Fair Price on Roof Maintenance?

[barryrey11]

Just picked up a 2010 Springdale 267 and got an estimate to clean the roof and re-seal all the vents, sky light, etc for $650 from a mobile RV repair here in Southern California. I am new to this, seemed like a fair price to me but just wondering what others thought. My nephew who was the original owner of the trailer did some maintenance on the roof but probably not as often as he should have.

I know this is something I could do myself but really wanted someone that knows what they are doing to take care of it this first year for me.

Thanks, Barry

[chuckster57]

Average is 4 hrs and 10 tubes of Dicor. $650.. isn’t too far out of line, but I personally think your doing yourself a disservice by not doing it yourself. With a little advice from this forum you could do it for much less.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by barryrey11

Just picked up a 2010 Springdale 267 and got an estimate to clean the roof and re-seal all the vents, sky light, etc for $650 from a mobile RV repair here in Southern California. I am new to this, seemed like a fair price to me but just wondering what others thought. My nephew who was the original owner of the trailer did some maintenance on the roof but probably not as often as he should have.

I know this is something I could do myself but really wanted someone that knows what they are doing to take care of it this first year for me.

Thanks, Barry

Before the RV-Armor roof (no maintenance required) I did my own maintenance and this proves it doesn't take any brains and a fat old guy can do it.

[sourdough]

The price quoted isn't too bad considering everything done on an RV costs an arm and a leg ($140-$175 hr).

Down side of having them do it is not seeing what you have for yourself as Chuck mentioned. No one is going to care about your RV as much as you do and many times that shows up in the shoddy work you receive after paying premium $$. Since this is an older, new to you, RV it would benefit you greatly to KNOW what was up there and how it was fixed. Roof damage/leaks can destroy a trailer and sometimes they aren't obvious until it is too late. If you have physical limitations then obviously they would be the route to go and the price, although seemingly high, isn't that out of line.

[barryrey11]

Thank you all for your feedback. I will watch a few more youtube videos and then decide what to do.

[flybouy]

Barry it's a very simple thing to do provided you have the place to do it and are comfortable working on a ladder and have the time. No amount of cost savings is worth potential serious injury from a fall. If your comfortable with using a ladder and only concerned with "not doing it correctly" then I say study up on it and go for it!

[dutchmensport]

All you need to do is wash the roof and treat it with RV roof UV protectant. Then go around and look for any cracks in the already existing caulking around the vents, and edges. Anywhere you see a crack, simply clean the spot with a bit on rubbing alcohol on the clean cloth and apply new calking on top if it. That's all you need to do.

Now, if you are wanting to complete recoat the roof, that's a different job. But if all you want is to make sure it's sealed good for the next year, that's all you need to do. And chances are, the existing caulking might not have ANY cracks form. In which case, you really don't need to do anything.

You can easily do this yourself and save yourself a lot of money. Steps: 1) inspect the roof yourself and look for those crack in the cauling. 2) wash the roof and wash the existing caulking. 3) examine the caulking again, look for cracks. 4) reseal only the cracks.

Removing existing caulking CAN create more problems than it's worth. Removing old caulking doesn't help anything, but you do run the risk of tearing the rubber on your roof doing so. Just apply new on top of the old. No one sees the top of the roof anyway, until you get ready to sell the trailer. By then, it will all be faded the same color anyway.

[wiredgeorge]

I suggest you take a peek at your roof. If it has a lot of black showing, it is EPDM and the white pigment is worn off. No amount of scrubbing will put the white back in. If this is the case, don't try and scrub to restore the roof. Just go around current penetrations where there is a seam of Dicor and wipe it down with alcohol and then cover any cracks. Don't be shy about globbing it on. Use self leveling Dicor on horizontal surfaces and anywhere on an edge, use NON self leveling as the self leveling Dicor will run when it gets warm and all over the side of the trailer.

[barryrey11]

Well I took everyone's advice and decided to do it myself. Got some Dicor cleaner and self leveling lap sealant. Have half the roof cleaned, think it had been awhile since it was done. I will finish the cleaning today and do the sealant tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone for the feedback.

[chuckster57]

Looks like your doing an excellent job, and saving money to buy well deserved beverages.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by barryrey11

Well I took everyone's advice and decided to do it myself. Got some Dicor cleaner and self leveling lap sealant. Have half the roof cleaned, think it had been awhile since it was done. I will finish the cleaning today and do the sealant tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone for the feedback.

That looks great Barry! It takes a bit of time and work but IMO it's worth it in the end. Be sure and inspect the edges and all around the vents, skylights etc. for any cracked or missing sealant then clean and replace. Good luck.

[wiredgeorge]

Did someone in the past bury your OTA TV antenna under Dicor? Sure looks like it in that picture... that looks like a Winegard Sensar antenna outline; they lay flat and crank up when deployed.
https://winegard.com/industry/recrea...i-amplified-rv

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Did someone in the past bury your OTA TV antenna under Dicor? Sure looks like it in that picture... that looks like a Winegard Sensar antenna outline; they lay flat and crank up when deployed.
https://winegard.com/industry/recrea...i-amplified-rv

I think he has the antenna raised. You can see the beams are vertical in the picture.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Did someone in the past bury your OTA TV antenna under Dicor? Sure looks like it in that picture... that looks like a Winegard Sensar antenna outline; they lay flat and crank up when deployed.
https://winegard.com/industry/recrea...i-amplified-rv

Yeah, I think that's the outline of the antenna on the roof looks like.

[wiredgeorge]

You boys are right. How about that radio antenna laying down? I wouldn't think it was made to flop over.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

You boys are right. How about that radio antenna laying down? I wouldn't think it was made to flop over.

Probably an old style ball mount where the ball is cut in half vertically with teeth on each side and a screw in the center to clamp it at various angles. Just a guess.

[barryrey11]

You guys figured it out. The TV antenna is raised. I think it has been in the lowered position for so long it now has a permanent outline on the roof. And that is also correct about the radio antenna.

[Northofu1]

Looks great.
Before you go up there next time, Try some 303 Surface protectant on vent and A/C covers. If you're up to the challenge try cleaning the coil in the A/C unit. Sounds daunting, after watching some videos I found it quite easy. Good Luck

https://www.amazon.ca/303-130307-Aer...072217576&th=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTo9...annel=RVstreet

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Northofu1

Looks great.
Before you go up there next time, Try some 303 Surface protectant on vent and A/C covers. If you're up to the challenge try cleaning the coil in the A/C unit. Sounds daunting, after watching some videos I found it quite easy. Good Luck

https://www.amazon.ca/303-130307-Aer...072217576&th=1

I would just warn you to be careful about putting 303 or other protectant on a hot surface (from the sun), particularly black. It just sort of bakes on instantly vs spreading over the surface smoothly.....don't ask how I know.

[barryrey11]

Originally Posted by Northofu1

Looks great.
Before you go up there next time, Try some 303 Surface protectant on vent and A/C covers. If you're up to the challenge try cleaning the coil in the A/C unit. Sounds daunting, after watching some videos I found it quite easy. Good Luck

https://www.amazon.ca/303-130307-Aer...072217576&th=1

Just watched a few YouTube videos on cleaning the coils. I will put that on my todo list, thanks.