new roof

[poorboy]

the dealer said i needed a new roof. there is a soft area between the a/c and by the antenna. this trailer is only 6 years old and mostly sits in my driveway, very few miles. this is my 3rd trailer and have never replace a roof. no signs of any leaks inside at all. the dealer said they can not spot repair roof but would remove the rubber roof, replace the plywood decking as needed, and install new rubber roof. my question to the veteran rv'ers, is this correct? the ballpark number is around $7,000.00 has anybody been through this, is this for real. i love my trailers floorplan and since it is paid for, i would like to keep it. the dealer is a quality dealer, i've not heard anything bad about them, but the voices of experience carries alot of weight not to mention wisdom. thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[poorboy]

John,

thanks for the input, I will wait and see what they say on 12-8 and yes there labor rate is more than $115 per hour. nothing is cheap in the Philadelphia area. like i said before, i would like it done and done right so i can enjoy it a few more years. the area is between the a/c and antenna, not at either end of the trailer. thought about getting a new one, but it seems the new ones have issues as well.
thanks again.

[NJRVer]

I would cut the back to the rafters on either side of the rot.
Replace the wood.
Buy a piece of roof material and glue it to the wood.
Take some Eterna Bond tape and tape the new seams.
Just for extra insurance coat the whole roof with Henry 887.

[JBarca]

poorboy wrote:
the dealer said i needed a new roof. there is a soft area between the a/c and by the antenna. this trailer is only 6 years old and mostly sits in my driveway, very few miles. this is my 3rd trailer and have never replace a roof. no signs of any leaks inside at all. the dealer said they can not spot repair roof but would remove the rubber roof, replace the plywood decking as needed, and install new rubber roof. my question to the veteran rv'ers, is this correct? the ballpark number is around $7,000.00 has anybody been through this, is this for real. i love my trailers floorplan and since it is paid for, i would like to keep it. the dealer is a quality dealer, i've not heard anything bad about them, but the voices of experience carries alot of weight not to mention wisdom. thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I have done 3 total roof tear offs and replacements, and I'm in the process of doing 4 more now.

A spot repair on a corner area, along the front or rear wall, is doable, I have done them. A repair in the middle of the roof is more complex and by then, you may be into a whole roof for not that much more.

The cost issue is 2 fold. Labor, are they charging $115 or more an hour? Materials, if they are marking up the materials as many do, the cost adds up quick.

A bigger issue is, where else did the water go? Down a wall? This then gets bad fast as far as work hours.

I have a somewhat extreme retirement hobby, restoring wet campers. They are all fixable, the the labor hours to do it right, not take short cuts, use high grade materials and seal them up better then original, adds up. The only way I can afford to do this on a 10 year old plus camper is my labor rate is cheap.

It sounds like you are going in for a more accurate estimate. That can help hone in on it, but ask them to detail what they will provide for that price and what they will not. And what they guarantee. Once they open up the roof, they can see how much other damage is there and may/will request a price increase. You should request that once they open it up, they inspect it and confirm the cost will not increase or will before proceeding with the rest of the work. Most reputable shops may do this anyway, but ask and know going in what to expect.

A side point, just because you cannot see water damage in the living space, does not mean there is not any leaks. The ways campers are built, seeping leaks can be ongoing a long, long time before you ever see water damage inside. If you want to know yourself how much water damage is affected before you ever take the camper apart, by using a pinless moisture meter and knowing how to use it, you can tell a lot where the damage is or is not. This is a topic in it self. If you want more on this, let me know. The meter has not yet ever failed me finding water in the walls, ceiling or floor.

Hope this helps

John

[poorboy]

thanks for all the input, but the $7k was just a ballpark #. I have an appointment Dec. 8th for the techs to physically look at the roof and give me a firm estimate. I do plan on keeping this trailer for years to come, so I guess it will pay in the long run to fix it right. as I said before, it is paid for and this would be cheaper than buying a new trailer. thanks again.

[lane_hog]

For the money, I'd call the RVRoof folks. I worked with the shop in Kansas City on a quote for our motorhome (which was ultimately totalled instead of repaired), but they have other locations as well.

https://rvroof.com/

[Bumpyroad]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:
I know what is involved to fix that roof, I have done lots of major and minor RV repairs. I designed and built an entire new roof for one I fixed years ago.

So what is your opinion on EPDM alternatives like TPO and PVC ?

I am very impressed by what I have read/seen at RV Roof Install. They use commercial grade TPO and give a 20 year warranty.

TPO is "interesting" as all seams a "heat welded". Plus all items attached to the roof are mounted on a "curb" that raise them up about 6" above the surface of the roof. Pre-formed corners are "welded" between these curbs and the roof.



All seams and edges have an "under layer" applied first.



You will also note, they do not use any caulk/sealants ! They believe their "welding" process is adequate.

I personally would use ABR (anything but rubber).
bumpy

[theoldwizard1]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
I know what is involved to fix that roof, I have done lots of major and minor RV repairs. I designed and built an entire new roof for one I fixed years ago.

So what is your opinion on EPDM alternatives like TPO and PVC ?

I am very impressed by what I have read/seen at RV Roof Install. They use commercial grade TPO and give a 20 year warranty.

