Compare Each Roofer's Plan for a Boat or RV Parked on Your Drive

A boat on a trailer, a camper parked by the garage, or an RV nosed up to the side fence can look like it has nothing to do with a roof. On roof day it has a lot to do with it. The tear-off throws debris, the shingle delivery truck needs a path, the crew needs a place to stage, and the yard gets combed with a magnet at the end. A vehicle that stays where it is can block every one of those steps. Before you compare totals, ask each roofer the same question about the parked rig and write down the answer.

Why a parked rig is a roof day question

Many roof crews work from a trailer or a dumpster placed as close to the house as the lot allows, and the shingle bundles come off a delivery truck that needs room to back up and set its load. A boat or camper on the driveway can take up the spot where the bin was supposed to sit. On a Chesterfield lot with a sloped drive, a long trailer may not turn around at all, and the crew may have to plan the shingle drop from the street instead. Ask the roofer to walk the lot with you and mark where the truck and bin would sit with the rig still parked.

The rig also sits inside the drop zone for anything that falls from the roof. Nails, granules and small pieces of old flashing land around the eave and the side yard, and a boat cover or RV awning is a surface that holds that debris and makes it harder to sweep out later. A cover pulled half off by a passing ladder can turn a small repair into a dispute over who pays for it, so the cover itself needs a line in the plan.

Side yard access matters too. If the rig blocks the gate, the crew may have to carry bundles through the front of the house, across the lawn and along a walkway that was not meant for that work. Ask each roofer which route the crew will use for ladders, shingles and tear-off debris, and whether the rig changes that route. The answer tells you how much of your landscaping and walkway will take traffic.

What to compare in each bid

Start with where the bid says the rig will be. Some bids say nothing, which means the crew will work around it or ask you to move it. Others say the homeowner is responsible for clearing the drive, which puts the job of moving a boat or camper on you and sets a date you need to hold. Read the scope for the words clear, stage, drop zone and access, and check whether each one names a location or leaves it open.

Next, compare who moves the vehicle if it has to move. A roofer may ask you to move the rig, may offer to have a crew member move it, or may decline to move anything that is not theirs. Each of those answers changes your part of the job and the time you need to set aside. If a crew member drives the rig, ask what insurance covers that drive and whether it is named in the paperwork. Missouri does not license roofers, so the contract is where these promises live.

Then check the end of the job. The final magnet sweep is the step that picks up nails from the lawn and the drive. Ask whether the sweep includes the area under and beside the boat or camper, or whether that ground is left for you. A rig that sat over grass for weeks can hide nails in the turf, so ask whether the crew will come back to walk that spot before the job is closed.

What it costs

Moving a boat or camper is usually a homeowner task, and it costs time and sometimes a tow or a hired driver. A roof bid that asks you to clear the drive should say so in writing, and the bid should not add a charge for the crew to do the moving unless the price line says so. If a roofer quotes a separate fee for relocating a vehicle, ask what the fee covers, whether it includes the drive and the return trip, and whether it applies once or each day the crew is on site.

Ask also whether the price assumes the drive is clear. A bid built on a clear drive is a different number from a bid that expects the crew to work around a parked rig. If the rig stays, the crew may need to haul materials by hand from the street or take a longer route, and that can change the labor line. You want the bid to name the condition it was priced under, so you can tell whether a later change is a new cost or an assumption that was never true.

What to ask

1. Where will the dumpster or trailer sit if the boat or RV stays on the drive?
2. Where will the shingle bundles be staged, and can the delivery truck reach that spot with the rig parked?
3. Who moves the vehicle, and is that task in the bid or left to the homeowner?
4. If a crew member moves the rig, what insurance covers the drive, and is that written down?
5. Does the final magnet sweep reach the ground under and beside the rig?
6. Will the crew come back to check the turf where the rig sat?
7. Does the price assume a clear drive, and what changes if the drive is not clear?

Put each answer in writing before you sign. A verbal promise that the crew will work around the boat is not a term you can point to later. If a roofer cannot answer these questions on the walk, that tells you how the crew will handle the lot on the day. Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 to talk through the drive before you book.

Walk the drive before the trucks come

The simplest step is to walk the lot with each roofer on the same day, with the rig in place and with the rig moved if you plan to move it. Stand where the bin would sit, measure the width the delivery truck needs, and look at the slope of the drive after rain. Chesterfield clay holds water, and a wet drive can change where a truck is willing to stop. Take photos of the drive from the street and from the garage so each bid is measured against the same lot.

Once the walk is done, compare the answers side by side. The bid that names a location, a date for moving the rig and a sweep that covers the spot is the one you can plan around. The bid that says nothing leaves the drive to be settled on roof morning, when the truck is already on the street and the crew is waiting for someone to decide where the bin goes.