Full body paint - RV-Dreams Community Forum

EverywhereMan · RV-Dreams Community Member

Full body paint

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

IMO. Looks great, doesn’t fade as much, but chips. I think its a personal preference thing. I’ve had both and really like paint but it is pricey.

fun2travel · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have full body paint. I love it. So shiny and clean. I think perhaps maybe someday down the road it could add to value by keeping it newer looking and also maybe get us into some parks that might otherwise turn us down when we are 10 years old. Just my thoughts.

Howard · Host

We had our fifth wheel painted after nine years. I'm a big fan. It looks better longer, it's easier to clean and doesn't require as much cleaning to keep it looking nice, no peeling decals, and it looks great. Everyone thinks our 12-year-old fifth wheel is new (we have no issues with 10-year-old RV age limits some RV parks have). We couldn't justify the cost when we bought the rig, but we're quite happy we did it later. It will also increase the re-sale value if we take care of it.

If it fits in your budget, AND you use your RV a lot, AND you intend to keep it for ten years or so, I'd recommend the full body paint. I'm not sure I could recommend it if the RV sits most of the time and/or you know you are keeping it five years or less - hard to justify the investment.

I would recommend getting after-market pricing on full body paint to get an idea of the manufacturer/dealer mark-up on it (assuming you are buying new). The mark-up may be worth it for the convenience of having it done before delivery, or having the after-market pricing may help you with negotiations.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

To Howard's point about dealer markup ... I know of one manufacturer who prices their full body paint option @ $15,000. FWIW, you can get it painted aftermarket for about 1/2 that.

dianneandsteve · RV-Dreams Family Member

If I had known before that there was a limited lifespan on decals I would have gone for full body paint. Our Montana decals lasted barely 6 years. They are now cracked and faded. When I wax our unit the decal colours run all over. A real pain in the butt! Replacing them is thousands of dollars so going with paint up front is well worth it IMHO.

Cheers!

Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with the others, full body paint is expensive and remember it also adds weight (takes quite a few gallons of paint to cover a large 5th Wheel or Motor Home) but we have it on our 5th Wheel and it is easier to maintain and keep clean and looks great for many years.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Outside of how good full body paint looks, consider how bad stick-on graphics look after just a few years. Naturally how bad depends. But they will eventually succumb to the elements.

What can help with the look of the rig, full body paint or not, is clear coat. Two (or more) layers of clear coat, even if right on the unpainted sides, will do a lot as to protecting the look and finish of the rig and keeping painted and unpainted surfaces from looking dull over time. But nothing, IMO, will prevent some of the stick on graphics from deteriorating and looking very poor after a few years.

If one is full-time, do keep in mind that having paint done later requires you to vacate the rig for quite sometime. FWIW, Howard did some posting on all this, in addition to his comments above, when they had their rig re-painted a couple of years or so ago.

If one is going to keep the rig a long time, I'd go full body paint with clear coat.

My opinion.