Hello!
I recently bought a 2012 Wells-Cargo 8.5x19 Toy Hauler, which is essentially a cargo trailer of that same size equipped with a wet bath, sink, fridge, and minimal sleeping facilities. I had a soft-start installed by an RV-repair place on the roof air, and asked their technician while he was up there anyway to take a look around and see what kind of condition the roof is in. (I have health issues that prevent me from going up there myself.) He said that the caulking was shrunken and needed to be replaced, to the tune of about a thousand dollars.
This isn't my first cargo conversion project. My other is a 2006 Pace American that's still never spent a single night under a roof and doesn't leak a drop, while this significantly newer premium-brand Wells-Cargo has spent at least several years out of the weather in a barn (and also shows no internal signs of leakage). So I was very surprised to hear of potential problems, and to be frank am highly suspicious that someone is trying to rip me off for an unnecessary and overpriced repair.
I plan to install a large solar power array on top of this trailer eventually, and if there are indeed any roof problems it'd probably be best if they were dealt with before these panels are installed. But... This is essentially a cargo trailer, and one of the reasons I chose it was that many people affiliated with this forum say that cargo-trailer roofs require no maintenance and rarely leak. Is re-caulking a cargo roof an actual thing that sometimes needs to be done, and somehow I just didn't get the word? Is about a thousand dollars actually a legitimate price for such work on an 8.5x19 with roof air and a single bathroom vent fan?
I'm absolutely going to get at least one second opinion prior to having this work done, but I'd like very much to hear from the CRVL experts before I do even that much. This whole thing just doesn't smell right to me. My personal inclination is to never go back to this place again and do nothing whatsoever about caulking until I get an actual leak, on the grounds that, as with other cargo trailers, it'll probably never happen.
Thanks!
I recently bought a 2012 Wells-Cargo 8.5x19 Toy Hauler, which is essentially a cargo trailer of that same size equipped with a wet bath, sink, fridge, and minimal sleeping facilities. I had a soft-start installed by an RV-repair place on the roof air, and asked their technician while he was up there anyway to take a look around and see what kind of condition the roof is in. (I have health issues that prevent me from going up there myself.) He said that the caulking was shrunken and needed to be replaced, to the tune of about a thousand dollars.
This isn't my first cargo conversion project. My other is a 2006 Pace American that's still never spent a single night under a roof and doesn't leak a drop, while this significantly newer premium-brand Wells-Cargo has spent at least several years out of the weather in a barn (and also shows no internal signs of leakage). So I was very surprised to hear of potential problems, and to be frank am highly suspicious that someone is trying to rip me off for an unnecessary and overpriced repair.
I plan to install a large solar power array on top of this trailer eventually, and if there are indeed any roof problems it'd probably be best if they were dealt with before these panels are installed. But... This is essentially a cargo trailer, and one of the reasons I chose it was that many people affiliated with this forum say that cargo-trailer roofs require no maintenance and rarely leak. Is re-caulking a cargo roof an actual thing that sometimes needs to be done, and somehow I just didn't get the word? Is about a thousand dollars actually a legitimate price for such work on an 8.5x19 with roof air and a single bathroom vent fan?
I'm absolutely going to get at least one second opinion prior to having this work done, but I'd like very much to hear from the CRVL experts before I do even that much. This whole thing just doesn't smell right to me. My personal inclination is to never go back to this place again and do nothing whatsoever about caulking until I get an actual leak, on the grounds that, as with other cargo trailers, it'll probably never happen.
Thanks!
