Roof, Slide and Awning
RV AC Shroud Replacement and Roof Appliance Mounting
Typical range
$250 to $2,500
Shop hours
1 to 10
Labor rate
$210/hr
The short answer
AC shroud and roof appliance mounting covers cracked air conditioner shrouds, compressed gaskets, loose mounting bolts, and the resealing of antennas, satellite domes, and vent covers. Work runs $250 to $2,500, or 1 to 10 hours at $210 per hour plus parts.
01
What this work actually involves
The shroud on a rooftop air conditioner is thin UV-stabilized plastic that stops being UV-stabilized after enough desert summers. Coaches stored uncovered in Palm Springs, Indio, or Twentynine Palms show the same progression every time: the shroud fades, goes chalky, then develops hairline cracks at the corners and around the fastener bosses. After that it is one hailstone in Victorville or one parking structure clearance bar in Long Beach away from breaking apart. A broken shroud is not cosmetic, because it exposes the condenser coil and the fan to direct sun, rain, and debris.
The bigger issue underneath is the gasket. A Dometic Brisk II or a Coleman Mach sits over the standard 14 by 14 inch roof opening on a foam gasket, held down by bolts that run through the unit and pull it against the roof from inside the ceiling. That gasket is meant to compress to a specific thickness. Over years of heat cycling it takes a set and stops sealing, and owners respond by tightening the bolts, which crushes the gasket further, distorts the roof opening, and eventually cracks the deck around the cutout. Correct practice is replacing the gasket and torquing the bolts to the specified compression, not chasing the leak with a wrench.
The same principles apply to everything else on the roof. Satellite domes, TV antennas, solar combiner boxes, cellular antennas, and vent covers are all penetrations bedded on butyl and dressed with lap sealant, and all of them work loose from the daily expansion and contraction cycling that inland valley storage produces. When we have a unit in for roof work we pull and rebed the whole set rather than resealing around them, because a bead added on top of a loose flange bonds to the old sealant and separates with it.
Systems and brands we work on: Dometic, Dicor, MaxxAir, Fan-Tastic Vent, Eternabond.
Location: All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside, or fleet route service.
02
What the job includes
- Cracked, faded, or shattered AC shroud replacement in matching model fitment
- AC gasket replacement with bolts torqued to specified compression
- Roof opening and deck repair where over-tightening has distorted the cutout
- Ducted and non-ducted ceiling assembly removal and refit for access
- Satellite dome, TV antenna, and cellular antenna remounting and resealing
- Solar combiner box and wiring pass-through resealing
- Vent cover installation over powered fans and plumbing vents
- Butyl rebedding of every disturbed flange rather than sealing over it
- Self-leveling lap sealant dressing at all perimeters and fastener heads
- Water test at each remounted penetration before delivery
03
When you need this service
- A shroud that is cracked, chalky, faded, or missing pieces
- Water dripping from around the air conditioner during rain
- An AC unit that can be rocked or moved by hand on the roof
- A visible dip or distortion in the roof around the AC opening
- A satellite dome or antenna base with sealant lifted at its edge
- Rattling or wind noise from a roof appliance at highway speed
- Staining on the ceiling panel around the AC ceiling assembly
04
How we do it, step by step
- 01
Component and fitment identification
Air conditioner make and model confirmed so the shroud, gasket, and hardware match. Shrouds are model specific and near-fit replacements leave gaps at the airflow openings.
- 02
Mounting and gasket assessment
The unit is checked for movement, bolt condition is inspected from inside the ceiling, and the gasket compression is evaluated before anything is loosened.
- 03
Ceiling assembly removal
The interior air distribution box or ducted plenum comes down to access the mounting bolts. This is also the moment to check the ceiling panel for moisture around the opening.
- 04
Roof opening inspection
With the unit lifted, the deck around the 14 by 14 inch cutout is probed and metered. Over-tightened units routinely crush and soften the deck edge at the corners.
- 05
Deck correction where needed
Soft or distorted decking at the opening is repaired before the unit goes back, because a new gasket clamped against damaged deck will not seal evenly.
