How an Upfitting Job Comes to Life

From Consultation to Final Walkthrough

For over five years, ABC has been upfitting RV’s, vans, and trailers into rolling homes and workspaces built around the way people actually live and work on the road. In that time, one thing has become clear: most customers walk in with only half the picture of what upfitting really involves and the steps it takes to walk away with a finished product.

“ABC Upfitters can come up with a solution for almost any need,” Josh Turner (ABC Engineer and Installer) says. “It doesn’t need to be a huge, over-the-top system.” That’s the misconception the team runs into most; the idea that a proper power system has to be maxed out to be worth it. Just as often, the right system is a lean, well-matched one that covers exactly what a customer needs and nothing they don’t.

So what does the process from first phone call to final handshake actually look like? Here’s an inside look at how an upfitting project comes together, from start to finish.

Understanding the Goal Before the Gear

Every upfit starts with a conversation and a consultation, not a parts list.

Our Sales Manager, Scott Herman’s first job is to learn what the customer is actually trying to accomplish with their vehicle — how they’ll use it, where they’ll take it, and what “enough power” really means for their lifestyle and goals.

From there, it’s a team effort. Scott and the customer work through the options together, and he puts together an estimate and quote for the system that fits. Some vehicles are cut and dry (a well-understood setup with a clear best answer). Others call for a more layered conversation, with multiple estimates built around different budgets and priorities, then adjusted until the scope lines up with what the customer budget.

Part of that conversation is also knowing when to pump the brakes. “If someone’s about to spend money on more system than they’ll ever use, we tell them,” Josh explained. Just as much of the consultation is education; walking customers through realistic usage patterns so they can see for themselves what setup actually matches how they’ll use their rig.

Design & Planning: Where the Details Get Locked In

No two upfits are planned quite the same way. Every vehicle has its own quirks, so the planning process leans heavily on communication with manufacturers and a close look at five key components that make up most systems. Computer-based planning tools help bring precision to a process that still depends a lot on hands-on knowledge of each vehicle.

Most of ABC’s core components (touchscreens, batteries, inverters, chargers) come from Mastervolt, which covers roughly 90% of installs. Even with a trusted supplier, there’s variance from job to job: wire lengths and sizes shift based on the vehicle, and add-ons like Starlink mounting bring their own planning conversations.

Lead time matters here too. ABC keeps a well-stocked shop, but scheduling still runs a minimum of a month out, with roughly a three-week lead time on parts.

Before installation ever begins, vehicles go through a straightforward inspection and warranty review to make sure nothing gets missed once the build starts.

The Build: What Install Day Actually Looks Like

Once a vehicle is on the schedule, the timeline depends almost entirely on the scope of the system. A Sprinter Van getting an alternator upgrade and some cleanup work might start early in the morning, with the physical installation largely wrapped up by lunch. From there, the team moves into testing before heading into the customer walkthrough.

Bigger jobs, like removing an old system entirely before installing new, typically run two to three days. Mike Zarse, ABC Technician, provides a labor-time estimate up front for every job, and it’s rare for even a complex build to stretch past four days.

Unexpected issues get handled as they come up, with the team adjusting the build in real time rather than letting problems sit until the end.

Customer Education – Not Just a Handoff

This is the part of the process customers often don’t expect (and end up appreciating the most).

When a system is complete and tested, Josh walks each customer through their new setup for 30 minutes to a full hour. It’s less a quick handoff and more the equivalent of a entry-level training class.

That walkthrough covers the physical components, how everything operates, and what to look out for down the road — fuse locations, basic consumer-level diagnosis, and how to read the system through the touchscreen display.

Customers leave knowing not just that their system works, but how it works.

“A lot of companies talk about customer service, but it’s rare that you actually get to talk directly to the person who installed your system,” the team notes. At ABC, that direct line to the installer is built into the process, not an afterthought.

Why It Doesn’t Stop at the Final Walkthrough

The support doesn’t end when the keys go back. ABC prides itself on being reachable for remote diagnosis long after the install is done — including, on at least one occasion, helping a customer troubleshoot at 8pm on a Sunday.

That’s the throughline across the whole process: a consultation built around real needs, a build handled with care, and a team that’s genuinely invested in customers getting the most out of their system: long after the final walkthrough is done.