Reference
Glossary
38 terms used in commercial fleet repair, estimating and insurance claims, defined in plain language. Useful when reading an estimate, discussing a repair with a shop, or working out what an adjuster actually said.
Terms
A to Z
A
- ADAS
- Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. Camera and radar based features such as lane keeping, collision warning, and adaptive cruise. Referenced to vehicle body geometry, so they require recalibration after glass or body repair.
- Adjuster
- The insurance carrier representative who inspects damage, reviews estimates, and authorizes payment on a claim.
B
- Betterment
- A charge applied when a replacement part is considered an improvement over the worn part it replaced. Legitimate for wear items, frequently over-applied.
- Blend
- Extending sprayed color into panels adjacent to the repair so the transition has no visible edge. Essential on metallic and pearl finishes.
- Bulkhead
- A partition separating a van's cargo area from the cab, protecting the driver from shifting load and reducing noise and climate loss.
C
- Clear coat
- The transparent protective layer over the color coat. Fails first on horizontal surfaces under UV exposure and cannot be applied over failing clear.
- Conspicuity
- The property of being readily visible. Used specifically in commercial vehicle regulation to describe reflective marking requirements.
- Conspicuity marking
- Reflective tape required on commercial trailers and truck bodies to make them visible at night, with regulated placement, pattern, and material grade.
- Crossmember
- A structural member running across a chassis or trailer frame between the main rails, supporting the deck or body above it.
D
- Delamination
- Separation of an outer skin from the core beneath it, usually caused by water entering the laminate. Appears as a soft or bubbled area and spreads.
- Diamond
- A frame condition where the rails have shifted out of square relative to each other, measured during structural assessment.
- Diminished value
- The reduction in a vehicle's resale value resulting from having an accident history, independent of repair quality.
- Dog walk
- A vehicle tracking with its rear axle offset from the front, usually indicating frame damage. Also called crab walking.
E
- E-track
- A load-securing rail system installed in trailer and truck decks, providing rated anchor points for straps and load bars.
- EPDM
- Ethylene propylene diene monomer. A synthetic rubber roofing membrane used on commercial bodies, forgiving to repair.
G
- Galvanic corrosion
- Corrosion at the contact point between dissimilar metals, common on aluminum panels with steel fasteners where isolation was omitted.
- Gelcoat
- The pigmented outer surface layer on a fiberglass laminate, providing color and UV protection.
- Ghosting
- A visible outline left after removing a decal or wrap, caused by the covered paint fading at a different rate from the surrounding surface.
K
- Kingpin
- The coupling pin on a semi-trailer that engages the tractor's fifth wheel plate.
L
- Liftgate
- Hydraulic lifting equipment mounted at a cargo body's rear, applying a substantial cantilever load to the chassis on every cycle.
- Loss of use
- Policy coverage for the operational cost of a vehicle being out of service. Present in many commercial policies and frequently unclaimed.
M
- Metamerism
- Two colors matching under one light source and differing under another. The reason paint matches are verified under multiple light sources.
- MPPT
- Maximum Power Point Tracking. A solar charge controller type that extracts more usable energy from a panel array than simpler controllers.
P
- Pinch weld
- The flange around a windshield opening that the glass bonds to. Must be clean, primed, and corrosion-free for a sound structural bond.
R
- Reefer
- A refrigerated body or trailer. Body damage on a reefer is a thermal integrity issue rather than a cosmetic one.
S
- Sag
- A frame condition where the rails have dropped vertically from specification, commonly caused by sustained overloading.
- Scarf
- A tapered joint ground into a composite laminate before repair, providing enough bonded area to carry load across the repair.
- Sectioning
- Replacing only the damaged portion of a large panel or frame rail by cutting at a planned, supported seam rather than replacing the whole component.
- Spectrophotometer
- An instrument that reads a paint surface's actual current color, allowing a match to a faded vehicle rather than to its original factory code.
- Subframe
- An intermediate structure between a chassis and a mounted body, spreading load and accommodating frame flex.
- Supplement
- Additional documented damage found after teardown and submitted to the carrier for authorization before the work proceeds.
T
- Total loss
- A determination that repair cost has reached a threshold relative to vehicle value. Upfit equipment value affects both sides of that calculation.
- TPO
- Thermoplastic polyolefin. A roofing membrane used on commercial bodies, more resistant to UV and dirt pickup than EPDM.
- Twist
- A frame condition where the rails have rotated relative to each other along the chassis length.
U
- Upfit
- Equipment and modification added to a chassis after manufacture: liftgates, service bodies, racks, shelving, and specialty conversions.
- Urethane
- The structural adhesive used to bond windshields. Requires cure time before the vehicle can safely be driven.
V
- Voltage drop
- Loss of voltage across a circuit under load, the most common cause of intermittent electrical faults on upfitted commercial vehicles.
W
- Work hardening
- The property of aluminum becoming harder and more brittle as it is worked, limiting how much a damaged aluminum panel can be repaired.
Bring your Irvine fleet vehicle in
Body, paint, structural and upfit work, all performed at our Yorba Linda facility. Tell us the vehicle and the damage and we will schedule intake.