Shower leak

[station10fd]

I've read countless times do not caulk the bottom seam in the shower, but I feel I have no choice but to do so.



As you can see I've already siliconed the bottom rivets which did not help. The water is seeping out from under the trim here when the shower is used.



I've checked behind the valves and no leaking there. The ONLY time it seeps water is then I spray water at the lower part of the shower. I'll give it a shot, if it doesn't work I'll peel the silicon up. I've got a fan on the shower now and give it a day to dry up, then I'll run a bead of silicon there and see if it stopped the leaking.

[Dave_Monica]

FWIW, the shower in our Rockwood is caulking around the inside and outside of the base and has never been an issue.

Dave

[kandl]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

FWIW, the shower in our Rockwood is caulking around the inside and outside of the base and has never been an issue.

Ditto - ours is caulked all along the base too. No leaks. Interestingly, the sealing on the upper edges of the shower panels is a combination of caulk and silicon - caulk on one panel and silicon on the other. Things that make you go hmmm...

[Tiggerdad]

Very thin bead on the vertical corners of mine None anywhere else and no leaks. Also not rivets. Is it possible it is behind the shower?

[Greywolfdan]

We sealed ours fully with caulk and still leaked after some investigation found the drain extension was to short and never correctly hooked up even after our "warrantee" repair. $2 part from lowes helped us.

[billt01]

I experienced the same as the original poster. I went to Lowe's and bought a couple tubes of silicone. After everything dried up, I put a thick bead around the bottom of the shower.....

No more leaks

[lswartz]

Are you real sure that is where the leak is from? You might use a hand sprayer with colored water, hopefully you can trace the leak path.

As an aside note, you need to get an Oxygenics shower head & replace that one in your 1st picture.

[station10fd]

Originally Posted by Greywolfdan

We sealed ours fully with caulk and still leaked after some investigation found the drain extension was to short and never correctly hooked up even after our "warrantee" repair. $2 part from lowes helped us.

I was able to get under the shower enough to see the drain line, so I know it's not coming through there.

Seeing several folks sealing the bottom makes me feel better about doing it. Still haven't got to it yet, but will report how it turns out.

I went in this order using water, just letting in run in the pan for 5 minutes, making sure it was not the drain, then moving up just above the bottom of the side wall for 5 minutes. That's when it started seeping, so I'm pretty confident that's where it's coming from.

[clange]

Just curious...are you getting water pooling on that lip where the shower pan and the surround meet (2nd picture)?

I had a similar problem with my Sabre. I was convinced that the leak was coming from the area where the wall and shower pan meet as you note in your picture 1 above. I caulked that seam and still had a leak.

Turned out my leak was coming from an area around the shower door and was traveling underneath the aluminum trim holding the glass and exiting towards the back wall just as you show. I caulked that area and it has slowed the problem, although it still exists slightly. I added more caulk and am waiting for the next trip to see if I have the problem corrected.

I'll try to snap some pictures this evening and post them if that helps.

[clange]

I took a few pictures of my shower this evening. I hope these help. My shower was not caulked at the bottom on the outside of the shower (where the magnetic strip runs and where the bottom hinge is installed). Water was running down the glass and somehow ending up flowing into these un-caulked areas and ultimately flowing towards the walls, onto the floor, and ultimately down into the living area of our Sabre. Very frustrating.

I apologize for the poor quality of the image by the hinge...but you should be able to get the idea.

[station10fd]

Originally Posted by clange

Just curious...are you getting water pooling on that lip where the shower pan and the surround meet (2nd picture)?

I had a similar problem with my Sabre. I was convinced that the leak was coming from the area where the wall and shower pan meet as you note in your picture 1 above. I caulked that seam and still had a leak.

Turned out my leak was coming from an area around the shower door and was traveling underneath the aluminum trim holding the glass and exiting towards the back wall just as you show. I caulked that area and it has slowed the problem, although it still exists slightly. I added more caulk and am waiting for the next trip to see if I have the problem corrected.

I'll try to snap some pictures this evening and post them if that helps.

Thanks, I'll put some caulk there while I'm at it!

