Water under the shower... Greyhawk 26y

[Tig]

I have a leak somewhere that I'm getting a small amount of water on my bathroom floor. When I pulled the small panel under the shower to take a look there seems to be a large bucket of standing water. I dont feel like this should be there... any suggestions?

 

[Tig]

This is the box with water.

 

[Tig]

I just drilled a hole in it to drain it.

 

[jyh818]

Wow! I would just drill a hole at the lowest point of that metal box and let it all drain out.

Then find the source of the water.

 

[Tig]

I'm pretty sure the shower pan was leaking into it. When I first saw the water in the floor of my bathroom I checked the shower pan which needed caulk badly around the rim. That has been repaired. We'll see what happens next.

 

[norty1]

I have read that they don't recommend caulking around the shower pan enough to seal air from not being able to keep condensation behind the shower wall. May be prudent to read up on that!

Class C may be different but no fiver I have ever owned had a pan like that.

 

[Tig]

So I did some more digging and I found the pipe under the drain is disconnected or broken. I thought I read somewhere there is supposed to be a gap here, but It's definitely the culprit

.

 

[norty1]

Pic is hard to see. Has this been like that since purchase? Or is the fitting broken? Looks like the shower drain replacement would not be a difficult fix.

 

[Tig]

Pic is hard to see. Has this been like that since purchase? Or is the fitting broken? Looks like the shower drain replacement would not be a difficult fix.

I can't tell if its broken. I'll have to play around with it. Not easy to get to as a 275 lb man.

 

[JimD]

I also had my drain come apart under the shower which caused water to flow everywhere. After reattaching the pipe, I added a 2x4 block under the connection to keep the pipe firmly in place. Has worked for many years.

 

[Glamper64]

My guess is it's broken, who would leave that as a new install...mind you the shower drip box is weird. Regardless you need to purchase the exact same ABS p-trap and the fitting that screws onto shower base, a coupling and a pc of pipe.
Unscrew the broken fitting from shower base and unscrew the big nut after the bend on the p-trap and discard. Screw on the new trap to the pipe using the new big nut and screw on the new shower base fitting, now measure the pc of pipe you need to connect the two and do a dry fit then glue together.
Another option is to cut the pipe below the existing coupling leave the trap and install another coupling, a new shower base fitting, a pc of pipe if needed depending on the new shower base fitting you might need another coupling.
Not really getting that shower base fitting...it should be more a sink tailpiece fitting that screws onto the shower base and has a lengthy pc of pipe that glues into the trap.
Good idea as mentioned above to support the trap after with a pc of 2x4 or some metal strapping.

 

[Camper_bob]

IIRC, they are "slip" type couplings to allow for the pan to move without the drain fittings breaking.

I had one come undone on my travel trailer years ago. It was a pretty big mess, but the fix wasn't terribly difficult...

 

[Glamper64]

Pretty sure what's pictured is not a slip coupling which is usually a copper fitting without the stopper/ridge in the middle of the fitting that allows you slip the fitting over pipe and slip back over other pipe for tight installations, then you solder. That's not possible with ABS unless you have a slow acting glue or some amazing fitting I know nothing about
The least you have do is change out the fitting that attaches to the shower base. It won't be easy thru the access panel but they do have flexible drain fittings that might be easier to install? Something to do maybe...my sliding access panel was ugly with pcs. missing, so when I wanted to clean under there I cut more big holes in between the studs for easier access. Then I made a new metal panel sprayed to match that slips up under the front lip of the shower and along the entire wall. Worked out great and removable of course.

 

[Camper_bob]

Pretty sure what's pictured is not a slip coupling which is usually a copper fitting without the stopper/ridge in the middle of the fitting that allows you slip the fitting over pipe and slip back over other pipe for tight installations, then you solder. That's not possible with ABS unless you have a slow acting glue or some amazing fitting I know nothing about
The least you have do is change out the fitting that attaches to the shower base. It won't be easy thru the access panel but they do have flexible drain fittings that might be easier to install? Something to do maybe...my sliding access panel was ugly with pcs. missing, so when I wanted to clean under there I cut more big holes in between the studs for easier access. Then I made a new metal panel sprayed to match that slips up under the front lip of the shower and along the entire wall. Worked out great and removable of course.

There is no copper in an RV build, it's all plastic.

In OP's picture, I'm pretty sure the black piece still attached to the bottom of the shower pan is nothing more than a collar. The piece still attached to the rest of the drain pipe with the big "lip" on it is likely softer plastic or rubber, which has pulled out of the collar. At least that's how mine was.

I replaced those parts with flexible hose purchased at a big-box home improvement store. I didn't keep that camper long enough to really determine if it was a long-term fix, but I didn't have problems with it after the R&R. I don't think I took any pics of that mess...

 

[FCB1313]

It is a snap on connection. Line them up and press back together. you should hear a small click. This happened to me twice in RedHawk Se 27NF. After the second time I got a piece of high density Styrofoam and carved a small notch to shove under the trap. I've been using it for a year now with no problems.

 

[Glamper64]

I realize there's no copper in RV's unless it's gas related...I was explaining the only slip type coupling I know about is copper and how it wouldn't apply in this situation. If it's some movable/sliding coupling that doesn't leak or need glue, I'd like to hear more about it
Regardless, that fitting is broken/came apart or there's a pc missing and maybe in that drain pan/box
The connection in the pic doesn't seem to go together but yes, it's usually a pc of pipe inside that large nut extending well down into the top of the trap.
You have to be careful plumbing, you can fall into a trap yourself by thinking you have it all figured out only to leak and visit home depot many more times
Never heard of snap ABS drain fittings before either It does sound good though, like SharkBite fittings for drains.

 

[FCB1313]

I realize there's no copper in RV's unless it's gas related...I was explaining the only slip type coupling I know about is copper and how it wouldn't apply in this situation. If it's some movable/sliding coupling that doesn't leak or need glue, I'd like to hear more about it
Regardless, that fitting is broken/came apart or there's a pc missing and maybe in that drain pan/box
The connection in the pic doesn't seem to go together but yes, it's usually a pc of pipe inside that large nut extending well down into the top of the trap.
You have to be careful plumbing, you can fall into a trap yourself by thinking you have it all figured out only to leak and visit home depot many more times
Never heard of snap ABS drain fittings before either It does sound good though, like SharkBite fittings for drains.

I had never heard of a fitting like these before either. When it happened to me I thought the drain had sheared off. I made that extra trip to Home Depot and got new insert and some PVC, then that evening I ran across a post on the IRv forums, and someone mentioned that it just snaps on. I tried it and they were right. I will eventually replace it, but for now it works.

 

[Camper_bob]

OEM replacement:

RV Shower Drain

Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology, but the part that attaches to the pan drain "slips" into the P-Trap elbow.

There are several flexible replacements that can be had that replace the entire P-Trap assembly.

 

[FCB1313]

OEM replacement:

RV Shower Drain

Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology, but the part that attaches to the pan drain "slips" into the P-Trap elbow.

There are several flexible replacements that can be had that replace the entire P-Trap assembly.

No, you're using the right terminology. What you described is what I expected to find. I've never seen this anywhere else.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

I think you have a broken “tail piece”