Case study
Galley remodel on a travel trailer where payload set the material choice
The owner wanted quartz countertops, a residential sink and a solid wood cabinet face throughout the galley. The coach had 1,400 pounds of cargo carrying capacity on the yellow sticker, and fresh water alone at 8.34 pounds per gallon accounted for a substantial share of it before any gear went aboard.
Vehicle
30 foot travel trailer, half ton tow rating, 1,400 pound cargo carrying capacity
Price band
$2,500 to $22,000
Calendar time
3 to 12 weeks
Operations
What the job actually consisted of
- Cargo capacity worked from the sticker, then water, LP, passengers and gear subtracted
- Material weights compared per square foot, quartz against high pressure laminate
- Existing countertop and sink removed and the cabinet carcass inspected for water damage
- Lightweight substrate fabricated and faced with high pressure laminate in a stone pattern
- Cabinet doors refaced rather than replaced, keeping the original lightweight frames
- Sink downsized to a stainless unit with a comparable footprint and a fraction of the mass
- Finished galley weighed against the removed assemblies to confirm the net payload change
Outcome
How it ended
The remodel added 31 pounds instead of the roughly 180 pounds the quartz specification would have added, and the trailer stayed inside its rating with the water tank full. The honest conversation about payload happened before the material order rather than after the owner noticed the trailer squatting.
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Is your vehicle in the same situation
Match on construction type and failure mode, not on the badge. We are 18.4 miles from Hacienda Heights via SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, then south to La Palma Ave.