What began as an ambitious effort to bring a new mobile dining concept to San Diego has deteriorated into an increasingly contentious dispute between Shorefront Grill & Co. owner Adam Godlove and Trailer Doctors, a California food truck conversion business. Documents reviewed by SanDiegoVille, including the parties' service agreement, construction plans, correspondence and independent repair estimates, reveal disagreements over completion, equipment deficiencies, alleged vehicle defects and outstanding payments.
Godlove purchased the truck in August 2021, hoping to transform it into a family business. However, he did not deliver the vehicle to Trailer Doctors for conversion until September 2024, when he entered into an $85,000 agreement contemplating approximately six to eight months of construction, contingent upon blueprint approval.
More than two years later, the parties remain at odds over whether the conversion was properly completed and who bears responsibility for outstanding work.
"When I bought this truck in August 2021, I had so much hope for what it could become," Godlove told SanDiegoVille. "I envisioned building Shorefront Grill & Co. into something I could be proud of and, more importantly, something I could share with my children."
Godlove said his children were excited about the business and wanted to work alongside him. What he envisioned as an opportunity to create lasting family memories instead became a prolonged source of financial and emotional strain.
"Now it is October 2026, more than five years since I originally purchased the truck, and I still do not have a food truck that has completed the entire process necessary for me to operate it," he said.
Godlove alleges he was repeatedly assured that the conversion was nearly finished, only to encounter additional delays and unresolved problems. He said he continued giving the company more time because of the substantial investment he had already made and his determination to see the business succeed.
The alleged deficiencies extend beyond construction delays. Godlove has identified problems involving a missing electrical connection for a refrigerated preparation table, incomplete kitchen components, electrical issues, a driver's seat belt, windshield wipers, turn signals, concerns about the vehicle leaning to one side and alleged rear bumper damage.
Not all of these conditions have been independently verified, and the parties dispute whether Trailer Doctors caused them or is responsible for correcting them. However, some outstanding work is acknowledged in the company's own correspondence.
On September 20, 2026, Trailer Doctors prepared a proposed agreement addressing a missing electrical outlet for the refrigerated preparation table. The company characterized the omission as minor and maintained that construction and delivery had otherwise been completed in accordance with the original agreement.
The proposal offered Godlove two alternatives. If he permitted Trailer Doctors to install the outlet, the company would waive a $1,500 payment otherwise due that September. If he hired an independent contractor, the payment would be reduced to $1,000, with Godlove responsible for arranging and funding the repair.
The proposed amendment also contained a warranty provision asserting that third-party work would void applicable construction warranties to the fullest extent permitted by law. The materials reviewed do not establish that both parties executed the amendment or that the proposed restriction would be enforceable.
The disagreement expanded as Godlove obtained outside estimates for work he believed remained necessary.
On September 24, California Food Truck Builders LLC prepared an estimate totaling $1,881.87 for proposed corrections, including a self-closing cab access door mechanism, wiring and an outlet for the preparation table, replacement of the main power connection, a GFCI-protected receptacle, a handwashing sink drain trap and diagnosis of intermittent lighting failures.
A second estimate, dated October 7, identified another $900.45 for double fryer lids and a removable cutting board.
Together, the estimates totaled $2,782.32. They represent proposed repair costs, not proof that all the work was necessary for regulatory approval or that Trailer Doctors was responsible for every item.
In October 12 correspondence, Trailer Doctors representative Tony acknowledged the company's willingness to address several disputed components, including the refrigerator outlet, fryer lids, cutting board, salamander broiler retaining latch and self-closing metal doors.
The company also offered to replace a cup holder, sun visors, the driver's seat belt and a cellphone holder without admitting responsibility for their alleged condition or loss.
Trailer Doctors disputed responsibility for other complaints, including the vehicle's alleged leaning condition, bumper damage and broader electrical or mechanical issues, arguing that their causes had not been established.
