Shower drain leak under shower pan

[BrandonSmith]

Water getting into underbelly... What can I expect? Will it rot? Will it get moldy? I don't have an insulated underbelly, so it's just linoleum, OSB floor, ~2" fiberglass insulation, then coroplast sheeting.

I was showering last night and when I stepped out, the rug was wet. I initially thought maybe I didn't have the curtain inside the shower. But then I saw some water coming from under the access panel below the shower pan. I opened the access panel and the damn drain union was dripping and the floor was soaked with about 1/4" of water!

I immediately hand tightened the union and grabbed my towel and sopped up as much water as I could through the small access panel and in between the drain pipe and water lines snaking around under there. I grabbed my wet vac and sucked up all I could and then used another towel to finish dry whatever I could reach (about 50% of the area is accessible due to the piping blocking most of the access).

Thankfully the weather here is fantastic - 70*F and windy - so that will help dry out the mess with windows open. I left a box fan running last night and continuing to run today while I'm at work. Since there's a big size difference between the size of the access panel and the fan, I've got the fan angled a certain way to try and get as much air into the hole as possible. Looking this morning, it all looked dry, including the 2x4's that are supporting the shower pan, but I know it's not completely dry.

Under the shower pan, there are two 3" holes in the floor - one for water piping to come up from outside and the other for electrical wiring to pass to the underbelly. These holes go straight through to the outside, save they have sprayfoam insulation on the underbelly to keep things on the outside coming into the trailer (the bad part of this is that water draining from inside will sit down in the hole with nowhere to go).

I went out to drain my gray tank, which drain is directly below the shower, and I noticed dripping coming from under the shower. The water was dripping out of the corner of my trailer's underbelly, where the coroplast meets the edge of the trailer. All this dripping after cleaning up the mess. I did run my hand along the coroplast to feel for sitting water but I didn't feel any pooling.

So, am I going to die of black mold one of these days?

[Reverse_snowbird]

Probably not going to die of black mold.

Suggest that you buy or rent a dehumidifier and run it at the highest setting possible. That will pull water out of the walls. Running the air conditioner will help also.

[BrandonSmith]

This is the second time this joint has come loose. The first time was about 2 months into full-timing when just a few drips of water were noticed: wouldn't even say it was than a few tablespoons worth. I tightened that union and now, about a year later, that union fitting was loose by 2 full turns! The trailer hasn't moved since I'm full-timing... What gives? FWIW, this union fitting is on the shower drain waterless valve (the horizontal, straight version of a p-trap), where it connects to the drain on the shower pan. I have no idea how or why this valve would loosen over time.

[Reverse_snowbird]

It's only a guess, but there is not a lot of support under these showers and the movement might cause it to loosen. You could try putting some type of support under the shower or a bit of glue on the joint.

[asr524]

Originally Posted by BrandonSmith

This is the second time this joint has come loose. The first time was about 2 months into full-timing when just a few drips of water were noticed: wouldn't even say it was than a few tablespoons worth. I tightened that union and now, about a year later, that union fitting was loose by 2 full turns! The trailer hasn't moved since I'm full-timing... What gives? FWIW, this union fitting is on the shower drain waterless valve (the horizontal, straight version of a p-trap), where it connects to the drain on the shower pan. I have no idea how or why this valve would loosen over time.

Could be for the same reason mine was loose....they didnt cut the pipes the right length!

[BrandonSmith]

Originally Posted by asr524

Could be for the same reason mine was loose....they didnt cut the pipes the right length!

Wow… that’s horribly short. I’ll pull my waterless valve and see if the short pipe is pulling it loose.
I also have a couple PEX that were cut a couple inches short and look like they are straining the 90° fitting.

[asr524]

Originally Posted by BrandonSmith

Wow… that’s horribly short. I’ll pull my waterless valve and see if the short pipe is pulling it loose.
I all have a couple PEX that were cut a couple inches short and look like they are straining the 90° fitting.

They left the valve loose on both ends to split the difference but when I tightened it properly the black side popped off.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by BrandonSmith

Wow… that’s horribly short. I’ll pull my waterless valve and see if the short pipe is pulling it loose.
I also have a couple PEX that were cut a couple inches short and look like they are straining the 90° fitting.

Nice. I'm betting that wasn't built in one of the plants where each tradesman has to sign off on the build sheet for the work he did. And obviously there wasn't much quality control supervision following the plumber around.

When our last rig had a series of small warrantee issues I found it easier to fix stuff myself. Didn't seem to matter to these assemblers if things were plus or minus 3/4 inch.

Looks like you need to learn plumbing quality control and repair.

Good luck. Tom

[BrandonSmith]

Originally Posted by Tom48

Nice. I'm betting that wasn't built in one of the plants where each tradesman has to sign off on the build sheet for the work he did. And obviously there wasn't much quality control supervision following the plumber around.

When our last rig had a series of small warrantee issues I found it easier to fix stuff myself. Didn't seem to matter to these assemblers if things were plus or minus 3/4 inch.

Looks like you need to learn plumbing quality control and repair.

Good luck. Tom

Yes the first year of ownership has had me learning how to crimp PEX properly and how not to mix different size tubing/fittings! Somehow the builders don't understand that 1/2" PEX has a much smaller inner diameter than 1/2" nylon braided hose... That didn't keep them from crimping the nylon tubing to the PEX fittings - 50% of which have been replace by me because they started to drip.

[K_M_H]

We had a similar issue under our shower pan - I did write to Forest River and they said that they'd reimburse us for parts.

The tailpiece was completely cracked off at the top - discovered while de-winterizing when the shower had an "accident" all over the floor.