Forum Discussion

Yardvarkers's avatar
Yardvarkers
Explorer
Mar 02, 2017

Roof restoration

Hello. I have a Jayco 266fbs that needs the rubber roof refinished. I just spoke to a tech at a local repair shop about it and he told me that the epdm is paper thin and I should not walk on it. I know better because I've been on it several times since the white coating wore off. All I wanted was to recoate it with the proper white coating and remove and replace. the caulking. Then he says that it needs a new epdm roof. I know better. Is h e right?? The black epdm looks fine. No holes or cracks.He quoted me a price of $685 just to replace the caulk. This sounds all wrong. What do any of you think?? Thanks for any and all replies.
  • troubledwaters's avatar
    troubledwaters
    Explorer III
    Mar 02, 2017
    I don't know if you need a new roof or not, it sounds to me like you do but I will leave that up to the experts.

    I will say this about the caulk. The caulk is tenacious, to remove the existing caulk on my trailer would take me at least 4 hours (and possibly a lot more depending on how diligent I was in "removing all" ). Then it's about another 2 - 4 hours to replace it all. So if you figure on the low side 6 hours of work at $80.00 per hour plus materials you got your answer.

    Now if I am only resealing the bad spots then it's about $150.00 worth of work. But remove and replace is a whole different ball game.
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Mar 02, 2017
    Find a mobile RV Tech and get a second opinion. Even if the black is showing through, it can be recoated and will be okay.

    I just restored the roof on our 96 Southwind. Use Eternabond on the seams and edges and eliminate as much caulking as possible.
  • ChuckV1's avatar
    ChuckV1
    Explorer
    Mar 02, 2017
    I don't believe you will find mobile RV Tech fro $80 an hour, more like $95 up to $110 or more depending on far they have to travel .....

    There is a number DYI on doing this on the internet, but as the OP stated it will take a number of hours and everything has to be prepped just right or you will screw it up ....As one of the others stated find another RV Tech or take it to a RV shop with a good reputation an ask them ......

    I can tell you this, a new roof will cost you big bucks, our 33ft 5th wheel was $6K with labor
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Mar 03, 2017
    I was given a guesstimate of 20 to 30 man hours plus materials. It is outragiously expensive.

    I'll possibly simply put herculiar over the entire roof.
  • Camper_G's avatar
    Camper_G
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2017
    ChuckV1 wrote:
    I don't believe you will find mobile RV Tech fro $80 an hour, more like $95 up to $110 or more depending on far they have to travel .....

    There is a number DYI on doing this on the internet, but as the OP stated it will take a number of hours and everything has to be prepped just right or you will screw it up ....As one of the others stated find another RV Tech or take it to a RV shop with a good reputation an ask them ......

    I can tell you this, a new roof will cost you big bucks, our 33ft 5th wheel was $6K with labor
    wow, that's crazy. That's exactly why I'm holding onto my old aluminium roof rig as long as i can
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2017
    Camper G wrote:
    ChuckV1 wrote:
    I don't believe you will find mobile RV Tech fro $80 an hour, more like $95 up to $110 or more depending on far they have to travel .....

    There is a number DYI on doing this on the internet, but as the OP stated it will take a number of hours and everything has to be prepped just right or you will screw it up ....As one of the others stated find another RV Tech or take it to a RV shop with a good reputation an ask them ......

    I can tell you this, a new roof will cost you big bucks, our 33ft 5th wheel was $6K with labor
    wow, that's crazy. That's exactly why I'm holding onto my old aluminium roof rig as long as i can
    Prepare for a long holding time, my aluminum roof is 45 yrs old.
  • Camper_G's avatar
    Camper_G
    Explorer
    Mar 04, 2017
    westend wrote:
    Camper G wrote:
    ChuckV1 wrote:
    I don't believe you will find mobile RV Tech fro $80 an hour, more like $95 up to $110 or more depending on far they have to travel .....

    There is a number DYI on doing this on the internet, but as the OP stated it will take a number of hours and everything has to be prepped just right or you will screw it up ....As one of the others stated find another RV Tech or take it to a RV shop with a good reputation an ask them ......

    I can tell you this, a new roof will cost you big bucks, our 33ft 5th wheel was $6K with labor
    wow, that's crazy. That's exactly why I'm holding onto my old aluminium roof rig as long as i can
    Prepare for a long holding time, my aluminum roof is 45 yrs old.


    haha, NICE! Good stuff. I always enjoy seeing the older rigs when I walk the campground loops. I'm sure it's still in good shape too, isn't it?
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Mar 04, 2017
    Camper G wrote:
    westend wrote:
    Camper G wrote:
    ChuckV1 wrote:
    I don't believe you will find mobile RV Tech fro $80 an hour, more like $95 up to $110 or more depending on far they have to travel .....

    There is a number DYI on doing this on the internet, but as the OP stated it will take a number of hours and everything has to be prepped just right or you will screw it up ....As one of the others stated find another RV Tech or take it to a RV shop with a good reputation an ask them ......

    I can tell you this, a new roof will cost you big bucks, our 33ft 5th wheel was $6K with labor
    wow, that's crazy. That's exactly why I'm holding onto my old aluminium roof rig as long as i can
    Prepare for a long holding time, my aluminum roof is 45 yrs old.


    haha, NICE! Good stuff. I always enjoy seeing the older rigs when I walk the campground loops. I'm sure it's still in good shape too, isn't it?

    Yeah, it's in fairly good shape. It's better, now, that I ground off 40 years of bad sealants, applied some Eternabond, and painted it white. It should be good for another 45. :B
  • CavemanCharlie's avatar
    CavemanCharlie
    Explorer III
    Mar 04, 2017
    I just got a quote to coat my 20 foot TT roof and they want 1000 dollars. :E For that price I will definitely be doing it myself. Even if I have to just get up there and screw down something else.

    I'm not going to do that first though. I have seen videos on doing it yourself on You Tube. I don't want to do the work but, I'm not paying someone a grand to do a job that looks like it can be done in a afternoon.
  • Drbolasky's avatar
    Drbolasky
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2017
    I am looking at either replacing my EPDM roof or having it done by somebody like RVArmor. Quote for roof replacement from my dealer was $5000-$6000 including labor (about 40 hours). RVArmor quote is about $3000- $4000 (28' TT) depending on how much work has to be done before the sealants go on. Either way it ain't cheap. And yes, I'm nostalgic about the aluminum roof on our old Sunline..........

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