[station10fd]

Finally got to water test the caulking. (not going to post a pic because I'm not the best caulker in the world) I started at the bottom, spraying water for 5 minutes, then worked my way up to the top and all around the inside of the shower. Happy to report no leaking at all. I'm not sure how far the lip goes up behind the panels, apparently not very far, or maybe it's cracked under there? Anyway it's not leaking and I'm happy

[clange]

Glad to hear! Happy camping!!

[grcooper]

Having problem with leak. Checked everywhere in shower. Finally found leak located at one of the press on fasteners on the shower wall. Hope it is a faulty fastener, will Waite to pull and replace when replacement fastener is found.

[Blaupunkt]

Like others, I've had a leak from the shower that causes water to drip under the trailer. The dealership happily charged me to caulk silicon between the shower pan and the shower glass on both sides - I've now removed that useless and potentially damaging non-repair - then sent me merrily on my way assuring me the problem was solved. It wasn't fixed and I still have an issue with the dealership on this one (sloppy investigating, incorrect repair) which I will take up with them later.

There's a (small, very small) furnace vent at the front of the shower base. Now I know I should have done this before but finally I took it off after the most recent trip and looked in to find a swimming pool in the rectangular opening under the P trap. Water was leaking from the lower of the two drain nuts directly under the shower pan. Trying to tighten it while I was also making breakfast didn't produce the desired results so I had to wait until I got home. Here's the procedure:

Reaching in with one hand since there's no room for one or two more, I used brawny brute force to loosen the nuts (see picture). It didn't take much. I also loosened the nut on the downhill side of the P trap and took the entire P trap and shower drain off to see if there was a crack somewhere since I hadn't been able to stop the leak before. Good news; there was no crack. There is, however, a rubber ring that sits inside the black pipe just above the P trap bend and seats against the bottom of the white shower drain. In this case it wasn't quite tight enough to seal properly.

I would have thought the dealership would have looked at that as being one of the primary causes of a leak under the shower but this way they I'm sure they were just doing their best to get me back for more customer-dealer appreciation. (I admit, I'm a bit cynical here.)

When reassembling, the upper nut that sits against the shower pan is used to draw the shower pan centre upward (not downward!) against the drain flange. Here's why: the whole P trap assembly then rests on the subfloor and provides solid support for that part of shower pan. Hopefully the picture explains things better. Tighten everything firmly. If you can get tools in, you can get things tighter than I did but I have to be happy with hand tightening. There just isn't enough room to swing a tool in there.

I'm told that when disassembling and reassembling the drain from the shower pan, do it slowly and deliberately to avoid cracking the pan.

The bonus is that I just saved myself $300. Besides, if there's still a problem I can now complain to the repair guy in person.

Forest River Surveyor SP-230

[l001952119]

Originally Posted by clange

I took a few pictures of my shower this evening. I hope these help. My shower was not caulked at the bottom on the outside of the shower (where the magnetic strip runs and where the bottom hinge is installed). Water was running down the glass and somehow ending up flowing into these un-caulked areas and ultimately flowing towards the walls, onto the floor, and ultimately down into the living area of our Sabre. Very frustrating.

I apologize for the poor quality of the image by the hinge...but you should be able to get the idea.

Attachment 37091

Attachment 37092

Attachment 37093

Clange: Thank you for sharing your research information and photo's. I to have an elusive leak in the same are near the wall. I have caulked everyting heavily, but not under the glass panel. Today, my inspection located a minor amount of water in the glass mounting channel near the door hinge. It appears the water is migrating from the door hinge area, into the glass mounting channel trim, under the glass to the side wall. I have a service appointment this week and will request repairs. I also have a leak in the P-trap nut and will post elsewhere in this posting.

[l001952119]

Originally Posted by Blaupunkt

Like others, I've had a leak from the shower that causes water to drip under the trailer. The dealership happily charged me to caulk silicon between the shower pan and the shower glass on both sides - I've now removed that useless and potentially damaging non-repair - then sent me merrily on my way assuring me the problem was solved. It wasn't fixed and I still have an issue with the dealership on this one (sloppy investigating, incorrect repair) which I will take up with them later.

