Roof, Slide and Awning
RV Roof Recoat and Reseal Service
Typical range
$750 to $4,500+
Shop hours
4 to 20+
Labor rate
$210/hr
The short answer
Roof recoat and reseal strips failed sealant, rebeds every penetration, and applies a full elastomeric coating system over a prepped membrane. This is the maintenance that prevents a roof replacement. Work runs $750 to $4,500 and up, or 4 to 20 plus hours at $210 per hour plus materials.
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What this work actually involves
Recoating is 80 percent preparation and 20 percent coating. An oxidized EPDM roof carries a layer of loose chalk that acts as a bond breaker, and a coating rolled straight over it peels off in sheets within two summers. We wash with a membrane-specific cleaner, scrub the chalk off, and where the manufacturer system calls for it we apply an activator before any coating touches the surface. TPO takes a different prep than EPDM, and fiberglass takes a different one again, so the material has to be identified before anything is ordered.
The reseal half of the job is where the leaks actually get stopped. Every penetration gets the old sealant cut out rather than caulked over. That means the AC gasket, the vent flanges, the refrigerator roof vent, the antenna base, the ladder mounts, the plumbing vent boots, and the front and rear cap seams. Horizontal surfaces get Dicor self-leveling lap sealant so it flows into the joint. Vertical seams get the non-sag version, because self-leveling sealant on a cap radius runs downhill and leaves the joint bare.
In the low desert this is not cosmetic maintenance. Roof surface temperature in Indio or La Quinta in August pushes coatings and adhesives past their service ceiling every single afternoon, and a bright reflective coating measurably drops both the membrane temperature and the interior heat load your air conditioners are fighting. Inland valley units from Riverside through Corona get a different benefit, because the wide daily temperature swing is what fatigues lap sealant loose at the edges in the first place.
Systems and brands we work on: Dicor, Eternabond, EPDM, TPO, Alpha Systems.
Location: All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside, or fleet route service.
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What the job includes
- Membrane identification and material-specific cleaning and chalk removal
- Activator or primer application where the coating system requires it
- Complete removal of old, cracked, or lifted lap sealant at every penetration
- Rebedding of vent, fan, antenna, and ladder flanges on fresh butyl where needed
- Dicor self-leveling lap sealant on all horizontal seams and flanges
- Non-sag sealant on vertical cap seams and radiused transitions
- Eternabond tape at seams and terminations that need mechanical reinforcement
- Full elastomeric or acrylic coating applied to the manufacturer dry film thickness
- AC gasket inspection and replacement where the gasket is compressed or split
- Post-application water test at every resealed penetration
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When you need this service
- Chalky white residue that transfers to your hand when you touch the membrane
- Lap sealant that has cracked, shrunk back, or lifted at its edges
- Black streaking down the sidewalls after rain, which is oxidized membrane washing off
- A coating from a previous recoat that is peeling, flaking, or blistering
- Sealant that has gone hard and brittle instead of staying flexible
- Water stains inside near the AC or a vent that appear only in heavy rain
- A roof that has never been resealed and is more than three or four years old
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How we do it, step by step
- 01
Membrane identification and condition check
We confirm EPDM, TPO, or fiberglass and check for shrinkage at terminations. Coating a membrane that has already pulled away from its edge only hides the problem.
- 02
Wash and chalk removal
Membrane-specific cleaner and mechanical scrubbing until the surface stops transferring chalk. This step decides whether the coating lasts eight years or two.
- 03
Old sealant removal
Every bead of failed lap sealant is cut and scraped off down to the flange. We do not caulk over old sealant, because the new bead only bonds as well as what is under it.
- 04
Flange rebedding and taping
Flanges that have lifted come up and go back on fresh butyl. Seams and terminations that need mechanical strength get Eternabond applied to a primed surface.
- 05
New sealant application
Self-leveling on horizontals, non-sag on verticals, tooled into the joint rather than laid on top of it, and allowed to skin before anything else happens.
- 06
Coating application
Elastomeric or acrylic coating applied in the specified number of coats to reach the manufacturer dry film thickness. Thin single-coat applications do not carry the elongation rating.
- 07
Cure and water test
Full cure time observed, then every penetration is water tested and the interior checked before the unit leaves.
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Pricing and posted rates
| Item | Rate or range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job range | $750 to $4,500+ | Varies with extent of damage and parts availability |
| Shop hours | 4 to 20+ | 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.
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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 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 Trailers
A bumper pull toy hauler carries cargo behind the axles on a ball hitch, which is the worst possible combination for tongue weight
Vehicle
Truck Campers, Slide-In
A slide-in truck camper sits in a pickup bed and is clamped down at four points, so it absorbs the truck frame twist directly. Jac
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Questions about roof recoat and reseal
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to reseal an RV roof?
A reseal of every penetration on a mid-size coach typically lands between $750 and $1,800. A full strip, prep, reseal, and elastomeric coating system on a 40 foot Class A runs toward $4,500 and up. The published range is 4 to 20 plus hours at $210 per hour plus materials. Length, number of penetrations, and how much old sealant has to be removed drive it.
How often should an RV roof be resealed?
The manufacturer interval is usually annual inspection with resealing as needed. In the low desert we shorten that. Sustained roof surface temperatures in Palm Desert and Coachella take the elasticity out of lap sealant in roughly half the time it takes on the coast, so a desert-stored coach realistically needs sealant attention every year and a full recoat every four to six.
Can I just put a coating over the whole roof and skip the sealant work?
No, and this is the most common failed do-it-yourself roof we see. Coating is a UV and weathering barrier, not a structural seal. It has no mechanical strength across a moving joint, so it cracks exactly where the old sealant already cracked. The penetrations have to be resealed properly first, then the coating protects the field of the membrane.
Will resealing stop a leak I already have?
Only if we find where the water is actually entering, which is frequently not where the stain appears inside. Water travels laterally along rafters and between wall layers. If you have an active leak, the right starting point is leak detection and moisture metering. Resealing an entire roof and hoping is an expensive way to guess.
Does insurance pay for a roof recoat?
Generally no. Recoating and resealing are maintenance, and carriers treat them that way. Where insurance does come into it is when a covered event such as hail or a limb strike damages the roof, and the repair scope includes resealing the affected penetrations. We separate maintenance line items from claim line items clearly on the estimate.
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More roof, slide and awning work
Ready to move on roof recoat and reseal? Bring it to Yorba Linda.