I just wanted to be sure to not get fooled by a dishonest dealer or something like that on the cost estimation... just need your opinion here! :-)My TT is entering its 5th camping season and all the caulk on the roof is black/green with A LOT of mildew and some obvious wear. No way adding fresh caulk over that******will adhere... there's no leak by now, but I think this year is the year of a full re-caulking job from scratch on the roof.My TT is a 16 feet but the roof itself is 13 feet long. Moreover I don't have a roof A/C, just 2 standard 14x14 vents + 2 tank vent. The roof is a 1 piece aluminium roof.I think the job will be to remove all the old caulk, then put new Dicor self levelling lap sealant everywhere.For a professional (and honest) RV shop, how much time (hours or labor) it should take to accomplish that kind of work on a tiny trailer like mine? Or how much should be the job overall (parts & labor)?Thank you!!

It depends on whether it was previously sealed with self-leveling caulk (and it's hard as a rock). And, whether they are going to try removing this rock-hard goop.

Cloud Dancer wrote:It depends on whether it was previously sealed with self-leveling caulk (and it's hard as a rock). And, whether they are going to try removing this rock-hard goop.Definitely look like the Dicor self levelling lap sealant. It's the original sealing out of the KZ Sportsmen factory. It's a very clean job and the amount of sealant is not exaggerated. The sealant is pretty soft too (when you touch it).

Cost? Depends on you! DIY it will cost you a days labor, several tubes of Dicor self leveling caulk, a large bottle of cleaner. Pay someone because you either cant or too lazy figure 400 dollars or more.

donn0128 wrote:Cost? Depends on you! DIY it will cost you a days labor, several tubes of Dicor self leveling caulk, a large bottle of cleaner. Pay someone because you either cant or too lazy figure 400 dollars or more.I would not say "too lazy" for.. just not skilled enough to. I can do any mechanics and electrical job on a RV or a car, but I am not so confident about sealing the roof myself.

vlopddap wrote:donn0128 wrote:Cost? Depends on you! DIY it will cost you a days labor, several tubes of Dicor self leveling caulk, a large bottle of cleaner. Pay someone because you either cant or too lazy figure 400 dollars or more.I would not say "too lazy" for.. just not skilled enough to. I can do any mechanics and electrical job on a RV or a car, but I am not so confident about sealing the roof myself.If you can do mechanical/electrical you can seal the roof, A dealer is just going to have the guy he pays the cheapest hourly rate go up there with a putty knife, scrape off some of the old and put some new dicor over it. They are not going to take a highly skilled tech (expensive) and put them on a roof for a job any unskilled laborer can do.I would go a different route and use eternabond

Cost estimation full re-caulking aluminium roof (16 feet tt)

19 Replies

vlopddap
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015

Okay, if I decide to remove all the old caulk and start "from scratch", how do I deal with the kind of metal moulding which is screwed on the edges of each side? What's that exactly? It's like a moulding that hold the aluminum cover in place? How do I deal with that? Do I need to remove it completely or I just remove the caulk above the moulding without removing it? Does it have a seal underneath or is it just caulk? If I completely remove the moulding, how do I reinstall and reseal it thereafter?
westend
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
It looks like some spots need removal, the caulk has shrunk away from the trim edge. I wouldn't trust just applying new sealer over that mess. If it was me (and a few years ago it was) I'd remove the old sealant and replace it with Eternabond tape. The tape needs a scroupulously clean surface to adhere. I used scrapers, a grinder with wire wheel, followed by mineral spirits and lacquer thinner. My roof is aluminum, too.
DaHose
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
At least you are all aluminum up top. Wiping it down with a strong bleach solution should help. Just be careful it doesn't drip down the sides.

Having a shop do the roof on my 26 ft. was nearly $500. WAY too much, but it was new to me and I wanted to see how a "pro" did the work. Needless to say, I will NEVER ask a shop to do that kind of work again.

Jose
vlopddap
Explorer
Mar 12, 2015
What some mildew folks?! Check this out!!

I can't believe my trailer is actually only 4 years old... it probably have something to do with northern weather and also because I live at the countryside? Believe it or not, I even cleaned my roof almost once a month with soap & brush all summer long and my caulk is still looking like that :
DaHose
Explorer
Mar 11, 2015
Wash, scrape off old Dicor, clean the aluminum with acetone.

Finish with Eternabond, then put the aluminum trim back on the ege. The screws for the trim go in through the eternabond with a strip of butyl underneath.

Jose
Huntindog
Explorer
Mar 11, 2015
Since you have an aluminum roof, you can use stronger stuff to clean the Dicor. Acetone will clean just about anything. I would do the soap water , and then touch it up with acetone.
John___Angela
Explorer
Mar 11, 2015
vlopddap wrote:
Okay, if I choose to not scrap the entire Dicor to bare metal, should I use any kind of mildew remover (bleach based) and after a in-depth cleaning just reapply a coat of Dicor over??

As some people told, there's no leak at this point... I'll take some picture of my caulk tonight at home, you'll be able to see exactly the state of the caulk.

Strong soap and water and a brush will get it clean and if you are worried about mildew a watered down bleach solution will work. After its good and dry go at it with the self leveling dicor on a warm day. Check it every year for cracks. Clean and fill as necessary. NEVER use a power washer on the roof. I don't even use a hose on mine.
vlopddap
Explorer
Mar 11, 2015
Okay, if I choose to not scrap the entire Dicor to bare metal, should I use any kind of mildew remover (bleach based) and after a in-depth cleaning just reapply a coat of Dicor over??

As some people told, there's no leak at this point... I'll take some picture of my caulk tonight at home, you'll be able to see exactly the state of the caulk.
John___Angela
Explorer
Mar 11, 2015
Cloud Dancer wrote:
To do right,....IMO, will take many hours of hard work. Let me reword, to do it my way would take a long time. And, it wouldn't be easy. This always puts me in a big dilemma. I can't depend on shop personnel to do it right, and that's why I end up doing it myself. Well, that and the expense.
Try and find someone with RV roof experience, and ask them how they would do it.

Yep. Without knowing exactly what they will do it is to hard to guess. If they were to completely clean it back to scratch I would guess around 1200 dollars. However I doubt it needs that. Get rid of anything loose and prep the surface would probably be 4 hours plus on something like that. Parts, shop supplies and labour maybe 600 bucks on something like that. To do it yourself probably 50 bucks.
Cloud_Dancer
Explorer II
Mar 11, 2015
To do right,....IMO, will take many hours of hard work. Let me reword, to do it my way would take a long time. And, it wouldn't be easy. This always puts me in a big dilemma. I can't depend on shop personnel to do it right, and that's why I end up doing it myself. Well, that and the expense.
Try and find someone with RV roof experience, and ask them how they would do it.