I had a bedliner sprayed on my RV and it is leaking. Why?

I got another phone call this weekend, one I get several times a month. Many people that find our website are tired of the issues they run into with their RV roof. Like many other people, they drive by by the local bedliner shop and think, “That is a great idea! I’ll spray a roof on my RV.”

We thought of the bedliner option for an RV roof coating

We had the same idea years ago when we were approached by our first customer. He came into the shop looking to have the inside of his boat sprayed with something that would be tougher than the fiberglass. At the time our company was called David’s Permanent Coatings, Inc. and we sprayed an assortment of polyureas in different applications. The biggest hurdle we have had since launching FlexArmor(R), is educating the public that not all polyureas are the same. It is a vast business, the industrial coating industry, with thousands of different formulas and abilities.

Our beginnings into the RV roof world began with an extensive knowledge of polyureas and how they worked. David had started out spraying bedliners as a side job over 30 years ago and then started working on his own years later in the industrial coating business. One of the first jobs was actually spraying a polyurea on metal buildings to seal the roofs. Once he started to get into the industrial end of spray coatings was when he started to accumulate the knowledge of different formulas and uses and preparation practices. The polyurea that is used on a metal industrial building is not the same as the chemical sprayed in the back of pick up truck. The differences between pure and hybrid have already been covered in our previous blog. When a spray contractor goes to order product for a metal building, he has to look at cost, adhesion, UV stability, insulation. In other words, what does this product need to do? If it is more for insulation, a closed cell foam with a UV reflective white top coat is used for this type of application. Why? This is what it was designed for so it provides the customer with the desired end result. If the contractor went on that roof, pressure washed it, sprayed a bedliner chemical on the roof and left, the customer would not see an increase in insulation and would find that within a year or so, their roof is peeling, cracking and not doing the function they paid for when they hired the contractor. RVers are experiencing this when they have any other product sprayed on the RV instead of coming to a FlexArmor(R) authorized location. The idea is good, but the wrong product and experience produced a result that does not live up to the customers expectations.

All coatings are not the same

So the basic point we are wanting to convey to our customers and potential customers is, all spray on coatings are not the same. Not only do you have to take into account is the particular formula designed to produce the end result I am looking for, you also have to ask is the applicator experienced in my particular use. An applicator that has only sprayed concrete secondary containment areas in oil fields, does not have the experience of bonding to other substrates nor does he know how RVs are constructed and what unique obstacles he might face when doing a roof.

An RV roof is not like a wide open area that you just show up, start up your equipment and start spraying. If it was that easy, we wouldn’t receive phone calls every week about roofs leaking that have had some other type of polyurea sprayed on their rv. The correct polyurea and the correct preparation techniques for plastics, fiberglass, aluminum, wood, stainless steel along with the technical knowledge of RVs is what make a sprayed polyurea roof successful. This is why RV FlexArmor(R) roofs are truly unique and are guaranteed not to leak. Each FlexArmor(R) roof has over 30 years of spray experience, years of testing and study that lead to the creation of a polyurea system with unmatched strength, weather resistance, flexibility and the applicators only work on RVs and only do the roofs on RVs. FlexArmor is the only pure polyurea formula and it’s process is the only RV exclusive system in the industry.

So if you are thinking about going down the road to the local bedliner company or have a friend who has a spray set up and sprays foams do your roof, get the answers to these questions first.

1. Will this product stay flexible in the cold?
2. Does this product bond to plastic? Aluminum? Will I be able to peel it off?
3. How many RVs have you done?
4. Do you know how my air conditioner is installed?
5. Do you know how to seal in my satellite dish?
6. How thick is your material when you spray it?
7. How long will it last in the sun?
8. What are some of the different roof types of rvs and how would you fix the wood damage?
9. Do you have to remove the rubber membrane and why?
10. Can I see your written no leak guarantee?

We are here to help your RV (and your peace of mind)

After you have gathered that information, give us or one of our authorized locations a call and ask the same questions. We hope that we can assist you in making sure you are choosing the right company and product to provide you with a worry free, maintenance free, no leak roof and you can enjoy your trips, not spend months in a repair facility.