For Godlove, the financial consequences extend beyond the repair estimates. A reimbursement summary he prepared identifies approximately $9,721 to $9,861 in claimed travel expenses, supplies, meals and lost wages associated with the project, including approximately 4,078 miles of travel and 174 to 178 hours of missed work.
Those amounts remain disputed and have not been independently established as recoverable damages. Trailer Doctors rejected the reimbursement demand, maintaining that Godlove voluntarily incurred the expenses and was not required to make repeated trips to its facility.
Godlove now says he has also spent thousands of dollars on mechanical maintenance and improvements to the truck, separate from the conversion expenses. The exact amount of those additional expenditures has not been independently verified.
"The financial burden has been enormous," Godlove said. "But the financial loss is only part of what this has cost me. It has taken years of my time, caused an incredible amount of stress, and affected something that was supposed to bring excitement to my family."
The dispute also involves competing payment demands. Trailer Doctors contends that Godlove is behind on payments required under the original agreement. Its October 12 correspondence characterized his account as past due and warned that continued delinquency could result in legal action.
The company did not specify the exact outstanding balance in the correspondence reviewed. Whether Godlove was entitled to withhold payments because of allegedly incomplete or defective work remains contested.
The truck's inspection status is another unresolved issue. Godlove maintains that it has not completed the final health approval process necessary to operate as intended. Trailer Doctors has stated that its contractual responsibilities include work necessary to satisfy applicable inspection requirements, while disputing responsibility for some alleged deficiencies.
SanDiegoVille has not obtained an independently verified final inspection determination identifying which outstanding items, if any, are preventing approval.
The project's construction plans also reference Moody's Food Trucks, although the precise relationship between that business and Trailer Doctors remains unclear.
On October 26, SanDiegoVille contacted Trailer Doctors with detailed questions about the construction timeline, disputed equipment, repair estimates, inspection status, alleged payment default and Godlove's decision to abandon his business plans.
Tony responded on behalf of the company but declined to address the specific allegations, citing ongoing discussions and the possibility of litigation.
"At this time, due to ongoing discussions between the parties and the possibility of litigation, I must respectfully refrain from commenting on the details of this matter," he wrote.
Trailer Doctors emphasized that its decision not to comment should not be interpreted as an admission or agreement with Godlove's allegations and expressed hope that the dispute could be resolved professionally and amicably.
Its earlier correspondence presents a substantially different account from Godlove's. The company maintains that it completed and delivered the truck, offered reasonable corrective work, disputed responsibility for additional expenses and remains entitled to payments under the original agreement.
For Godlove, however, the consequences have become deeply personal.
"For a long time, when I looked at the truck, I saw possibility," he told SanDiegoVille. "I pictured myself cooking, building a business and having my kids there with me. Today, I see the truck every day and mostly feel sadness and exhaustion."
He said one of the most painful aspects of the experience is the disappointment his children will face after years of anticipating a family business that has yet to materialize.
"My kids are going to be disappointed because they believed in this dream too," he said. "I would have loved to work beside them and give them the experience of being part of something their dad built."
The records reviewed by SanDiegoVille establish a prolonged contractual dispute involving a substantial investment, proposed repairs and competing financial demands. They do not establish that Trailer Doctors committed fraud, intentionally delayed the project or materially breached its agreement. Those questions remain unresolved.
What began with the purchase of a truck in August 2021 eventually led to an $85,000 conversion agreement in September 2024. More than five years after the initial purchase and two years after contracting for the conversion, Godlove says he still cannot operate the food business he envisioned.
Trailer Doctors maintains that it substantially fulfilled its obligations and remains willing to address certain outstanding issues. Whether the parties can resolve their disagreement without litigation remains uncertain.
For Godlove, the dispute is no longer simply about unfinished equipment, inspection requirements or competing payment demands. It concerns a business he hoped to build with his children and the years he spent believing that goal was just around the corner.
"This was not simply a business transaction that didn't go according to plan," he said. "It was years of my life, a significant financial investment, and something that meant a great deal to me and my children."
Originally published October 31, 2026.
