Roof, Slide and Awning
Roof Repair and Replacement
In short: An RV roof is a membrane with dozens of penetrations through it, and every leak we find starts at a penetration rather than in the middle of the field, which is why resealing on a schedule prevents almost every roof replacement.
- Typical range
- $750 to $18,000+
- Labor hours
- 4 to 80 hours
- Updated
Almost every expensive problem on a recreational vehicle starts on the roof. Delamination, soft floors, rotten framing, ruined cabinetry, mould, electrical failure. All of them are water damage, and nearly all of the water came in through the roof, and nearly all of it came in at a penetration rather than through the membrane itself.
That is the useful thing to understand about roofs, because it means the failure is almost entirely preventable by a task that costs very little.
The penetrations are the problem
A typical coach roof has between fifteen and forty holes cut in it: vents, fans, air conditioner, skylights, antenna and satellite mounts, solar mounts, plumbing vents, refrigerator vent, marker lights, ladder mounts, and whatever the previous owner screwed down. Each is sealed at installation and each seal has a service life.
In Southern California that service life is shorter than the manufacturer assumed. UV here degrades sealant faster than in most of the country, and the thermal cycling on a roof that goes from ambient to well above 60 degrees Celsius daily works every joint mechanically. Self-levelling lap sealant that looks intact from the ground is frequently cracked when you get up and press it with a thumb.
So the inspection matters more than any product choice. Twice a year, on the roof, pressing every seal.
Roof types
EPDM. Rubber membrane, most common on trailers and mid-market coaches. Flexible, forgiving, easily patched. Chalks and thins with UV over 10 to 15 years. The white surface coat washing off in streaks down the sides is normal ageing, not failure.
TPO. Thermoplastic membrane, stiffer than EPDM, seams can be heat welded which makes for a stronger joint. Better resistance to chemicals and cleaning agents. Similar lifespan.
Fiberglass. Hard laminated roof, common on higher-end coaches and many fifth wheels. Longest lived, best hail resistance, walkable. Fails by cracking and delaminating rather than tearing, and repairs are laminate work rather than membrane work.
Aluminium. Older units and some lightweights. Sealed at panel seams and fasteners rather than being a continuous membrane, so it has many more linear feet of joint to maintain.
What we do
Inspection and leak tracing. Water travels. The stain inside is frequently metres from the entry point, so tracing means moisture mapping rather than guessing. This is where a hidden damage assessment earns its cost.
Resealing. Old sealant removed, not covered over. Fresh sealant over cracked sealant traps water and hides the failure.
Patching and section repair. Punctures, tears, hail bruising and seam failures repaired in the matching membrane material with a tapered bond.
Component reseal and replacement. Vents, fans, skylights, air conditioner gaskets, solar and antenna mounts. Roof-mounted components are usually the leak, so replacing a failed fan is often the actual repair rather than an add-on.
Decking replacement. Where water has reached the substrate. This is the point where a roof job becomes a large job.
Full membrane replacement. Strip, inspect and replace decking as needed, new membrane bonded, every component reinstalled and resealed.
Coating systems. Liquid-applied elastomeric coatings over sound membrane. Useful for extending life and reducing heat load. Not a fix for a compromised roof, and applying one over a leak seals a problem in.
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection and full reseal | $750 to $1,800 | 4 to 10 |
| Patch repair, membrane | $900 to $2,500 | 5 to 13 |
| Vent, fan or skylight replacement | $350 to $1,800 | 2 to 9 |
| Coating system application | $1,800 to $4,500 | 10 to 24 |
| Membrane replacement, dry decking | $3,500 to $9,000 | 22 to 48 |
| Full replacement with decking work | $9,000 to $18,000+ | 45 to 80 |
Body labor is $210 per hour. Where the job crosses into structural decking and framing it is billed at the structural rate. The pricing page has the full sheet.
The gap between the top and bottom of that table is decking. Dry decking is a membrane job. Wet decking is a rebuild, and it usually brings delamination and interior water damage with it.
Hail
Hail on a membrane roof punctures and bruises. Bruising is the more insidious of the two because the membrane is not obviously breached but has been compressed and weakened, and it fails later.
On fiberglass, hail produces stars and crazing in the laminate.
Either way, document and file promptly. A hail claim submitted a year after the storm is routinely declined on the basis that the damage cannot be dated to a covered event, and that is a defensible position for the carrier to take. Photograph the roof, note the storm date, and file. Hail damage repair covers the repair side.
Maintenance that actually prevents this
Twice a year, get on the roof if it is rated for it, or have someone do it. Press every seal. Look at every seam. Clean the membrane with a product appropriate to its type, because petroleum-based cleaners will destroy EPDM.
Reseal at the first sign of cracking rather than at the first sign of leaking. The difference in cost between those two moments is the difference between an afternoon and a rebuild.
Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.