There's a (small, very small) furnace vent at the front of the shower base. Now I know I should have done this before but finally I took it off after the most recent trip and looked in to find a swimming pool in the rectangular opening under the P trap. Water was leaking from the lower of the two drain nuts directly under the shower pan. Trying to tighten it while I was also making breakfast didn't produce the desired results so I had to wait until I got home. Here's the procedure:

Reaching in with one hand since there's no room for one or two more, I used brawny brute force to loosen the nuts (see picture). It didn't take much. I also loosened the nut on the downhill side of the P trap and took the entire P trap and shower drain off to see if there was a crack somewhere since I hadn't been able to stop the leak before. Good news; there was no crack. There is, however, a rubber ring that sits inside the black pipe just above the P trap bend and seats against the bottom of the white shower drain. In this case it wasn't quite tight enough to seal properly.

I would have thought the dealership would have looked at that as being one of the primary causes of a leak under the shower but this way they I'm sure they were just doing their best to get me back for more customer-dealer appreciation. (I admit, I'm a bit cynical here.)

When reassembling, the upper nut that sits against the shower pan is used to draw the shower pan centre upward (not downward!) against the drain flange. Here's why: the whole P trap assembly then rests on the subfloor and provides solid support for that part of shower pan. Hopefully the picture explains things better. Tighten everything firmly. If you can get tools in, you can get things tighter than I did but I have to be happy with hand tightening. There just isn't enough room to swing a tool in there.

I'm told that when disassembling and reassembling the drain from the shower pan, do it slowly and deliberately to avoid cracking the pan.

The bonus is that I just saved myself $300. Besides, if there's still a problem I can now complain to the repair guy in person.

Forest River Surveyor SP-230

Blaupunkt: Thank you for the excellent picture. My 2013 29RLSS also has a leak in the P-Trap area. Access for viewing is through the front panel on the shower stall equipped with the heater outlet. I recognized a dripping of water outside the RV and emitting from the inspection panel surrounding the front grey water tank (shower) pipe exposed under the trailer to dump valve. As of today, I did finally locate the leak. The lower (rear) nut on the P-trap is leaking over the floor cutout and dripping through the insulation and exiting over the exterior inspection panel. On my RV, this rear nut is grey in color, versus the remainder of the P-trap and upper nut being black in color. I suspect access to tightening the rear nut can be accomplished from under the RV through the inspection panel. Drain basin wrenches that have an extension rod/handle can be used for this procedure. Here is a Home Depot website to view the tool.
BrassCraft 12 in. Steel Basin Wrench-T151 at The Home Depot

Again, THANK YOU for sharing the information with this forum.

[clange]

Originally Posted by l001952119

Clange: Thank you for sharing your research information and photo's. I to have an elusive leak in the same are near the wall. I have caulked everyting heavily, but not under the glass panel. Today, my inspection located a minor amount of water in the glass mounting channel near the door hinge. It appears the water is migrating from the door hinge area, into the glass mounting channel trim, under the glass to the side wall. I have a service appointment this week and will request repairs. I also have a leak in the P-trap nut and will post elsewhere in this posting.

You're quite welcome. Let us know how the service appointment goes. I still have a minor residual leak but it is much better than before! I must have missed some small opening and I just haven't had a chance to go out and look for it anymore. Maybe your service folks will have some additional tricks up their sleeve!

[l001952119]

Originally Posted by clange

You're quite welcome. Let us know how the service appointment goes. I still have a minor residual leak but it is much better than before! I must have missed some small opening and I just haven't had a chance to go out and look for it anymore. Maybe your service folks will have some additional tricks up their sleeve!

Clange: My TT is in the dealer for repairs. I am quoted "up to" six weeks before they can service the unit. Not very commendable service, but I am at their mercy for now. I will post the outcome of the repairs, soon as I receive my TT back.

[Trikkineon]

I just bought a 2014 freelander. We discovered the leak the night we picked it up from the dealer. They put some caulk on it but did not fix the problem. I tried caulking the bottom but it is flimsy and just broke loose. I bought some caulking tape that slowed the leak considerably. I talked to the dealer and they said sometimes they have to add support under to stop the flexing during showers that loosens the caulk joint. As an RV newbie I'm finding out quickly it is much easier to repair small problems yourself rather than getting anything done under warranty. Spent a couple weeks vacation so far with no problems other than the shower leak and a DVD connection problem. On class C motorhome problems definitely send an email I got a response in an hour. The phone message was answered the next week lol.