For fleet managers, the Order-to-Delivery (OTD) cycle often feels like a game of hurry-up-and-wait. While Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) production has become more predictable, upfitting remains one of the biggest obstacles to getting work-ready vehicles into service.
Industry benchmarks reveal that a vehicle sits in a traditional upfitter’s yard for an average of 3 to 6 months. For complex custom configurations, many fleet operators even report waiting 12 to 14 months.
The most frustrating part? The actual installation usually takes just a few days. The rest of that time is spent waiting.
Upfit delays cost your business in several ways.
Whether financed or leased, you’re making monthly payments on a truck that isn’t generating revenue.
Every day your truck sits unfinished is another day it isn’t out in the field producing income. Fleet industry reports estimate work truck downtime costs organizations an average of $448 to $760+ per day, per vehicle.
Delayed replacements force fleets to keep older, higher-maintenance vehicles in service longer, increasing fuel costs, repair bills, and unexpected downtime.
We don’t operate like mega-upfitters that treat your trucks like numbers in a massive holding lot. Our process is designed to reduce unnecessary delays from the moment your chassis is ordered until it’s delivered to your jobsite. This has resulted in an average order-to-delivery lead time of just 24 days across builds completed in 2026.
Reducing lead times starts before the upfit process ever begins. We keep chassis in stock at our facilities for customers who need them and can’t afford to wait on OEM lead times. Starting with inventory already on the ground allows projects to move into production immediately instead of waiting months for a new chassis to be built and delivered.
Even if we don’t have the exact chassis you need in inventory, our nationwide sourcing network and direct OEM relationships help us procure available chassis much faster than the typical buyer.
Once a chassis is secured, we don’t let it sit. Engineering is finalized, long-lead components are ordered, and production is scheduled immediately. That preparation allows your chassis to move directly into an active build.
Both Ship-To and Ship-Through models deliver the chassis directly from the OEM to the upfitter. The difference comes after the upfit is complete.
With a traditional Ship-Through process, the completed vehicle is shipped back to the OEM before it can be delivered to the customer. That means your finished truck re-enters the OEM’s transportation network, where it waits alongside thousands of other vehicles for final shipment.
Our Ship-To Upfitting model eliminates that step entirely. Instead of sending your completed vehicle back through the OEM, our internal logistics team coordinates and executes final delivery directly from our facility to your jobsite.
OEMs excel at building trucks—not managing final delivery logistics. By removing your completed vehicle from that often backlogged transportation pipeline, we typically reduce total order-to-delivery timelines by 1 to 2 months while providing greater visibility throughout the delivery process.
You’ll work with one point of contact throughout your project. If supplier constraints or unforeseen issues affect your timeline, you’ll receive proactive updates, transparent expectations, and available alternatives—not silence. You’ll always know where your project stands.
We welcome customers to visit our facilities, meet the team building their vehicles, and see progress firsthand. Whether you want to review build quality or simply check on your project, our doors are always open.
You don’t have to accept year-long upfit delays.
We started this company with one goal: getting work-ready vehicles into our customers’ hands faster. That mission continues to drive everything we do today.
If you’re ready to bypass the upfit bottleneck, reach out to our team to start designing your own custom fleet.
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