- 06
Reset and torque
New gasket fitted, unit set square in the opening, and bolts torqued in sequence to the specified gasket compression rather than tightened until they feel firm.
- 07
Seal, shroud, and test
Adjacent penetrations rebedded and sealed, the new shroud fitted, then every disturbed flange is water tested and the interior checked dry.
05
Pricing and posted rates
| Item | Rate or range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job range | $250 to $2,500 | Varies with extent of damage and parts availability |
| Shop hours | 1 to 10 | Quoted after teardown, not before |
| Body and paint labor | $210 per hour | 2026 posted rate |
| Paint supplies | $55 per paint hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Body supplies | $5 per body hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Parts | 100% markup under $100, 35% over | Special order parts require a non refundable deposit at order |
| Deposit | 50% at authorization over $2,000 | Additional 25% when parts arrive on jobs over $10,000 |
| Sales tax | 7.75% on parts and materials | Labor is not taxed |
Insurance billed jobs may be billed at carrier negotiated labor rates that differ from the posted retail rates above. See all posted rates.
07
Vehicles we do this work on
Vehicle
Class A Gas Motorhomes
A Class A gas motorhome is a flat-front coach built on a Ford F53 or Workhorse front-engine chassis, typically 28 to 38 feet. Rear
Vehicle
Class A Diesel Pusher Motorhomes
A diesel pusher carries a rear-mounted diesel on a raised-rail air ride chassis, usually 34 to 45 feet with full-body paint and pa
Vehicle
Class C Motorhomes
A Class C is a coach body built onto a cutaway van chassis with a sleeping or storage cabover extending above the factory cab. Tha
Vehicle
Standard Fifth Wheels
A fifth wheel couples to a hitch in the truck bed through a kingpin and pin box, with a raised forward bedroom over the truck. The
Vehicle
Travel Trailers
A travel trailer tows from a ball hitch behind the tow vehicle rear axle on an A-frame tongue, which makes it the most sway-prone
Vehicle
Toy Hauler Fifth Wheels
A toy hauler fifth wheel carries a cargo garage behind the axles with a full-height rear ramp door. Load behind the axle centerlin
Vehicle
Park Model RVs
A park model is a towable unit up to roughly 400 square feet built with residential windows, roofing, and finishes, designed to si
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Questions about ac shroud and roof appliance mounting
Frequently asked questions
How much does an RV AC shroud replacement cost?
A shroud swap on its own typically runs $250 to $500 depending on the model and parts availability. Adding gasket replacement, ceiling assembly removal, and torquing runs $600 to $1,100. Deck repair around a distorted opening plus resealing several other roof penetrations runs toward $2,500. The range is 1 to 10 hours at $210 per hour plus parts.
My AC is leaking. Do I need a new air conditioner?
Usually not. Most rooftop AC leaks are gasket leaks, meaning the foam has taken a compression set and no longer seals against the roof. The fix is lifting the unit, replacing the gasket, and torquing the bolts to spec. Tightening the existing bolts is what most owners try first, and it crushes the gasket further and can damage the deck.
Why did my shroud crack when nothing hit it?
UV embrittlement. Shrouds are thin plastic with a UV inhibitor that depletes over time, and low desert exposure depletes it fast. Once the material has gone chalky it has lost its impact resistance, so it fractures from thermal cycling alone or from a minor bump. Replacing it before it fails keeps sun and rain off the condenser coil.
Should I install vent covers over my roof vents?
In most Southern California use, yes. A cover lets you leave a vent open in rain, which matters for moisture control in a closed coach, and it takes direct UV off the lid so lids stop cracking every few seasons. The tradeoff is added height and wind noise, which matters more on a tall coach than on a trailer.
Can you reseal all my roof penetrations at the same time?
Yes, and it is the efficient way to do it since the setup labor overlaps. When a unit is in for shroud or gasket work we normally pull and rebed the antenna, satellite dome, solar pass-through, and vent flanges as well, rather than adding sealant over flanges that have already worked loose from years of heat cycling.
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Ready to move on ac shroud and roof appliance mounting? Bring it to Yorba Linda.