Community Forums

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 01:57 PM

We just got a quote to replace our roof membrane, repair some water-damaged plywood, and replace all vent covers. The price is $9600 (I choked on that). This is for a 1996 Daybreak 36' Class A. If anyone has had similar work done, is this a reasonable cost? We also need $1500 of suspension repair, bringing those 2 items to over $11K. There's more but I think we can do some of the work ourselves; oil change, radiator flush, valve cover gaskets, etc. The Airlift air bags are shot but that may have to wait. We couldn't in good conscience sell it knowing that the roof and suspension are in need of repair.

This is our first RV, and finding someone close by to work on it is almost impossible.

oldmattb · 04-18-2019, 03:05 PM

I replaced the roof on our 34-foot myself. Lots of work, but not much technical about it. Cost for membrane, glue, plywood, new vent covers, skylight, caulk, etc., was way under $1000.

Average handyman person could do the work. PM if you want more info.

Side note: If you do the roof, that is a good dime to rethink what is on the top. We moved the air horn to the front, eliminated the old antenna, removed the already damaged ladder, took off a mostly-useless old solar panel. We eliminated over 30 caulked holes and potential leak sources.

Matt B

JBDISCOVERY · 04-18-2019, 03:16 PM

I agree with the DIY OP in that replacing the roof is entirely doable by a handy person. Good deal of effort. But, with a safe, dry work area, just get at it, and get it done. All materials are available on the web.
Regarding the air suspension, if it is the same as our coach, replacing the air
bags is again, straight forward. UTUBE has several videos on how to do so.
Biggest problem is location of the bolts that hold the bags on and getting them undone. Firestone is the best supplier for truck and coach air bags. Buy directly from a Freightliner parts dealer. We purchased one bag over the internet and I believe we got a knockoff.
Good luck.
JimB

450Donn · 04-18-2019, 03:21 PM

If you have a place where you can get the MH under cover and have help redoing the roof its not hard to do. Taking things like the AC down can be a problem, but nothing unsermountable. Take everything off the roof, strip the rubber membrain, replace rotten wood including possibly any joists, lay new wood, glue and roll on the rubber. Seal the edges, instal new vents etc, and go camping. Depending on how much damage you find it can all be done in a weekend.

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 450Donn

If you have a place where you can get the MH under cover and have help redoing the roof its not hard to do. Taking things like the AC down can be a problem, but nothing unsermountable. Take everything off the roof, strip the rubber membrain, replace rotten wood including possibly any joists, lay new wood, glue and roll on the rubber. Seal the edges, instal new vents etc, and go camping. Depending on how much damage you find it can all be done in a weekend.

All we need is a weekend without rain! We have enough tarps to cover the roof if need be. My husband had talked about doing it himself but his work schedule can change at any time, so I hesitated. Maybe he can take a few days vacation to get it done.

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBDISCOVERY

I agree with the DIY OP in that replacing the roof is entirely doable by a handy person. Good deal of effort. But, with a safe, dry work area, just get at it, and get it done. All materials are available on the web.
Regarding the air suspension, if it is the same as our coach, replacing the air
bags is again, straight forward. UTUBE has several videos on how to do so.
Biggest problem is location of the bolts that hold the bags on and getting them undone. Firestone is the best supplier for truck and coach air bags. Buy directly from a Freightliner parts dealer. We purchased one bag over the internet and I believe we got a knockoff.
Good luck.
JimB

My husband looked at the YouTube videos about replacing the airbags and thinks he can do it. If we do the roof and a few other things ourselves, I would pay the dealer to do the suspension work because that's really outside the area of expertise. I'm just a good helper and a good detailer, and I'm sure I can source all the roof materials.

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmattb

I replaced the roof on our 34-foot myself. Lots of work, but not much technical about it. Cost for membrane, glue, plywood, new vent covers, skylight, caulk, etc., was way under $1000.

Average handyman person could do the work. PM if you want more info.

Side note: If you do the roof, that is a good dime to rethink what is on the top. We moved the air horn to the front, eliminated the old antenna, removed the already damaged ladder, took off a mostly-useless old solar panel. We eliminated over 30 caulked holes and potential leak sources.

Matt B

Looking forward to voices of experience! I was hoping we would get a reasonable quote but no such luck. My husband built our screen porch, laid hard surface floors throughout the house, built a laundry room/pantry complete with cupboards, resided the whole house (by himself) and built a 12x24 workshop by himself. He's an electrician by trade but an all around handy guy. It's just finding the time...

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmattb

I replaced the roof on our 34-foot myself. Lots of work, but not much technical about it. Cost for membrane, glue, plywood, new vent covers, skylight, caulk, etc., was way under $1000.

Average handyman person could do the work. PM if you want more info.

Side note: If you do the roof, that is a good dime to rethink what is on the top. We moved the air horn to the front, eliminated the old antenna, removed the already damaged ladder, took off a mostly-useless old solar panel. We eliminated over 30 caulked holes and potential leak sources.

Matt B

I am optimistic now. I did PM you; let me know if it didn't get there!

Wwdnet · 04-18-2019, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBDISCOVERY

I agree with the DIY OP in that replacing the roof is entirely doable by a handy person. Good deal of effort. But, with a safe, dry work area, just get at it, and get it done. All materials are available on the web.
Regarding the air suspension, if it is the same as our coach, replacing the air
bags is again, straight forward. UTUBE has several videos on how to do so.
Biggest problem is location of the bolts that hold the bags on and getting them undone. Firestone is the best supplier for truck and coach air bags. Buy directly from a Freightliner parts dealer. We purchased one bag over the internet and I believe we got a knockoff.
Good luck.
JimB

Picture attached but that's all I have. Manuals at the dealer with the MH.

MaryGriffith · 05-09-2019, 12:24 AM

You can take help from experts like public adjuster who will help you with all the insurance related process.

txcpl · 05-09-2019, 04:13 AM

Due to a low hanging electrical line at the dealership, we had to have our roof replaced on a 35 ft 5'er. The bill was around $10,000. That has been a few years and I have forgotten the exact cost as insurance paid for it.

Harrysait · 05-11-2019, 09:26 AM

In over 40 years of rving I have never had to replace a roof! Seam patching and annual checks.

Alan_Hepburn · 05-11-2019, 12:47 PM

I looked at the rv-armor folks several months ago - they charge $145 per foot to replace a roof - a 36 foot rig would run $5220. But then they might charge more for underlayment repair...

Wwdnet · 05-12-2019, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txcpl

Due to a low hanging electrical line at the dealership, we had to have our roof replaced on a 35 ft 5'er. The bill was around $10,000. That has been a few years and I have forgotten the exact cost as insurance paid for it.

Insurance coverage likely caused the price to be higher than it would have been for direct pay, although we've seen upwards of $300/linear ft. for materials. We're still sitting waiting for some other issues to be resolved with suspension rebuild being a major one. Parts are on order and we'll leave it to the pros as we don't have the time, tools, or facilities to deal with it. The previous owners used and abused our MH for sure, doing little but making some chop-job "upgrades" and driving it until it was critically in need of attention.

One well-known RV dealer charged a local couple a $3500 diagnostic fee regarding an engine problem and quoted a "fix" of several thousand dollars. The real issue was later repaired by a mom&pop shop for a few hundred dollars after the owner had his MH towed there in disgust.