TPO is "interesting" as all seams a "heat welded". Plus all items attached to the roof are mounted on a "curb" that raise them up about 6" above the surface of the roof. Pre-formed corners are "welded" between these curbs and the roof.



All seams and edges have an "under layer" applied first.



You will also note, they do not use any caulk/sealants ! They believe their "welding" process is adequate.

[ReneeG]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
I see posts like this and it disturbs me.

I know what is involved to fix that roof, I have done lots of major and minor RV repairs. I designed and built an entire new roof for one I fixed years ago.

The rubber roof is one piece from end to end, therefore if you need to work on a spot near the AC you have to take a sizable portion of it off, but need it all off to replace it. Stripping the rubber back and then re-using it is not a good idea.

OK, yeah, it's a lot of work, I know. But to see the money that these places charge severely annoys me. I could do it for half of that and still make a wage after paying for material. 7 grand? Wow, just wow!

Unfortunately, the shop rate is high and most of us are at the mercy of the repair facilities. They do have a lot of overhead, the shop to pay for and all the rest of it, but gee whiz, 7K?

Sadly, most shops will likely be similar in price. Kinda makes me want to open up my own shop and offer reasonable priced repairs.

Anyhow, good luck to you, definitely shop around for a better price, and make sure you do your homework on the credibility of the shop and technicians you choose.

Our RV tech here is going to do ours for $4k and not charge us for the wood if it needs it because he has it on hand, and I thought that was high.

[spoon059]

I can tell you that I wouldn't pay for a new rubber roof, ever. If you have to strip the roof to fix the damage, I would get a far superior roofing system like the flexarmor system.

Option B is to cut the rubber where the roof is soft (go 6 inches into solid wood to make your rubber cut). Repair the damaged wood substrate and cover it with Liquid EPDM material. https://www.epdmcoatings.com/liquid-rubber.php I did this on my old camper that had a soft spot in the back corner. The Liquid EPDM literally goes on like paint and bonds to the existing roof so you don't have any seams.

Option B would be far cheaper, and you might be able to do it yourself. I cut out the rotted plywood on the roof and cut the rotted sections of the 2x2 cross members out of the roof. I used Gorilla glue and screws to sister new 2x2's to the damaged 2x2's. Put some new fiberglass insulation in, put a new section of plywood down, "painted" on the EPDM and the leak was fixed.

[valhalla360]

Is that a firm price or a worst case estimate.

It's not uncommon that they go with the worst case estimate. If they tell you $7k and in the end it's $4k, you walk away happy that they got it done cheaper.

If they tell you $4k (their real best estimate) and once they open it up, it's worse, either they eat the cost difference or you get ticked off that it suddenly went up to $7k.

Getting a 2nd opinion is a good idea.

Without seeing the damage myself, hard to say if they are taking advantage of you or not.

[LarryJM]

poorboy wrote:
the dealer said i needed a new roof. there is a soft area between the a/c and by the antenna. this trailer is only 6 years old and mostly sits in my driveway, very few miles. this is my 3rd trailer and have never replace a roof. no signs of any leaks inside at all. the dealer said they can not spot repair roof but would remove the rubber roof, replace the plywood decking as needed, and install new rubber roof. my question to the veteran rv'ers, is this correct? the ballpark number is around $7,000.00 has anybody been through this, is this for real. i love my trailers floorplan and since it is paid for, i would like to keep it. the dealer is a quality dealer, i've not heard anything bad about them, but the voices of experience carries alot of weight not to mention wisdom. thanks in advance for your thoughts.

While it might be the dealers policy not to do spot repairs, that doesn't mean it can't be done at probably a very tiny fraction of what they quoted you. That ridiculous $7k cost probably includes replacing the entire wood since it's not good to try and remove the rubber and putting new rubber on wood that has had prior rubber membrane glued to it so you are paying to replace probably 75%+ of perfectly good roof to fix the 25% that is bad and the percentages of good are probably much higher than my 75% guesstimate. If it's the A/C that has leaked and damaged the roof the damage probably is less than 2 to 3' around the A/C and you wouldn't even have to go all the way to the roof edges to fix thus avoiding messing with the edge trim and roof overlayment to the sides on the sides of the trailer. Of course there is no way to know until one actual tears into the roof and assesses the actual damage. You can also get a ballpark idea of the damage by removing the inside A/C coverings and looking at the roof support for the A/C from the inside. IMO there is nothing wrong with removing the roof over the bad wood, replacing the wood and then putting new roof on that area and sealing the seams between the old and new roof material with Eternabond. While it will show a patch, IMO for a used trailer that fact should not effect the resale value that much as long as you document and take before and after pictures of the repair to show any new buyers what was done. I definitely think finding and using a good Mobil Tech to do this would be the best option to at least explore before paying $7K for a entire new roof.

Larry

[Grit_dog]

Soft spot and not leaking?
How many years can you “ not” step there for 7 grand?
Seriously, find where it did leak, make sure that doesn’t happen again before spending a dime on the roof replacement and then I’d personally try to see how long it lasts before digging in.

[CFerguson]

If youre going to spend that kind of money, i'd consider one of these: https://rvroof.com/what-is-flexarmor/

[Lwiddis]

X2 on a second opinion.