coachmac9 Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 One of the things we knew we were going to have to replace on our RV when we made the purchase was the roof. I have gotten estimates from a couple of different sources and just feel like the cost is more than what it should be considering the amount of materials needed.(4-5 thousand dollar range) My question to you folks that have been doing this for a long time is this...have any of you re-done your roof yourself to keep the cost down and if so what type of coating product did you use? I am still in good health and would have no problem climbing around on the roof and the physical aspect of the work. I just feel like the savings would be tremendous and well worth my time and effort. Pros and Cons please!!! All suggestions appreciated...even the ones that think I would be crazy to undertake this job!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed ke6bnl Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Have you check on roll on roofing materials, check out some video, check into bedliner spray on. www.epdmcoatings.com http://rv-armor.com/ http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Roof-Repair-EPDM-Coatings/dp/B003U8IY4I/ref=pd_cp_hi_1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl&Rita Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Given all the screws holding down all the aluminium strips around the membrane perimeter, labour is a killer. I've done 2 trailers, and assisted on a couple more. The work isn't terribly hard, or skill intensive, other than lifting the roll of membrane up there. The bigger the roof, the heavier it gets. One of our units had enough roof rot that the whole plywood skin was stripped and replaced, which added to the work. If caught early enough, this can often be avoided. All roof penetrations received new hardware, such as new vents, tank breathers, fridge vent, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 What material is your roof? There are liquid coatings for most roof materials that can be applied by an owner. I have not used one but the estimates you are getting sound pretty typical of what others have reported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Greg Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 We had RV Armor coat our 36' rubber roof in October. From what I saw the expense isn't for the materials used as much as the labor involved. The couple spent 4 days (two were half days due to weather and a slow dry time for the rubber primer) and about 30 hours performing the coating. They also did the four slide roofs. They also give a lifetime warranty on the fifth wheel roof and no more caulking. Greg  edit, ours was $4500 which included $100 each for 4 slide roofs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Roof Armor quoted me $3800 for ours. I have a lot of stuff that has to be removed before they can start. I can see a lot of labor that has to be done, so the cost seems reasonable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmac9 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Thanks for the input guys. I have plenty of time during the summer so I am going to do it myself as it seems like a project that doesn't take a lot of special "know how" just a lot of "man hours" and sweat on my part...sounds like a perfect job for me!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budeneighe Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 As previously mentioned, I would strongly recommend watching as much video of people repairing / replacing / coating RV roofs before investing $$$ into an attempt. Regardless of which solution you choose or even if you pick someone else to do it, you will gain valuable perspective about the process, what the pitfalls might be, what to look for and what kinds of things might go sideways. Â This is more about the time the work will hold up than it is about the cost. If done right, with the right approach and materials and replacement of all of the things that might not hold up another xx years, it is worth the time it takes to know all this before you start making choices. Â There is a lot of content out there on Youtube, vimeo, and other streaming information sources. It's like free education in a can so make use of it. Good luck with whatever your choice becomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarvan Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Youtube is your friend. Â A lot of "know how" is not the same as "knowing a few (but critical) tricks." Â Caveat Camper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmac9 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks again guys for the advice. You can bet I will spend the rest of the winter months watching every video I can find and also ask as many questions as I can on the Discovery forum as well as this one. I am not in a rush so I should be able to find out all I need to know to either go forward with the project myself or allow someone else to do it. Thank you so much for all the input, one of the most valuable lessons my father taught me was to listen to as many opinions as possible before rushing to do something and that has served me well and kept me from getting in over my head on several projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmac9 Posted January 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Just an up-date...we decided not to wait till summer to do this and started yesterday afternoon. Watched endless hours of video on different products and decided to go with the liquid type of re-roofing material for a couple of reasons. The main one being it is much easier to handle (since it is just myself and the DW on the roof). Per directions, we washed the old roof and checked for bad spots. Took vent covers off and all the old putty that had accumulated over the years. Letting it dry today and will apply the roofing material this afternoon. The worst thing about the whole job...well, aside from getting my big butt up the ladder without falling off...is the black junk and white chalky material you get covered with. Other than that, not bad. Total materials cost will be in the 400 dollar range so it is well worth it when compared to the 4,000 dollars quoted...but I can also see where many folks would not want to be messing around up on the roof...it is a long way down and that sudden stop would really hurt!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltedpig Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I would strongly recommend that you run a rope from front to back and tie yourself on with a carabiner so if you lose your balance you won't hit the pavement so hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennWest Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Mine caulks badly. Fairly new roof. Considering spray on roofs, rv armor. Work is very demanding and don't have the hours to scrub it every other month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Greg Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Glenn, I had Roof Armor install a new roof in October after a friend had one installed last winter. If you give me your email address I can send you some info & pictures I shared with a couple other friends who are looking into roofs. bahnmiller@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana25k Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Helped my brother this summer. It was a nightmare getting all the trim off and on. Hours plus you must clean all the trim before reinstalling for new sealing to adhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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