canoe on top
Denver, CO, US
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Joined: 07/21/2003
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Has anyone heard of or used RV Roof Worx? They advertise a two layer silicone coating that's guaranteed for 20 years. They also advertise a location in Denver but do not appear to have a repair facility just an office. Sounds like a traveling outfit that come to your location to do the work.
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JBarca
Radnor, Ohio, USA
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Joined: 12/16/2004
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Hi Canoe,
I have not heard of the RV Roof Works organization. However, I know a fair amount about high-solid silicone roof coatings rated for camper use, and I am willing to share the learnings as needed.
I found what appears to be their website. https://rvroofworx.com
If I found the correct site, there is not enough technical information about the roof coating they plan on using to tell what they are providing. Or how they deal with all the seams, including the gutter rail area.
They are talking about using fabric, which can be a good thing.
They have a picture of a 5-gallon bucket of ASC, (American Standard Coatings) X one coat next to the wording they are using: High-quality one-component moisture curing silicone.
So I looked up ASC and their X one-coat product. Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the product data sheet for ASC X one coat. https://asc-bm.com/literature/
Reading the data sheet on ASC X one coat, it is an acrylic coating product, not a silicone-based product. They are very different products.
Something is not adding up with the RV Works website info as I read it. It may be a goof on the X one-coat product, as ASC does make silicone roof products. However, I did not see a high-solid silicone coating listed, but they offer a low-solids coating. Again, different formulations for different applications.
The 20-year warranty, well, for the products they are listing, that can be what it is. I'm not knocking the company; they may do good work, and what they provide may last 20 years. There is a need to know more about what they are doing and how they do it to tell much more.
There are other silicone roof coatings with a lot longer warranty rated for RV use; not all silicone-based coatings are RV-rated, so heads up on that part.
I'm unsure if you want to do the coating yourself or have it applied by a company. If you are doing it yourself, there is a learning curve and understanding of the roof preparation needs we can get into. Depending on your situation, a coating may be a good thing or not a good thing to do. I'll leave you with four big-picture statements:
1. Doing a high-solids silicone roof coating on a known or repaired non-leaking roof can be a good thing to create a long-term roof solution that will not depend on the roof caulking. If you want to use a coating to solve existing leaks without repairing the damage under the roof, applying a coating, thinking it will solve all your issues for the long term, is not a good thing to expect. For long-lasting benefits, you should only apply a good coating system on a sound leak-free or leak-damage-repaired roof.
2. I would highly recommend, before any silicone coating is applied to your roof, that after the cleaning process is done, an adhesion test should be done to prove you will have an acceptable bond to spec.
3. Certain "new" roof plastic products can need special prep work to allow the coatings to bond to them. Make sure the adhesion test is done on all new plastic materials.
4. Understand how a repair will be done to your silicone-coated roof when a tank vent, skylight, or roof vent is damaged and must be replaced.
I hope this helps,
John
* This post was
edited 11/15/23 05:01pm by JBarca *
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we were camping!)
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canoe on top
Denver, CO, US
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John,
As always, thank you for sharing your experience and expertise. I would not be doing the work myself. I responded to a request for quote on the Roofworx website. Got a phone call shortly after that. Although they list an address near Denver, it's just an office. They don't appear to be working through an established RV repair facility.They may be reputable but it kind of sounds like a traveling roadshow? My impression is that they travel from state to state and do the work at your location. Not sure how that would work out in my driveway. Also, not sure how meaningfull a 20 year warranty is from an outfit that doesn't seem to have a local location.
I got a small tear in the EPDM which resulted in a small leak. I repaired the tear with eternabond tape which I think resolved to leak. I need to do, at the very least, a clean and caulk if not a complete scrape and caulk.Although the roof doesn't leak anywhere other than the tear, it is 15 years old and has the mottled grey and white surface.
So, I was considering, in additon to caulking maintenence, leaving the rest of the roof alone since the membrane seems intact and working or, applying some type of coating.
Thanks again for your prompt reply and the information provided.
JIm
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