Community Forums

Papawto5 · 03-25-2012, 04:32 PM

Our motor home is a 40' DP by Coachmen Sportscoach. It has a corner shower that has the 2 curved doors that slide together. The shower has a front access panel under the step in area. The is very limited room between the MH floor and the cushioned shower stall floor. There is a "2 quart" catch basin below the shower drain pipes that is built into the floor.

We had a serious leak (a quart of water in the basin every other day) and now have a nuisance leak (2 -4 ounces every several days). Since I can't work laying on my stomach, my DW checked the drain and the drainage pipes. She tightened up an obvious leak in the drainage pipe and applied DAP Kwik Seal Plus around the drain (in the stall) and around the fittings of the drain.

We have stopped 90% of the leak. Is a leak normal (if not, what is the purpose of the catch basin) ?? It seems to me that a leak is expected and the small amount of the leak is to evaporate before the basin fills.

Suggestions/ideas?? Thank

free-to-roam · 03-25-2012, 05:40 PM

Any leak is not "normal". You should not have to use any sealant, ever, on a joint, if it is properly aligned, and connected. Having said that, most of these fittings are plastic origin, and, being so, are given to cracking if placed under stress.
Since you cannot wiggle in to see what is going on, you will be better off getting a certified RV Tech to diagnose, and service this problem. Water running under a shower is a certain recipe for a future mess of unbelieveable proportions...

Fred1609 · 03-25-2012, 06:14 PM

I agree if the source of the leak isnt apparent get a tech to look for it. Leaks have a way of getting worse.

zeeyaarv · 03-26-2012, 05:49 PM

Have a Coachmen Pathfinder. Much the same problem. Went the HD, Lowes route and found something close. Replaced but still leaks. It's not a part that would be universal and I'm sure when there installed, each installation is different. It doesn't leak a lot--just enough to be annoying. I'm going to try a comparable in shape radiator hose with screw clamps. Wish I could help. If you
find a replacement, let me know.

msgadrian · 04-08-2012, 11:22 AM

We also have a 2004 40' Diesel pusher Holiday Rambler and we replaced the shower drain. Everything went well till we put it all back together when it leaked. I went back to Lowe's and showed salesman the parts and he sent me home with a tube of great white pipe joint compound with ptfe. I used this with the plumbers putty and I still have a leak from the drain. Am at a loss. I can tighten down just so far then it pops so can't seem to tighten it. any suggestions on what to do or where to go??

zeeyaarv · 04-17-2012, 07:04 PM

I ran water with no one in shower. No leak. Then I observed underneath when DW was showering. Noticed that leak happened when foot pressure was placed on or around drain. I think it may be seal around drain insert in fiberglass shower floor.

Papawto5 · 04-18-2012, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeeyaarv

I ran water with no one in shower. No leak. Then I observed underneath when DW was showering. Noticed that leak happened when foot pressure was placed on or around drain. I think it may be seal around drain insert in fiberglass shower floor.

We tried that (I think). We recaulked the area around the drain in the shower itself. That didn't seem to solve the nuisance leak.

Are you caulking around the drain edges or did you remove the drain lid and apply caulk somewhere down in the pipe?

Keep the info coming. Two techs (two different shops) have yet to solve the problem.

msgadrian · 04-18-2012, 07:33 AM

Thanks for all the help!! We ended up going to Richardson's RV and they gave us the correct parts for the drain (which is what we should have done in the first place) but didn't fathom that there would be a small difference between a house drain and rv drain. All is up and running well now!

Papawto5 · 04-18-2012, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeeyaarv

I ran water with no one in shower. No leak. Then I observed underneath when DW was showering. Noticed that leak happened when foot pressure was placed on or around drain. I think it may be seal around drain insert in fiberglass shower floor.

Talked to the service manager of a large RV dealership. He said that our drain problem is common. HE SAYS that too many manufacturers don't put enough support around the pipe drain area of the shower. Look at the area of your shower drain. You're likely to see that the support UNDER the floor of the shower does not snuggle up close enough to the P drain pipe. As folks stand in the shower and stand in the area of the drain, the P drain pipe flexes down and creates a gap "somewhere" around where the drain pipe meets the P drain pipe. So . . . . . . . . . see if you can shore up the area around the pipe (caution, the floor of the shower is supposed to flex some when you stand on it so don't make the floor support rigid)

Hope this helps. Travel easy.

