Quote:
Originally Posted by Muggs
Looks very good!
Can I ask what model of shower rod?
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Here is part on Amazon: Arcs & Angles HBA00KIT036 The Arc Curved Shower Bar, Stainless Steel, 60"
I'm also including installation instructions that we followed and it worked out great.
SHOWER ROD MODIFICATION
One of the constant complaints from 2014-2015 Axis/Vegas 24.1 owners is the size of the shower area. The biggest annoyance about the size is how the shower curtain liner tends to stick to the wet body whenever you turn around in the shower. Thor recognized these owner complaints, and beginning in 2016 replaced the roof mounted shower curtain track with and cantilevered ARC track. The arc track allows the shower curtain to stand out from the shower pan about 6-8.” This keeps the shower curtain away from your wet body while still maintaining the small footprint of the shower pan.
After seeing the new Thor 2016 design, several owners of 2014 – 2015 Axis/Vegas 24.1s explored replacing their existing shower curtain tracks with the new 2016-17 Arc track. What follows is a compilation of this modification based on the collective inputs of several Axis/Vegas owners from the Thor Forum based on this forum thread: Shower Rod 2016 Axis 24.1. (Thanks to Vkb (Ron & Kay), DocMike, Squid, JamieGeek)
1. Drilling – this modification involves a procedure that puts fear into the heart of Axis/Vegas owners; namely, drilling into the interior wall surface. The procedure will involve drilling either 2 or 3 holes for each mounting bracket of the cantilevered Arc track. The exterior wall of an Axis/Vegas is comprised of an outer fiberglass surface covering a thin luan plywood sheathing. There is an approximate 1” space filled with block Styrofoam insulation and finally the interior wall surface made up of thin aluminum sheeting covered with an interior “wallpaper” covering. When drilling the interior surface start with an approximate 1/16” pilot hole to penetrate the interior sheeting ONLY. Do not exert too much pressure – you do not want to lose control of the drill and penetrate completely through the entire wall putting a hole in the exterior fiberglass surface. More on this later.
2. Thor Parts – the cantilevered Arc rod can be obtained from Thor through your dealer. It is Thor part number 0340281. The cost is approximately $70 plus shipping and handling. This part number does not include the hardware or mounting brackets. Vkb ordered the brackets from Focus (1-866-290-1851) item number HBA00NCID91, "ARC Mounting brackets - brushed finish/pa. He does not remember the price. In addition, you will still have to obtain screws and or molly bolts. In all the cost would be around $100.
3. Alternate Parts Source -- Squid found a more practical Arc rod on Amazon (Amazon Arc Curtain Rod) for $55. The package contained the rod, two brackets and assorted mounting hardware, to include Molly bolts. The description that follows uses the Amazon Arc rod.
4. Measuring to Mount Rod – Vkb provided pictures of his installation with measurements. The distance from the bottom of the mounting bracket (both sides) to top edge of the fiberglass shower enclosure is 2 1/2”. Left hand bracket to the edge of the medicine cabinet is 2 3/8”. Distance from edge of bracket to edge of cabinet above toilet is 3”. After marking where both brackets go, also mark the location of the mounting holes. Before drilling the holes for the mounting brackets the rod has to be cut to length. The rod in the Amazon kit is 60” long. Cut its length to 52”, insert the ends in the mounting brackets, and check the locations where the mounting brackets are marked.
5. Drilling Holes and Mounting Hardware – Drill pilot holes at the location of each mount hole. Use a 1/16” drill bit as noted above to determine thickness of interior sheathing and also to determine if there is an aluminum wall “stud” behind the sheathing where any of the holes are drilled. DocMike provides the following guidance. He checked with Thor Customer Service asking where the power or water lines are located in the wall:
“The power lines are run lower in the walls and behind the drawers and cabinets. I used the toggle bolts, shortened to 1 1/2 inches (as recommended by Thor's tech). Where I hit the aluminum stud there on the outside wall I used two self-tapping 1 1/4 inch metal screws. Getting the Teflon plugs (used to seal the holes cut in the wall with the back of the mounting bracket) was easy for 5 out of 6, one required a bit of twitching and cursing to get it to line up - but it did. Oh yeah, if you hit the stud and choose to mount to the metal stud you will need to shave the length of the two Teflon plugs that fill in the hole drilled for the toggle bolt or else the bracket will not fit flush against the wall...when you first try putting it together. Get the 72 inch length curtain and if you mount it as Ron showed his (bottom of the bracket 2 1/8" above the top of the plastic shower wall) all will be well. It has been noted that some mounts have 3 holes and some 2 holes. During my install the mounts on the wall between the bathroom and bedroom were not too much of a problem after shortening the toggle bolts as much as I could. I also backed some paper towel into the hole and below it than squirted in a blob of clear silicone caulk before the final assembly...wanted to be sure to make it water tight. The outside wall just has little Styrofoam particles that exist behind the thin wall board surface. I used the one toggle bolt and two self-tapping metal screws (since I did manage to hit one of the wall studs) also used caulk blobbed in to help secure a sealed fit with the Teflon plugs. It passed the inspection by the DW this weekend but she want a prettier curtain - plain white did not work for her. The caulking was a little messy and probably not really needed.”
JamieGeek cut off 8” from the rod and provided the following mounting guidance:
“I hacked off 8" off one side to get a more satisfactory arc. I ended up having to use the toggle bolts on either side (there was no stud in that spot). I did pick up some 1 1/2" 6-32 screws for the toggle bolts but they turned out to be too short: They didn't go far enough through the wall to allow the bolts to open up (really needed at least 2" screws). So I got out my dremel and trimmed down the 4" screws that came with the mounts to a length that would fit all the way through the wall but no further (measured using the mount and seeing how big of a gap was there between the mount & the wall when I hit the other side of the wall with the bolts). There is aluminum framing on the outside walls but that framing simply consists of aluminum studs spaced throughout the walls. If you don't happen to hit one (like I didn't) then you're left dealing with the wall board, insulation, outer wall sandwich. The insulation is Styrofoam. When I drilled into the wall I pulled out a bunch of insulation. I believe the toggle bolts on the outside wall opened up as I could feel the screws tighten down (my suspicion is that they opened up and compressed a bunch of the foam down against the inside wallboard). The wallboard is very thin, probably about 3/16" or so. I wouldn't try supporting anything very heavy. The ARC is solid aluminum and not very heavy -- the shower curtain we put on it is much heavier than the ARC itself. Normally when I attach things to the camper wall I use wood screws dipped in wood glue with a small pilot hole drilled in the wall. So far nothing that I have put up in this manner has fallen off the wall but nothing has been as heavy or substantial as a shower rod. I did use this method to hold up some day/night shades and the chord tie downs at the bottom which stayed up for as long as we had that camper (our old 5th wheel). For the shower rod Doc mentioned that Thor had recommended the toggle bolts which is why I went with that method.”
The finished product provides about 6 to 8” of additional space inside the shower. The shower curtain is still inside the shower pan at the bottom so that water does not get on the floor. You do have to be careful you don’t step on the bottom of the curtain or that small children pull down on the curtain. Remember it is cantilevered and not supported in the middle like the OEM installation.
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