Cost of resealing roof/trim

[bshort]

Went into a local dealer to inquire on the following maintenance items:

1) Reseal the dicor on the roof
2) Reseal the silicone on the sides
3) Inspect brakes
4) Repack bearings

They quoted the following:

1) 900
2) 900
3) 300
4) 300

Did I misunderstand or are these an accurate reflection of the cost?

[bshort]

Anyone ever had similar repairs at a dealer and remember the costs?

[Witch Doctor]

Only one about right is #4, also #3 should be included in #4, the first 2 should only be about 75.00 dollars in material and maybe the most 3 or 4 hrs of labor. What a friggen joke this dealer is.

[lcv800]

My brother in law owns a auto repair shop. He charges $125 an hour for certified and ongoing training technicians. He just told me he stopped by General and was told labor rate is $195 an hour. If that's accurate, that's a ton of money.
Rusty

[cavie]

NEVER use silicone on your rig. The factory didn't do it. You shouldn't do it.

Those prices are WAY too high. You can do the side yourself with a little practice.

[Oaklevel]

Our dealers labor rate is $65 an hour, they will inspect the roof and reseal any trouble areas for $35 total. I have never had the roof totally resealed. They winterize for $35. They repack bearings at $160. Not sure if they charge to inspect the brakes never paid to have that done. (The $16 state inspection is supposed to cover that)

I have purchased 3 trailers from them over the years so maybe the cut me a deal. But their posted labor rate says $65 hour.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Your dealer is a nice exception! $165 rate at my dealer. This is why most of us do a lot of our work.
To the OP, have you looked into applying Permabond tape yourself? Not difficult to do. Much info on the forum or YouTube. Can be applied over the existing Dicor after cleaning.

[Oaklevel]

They are a small dealership and go the extra mile. In the past FR sent warranty work to them as CW (an hour away) was too high. But they only have one full and one part time mechanic. One salesperson (two sometimes) and the owner.

Most RVs there are under $35K. No haggle pricing the price is posted in the RV the RV doors are never locked until sold. "Sunday" shopping is welcomed. Buyers have come 5 hours away to buy ..........

Our area is in bad shape, before the recession we had up to 23% unemployment, not now as either everyone timed out or moved away.

[Witch Doctor]

Well this is not true, in Goshen, Coachmen gave me 2 tubes of the sealant they use. It is clear 100% silicone. So OP be careful of ststements.

Originally Posted by cavie

NEVER use silicone on your rig. The factory didn't do it. You shouldn't do it.

Those prices are WAY too high. You can do the side yourself with a little practice.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

Well this is not true, in Goshen, Coachmen gave me 2 tubes of the sealant they use. It is clear 100% silicone. So OP be careful of ststements.Attachment 187230Attachment 187231

Oh trust me. I am careful with my statements. It is the consciences of I'm gonna guess 80% of the people on this and other board s NOT to put silicone on your camper. Very hard to remove. Nothing else will stick to it. I have purchased a couple of sailboats that someone used silicone and was VERY PISSED. I'm very surprised that a manufacturer would use it. There are many non-silicone sealers on the market that will do the job. Dicore for one.

[Witch Doctor]

I have never seen a clear Dicor product? I just think it depends on where it's being used. I'm surely am not going to use white or tan on a black full painted area, I'm only responding to your claim that no manufactor uses it. It's up to the owner to use what they want, but Manufactors do use your no- no product. I just don't like blanket opinions. All I'm saying there is no right or wrong and wild opinions are a dime a dozen on forms, it just not fact, just your opinion.

[Witch Doctor]

I have also owned sailboats, at least for 25 years, I used all different kind of sealers. Sailed half way around the world, I use to use it around windows for leaks, who wants to look out and see a white 3m 5200 sealer around it. All I'm saying is there is a place for different sealers. Nothing wrong with silicone. I would venture to say that units with full paint the perfered product would be clear silicone. BUT they do use it.

[TitanMike]

When judging labor charges they're going to vary all across the country. Depends on local costs for land, buildings, taxes, labor rates, etc.

If you can get a 5 acre piece of property for $100,000, put up a "tin building" for $500,000, and hire tech's that think $20/hr is a good wage, you can then sell services for $65 per hour.

Come out west to places like California or anywhere in Western Washington and you'll find that land costs are outrageous, building costs are measured in "Millions" and labor rate for skilled techs is well over $40/hour. Dealer labor rates in the town I live in is $140/hr and that's a bargain. This is why you don't find any Dealers in Seattle or for that matter in most large cities. Usually out of town on what used to be a piece of farmland.

If one has the time and skills, much of the work the OP wants done can be good DIY projects. Take them to the dealership and many times the work is done by the lesser skilled techs.

[Bluepill]

Agree that brake inspection labor is all about removing the wheels and brake drums, which has to be done to repack the wheel bearings' so that is a clear case of double dipping. Right there the dealer disqualifies himself to take your money.

Look at RVSERVICEREVIEWS.com for a few independent shops in your area. Get competitive quotes.

FWIW, doing a 4 wheel repack/brake inspection for $300 is only $75 per wheel. Properly done, it's about 20-30 minutes per wheel, so not entirely unreasonable, IMO.

[tosh99]

Although I'm getting up there in my senior years, I still try to do as much as I can for myself.


Look up some of these maintenance items on You Tube for help and you may find that you can do it for yourself.


There is a full time RV couple on You Tube that took their trailer into an "RV" repair shop to have the brakes inspected and bearings repacked. They were charged for four but only two were done!


I took a full time 4 wheel drive blazer into the dealer to have them replace the front bearings while I was at work. I picked it up after work and it squeaked all the way home. When I got home I opened it up and found that they didn't put any bearing grease in it. They just left the shipping grease.


If you want it done right, you pretty much have to do it yourself.

[bshort]

I would figure the brakes could be inspected during the repack. Maybe the 900 was for a complete dicor removal and reapply. Who knows.

I hate packing bearings and will gladly pay someone else to do it.

[bshort]

Originally Posted by cavie

NEVER use silicone on your rig. The factory didn't do it. You shouldn't do it.

Those prices are WAY too high. You can do the side yourself with a little practice.

There is a clear sealer on all the sides except the roof. I don't know exactly what it is, but called it silicone for ease of understanding.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by bshort

There is a clear sealer on all the sides except the roof. I don't know exactly what it is, but called it silicone for ease of understanding.

If it's clear it is Silicone, nothing wrong with using silicone except on the roof. Coachmen uses it on all full paint bodies.

[Gohawks]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

I have also owned sailboats, at least for 25 years, I used all different kind of sealers. Sailed half way around the world, I use to use it around windows for leaks, who wants to look out and see a white 3m 5200 sealer around it. All I'm saying is there is a place for different sealers. Nothing wrong with silicone. I would venture to say that units with full paint the perfered product would be clear silicone. BUT they do use it.

I get what your saying about blanket statements but when Op posted caulking the sides I had the same thought as cavie. What about geocel pro flex. It's a bit pricey but sticks to itself.

https://www.geocelusa.com/product/pr...xible-sealant/

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Gohawks

I get what your saying about blanket statements but when Op posted caulking the sides I had the same thought as cavie. What about geocel pro flex. It's a bit pricey but sticks to itself.

https://www.geocelusa.com/product/pr...xible-sealant/

If something does a great job and lasts a long time is it really "pricey"?