Possible Shower Leak

[The_Breeze]

In the last two consecutive days, I noticed a wet spot under the rig after taking a shower. It seems to be running down the inside front of the rear wheel well. The size of the spot seems relative to shower length.

There are no cracks in the pan and no apparent signs of a leak from what I can see through the access panel. It looks bone dry.

I wiped my hand across the top of the outside shower wall (from inside) and it was moist but not soaking wet.

The dark spot in the first pic is the spot. The second is the outside shower wall.

Anyone see this before and know how to find the source before sufficient damage occurs?

[bjones3211]

I had some thing or similar to yours last year and after doing some research I found that what it was a tube behind the Fossett area that either froze or basically cracked
I had to change the Fossett out and it worked great after that


Note it only leaks when you had the shower turned on so you can pull the Fossett away from the wall and then turn it on you’ll be able to see where it leaked they were the water ran down the between the wall and basically ran out on the ground hope this

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by bjones3211

I had some thing or similar to yours last year and after doing some research I found that what it was a tube behind the Fossett area that either froze or basically cracked
I had to change the Fossett out and it worked great after that

Note it only leaks when you had the shower turned on so you can pull the Fossett away from the wall and then turn it on you’ll be able to see where it leaked they were the water ran down the between the wall and basically ran out on the ground hope this

Thank you. That sounds extremely plausible. I look into it.

[Lt Keefer]

Faucet, maybe?

[Judge]

This is probably not your problem but something to check.....

When I had my Outlaw 29H, the Low Point Drains were under the shower pan. I had to remove the access panel under the shower pan to open them.... which was a real challenge unless your hand could bend in unnatural ways.

If yours are located under the shower pan as well, one of them could have a slow leak. Not likely since you only see it after taking a shower but worth looking into if your Low Point Drains under the shower pan and they would exit the coach in that spot.

[The_Breeze]

I found it. There's a wet spot dead center of the shower pan and flows toward the front of the coach, over the wheel housing and out of the rig. Shower faucet faces the rear and all is bone dry. Ruling it out for now.

There's heater duct hose running between 2-2x4 supports that has to be removed - which reminds me. I was in there a few mornings ago when I took a step and heard a loud crack. Looked around and didn't see anything, until now.

There's a tee that joins the kitchen sink to the tub drain but that appears dry. Going to rip everything out, if I can, run the shower and see if I can identify the source. I look for low point drains once everything is out of the way.

Stand back. I'm going in - as soon as I finish my coffee

Update: I got the hose out of the way. There are lines running along the outside wall and over the wheel well (absolute genius in cold weather) but the leak seems to be coming from the high point on the well and puddling in the center of the wheel well until it overflows and runs toward the front.

It's in such n awkward place, things seem to point to ripping the shower out.

[mcr1010]

To add to Judge's post:
A couple or years ago, maybe more, I had a leak at the trap under shower pan. Shower pan was flexing and broke one of the fittings by bottoming out on floor. Made some better support for the shower pan and installed a rubber sleeve for flexing. No more problem.
On another coach, another leak, the shower pan cracked, but the crack would not leak unless someone was in the shower. Was a bitch to find. Fixed the crack with some Eternabond tape instead of replacing the shower pan. Tape served as non slip also.
Hope you find yours.

[The_Breeze]

Thanks for your help folks, as always. Maybe I can repay the favor.

The leak seems to originate at the seam between the shower pan and the wall (second pic). I can replicate the issue at will. That loud pop/crack I heard was where the shower pan dropped and cracked. The crack is in that corner behind the wall. Only about 1/4-1/2" long, but long enough. And it's no surpise that is the origin of the leak.

I all spray down the walls before I get out of the shower. Why this suddenly started happening baffles me. Supposedly, you're not to caulk the gap there as condensation build-up can cause rot, mold and/or mildew.

I'm going to experiment with a few things before coming up with, what I hope, is a permanent fix. It sure gave me an opportunity to clean up the rats nest along the way. I think they call that a 2fer.

