Outside Shower box busted

[craigav]

I took a look at mine today, and there is not enough slack with the lines on it to pull the box without first disconnecting the lines, however on mine the lines are easily accessed.

When you do yours, I would still see if you could remove the box first (before anything major) but I wouldn't pull overly hard or very far as yours may be the same as mine and as Jagiven and others mentioned (where the lines need to be disconnected first). On my previous non-jayco rv the lines did have enough slack in them to pull the box out a few inches and disconnect the lines but not on my current RV. ~CA

[3belkhunter]

So here is the update, the first picture is from inside the coat closet backing up to the outdoor shower. You can see the 3/4 inch vertical square trim piece runs through the various shelves in 1 piece - obviously not meant for access to the rear of the shower...

The 2nd picture is what I found after removing the 10 screws and had to really work a putty knife through the caulking and getting through the thick butyl tape to pull out the shower box. There is just enough play in the water lines that I should be able to get my fumble fingers in there to remove and reattach. I plan on using a rare bit of wisdom (acquired the hard way, of course) and tie a string to the water lines in case they fall back into the dead space I can pull them back up. Hopefully after I use tape to secure the connections then I can test before re-installing the box. I also bought a roll of 1 inch butyl tape, but am curious if its main purpose is weather proofing or adhesion?
Also what's the best way to remove the old dried caulking so as not to ruin the fiberglass finish?

Thanks all - lots of very helpful suggestions / recommendations, as usual...!

[craigav]

Good deal, that looks like what I was saying with my previous RV. Strings are a great safety insurance, however I doubt they will go anywhere, never know though.

Regarding cleaning the area, I have found that "plastic razor blades" work very well for scraping these areas clean. You can get them on amazon. Follow that up with any cleaner you prefer, I try to stay away from harsh cleaners. I purchased some "goo gone" cleaner that is supposed to work great for removing adhesives, but I haven't tried it yet.

The butyl tape is used for making a weather tight seal, although it certainly has it's sticky quality like you mentioned when removing your shower box. Also, just fyi, I don't know that it really matters, for sealing the box I prefer to start at the bottom of the box and make one continuous seal of tape all the way around the box and back to the bottom again as I doubt a seal leak at the bottom would even matter. Keep enough putty in the corners though so they are not thinner than the rest, when you screw down the box the butyl putty will spread out some. ~CA

[ggilbert]

its possible that wood grain panel is a removeable access panel. The reason I think that is because I think they would have used the same cheap wall board throughout the closet instead of having 1/2 wood and 1/2 wall board. that is extra cutting, measuring and fasteners. and you know campers a rebuilt as cheap and as fast as possible.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by ggilbert

its possible that wood grain panel is a removeable access panel. The reason I think that is because I think they would have used the same cheap wall board throughout the closet instead of having 1/2 wood and 1/2 wall board. that is extra cutting, measuring and fasteners. and you know campers a rebuilt as cheap and as fast as possible.

Glad you have a fix. You need to remove the whole unit anyways to install the new unit.

That panel looks removable. I see the wood screws holding the wood strips to the walls. Remove the screws, possibly the shelves too, and you should have full access.

[hoppers4]

I've found mineral spirits to work quite well on caulking with no fiberglass damage. Just don't use the crappy low odor stuff.

[norty1]

A 1 to 2 inch plastic putty knife will get the worst of it off and a solvent the residue.

[thenne1713]

Just measure cutout/ recess, should be easy to find AMAZON. Or local dealer?

[ahaywood5785]

I guess you figured it out, I found a youtube video on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeHe9FQVLHk

[Wireman]

Might want to replace the faucet set while you have it apart.

Age takes a toll on those also.

Looks like the water lines just unscrew.

[jimmoore13]

A couple of solid hunches.

This video may be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD22z_aH2OA

At about 1:20 into the video, you can see what appears to be the back side of the shower nacelle with the plumbing attached. At about 2:05 into the video, you see a typical faucet attachment nut (black).

1. The shower nacelle is attached only with the outside screws. You may need to coax it off the underlying gasket material and clean up the remaining mess, but there won't be any attachment points other than the 10 screws holding the box against the fiberglass body. If you buy an entirely new box (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), it should come with a new gasket. It also comes with a new faucet and shower hose and head. https://www.amazon.com/rv-outdoor-sh...outdoor+shower
As you can see from the Amazon offerings, these things are pretty generic.

2. The faucet will attach to house plumbing with "nuts" on the ends of the PEX lines. Treat these with care, because these will be the only 'headache' in the replacement process. Some waterpump pliers (shown in video) may be helpful for removing them from the back side of the faucet. Since you'll be holding the hole nacelle and faucet in your hands as you stand outside, you'll have a good, easy "attack position" for disconnecting the faucet. NOTE, the nuts should only be tightened to hand-tight, with PERHAPS, a sight additional snug with the pliers. If you really crank on them with pliers and break the nut, then you need to get into replacing the fitting using pex tools.

When you remove the box, then you remove the water line nuts from the back of the faucet, and then put it back together in reverse. Don't forget to add your gasket for the nacelle box before you attach the plumbing. You may get away with stretching it around the box if you forget, but it's far better to add the gasket before attaching the plumbing.

BEFORE YOU PUT THE BOX BACK INTO THE WALL OF THE CAMPER, PERFORM A LEAK TEST. ATTACH TO CITY WATER (AS YOU DO IN A CAMPGROUND), TURN ON THE WATER, RUN THE SHOWER UNTIL ALL AIR IS OUT OF THE LINES, THEN LET IT SIT FOR A WHILE AND WATCH.

Other potential issue. The hole for one or several of the screws holding the box in place may be "stripped out." The hole will no longer hold a screw. This stuff is great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Put some of the goop in the bad holes. Ever so gently put the screw in just barely attempting to tighten it. Let the goop do its work. I used it to reinstall drip edge over my slide. Two screw holes were stripped out. Works great.

[Weatherman1]

Should have 1/2" compression connectors that spin off and screw on to the replacement
Easy peasy just remember to caulk it!