Full Paint ? On 5th yes/no Regrets???

[mickeyblueyes]

Will be ordering .......soon a new home.....5th wheel final choice is close but I have some questions. For those who have come before me to this place in their lives and ordered a new 5 th (trailer) not whiskey ....did you get the full paint job @$8000 or so give or take a grand. Or did you get the standard offering. Down the road a year or three when you knew it was real love ......and you three would stay together till the bitter end. Was there regrets you did not dress her up better? All welcome to reply cause a home is a home as long as it has wheels and rolls. Thanks....Mike

[travelinbob]

Get the full body. We have half paint and the white with no paint after years will oxidize and you will have to put the ole elbow grease to it to get a shine on it.

After doing it several times over the years I now hire the guys that come to the RV Parks to do it at a cost of $350-$400 to do a wash-buff-wax job. After 10 years now I have to get it done about every year (or two).

Pay now or pay later.

[Sparky242]

I never had full body paint but my next 5er will be full body paint

[Chad Heiser]

We have full body paint and wouldn’t go back.  We also had them add additional clear coat to protect the paint/finish as much as possible.  I would do that again as well.

[missourijan]

My 2 cents is no. We have 2/3 paint. There have been some oxidation on a few spots on the white. We used polishing compound with a cheap orbital buffer and it looks like new. I think it also makes a difference the products you use on it. Ours has never had a water bath except rain. We have used Wash Wax All on it since day one. It's a "waterless" product that's easy to use. The initial kit is pricey but gives you everything you need for years, just reorder the concentrate. We mix the concentrate with water. I have no connection with the product just really like it and easy to use. I can use this product at any park, even those that don't allow washing rigs. If you keep the rig clean and treat the oxidation when it shows up it's easy to clear up.

[Big Greg]

When we purchased our new home in 2007 it had the standard finish and decals.  Three or four years later we had one large decal replaced as it was cracking and the edges peeled.  In 2012 the finish was oxidized and many decals were looking bad.  We really liked our fifth wheel home,  planed to keep it as we had it set up the way we wanted with upgrades over the years, and it was reliable.  We had Mike's Custom Paint in Bremen, IN come up with a unique design based on what we wanted, I needed to see what it was going to look like before spending a wad of dough.  It took five weeks to prep and paint and we were overjoyed when we saw it.  That was six years ago and we still love it.  It has three clear coats, we don't wax it, just use soap and water, the black streaks and bugs come off much easier, and it still looks great and shines.  

I'm wouldn't spend ~$8K on paint for a brand new fifth wheel.  I would first want to be sure I really like it, planned to keep it,  and spend money on other possible upgrades first.  Once I know the fifth wheel is the one I want to keep and reliable then I'd want to spend (probably $11K or 12K) on a custom paint job.  I would assume the manufacturer has a limited number of paint designs you could select.        Greg

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Get the Full Body paint.  Had a Carrilite with partial paint and it was continued waxing polishing to keep it all looking nice.  Current RV is full body paint and is much easier to maintain.  

No regerts.....

Where's my SNickers?

[rpsinc]

We have a full body paint 2004 5er.  It doesnt appear that it was waxed regularly so the clear is breaking down.  I have looked at some options and will share MY findings.

1- Re paint the whole thing to the tune of $12K-$20K  Wash and Wax regularly

2- Spray over the existing paint with a clear poly urea.  $3500-$5000 DIY.  No waxing needed

3- Wrap the whole thing with a new color scheme and have a life of 4-7 years.  $3500-$6000  Wash and polish regularly esp in the SW

Havent decided yet.  Gotta make some $ available first.  I suppose that taking it to Mexico for a paint job is also an option, but there is the risk factor.

 

What have others done or considered?

[ms60ocb]

21 hours ago, Chad Heiser said:

We have full body paint and wouldn’t go back.  We also had them add additional clear coat to protect the paint/finish as much as possible.  I would do that again as well.