I'll be back if I find something that works.

Thanks again.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by mcr1010

To add to Judge's post:
A couple or years ago, maybe more, I had a leak at the trap under shower pan. Shower pan was flexing and broke one of the fittings by bottoming out on floor. Made some better support for the shower pan and installed a rubber sleeve for flexing. No more problem.
On another coach, another leak, the shower pan cracked, but the crack would not leak unless someone was in the shower. Was a bitch to find. Fixed the crack with some Eternabond tape instead of replacing the shower pan. Tape served as non slip also.
Hope you find yours.

I’ve learned to reinforce the shower pan as one of the first mods in a new coach. The wife will step around the pan and then I will both looking for soft spots. Then I start cutting blocks of wood to add support.

They could do such a better job building the supports for the shower pan..... if they weren’t in such a hurry to get the coach built.

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Judge

I’ve learned to reinforce the shower pan as one of the first mods in a new coach. The wife will step around the pan and then I will both looking for soft spots. Then I start cutting blocks of wood to add support.

They could do such a better job building the supports for the shower pan..... if they weren’t in such a hurry to get the coach built.

Thanks Judge. We three agree: you, MCR and I and I went in that direction. It was the root cause of the whole inconvenience.

I had enough 1x on hand to straddle the end points of the wheel well where it's more sturdy and provides better support. The third 2x4, closest to the hallway, wasn't cutaway to replicate it a third time. More 1x next time I'm near a Lowe's. I would have liked to go a little wider than 1x but in the middle of BFE with no lumber store in 100mi. What's a guy gonna do?

The middle seems to belly and any additional stress there could have resulted in breakage, leaving a place for water to intrude if driving in the rain. so I sought to straddle the end-points where the wheel well is more sturdy. I followed with filler to add strength but most of the weight should be carried by the 1x and end-points. You have to look at where the original shower pan 2x4's meet the 1x and how far it is to the end-point to hope for strength. It should provide enough to not have to rely on the middle so much but I wanted to use the available surface area to add strength. I have to wait for the shower to dry so I can caulk the corner where the crack occurred. It's a bit of a hassle because it's actually behind the shower wall panel so you have to pry the panel away from pan to get caulk where the problem is.

Here's what I did to support the shower pan. I had to leave room for the duct work that feeds the bedroom (4" flex). On the upside, I can tailor the 45' of flex they used to heat the bedroom. All that excess surface area to get cold and decrease heat efficiency. Gotta love it.

All in all, it could have been worse so I'm not that peeved about it. You're right though, they could have done a much better job reinforcing the pan.

[The_Breeze]

Gave it its first test run. AOK. If she proves out in the morning, I'll button her up.

Thanks for your help, support and experience. Take care and safe travels.

[Judge]

Another thing I thought of with these shower pans......

If you camp in a cold climate or store a coach in cold climates, you don't want to step on the pan until it is well warmed up from the hot water if the pan is cold. Plastic gets pretty brittle in cold temps. If you have any flex in the pan to begin with and then step on it while it is cold, that is going to probably create a condition where it could crack depending on the amount of flex.

Needless to say, you probably don't want to step on the shower floor in general when it is cold if there is any flex in it.

[The_Breeze]

I'll keep that in mind. I full time and chase the weather. Rarely in temps that cold for very long (overnight at most). Take care.

[Ant15]

On our recent trip on the last day we discovered a leak above the right rear dual of our thor 33.2 rv. Well removed the access panel and found a broken trap under the shower. No problem didn't take it back to dealer decided to fix myself. Easy Fix! Ol Ace hardware had everything I needed to fix.

[Dhughes1234]

I recently bought a used unit and the first couple of trips I had to chase some water leaks. I found all drain fittings were loose and had to be doped and tightened. Since then I’ve gone thru all the water connections and had to tighten. This maybe your issue.

[Muggs]

We had a leak from drain line under shower. Was clamp ring loosening due to pan flex. I took apart and added cut down rubber adapter and hose clamps. No more issues after 3 years.