H E L P .... My Bathtub IS cracked.....

[Seajay]

Ok guys, I need some advise on this. We have a 33 foot 2000 Pace Arrow on a Ford chassis with a V10 engine. The other night I stepped over into the tub for a shower and heard a sharp ''POP''. HUMMMMM? I could not see any problem and figured it was my bad knee popping. Today Willa found about a five inch crack in the bottom of the tub. It is about as thick as two pieces of not book paper and five inches long.

This is my resolution to the problem unless someone can tell me different.

One. dry the tub out really well and stop all water drips as necessary..
One-a-... Take Willas hair dryer and dry out any and all moisture in or around the crack and make sure the tub surface is ''bone dry'' before I start repairing same
Two.. After making sure the surface is free of all soap and skum take fine sand paper and sand out about one inch on both sides of the ''crack'' and take a sharp knife and ''clean out the crack'' as best I can.
Three... Mix up some five minute epoxy and generously apply same to the ''crack area'' forcing the epoxy down into the crack as I can. I will use a flat putty knife and push it down as best I can.
Four... Evenly spread the epoxy on each side of the ''crack'' and taper same carefully....
Five. Let the complete mess dry over nite and then lightly sand any lumps, bumps and goof ups out and hope it holds.

I will pay ten cents for any good ideas on this or five cents for some pretty good ''maybe'' ideas. I pay nothing for drooling, feet shuffling and blank stairs.......

Seajay the sailor man ..... with a crack in his tub......H E L P ...

[Clifftall]

I'm surprised at you Seajay. You forgot the beer.

[mikedes]

You might consider opening the crack up a little more before the epoxy. I would use a small router with a 1/16" bit for instance. When I was doing solid surface counters this is how stress cracks were repaired
Mike D

[Gary - K7GLD]

Common problem with the thinner-walled plastic tubs used in RVs - made worse when the underlying support is not in proper contact with the tub floor - allowing it to flex every time weight is put on it. Especially vulnerable in colder temperatures. In addition to the above offered fixes, I would get a can of the expanding and hardening insulating/crack filling foam, and carefully apply as much as possible thru the crack into the area between the tub floor and whatever is beneath it to completely fill the area, and provide form-filling support.

[Superslif]

In my trailer, I have a vent grate right in front of the tub. Would it be wise after you fix the crack to see if your able get access to the area under the tub to make sure where you step in the by the crack is, it is supported. Once you fill that crack, you want to make sure it does not flex.

[Midniteoyl]

Just using epoxy wont hold. You need a reinforcing cloth over/under the crack. Polyester resin is what was prolly originally used so whatever the resin is you have should be compatible.

Stop drill the crack at each end before repairing.

Need to find a way to support the repair afterward.

Good article: DIY Home Improvement Tips: How to Repair a Crack in a Fiberglass Tub or Shower Stall - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

[Paul and Sue]

There are tub and shower repair companies in just about every city. They will come out to your rig and fix the crack with a warranty on the fix. If you can not find one contact a home builder in the area they use them all the time to fix tubs and showers when they damage one during building.

[Seajay]

Lots of good info here guys. Seems I will owe several dimes for good thoughts and hot information concerning this. I looked on the net and found that Lowe's ''repair kit'' just for ''plastic tubs and shower basins'' and I am going to go down there and get a repair kit and some of that ''hardening foam'' to make a proper repair. My next problem is that do you guys figure this is a ''One six pack or a Two six pack'' job? I'm gonna go with two just in case I get ''spider bit'' and need some ''anti-toxen''...... Many thanks again for all the input and watch your e mail for your rewards.....

Lets all ask someone to bring our troops home for Christmas cause we miss them a bunch.

[Pete & Linda]

I think Paul & Sue is right on, this is the way I would go. If you do try it yourself Midniteoly is correct drill a small hole at each end of the crack or it will "run".