X2  Cleans so easy also. A good investment

[alan0043]

Does anyone have full body paint that is 8 to 9 years old without being waxed ? How does it look ? It reason for the question is, anything with paint and clear coat needs to be waxed. How long does it take to wax something about 40 feet long ? Lot's a factors to consider.

[chirakawa]

26 minutes ago, alan0043 said:

Does anyone have full body paint that is 8 to 9 years old without being waxed ? How does it look ? It reason for the question is, anything with paint and clear coat needs to be waxed. How long does it take to wax something about 40 feet long ? Lot's a factors to consider.

It's been my experience that paint and clear coat is a lot easier to maintain than gel coat and decals.  I wash and wax my gel coated fifth wheel twice a year.  It takes about 3 hours to give it a good cleaning and another 3 hours to wax.  It still doesn't look as good as the painted rigs I've seen.

[Big Greg]

Our fifth wheel was painted in 2012 so is 6+ years old now and has never been waxed.  We were told not to wax it by the painter.  We wash it 3 or 4 times a year and it still looks great, we are very pleased.     Greg 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

2 hours ago, alan0043 said:

Does anyone have full body paint that is 8 to 9 years old without being waxed ? How does it look ? It reason for the question is, anything with paint and clear coat needs to be waxed. How long does it take to wax something about 40 feet long ? Lot's a factors to consider.

Using some of the new polymer wax's makes it easy to do.  I started using a product called Simple Reflection and it seems to be working great.

[remoandiris]

8 hours ago, alan0043 said:

 How long does it take to wax something about 40 feet long ? Lot's a factors to consider.

Takes my wife and I a good 4 hrs to wax our 42' 5er.  Depending on temps, we may do it over 2 days. 

[alan0043]

On 10/9/2018 at 10:45 AM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Using some of the new polymer wax's makes it easy to do.  I started using a product called Simple Reflection and it seems to be working great.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for posting the name of of this new to me cleaner. I did a Google search, found a few things, but was hoping for more. Do you make your purchase of Simple Reflection at their web site or do you buy from some one else ? I need to know more about this product. It looks interesting.

Thanks for any help,
Al

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

3 minutes ago, alan0043 said:

Hi Jim,

Thanks for posting the name of of this new to me cleaner. I did a Google search, found a few things, but was hoping for more. Do you make your purchase of Simple Reflection at their web site or do you buy from some one else ? I need to know more about this product. It looks interesting.

Thanks for any help,
Al

Bought it off the Website.  I bought "The Complete Kit" and then some extra towels.  Recently ordered another gallon refill so I can do the truck and help a neighbor with his bus.  With all the dust, rain, snow, that we have had here at the park in North Dakota, the rig still looks great 4 months later.  It could use a quick touch up from some bird droppings etc, but it's shiny and the water doesn't stick.  As in no surface tension to hold it to the wall.  It just beads and falls off.

[alan0043]

6 minutes ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Bought it off the Website.  I bought "The Complete Kit" and then some extra towels.  Recently ordered another gallon refill so I can do the truck and help a neighbor with his bus.  With all the dust, rain, snow, that we have had here at the park in North Dakota, the rig still looks great 4 months later.  It could use a quick touch up from some bird droppings etc, but it's shiny and the water doesn't stick.  As in no surface tension to hold it to the wall.  It just beads and falls off.

Thanks Jim. I need to place an order and get the trailer ready for winter.

Thanks again,
Al

[Pete Kildow]

Full body paint all the way. With the clear-coat on ours. its 6 years old and still looks new. Camper before this one, within a year. It was showing age, even stored under a building when not being used.

[2gypsies]

On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 5:15 AM, alan0043 said:

Does anyone have full body paint that is 8 to 9 years old without being waxed ? How does it look ? It reason for the question is, anything with paint and clear coat needs to be waxed. How long does it take to wax something about 40 feet long ? Lot's a factors to consider.

