Comparing Roof Coatings - Flex Armor, RV-Armor, Rhino Lining

[gypsydan]

i cannot find the source of a major leak in the overhang of my 2009 Thor Class C Four-Winds, and so am almost certain I will have to end up replacing the roof. I would therefor like to find out what experience people have had with these 3 products. I'm thinking one of these would be better than reinstalling a rubber roof.

Flex Armor  

RV-Armor  

Rhino Lining  - Is it true this coating does not flex? I could see that being a problem on a class C.

[GlennWest]

For what it's worth, I considering RV-Armor. They come to campground or home. Flex Armor may be superior but have to leave camper and it's heavier. They also can't do the slides due to thickness. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by GlennWest

[Daveh]

I did the flexarmor but cannot give you much detail as I only have had for about 4months. Looks great. They remove everything, drip rails, vents, AC  and cover all seams. Wehn they reinstall you get new vent covers and new seal for the ACs.Total additional weight when done is about 150 lbs as I recall.  The coating virtually dries on contact after being sprayed and they apply a thick coat.   It is much thicker than an epdm. As Glenn said they do not do it in a campground so we stayed in a nearby hotel a few nights.  I did not realize that Rhino was now doing roofs. Both flexarmor and the Rhino bedliner materials are made from polyurea. The flexarmor is a modified formula of polyurea to allow for flex as cracking was a concern. It is softer to the feel than a bedliner. So did Rhino also modify their formula? Another question I would have is whether this is actually Rhino of Rhino lining fame or if someone is playing games with the tradename.   RV ROOF also goes by Flexarmor and is trademarked and then you get the campground one going by the name of RV Armor causing all kinds of confusion. Anyway. I love the new roof. I had a branch rip our first one and I would be very surprised if a branch could get through this. Plus no more annual maintenance. We had ours done in Mesa Arizona but the first store is in Green Cove Springs Fl.

[Daveh]

33 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

 They also can't do the slides due to thickness. 

 

I guess they will do slides but they are reluctant to do so (at least at the Mesa shop). The guy said they don't recommend it and it would be disproportionately expensive. I didn't ask for details.

[marajade]

There is a difference in warranty. Rhino isn't an actual material for an rv, it is something made for industrial buildings or something. Rhino doesn't warranty against leaks. Flex Armor does.

I'd look for complaints on google on all companies, see what is out there.

[Big Greg]

We had RV Armor coat our roof in September 2015 while in Bradenton, FL at a campground.  We had a leak on the back wall due to exposed screw heads at the rubber roof and rear cap joint.  Cost was $4500 including doing 4 slide roofs.  Last I heard they no longer do slide roofs.  They removed the vent covers and AC covers and dish.  It took 4 days due to some rain and heavy dew delays.  We did have 2 warranty cosmetic calls as the last of 3 coatings "cracked" in 3 or 4 places.  There was no leaks as the original roof and first coats were OK.  They responded to us while in Michigan and then Alabama.   Their warranty response was excellent and repaired the problems.  They also supply a lifetime warranty.  They coated the drip edge all the way around the roof and the roof remained white until we sold the HitchHiker this month.  We were pleased with the roof.       Greg

Edited February 25, 2019 by Big Greg

[gypsydan]

Thank you for all the replies.  I was hoping someone in Escapees, or at least who read this forum, had had a Rhino Liner put on their roof.  I appreciate these responses for, as usual, they told me what I wanted to hear. I did find a video on Youtube for a repair to my Chateau, done by rvroofinstall.com in Georgia.  A little expensive, though.   Will check with other forums and see what I can find.

An aside, if you are insterested in seeing how shoddy RVs are built, especially the welding, watch this video.

https://youtu.be/RlE3DNOknGg

 

[TLRam1]

On 2/26/2019 at 9:05 AM, gypsydan said:

Thank you for all the replies.  I was hoping someone in Escapees, or at least who read this forum, had had a Rhino Liner put on their roof.  I appreciate these responses for, as usual, they told me what I wanted to hear. I did find a video on Youtube for a repair to my Chateau, done by rvroofinstall.com in Georgia.  A little expensive, though.   Will check with other forums and see what I can find.

An aside, if you are insterested in seeing how shoddy RVs are built, especially the welding, watch this video.

https://youtu.be/RlE3DNOknGg

 

The way that roof was put on and the way this guys installs new roofs with everything raised above the surface, sounds like one would need to head over and get a new roof installed.

What kind of roof is this guy installing and how much does this guy charge?

Edited March 1, 2019 by TLRam1

[Lafitte]

Would reccomend Flex Armor Had my 5er done in Denton ,Tx. Very pleased with results and service.

[jrzygrl64]

My husband used to be an RV Armor installer, please reach out if you’d like to discuss with him, he’d be happy to answer questions. If you use his installer ID - you save a some money.  

bill.rvss@gmail.com

RV Armor is an excellent product that is guaranteed not to leak. Also - one of the best parts is the warranty is transferable if you sell your rig.  

[RV_]

Guaranteed not to leak forever or if time limited for how long?

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Had Flex Armour sprayed on at a Houston location.  Had a slide roof does as well there.  It made the rig quieter in hard rains, and hopefully cooler as well.  Our insurance paid the difference in price once the adjuster realized it has a lifetime warranty.

[DesertMiner]

1 hour ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Had Flex Armour sprayed on at a Houston location.  Had a slide roof does as well there.  It made the rig quieter in hard rains, and hopefully cooler as well.  Our insurance paid the difference in price once the adjuster realized it has a lifetime warranty.

