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RV-Armor
Driving to a local park for a weekend of camping, I somehow met up with a tree limb and didn't know this until I got to the camp. My 2002 Cougar 5ver (27') had the EPDM roof torn a bit. Got on the phone with my insurance and an adjuster came out and he said to replace the roof. I had the skylight over my shower broken as well. Since my RV is older and the insurance company doesn't value it greatly, I had to watch the price of a roof replacement. The bed liner stuff was out due to cost; the insurance company would declare the trailer salvage because of the cost of that roof. That stuff was out plus they told me they paint their product because it is dull and ugly and it would have to be repainted. While durable, the repaint after a time was a negative.
I would have repaired the torn spots in the roof myself with an EPDM repair kit but there were a bunch of places that showed black on the roof which indicate it was very thin and wouldn't last anyway.
Class A RV Repair in Pipe Creek (just down the road) is a very reputable repair place and they wanted $5K for a NEW rubber roof. The thought of a new rubber roof was not comforting after I saw how fragile the old one was but this was an option. There is another product that is a sprayed on and lifetime warranty product called FlexArmor. The closest install place is in Bertram TX about 130 miles away. They would have the trailer for a number of weeks (didn't like this idea with the roof torn) and wanted $6000 roughly to do the job.
Then there is RV-Armor which I ended up choosing. Lifetime warranty and they come to you and do it on site which is a big plus. I contacted them and the final price was $3780 for EVERYTHNG. They have local install contractors with a 300 mile territory in Texas and the install guy got out within about a week of my contacting the office and paying a deposit. Since they touch up the Dicor and then apply their product of it, I replaced not only the broken skylight (new one is Lexan!) but the bath vent as well which had a sketchy seal. RV-Armor will do this work as well if you have the parts and you pay them but I wanted to save a few bucks.
The process:
1. They ship the materials out via Fedex ground before the tech arrives
2. Tech arrives and patched the tears on the roof and then resealed EVERYTHING including the sides where they meet the gutter, end cap and rear. Everything is buttoned up very very thoroughly.
3. They wash the roof very thoroughly (sides of rv need to be washed now as there is some streaking but it comes right off)
4. They apply a two part epoxy which is worked into the EPDM fabric to bind the final coatings and provide a consistent application surface.
5. The installer hand "paints" the final coatings around all penetrations (like the vents) and masks the end cap and rear for a clean line. He went past the marriage line about an inch on my end cap to seal it well.
6. Once the couple coats of their final white product are applied with a brush around all penetrations, sides and end, the installed puts down two coats of their coating with a roller (NOT SPRAYED). This stuff is now thick enough to hide any patches or irregularities presenting a fairly smooth surface.
7. While you can pull the trailer fairly quickly, that is, a day or two, you can't walk on the roof for a week as it takes time for the coating to cure. Full curing after a month.
Some folks ask what if you have to remove a vent of something; you cut the coating carefully and remove it much like Dicor I guess. I am guessing it will be more difficult than just semi-hard Dicor. Once you install whatever, you would Dicor over the edge.
RV-Armor gives you a "CUSTOMER CARE" kit which is a box of their stuff to fix or cover small areas. I haven't opened it but it can probably be applied with a brush. This would also allow you to fix small tears if repair was needed but if the repair is more substantial, they come out FOREVER and fix it at no charge.
Will this roof last forever? At my age that question lacks importance but time will tell if it holds up well in the near term. The lifetime warranty is via the VIN and is totally transferable to any subsequent owners (selling point). Is it more durable and stronger than EPDM. It has to be as it is much tougher and thicker. Will it be totally maintenance free, as RV-Arm claims? Dunno, time will tell but the pigment is part of the coating so should stay white if I wash the roof occasionally... Oh yeah, I get a little money for a referral if anyone is interest; my referral will get you $100 off the total cost. They cost the work by the foot ($140 a linear foot). The tech, Gene was a pro RV tech and the work site was kept clean and professional while the work was underway.
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wiredgeorge Mico TX
2006 F350 CC 4WD 6.0L
2002 Keystone Cougar 278
2006 GL1800 Roadsmith Trike
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