Somewhere in here I mentioned I was having the roof of my AF 29-5 re-roofed via RV ARMOR - here's a couple of shots of it now - Found out photos of a WHITE roof don't tell much of a story. I'll say I am very satisfied. BEFORE:



AFTER:

 

So is this sprayed on or painted on?

 

Brush and roller - they came to me. Done in my driveway where the RV resides.

 

Can you share the cost and warranty?

 

Roof looks great. I know there are several new types of coatings out there including one from Dicor that is suppose to decrease the heat transferred through the roof. I am not familiar with them so if you have used them or had them installed cue me in!

Steve

 

Does it still feel "rubber like" or pliable after drying completely or does it feel more like a hard shell over the rubber roof? My wife and I plan to do this to our new to us MHC 313RE when we find the right one.

As Steve said, there are several different companies out there providing this sort of service and it appears to be a massive layer of Dicor sealant rolled on.

 

I used the Dicor about 3 or 4 years ago and it still looks good except where the geese used it for target practice after eating red berries. I don't want to use anything stronger than mild soap and water. No one will see the stains up there anyway.

 

1. Steve (and others): Here's a link: Welcome to RV Armor .
Watch the video, it's just what they did right here in my driveway. Steve, I think they are looking for installers.

2. Sous: It's not a "hard shell", but it has a "give" to it. It is NOT Dicor. The product was UPS'ed to my house a few days before the installers arrival. Cans and other supplies have their name on it. They DID use Dicor to go around all the accessories mounted on the roof before painting with their product.

3. Mike: They charge by the roof size - so measure your roof length and width before calling them for estimate - it is NOT cheap. LOTS of labor involved. Took then 2.5 days to finish. Installers are real easy to work with. My roof is warrantied now forever.... warranty is transferable to one more owner (I think it's just one). First year warranty is by the installer so they are pretty careful to "do it right" !

They will do repairs (at extra cost) if they find problems during the inspection which is the first thing they do.... or if they find anything after removing all the DICOR around the accessories. Again, watch the video.

Annual care consists of washing with a MILD soap and soft brush.

One more thing, if you DO contract their services, please tell them I told you about it... I think you get a discount if you do. Don't know what, if anything, I get if you do. Once it's done, it's done! My name is Charles Pytko. Maryland.

 

My biggest concern is the warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind it, they don't appear to have been in the RV roof business very long. I also didn't see how they deal with wrinkles in the old membrane. I like the concept but with everything in life nothing is perfect.

 

I watched it. I am impressed and would highly consider this. I wonder what the cost will be for mine.

I could only imagine.

 

Only one way to find out, Scott. Doesn't cost anything either.

 

I have seen this product displayed at several RV shows. There is also a competitor whose product looks a little different. It looks to me like they did a very professional job. It will be interesting to see if it catches on.

Its kind of crazy. Everyone knows keeping RVs water tight is a real challenge, but the industry keeps on doing the same old same old. Seems like someone could invent-a-better-mouse-trap and stop problems before they start!

Steve

 

Agreed, when you spend $40,000 and up you shouldn't have to spend another 5 grand or more to make it right.

 

First timer here in the towing forum. I hang around the diesels but was snooping on you guys because I'm looking into a fiver.

I have an advanced degree in engineering and have been doing building envelope (roof, windows, water barriers etc) engineering for almost 20 yrs. It pays my bills.

Ignoring damage, RV roofs leak at transitions and terminations. Aside from aesthetics, there's no real need to coat the entire roof unless the RV is 15 to 20 yrs old. These roofs historically have been EPDM membranes. They're moving to TPO membranes. I don't use TPOs because they don't have a good history of success. Plus, TOPs have a history of getting brittle with age. That doesn't sound like a good solution for an RV.

Dicor sealant is used almost exclusively to seal around openings and terminations. 3 yrs of UV exposure and Dicor is cracking. It's the nature of the all these butyl-acrylic products. They are very UV sensitive.

On my TT, I've resealed all my openings and coated over them with about 40 mils of urethane coating. Acrylic coatings won't stick to the white EPDM without a primer. I won't have to touch my roof for at least 10 more years.

I resealed with a combination of Dicor and Sikaflex 715. I tried 715 because I thought I wouldn't have to coat over it. 715 is a Silane terminated polyurethane (STPU or STPe polyether). STPe and STPU are UV stable, so it doesn't have to be covered. Two reasons RV repair shop as don't do this when they reseal roofs. First, it cost more. Two, the owner will not need to spend money on that RV roof again unless it's damaged.

STPes have been referred to as silcone hybrids, but that's not quite true. They have the performance of silicone (almost no UV degredation), but other sealants and paints will sick to them. Nothing sticks to a silicone except another silicone (ASTM C920 testing).

Problem with 715 is that it's too flexible and too sticky. It stays sticky for 2 months and catches every leaf and bug that hits it. Anything that gets within 2 inches of that stuff sticks to it. What a pain to pick that stuff out. So. I installed it and a week later coated it with a urethane coating. Maybe I could have dusted it with baby powder or something to keep stuff from sticking to it till lost its takyness.

Soprema uses to make a white Alsan liquid applied product that was a urethane butyl blend. I coated an old camper with it. It was some good stuff. They no longer make it and replaced it with an less expensive acrylic product that I'm not fond of.

The coating being discussed above can be an acrylic, urethane, STPe, or silicone based. I've been told silicone will eat the EPDM membrane up. I'm not sure that's true, but I do know silicone does not really adhere to EPDM and once you go silicone, you are stuck with silicone from that point forward. So, I'm skeptical of silicone RV roof coatings and generally avoid silicone roof coating in general unless I know the next roof repair with be a full replacement. Other experts will disagree with that stance.

There are some good urethane and STPe type roof coatings available for buildings. I see no reason they won't work for rvs. They are just not marketed for rvs. I would avoid the other chemistries.

Wow, that for long. Sorry for geeking out.

 

"Two reasons RV repair shop as don't do this when they reseal roofs. First, it cost more. Two, the owner will not need to spend money on that RV roof again unless it's damaged."

To set the record straight here on the whys and wherefores. Many techs, of which I am one, do what we have been trained to do and we simply know nothing about 90% of what you have posted. If there is a better way to do something, I along with many others are all ears. Your statement that things are simply done to necessitate repeat business by doing things half-assed is nonsense.

As to the issue of cost, it is more often the case that cost reflects customer bias, not me or a lot of folks like me trying to cut corners.

Steve