What a warranty actually covers

Warranties come in layers

A specialty vehicle usually carries several warranties from several parties:

• Chassis — from the chassis manufacturer (Ford, GM, Freightliner, International, Mercedes-Benz). Covers engine, drivetrain and the OEM vehicle. The builder does not control this.
• Body and conversion — from the builder. This is the one that matters most, and the one that varies most.
• Structure — sometimes a separate, longer term on the frame and body structure; sometimes not offered at all. Ask specifically.
• Subfloor — occasionally a separate term, because a good subfloor can be warranted longer than the rest. If a builder cannot offer one, ask why.
• Installed equipment — generator, HVAC, lift, medical or communications equipment, each on its manufacturer’s terms, passed through by the builder.

A “five-year warranty” that turns out to be five years on conversion workmanship, with no structural clause and no subfloor term, covers the least expensive failures and excludes the most expensive ones.

What the words mean

• Workmanship — defects in how the builder assembled the parts. Usually excludes the materials themselves and anything that “wears.”
• Structural — the frame, cage, floor structure and body attachment. The failures that cost the most. If the word does not appear, the coverage does not exist.
• Prorated — coverage that declines with time. A five-year paint warranty prorated to 25% by year five pays a quarter of the repair when the paint fails.
• Original purchaser only — coverage ends when the vehicle is sold. Common across the industry; it affects resale value.
• Exclusions — read this section first. Corrosion from road chemicals, damage from improper use, and lack of maintenance are standard exclusions everywhere. Watch for exclusions that swallow the coverage: “water intrusion” excluded from a body warranty means leaks are not covered.
• Maintenance conditions — most body warranties require the owner to inspect and reseal roof and exterior sealants on a schedule, often every six months, and void the coverage for “negligence” if it is not done. This is normal. Get the schedule in writing and follow it.
• Pre-authorization and authorized service — most warranties require approval before work and specify who may perform it. Ask how that works 800 miles from the plant.

The questions that expose a thin warranty

1. Is there a structural warranty, in those words, and for how long?
2. Is there a separate subfloor term?
3. What is prorated, and on what schedule?
4. Is water intrusion covered under the body warranty?
5. What maintenance is required to keep the warranty valid, and how is it documented?
6. Who may perform warranty work, and how is a local shop authorized?
7. Does the builder send a road technician, and under what circumstances?
8. Is the warranty transferable?
9. What is the claims process, step by step, and how long does approval take?
10. May I have a copy of every warranty document now, before I sign?

A note on what a long warranty tells you

A builder can only warrant a subfloor for seven years if the subfloor does not rot. A builder can only put “structural” in the document if the structure is built to survive the term. The warranty is not a promise separate from the construction — it is the builder’s own estimate of when the vehicle will fail. Read it that way.

HLE’s warranties

These are the terms HLE's specialty-vehicle proposals quote. Nothing prorates or steps down with age or mileage, and replacement parts stay available at least 2 years past the warranty. Ask for the written warranty itself with any proposal, ours included, and read it with this page open. The full table is on warranty.

On questions 6 and 7 for HLE's own warranty: transport to the plant or a service center is the owner's cost, as the written warranty states. When warranty work can be done on site, HLE sends its field-service trailer to the unit at no charge; see service and parts.

The same layout, with the plant and the construction behind it, is on how we build it.