10/13/2025
Recently had a friend inquire about the cost to ceramic coat a 37 foot RV. Admittedly it has been several years since I’ve done a job of that scale, and so I wanted to be sure to write an accurate estimate.
My old method was to charge by the foot, starting at $35/foot to wash, $55/foot to wash and wax, and upwards from there. Coatings are particular about the surface they’re used on being prepped properly and the typical method is a chemical decon and a light polish at minimum.
I figured it out on paper that a 4 sq/ft area takes me roughly 20 minutes two do in the quickest method I could devise that was still going to have great appearance and longevity but was absolutely a “short cut”.
Imagine my surprise when I did the math on the total surface are of a 37 foot RV just to discover it’s 1,498 sq/ft of total surface area. To do the entire vehicle as I described previously would take me 112 labor hours. Materials? How about $1,000+? It would take five entire ceramic coating kits to coat the vehicle, not including wash materials.
The estimate to clean, correct and coat a 37’? $5,543.
I too had sticker shock. I don’t like sending estimates that large, but I do prefer to send accurate estimates.
After processing some of the shock off and crunching some more numbers it looks like this.
37’ at 8.5’ wide. 13’ Tall. Total surface area including front and rear walls of 1,498 sq/ft.
Estimated cost $5,543. Divide it by the square footage of the vehicle (1,498) and it comes out to $3.70 sq/ft for a five year coating. That’s less than a dollar a year per square foot to protect your investment.
While I too had sticker shock at first, after doing the math I still feel like this is a fair value. Yes, if you go “by the foot”, this does equate out to essentially $120/ft to coat an RV. Comparatively I have coated full size trucks and it cost nearly $3,000.
If I give you an estimate for anything, I promise that I’m keeping things as fair as possible. I strive to produce a quality finished product that leaves you feeling like the vehicle is better than the day you first bought it, and will leave you feeling that way for years to come.
Transparency matters, and hopefully this helps some of my customers to better understand the prices reflected in my estimates.
