to the box structure, so any impact that flexes the rear frame distorts the track, and the door then binds or jumps out of alignment. Body mount bolts loosening is a quieter version of the same problem: the box shifts a fraction on the rails and the rear opening goes out of square.
Panel sections, framing, and rebuilds
FRP panel work is a sectioning exercise. We cut back to sound bond, replace the framing where it was crushed, fit a new panel section, and bond and seal it properly. That is faster and considerably cheaper than replacing an entire side, and it is durable when the boundary is established honestly rather than optimistically. Optimism at that boundary is what produces a second repair.
Aluminum box bodies get a different approach: rivet line repair, sheet replacement between posts, and post straightening or replacement where the impact reached the framing. Both types come back to the same principle, which is that the visible skin damage is a guide to the framing damage, not a substitute for inspecting it. Posts that have folded do not straighten cleanly.
We also do the boring but valuable part: resetting body mounts, squaring the rear opening, correcting track alignment, and testing the door through its full travel under its own spring tension. On this vehicle a door that works is the entire point of owning it. Body mount hardware gets checked and torqued as a matter of course, since a box that has shifted on the rails throws the rear opening out of square.
How this body is built
Cutaway van cab with a separate FRP or aluminum box body mounted to the frame rails.
Chassis: Ford E-Series, Chevrolet, or RAM cutaway.
Low bridge and overhang strikes on the box roof are the signature high-cube claim. The box may be repairable when the cab is untouched.
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.
- Box-to-cab gap seal failure allowing water and exhaust intrusion
- FRP panel delamination at the lower corners from loading impact
- Rear roll-up door track distortion
- Body mount bolt loosening causing box shift
Claims we handle on this vehicle
- Low clearance strikes on the box roof
- Rear door impact
- Corner damage from tight turns
Services for this vehicle
Frequently Asked Questions
I hit an overhang and crushed the front top edge of the box. Is that a total loss?
Usually not. The front header and roof edge are repairable structures, and the cab commonly escapes entirely because the box stands taller. We inspect the header framing, the roof panel bond, and the box-to-cab seal area, then quote a sectional repair. Replacing a whole box is a last resort rather than a default.
Water and fumes come in behind the cab. Can you fix that?
Yes, and it should be treated as a priority rather than an annoyance. We inspect the boot or seal assembly, the box front wall, and any pass-throughs for wiring, then rebuild the detail so the gap is closed properly. Fabrication is on site, so a mounting bracket or closure panel that is no longer available can be made.
My roll-up door jumps the track after a rear impact. Is the door bad?
Frequently the door is fine and the opening is not. Rear impacts distort the frame, the track follows the frame, and the door then runs in a path it was not built for. We measure the rear opening, straighten or replace the affected framing, and reset the track. Replacing the door alone puts a new part into a bent guide.
Can you paint the box to match the cab?
Yes, and the two surfaces behave differently, which is worth knowing. FRP and aluminum take colour differently than automotive steel, and an older cab has weathered while a new panel has not. We spray out and check under both booth light and daylight, then blend so the boundary between cab and box does not become a visible line.