I know this is not posted in the right place but I need help soon and figured more people logged in under Community Chat..... sorry Howard. My wife and I have been living in our 5er for 3 1/2 years. We are still working and waiting on retirement. I have noticed in the past few weeks the shower floor seemed to be getting weak. My wife got out of the shower today and a hole about the size of a quarter has broken through. After further inspection I noticed other cracks and spots and it looks like it is dry rotting causing splitting/cracking. I know there are many of you that have lived in your campers longer than three years. Is this a common thing to happen? Is there anything that will seal the floor where we can use the shower until we get a new pan or shower ordered and get it put in. This is a corner shower and not one of the cheaper ones. Surely I will not have to replace the shower pan every three years? Any help is much appreciated.
Billy
NorCal Dan said
09:47 PM Jun 2, 2012
What's that shower pan made of? Ours is plastic and I don't think it will suffer from dry rot. Any chance the shower is leaking underneath and the floor is rotten? With no support underneath the pan maybe it started cracking.
WRS said
11:36 PM Jun 2, 2012
Dan,
I am sure it is plastic although fiberglass came to mind at first. The two places that water most likely is getting through looks like they just cracked. There is support under it but there were some soft spots. I have owned 2 other units with the same style shower and both of them had a soft spot or two. What is strange the third spot is right on top of a support and it is cracking. As for underneath I am assuming it is just supported with 2X4's standing on their sides but don't know that for sure. The cracks and one hole just busted through so I feel the floor underneath is fine. You are right plastic won't rot (bad choice of words) but it looks almost brittle. I can see that happening over a lot of years but not three. One thing for sure when it is repaired it will have lots of support. Ya know what is most frustrating is no shower with both of us working presents problems. Brings a whole new meaning to the word funky!! At this moment I am going to put some locktite plastic bonder in hopes of keeping if from leaking. I don't feel very confident though. I hope I can find a pan that will fit under the lip of the walls...... and match the sides SOON!! Where and how is another problem.
Billy
NorCal Dan said
02:10 AM Jun 3, 2012
You're probably right, I looked up my datasheet on our coach and mine is fiberglass and not plastic. Are you parked in an RV park with showers? Maybe you could use those until you get repaired. Not sure how you can keep the floor dry if you plan on using your shower. I feel your pain. 2 weeks ago our toilet broke. The cable from the flush pedal snapped after over 4 years of full-timing. I called a few mobile rv tech's and they all told me they don't repair toilets, they just replace them. Our toilet is a $500 dollar item. So I tear the toilet apart, order the replacement cable ($30), wait 2 days for the parts, then re-assemble. 3 days with no toilet is no fun either ;)
Racerguy said
02:49 AM Jun 3, 2012
If you are handy at all you could go to an Auto Parts Store and buy a fiberglass repair kit and make a temporary repair for now.It's not that hard to do.
WRS said
10:53 PM Jun 3, 2012
Thanks guys. I guess I will soon find out if the locktite plastic bond will hold on fiberglass!! I put it on last night and am going to fill the bottom with water and see if it holds. It got VERY hard now if it will just stick. If it does not I may go get the fiberglass kit.
Ya know Dan every time I flush our toilet I wonder how long that flush cable will last. Just seems like a lot of wear on that part. Since we are at 3.5 years I might just order me a cable!!! There are just a few things you can't live without!!
Hope to see you guys on the road,
Billy
53 Merc said
12:33 AM Jun 5, 2012
Chances are good that the Loctite is going to crack and come loose from the pan when you step in it. AND, if you go the fiberglas repair route, site prep is critical. I repaired boats for a while, and site prep takes longer than the fiberglas application. Rough sanding or abrasive wheel, get the cracks and holes clean and dry, wipe with acetone or lacquer thinner, wipe with acetone or lacquer thinner again, let that dry, then cut the glas fiber mat to fit, remove mat, lay down polyester resin, put mat back in place, lay down more resin to impregnate the mat, brush smooth or use a plastic spreader. When you mix the resin with the hardener, you gotta get in high gear. You might have as much as 5 minutes working time from mixing. And no, you can't do a bit at a time. The first coat needs to be done at one time. After that, you can go back with another coat of mat and resin as soon as you want to. Sanding between coatings may or may not be required if the first coat is good and smooth. If not, back to the sanding and wiping. No dust is allowed.
NorCal Dan said
01:09 AM Jun 6, 2012
I've never worked with fiberglass, and from that description I doubt I ever will. Might be easier (but not cheaper) just to replace the pan. That way you could beef up the support underneath at the same time to hopefully prevent it from happening again.
53 Merc said
10:29 PM Jun 6, 2012
NorCal Dan wrote:
I've never worked with fiberglass, and from that description I doubt I ever will. Might be easier (but not cheaper) just to replace the pan. That way you could beef up the support underneath at the same time to hopefully prevent it from happening again.
Sorry if I made fiberglas repair sound harder than it is. I think a cake decorator from a bakery could do it well. It is all about site preparation and working with a plan and working quickly. Besides that, if I can do it, it must be simple.
Hey folks,
I know this is not posted in the right place but I need help soon and figured more people logged in under Community Chat..... sorry Howard. My wife and I have been living in our 5er for 3 1/2 years. We are still working and waiting on retirement. I have noticed in the past few weeks the shower floor seemed to be getting weak. My wife got out of the shower today and a hole about the size of a quarter has broken through. After further inspection I noticed other cracks and spots and it looks like it is dry rotting causing splitting/cracking. I know there are many of you that have lived in your campers longer than three years. Is this a common thing to happen? Is there anything that will seal the floor where we can use the shower until we get a new pan or shower ordered and get it put in. This is a corner shower and not one of the cheaper ones. Surely I will not have to replace the shower pan every three years? Any help is much appreciated.
Billy
Dan,
I am sure it is plastic although fiberglass came to mind at first. The two places that water most likely is getting through looks like they just cracked. There is support under it but there were some soft spots. I have owned 2 other units with the same style shower and both of them had a soft spot or two. What is strange the third spot is right on top of a support and it is cracking. As for underneath I am assuming it is just supported with 2X4's standing on their sides but don't know that for sure. The cracks and one hole just busted through so I feel the floor underneath is fine. You are right plastic won't rot (bad choice of words) but it looks almost brittle. I can see that happening over a lot of years but not three. One thing for sure when it is repaired it will have lots of support. Ya know what is most frustrating is no shower with both of us working presents problems. Brings a whole new meaning to the word funky!! At this moment I am going to put some locktite plastic bonder in hopes of keeping if from leaking. I don't feel very confident though. I hope I can find a pan that will fit under the lip of the walls...... and match the sides SOON!! Where and how is another problem.
Billy
Thanks guys. I guess I will soon find out if the locktite plastic bond will hold on fiberglass!! I put it on last night and am going to fill the bottom with water and see if it holds. It got VERY hard now if it will just stick. If it does not I may go get the fiberglass kit.
Ya know Dan every time I flush our toilet I wonder how long that flush cable will last. Just seems like a lot of wear on that part. Since we are at 3.5 years I might just order me a cable!!!
There are just a few things you can't live without!! 
Hope to see you guys on the road,
Billy
Sorry if I made fiberglas repair sound harder than it is. I think a cake decorator from a bakery could do it well. It is all about site preparation and working with a plan and working quickly. Besides that, if I can do it, it must be simple.