Shower pan not caulked? Is this normal?

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by cruzin101

Would the same be true for a 2011 Hurricane 31D?

More than likely yes

[Chateau_Nomad]

If your shower wall/pan looks similar to the one posted, it is designed that way... DO NOT CAULK THE SEAM. Now if yours is a Newmar or Prevost, you're not gonna have a poor man's shower style like us peasants.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

If your shower wall/pan looks similar to the one posted, it is designed that way... DO NOT CAULK THE SEAM. Now if yours is a Newmar or Prevost, you're not gonna have a poor man's shower style like us peasants.

My Newmar is the same. Just sayin….

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by crazylegs

You're all drinking the Thor koolaid. The separation of the pan is not for flexibility during transport, but due to the addition of the pet feeder drawer. The drawer does not allow for the drain to be placed in the proper spot (directly under the shower head). The drain location does not allow proper support, due to the piping, etc., but it does not usually matter as you tend to stand at the back of the shower.

The drawer does not allow for proper support and causes the drain pipe to extend through the middle of the shower pan. Very little support can be added to the middle without putting pressure on the pipe and causing leaks.

I have a very small access hole through the bottom storage and have added additional pieces of 2x4 as a temporary solution. The intent is to someday remove the useless drawer and rotate the pan and replumb the drain to where it should be. This will allow me to properly support the shower. Until then I try to stand as close to the front as possible.

Unfortunately, with this assinine design flaw, there is very little that can be done permanently without redoing the shower pan.

Do not caulk the gap though, as this will cause additional problems as the interior of the shower is open to the lower storage and needs to be able to dry.

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Sorry... it is normal, and for a perfectly good reason: to prevent the growth of mold.
The pet food drawer has nothing to do with it.
Our Outlaw had the same "non-flaw": yet had no pet food drawer
You may have overdosed on the "Thor is bad" Kool-Aide...

I agree with Bob, our shower drain is at the wall end of the shower pan, right above the access panel in the wheel well. To have it on the other end would make it very difficult to do anything with the drain. So that looks like a design win to me, has nothing to do with the pet drawer or the non-caulked lip.

[skrambledeggs]

Originally Posted by Borismkogan

We own a new 29M hurricane and taking a closer look at the shower pan and the shower wall have a large gap between them. I would assume that it should be caulked to prevent water running into this large gap? Or is this type of installation normal? TIA
Attachment 32841
Attachment 32842

Our 2017 Four Winds 31W had this gap and water poured onto the floor next to the fridge. We caulked the opening in the shower and no more water on the floor. Also, the bathroom and hallway flooring is spongy and the toilet moves. Any suggestions??????

[crazylegs]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Sorry... it is normal, and for a perfectly good reason: to prevent the growth of mold.
The pet food drawer has nothing to do with it.
Our Outlaw had the same "non-flaw": yet had no pet food drawer
You may have overdosed on the "Thor is bad" Kool-Aide...

I have no interest in starting a "war", but I am just going to end by stating a few things for people to consider.

1. I don't have to drink the kool-aid, as I own one and am well aware of the faulty design and several unacceptable construction practices: i.e. using self tapping machine screws for all applications, completely over torqued so that the wood is shredded. All visible screws need to be removed and replaced with proper wood screws a size or two larger.

2. Thor is a large company that buys in bulk. So if one or more of their designs require a separated shower to place the drain away from the shower, then all of the same size showers will have the same components so that they don't have to buy several different varieties. Remember that when they order the parts, they don't know which models will be better sellers.

[Fergi]

I had the dealer silicone (not caulk) the bottom of the shower wall to the pan on my 2020 ACE 27.2 on it's first return for various warranty issues. They didn't have any concerns doing it and said they had done it on other ACE motorhomes. I still think that is the best thing to do, because the lip wasn't very high, and it is already vented behind the wall and below the pan to the storage compartment area below. The silicone will allow a tiny amount of movement for when we are bouncing down our wonderful roads, and the pan flexes anyway.

I also had the leak on the shower drain mentioned previously, as well as on the kitchen sink drain. Both were caused by the same defective part, the nut that attaches the pipe to the drain. In both cases the plastic nut split at one of the threads, where the plastic appeared to be way too thin. I fixed both of them with J-B Weld so I could use them the next day, and because I would expect a replacement part to fail again. They are both still working after over a year.

[Frankomd]

Originally Posted by K. Meckes

I have a 2019 Thor Axis 27.7 and when I am in the shower the shower pan feels very flimsy under my feet and moves up and down with the pressure under my feet. I am only 135 lbs. the plumbing underneath leaked from the factory but was fixed while under warranty. It is leaking again. Does anyone know how to fix this so it will not keep leaking? I don't know how the plumbing will ever stay water tight will so much flexibility. Please help.

One of the plastic pee trap connectors broke due to this issue on my 2019 Freedom Traveler A30. I created a custom fix by adding in a (somewhat) flexible rubber pipe section. It was no easy access through the access door under the shower and I had to transect a heating duct to gain full access (later reconnected/repaired).

[Coveman2]

The shower floor in my 2018 Compass also has the squishy feeling so bought a teak shower mat ( do not buy bamboo) and it works great and also looks good.
The solid teak ones are about $150 on Amazon.
Coveman2