Schoolsout2 · 04-18-2012, 05:29 PM

I had a broken pipe. On my 2000 Fleetwood the pipi is a motor/mobile home fitting. I found it in a mobile home section of a hardware store. Under the coach is an access panel that is under the drain. You might check yours to see if it is similar.

zeeyaarv · 04-19-2012, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msgadrian

Thanks for all the help!! We ended up going to Richardson's RV and they gave us the correct parts for the drain (which is what we should have done in the first place) but didn't fathom that there would be a small difference between a house drain and rv drain. All is up and running well now!

That's good to know. I guess sometimes it's best just to let the experts help. We get into a habit of thinking we can "fix" everything and anything when the really easy fix is to just ask a vendor. What is your MH model? I will call Richardson's. Thanks.

The other input was also good. Shoring up a little underneath is probably a good suggestion that would prevent a future leak. (There I go again)

sirpurrcival · 04-19-2012, 01:45 AM

I had a somewhat different issue when I bought my used National Tropical.
The shower drain had been replaced with a Do it Yourselfer solution which bordered on ridiculous as it involved a cut down funnel that was cemented in my drain opening and drained (very slowly) into a trap and was cemented again all around the opening to the trap to try and make a seal to keep the drain water in the pipe.

I removed that concoction and the p trap and replaced the shower drain with a residential unit that allows me to close the drain if I want to collect some water in the bottom of the tub So far so good but to my consternation I found that the drain hole wasn't centred correctly over the new P trap and I had no way to fix the alignment. This would have been a factory screw up IMO and probably had something to do with why the drain was replaced in the first place. My final solution was to get a threaded fitting to go in the P-Trap side, cement a small section of 2" pipe onto the threaded fitting (made for that purpose) and then use a piece of flexible rubber hose to screw clamp to the shower drain at the upper end and the small section of abs pipe that connected to the P-trap. The rubber game me some flex to distort it enough to clamp securely to the underside of drain fitting. It works like a dream.
For good measure, I decided to use flexible braided hoses to replace a portion of my shower hot and cold water supply. The pipes from the factory were cut too short on my cold supply. When I had to connect and disconnect for the above repair project, I found that it was under tremendous strain to reach the threaded fitting on the faucet and had to be be even more stressed in order to tighten said fitting. Seriously, how difficult is it for the manufacturer to cut a piece of hose to the right length? I guess I have a better idea why National went out of business.

Now if I could only stop water from penetrating through my shower faucets (another very poorly implemented design). I may be back for help on that one.

topdownman · 08-15-2012, 06:52 AM

I just found this thread. I also have a 2007 Pathfinder with the dreaded shower leak. Mine was enough to fill up the catch pan, then it would leak out onto the floor when I turned a corner.

I remove the access panel and actually had to cut out a small piece of wood so I could get my hand under there. My drain pipe "appeared" to be glued in crooked. But when I tried to tighten the collar around the shower drain I found the pipe was actually cracked.

I removed all the pieces which was fairly easy and took them to a local RV shop (Louisville RV...great people BTW). The scrounged through their parts bins and found some replacements that would work with the use of a reducer. Lowe's had NOTHING that would work. In fact, everything I found at Lowe's seemed to be the exact reverse of what I needed (flange and thread wise).

The hardest part of my repair was I had to cut off an elbow that was left on the drain line that went to the gray tank. I had to lay on my back with a very small hacksaw and cut blindly. Luckily, it's ABS so it cuts easily, but there no room to get a Dremel or any other type of power saw down there. Once that was cut, I glued all the pieces back together. Absolutely no leaks now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeeyaarv

I ran water with no one in shower. No leak. Then I observed underneath when DW was showering. Noticed that leak happened when foot pressure was placed on or around drain. I think it may be seal around drain insert in fiberglass shower floor.

Darwin · 08-15-2012, 07:58 AM

I had a simular problem on a 2007 Crosscountry. My shower drain line was tight against the shower floor and the floor below the shower tub. I found rubber fittings and replace the plastic fittings on the shower drain. I also braced the shower floor with 1" boards cut on an angle to fit below the shower tub. I used silicone to hold the boards in place. No leaks for 2 years.