Was this done on your DRV? Cost per foot? Price per slide out? TIA

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

54 minutes ago, DesertMiner said:

Was this done on your DRV? Cost per foot? Price per slide out? TIA

Yes, this was on our DRV.  The cost was $8800 including have the roof side radi replaced. 

[heritage60]

I did my own using Henry's Tropi cool 887 the summer of 2017. Total cost for 41 ft toy hauler with 3 slides was around $300, I was able to apply 2 coats using 6 gallons.

[Doug Daniels]

On 4/4/2019 at 9:05 PM, jrzygrl64 said:

My husband used to be an RV Armor installer, please reach out if you’d like to discuss with him, he’d be happy to answer questions. If you use his installer ID - you save a some money.  

bill.rvss@gmail.com

RV Armor is an excellent product that is guaranteed not to leak. Also - one of the best parts is the warranty is transferable if you sell your rig.  

Do you know any installers near Ste.Saint Marie,Michigan that you could recommend? 

[GlennWest]

I also used Henry's Tropic-cool on my Teton. One 5 gallon bucket covered it and slideouts. Also bought a gallon of same product in paste form. Went over all joints, caulking, eternabond. Used putty knife. Looks great and everything is sealed.

[lappir]

55 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

I also used Henry's Tropic-cool on my Teton. One 5 gallon bucket covered it and slideouts. Also bought a gallon of same product in paste form. Went over all joints, caulking, eternabond. Used putty knife. Looks great and everything is sealed.

Is that something similar to the "Cooling Paint" I am seeing? The one that say's you won't need A/C once you paint your house with it???? I have Fiberglass roof with a "Lifetime Warranty" unfortunately the warranty does not seem to cover the slide outs roofs. I have had to pay for repairs a couple times. When I first saw them I wasn't happy, but dummy me didn't mention it until the first leak and I had not been able to return to the factory again during the "First Year" of warranty coverage. If it leaks again I was going to try the "Boat" stuff in white. You know the guy who cuts the bottom out of a boat and replaces with screen wire covered in the miracle stuff. 

 

Rod

[GlennWest]

1 hour ago, lappir said:

Is that something similar to the "Cooling Paint" I am seeing? The one that say's you won't need A/C once you paint your house with it???? I have Fiberglass roof with a "Lifetime Warranty" unfortunately the warranty does not seem to cover the slide outs roofs. I have had to pay for repairs a couple times. When I first saw them I wasn't happy, but dummy me didn't mention it until the first leak and I had not been able to return to the factory again during the "First Year" of warranty coverage. If it leaks again I was going to try the "Boat" stuff in white. You know the guy who cuts the bottom out of a boat and replaces with screen wire covered in the miracle stuff. 

 

Rod

It is cool to the touch. Surprised me how cool. I can walk on it barefooted in the hot summer. It is siicom so no more dicor on it. Henry's does sell a caulking tube for any touch ups needed like changing out a vent, etc. I'm really impressed with it.

[jcussen]

2X on Henry's, did my summer single wide roof, and ac usage dropped way down. Used the white which is better than the silver.

Edited November 1, 2020 by jcussen

[bigjim]

I am definitly skeptical of of the  hard sell like the flex-seal guy and being a southerner his accent does not inspire confidence but tough situations require trying other things.  That being said I used some of the flex-seal liquid (roll or paint on -not spray) on some fairly severe patching and so far I am very well satisfied with it.  Key with almost all of this stuff is pre-application preparation.  I used pints and quarts because of the limited time frames I could use it and that turned out to be a good choice in my case. This has just been a few months back but as I say I am a happy camper.

If I was doing roof replacement and could do it I would have mine done where they could do it under cover in a somewhat controlled environment.  Also as cheap as I am I would defer to quality product and installer over cost.  Even a lifetime warranty won't help if a business closes a few years down the road for any reason.

 

[CFerguson]

No personal experience, but i have read several postings on various RV sites/forums that say that the Flex Seal stuff comes loose after about 6 months in the weather.  They do fun commercials tho.

[GlennWest]

My Henry's Tropic-cool job looks great still. 

[bigjim]

cferguson,  I will accept that might be true. Do you know if it was the spray or the liquid?  Of course his prep work could make a difference.  I hope mine holds up longer.  I had done  a couple of small things in years past. In one or 2 I even used Eternabond.  One held up much longer than  the other.  As I found out my prep at first was not nearly as good as I thought it was at the time.  This time around I think I went way above and beyond.  Guess time will tell.

[VBarber]

On 2/26/2019 at 7:05 AM, gypsydan said:

Thank you for all the replies.  I was hoping someone in Escapees, or at least who read this forum, had had a Rhino Liner put on their roof.  I appreciate these responses for, as usual, they told me what I wanted to hear. I did find a video on Youtube for a repair to my Chateau, done by rvroofinstall.com in Georgia.  A little expensive, though.   Will check with other forums and see what I can find.

An aside, if you are insterested in seeing how shoddy RVs are built, especially the welding, watch this video.

https://youtu.be/RlE3DNOknGg

 

I see this post is over a year old, so I don't know if you ever got the answers you were looking for regarding the Rhino roof.  We have a Rhino roof that we had put on in 2017.  Last year before the pandemic hit we were making plans to take the trailer to one of the Flex Armour places to have the Rhino roof peeled off, and replaced.   We are now making plans for this late spring to finally have it done.  
Hopefully you didn't go with the Rhino roof, as you'll be replacing it in a couple years.  BTW, Rhino will not warrant the work, and will blame the cracking and pinholes on the applicator.  Apparently there has never been a good applicator including Excel Trailers who went out of business shortly after they started having to change their roof warranty to five years, because they were putting the Rhino roofs on at the factory. 
Hope this helps, if you haven't done your roof yet.