We never waxed ours but instead, used 'The Solution' every 6 weeks when we washed it.  It is a liquid and goes on very lightly with a paper towel and another to remove the excess. Easy to do in a campground; many times just doing a small amount spread out over our stay days such as when waiting for the grill to heat up, etc.  Very simple - could do it all at once within an hour or so.  We sold ours after 8 years and it looked brand new.  No effort whatsoever.

[Fulltimer51]

I say it depends. I had a 2013 Lifestyle with full body paint, but the colors were all dark. Browns, tans, and black. Not colors you want in the summer. It was hot. I now have a partial paint on my 2015 DRV.  Lite colors make all the difference. 

[mickeyblueyes]

1 hour ago, Fulltimer51 said:

I say it depends. I had a 2013 Lifestyle with full body paint, but the colors were all dark. Browns, tans, and black. Not a colors you want in the summer. It was hot. I now have a partial paint on my 2015 DRV.  Lite colors make all the difference. 

Good point! Thanks for the reply.

[mb36912]

If I had it to do all over again, I would absolutely get full body paint at the time of purchase.  It would have been much cheaper and saved me a lot of effort in the long run.

We have a 2008 42 ft KZ Escalade with partial paint (graphics only).  After 5 years, the finish was oxidizing and chalking.  Washing it twice/year took about 4 hours not including the roof.  I would then have to hit everything but the graphics with the polisher.  Depending on how bad the oxidation was, that would take me 12-16 hours and then about the same time to wax it again with the polisher.  Last year, we started looking at new rigs but decided we really liked ours so we checked into painting it.  We got quotes from Mike’s Custom Painting and Precision Paint in Bremen, IN and ended up getting the rig fully painted this past summer.  As mentioned above, the quote started out at $12,500 but ended up around $16,000 by the time we selected our design, colors, number of coats of clear coat, and other options.  Joan loves her “unique” paint design and colors.....I am just happy with how little work it takes to keep it looking nice.

if your new rig will come from northern Indiana, there is a chance it may be painted at Precision or Mike’s .....or one of several other quality paint shops up there.

[jayc103]

I too vote for buying a full painted trailer. It is cheaper because when you negotiate the price of purchase, it includes the paint. Many of us get 30% or more off the price, so that $10,000 paint job only costs $7,000. 

[mickeyblueyes]

On 10/18/2018 at 9:21 PM, mb36912 said:

If I had it to do all over again, I would absolutely get full body paint at the time of purchase.  It would have been much cheaper and saved me a lot of effort in the long run.

We have a 2008 42 ft KZ Escalade with partial paint (graphics only).  After 5 years, the finish was oxidizing and chalking.  Washing it twice/year took about 4 hours not including the roof.  I would then have to hit everything but the graphics with the polisher.  Depending on how bad the oxidation was, that would take me 12-16 hours and then about the same time to wax it again with the polisher.  Last year, we started looking at new rigs but decided we really liked ours so we checked into painting it.  We got quotes from Mike’s Custom Painting and Precision Paint in Bremen, IN and ended up getting the rig fully painted this past summer.  As mentioned above, the quote started out at $12,500 but ended up around $16,000 by the time we selected our design, colors, number of coats of clear coat, and other options.  Joan loves her “unique” paint design and colors.....I am just happy with how little work it takes to keep it looking nice.

if your new rig will come from northern Indiana, there is a chance it may be painted at Precision or Mike’s .....or one of several other quality paint shops up there.

Now I’m just asking as a green horn, so please don’t flame me, when I was doing a cross country tour a while back I was crossing the street in Hot Springs Ark.and saw a guy with the same truck as me. But it was a mirror finish .....perfect.....so I wander over says hi, I got  the same truck what’s your secret. He laughed cause there black trucks .

if you never owned one..... anyway he says the secret is I just Got it painted......I’m like wow nice job,but $10,000 is too “spendy “ for me.

he laughed and said he had it done in Mexico for $4000. 

 

So being road road warriors why not take your 5er to the boarder and get it done ,for half price.. and get your teeth cleaned at the same time? 

Just asking......

[Oldav8r]

Out of curiosity what’s the weight of a full paint job?