Camper leaking outside under shower area

This has been one of those trips. I know it's part of it, but I wish I could get a breather. Today, while my wife was showering in our TT, I was sitting outside and started hearing water leaking (like nails on a chalkboard). I looked and noticed that the leak was coming from directly underneath our shower. I'm thinking that there is some sort of bad seal that just couldn't handle the pressure any longer and simply gave out. Not too sure though. That's why I had to come to you all. The water appears to be leaking from the site where the cold and hot water lines go into the shower area. There is a bunch of expandable foam forming a seal around those lines and the water seems to be coming from there. There is also a thin, black plastic wrap material underneath my unit that is also holding a lot of water. When I push on that material I can feel that it has a lot of water in it and it also begins to force water out of the said leak site. I have also removed the access panel on the side of my tub inside and didn't see any water. However, the access hole is only about 4" in diameter and is on the opposite end of the tub floor drain. Any help would be appreciated. I'm beginning to think that this is one issue that I may not be able to handle on my own. Maybe I'm wrong?

Sounds like you will have to remove the insulation to see where the leak is. I would posit either a fitting (is the water leaking hot, cold or mixed) the reason I ask is if it's hot then your hot water line has a leak, cold-cold water line, mixed could be the drain). I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to fix ( says the guy that doesn't have to do it).

The shower should have a removable panel where the faucet mounts. Pull it off, along with the faucet, and check all the connections you see.

kdbgoat said:

The shower should have a removable panel where the faucet mounts. Pull it off, along with the faucet, and check all the connections you see.

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Located that panel and just checked behind it. No water or leaking was found. I even ran both hot & cold water and neither was leaking directly behind the faucet. I'm really starting to think there is a leak at the drain somewhere. 

A leaking trap would be a good candidate. Improper winterization could have cracked it or loosened a joint. You will have to drop the undercovering in that area to access it.

Its that p-trap leaking I bet.

Whatever you do, poke a hole in that insulator to drain the water before you start growing mold.

Good luck, hope the fix is not a big deal.

satxron said:

Its that p-trap leaking I bet.

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It might not be a P trap. It might be a waterless trap like this one. This is what my shower has.

http://hepvo.com/

Let's go through a troubleshooting tree.  The source is apparently either INCOMING hot and / or cold water OR shower drain.

INCOMIMG
It only leaks when the shower is in use, so the source must be at or beyond the shower on/off valve.  Prior to this point, the water lines are always under pressure, without respect to shower usage.  Since you have pulled the shower fixture off the wall and found no leaks around the valve when the water was on, that is not the source of your problem.  If the rest of the plumbing from the valve to the shower head is out in the open. you have eliminated the incoming water as the source of your leak.

DRAIN
This is where it gets fun!!  Since it is only a shower problem, and does not happen with other water going to the gray water tank, it must be something between the shower drain and the piping into the gray tank.  I would start at the shower end, and remove all insulation and other covering under the shower, exposing the drain line, then check for the leak.  Continue uncovering the drain pipe to the holding tank if necessary.

I would also do whatever was necessary to get the water out of the underbody of the camper and to dry the insulation.

Using my vast plumbing expertise (I shower often and use the toilet even more often) I would say it's the drain.

grashley said:

Let's go through a troubleshooting tree.  The source is apparently either INCOMING hot and / or cold water OR shower drain.

INCOMIMG
It only leaks when the shower is in use, so the source must be at or beyond the shower on/off valve.  Prior to this point, the water lines are always under pressure, without respect to shower usage.  Since you have pulled the shower fixture off the wall and found no leaks around the valve when the water was on, that is not the source of your problem.  If the rest of the plumbing from the valve to the shower head is out in the open. you have eliminated the incoming water as the source of your leak.

DRAIN
This is where it gets fun!!  Since it is only a shower problem, and does not happen with other water going to the gray water tank, it must be something between the shower drain and the piping into the gray tank.  I would start at the shower end, and remove all insulation and other covering under the shower, exposing the drain line, then check for the leak.  Continue uncovering the drain pipe to the holding tank if necessary.

I would also do whatever was necessary to get the water out of the underbody of the camper and to dry the insulation.

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Thanks for the insight. Really appreciate it. I've pretty much narrowed it down to somewhere along the drain area. I have even checked both hot and cold lines separately and both are leaking which definitely tells me it has to be the drain and/or surrounding area. Just trying to decide whether or not I want to attempt this one on my own or bring in a pro. Not a plumbing fan. What do you all think?

goose33 said:

Thanks for the insight. Really appreciate it. I've pretty much narrowed it down to somewhere along the drain area. I have even checked both hot and cold lines separately and both are leaking which definitely tells me it has to be the drain and/or surrounding area. Just trying to decide whether or not I want to attempt this one on my own or bring in a pro. Not a plumbing fan. What do you all think?

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Try it yourself first. Why pay somebody $100 an hour. You'll get some insight into how your RV plumbing works.

goose33 said:

Thanks for the insight. Really appreciate it. I've pretty much narrowed it down to somewhere along the drain area. I have even checked both hot and cold lines separately and both are leaking which definitely tells me it has to be the drain and/or surrounding area. Just trying to decide whether or not I want to attempt this one on my own or bring in a pro. Not a plumbing fan. What do you all think?

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I suggest opening the area up and finding exactly what where the problem is. Then you can decide if the fix is within your capabilities or not. If nothing else, that will save the pro time and you money if you do call one in.

NY_Dutch said:

I suggest opening the area up and finding exactly what where the problem is. Then you can decide if the fix is within your capabilities or not. If nothing else, that will save the pro time and you money if you do call one in.

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I think you all are right, OldGator and Dutch. I'll give it a whirl on my own and see what I can get myself into. Who knows, if I play my cards really right maybe I'll create more issues for myself or someone else. Haha! I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again!

Your first order of business needs to be draining the trapped water.  They're all a bit different, but you need to dry it out otherwise mold and rot will begin quickly. The luan used to build everything is a sponge and it is easily rotted and destroyed.

Once that is under control then I would be looking at the source.  Most likely (as mentioned) somewhere from the shower drain to the gray tank.  Don't overlook the possibility of the shower itself leaking.  The water can be running along a number of edges out of site before it finds its way to the floor.

Lack of proper support under the shower may cause cracking of the drain plumbing, I have seen it on mine and others.

lynnmor said:

Lack of proper support under the shower may cause cracking of the drain plumbing, I have seen it on mine and others.

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I had thought that maybe I was the cause of this. I took my first shower in it during this last camping trip. I normally use the campground facilities, but they were in heavy use, so I used my shower. I'm 6'3" and about 250lbs. Are these showers rated for that much weight? I didn't hear any cracking during the shower and stepped around gently. As gentle as an ape can. Lol

goose33 said:

I had thought that maybe I was the cause of this. I took my first shower in it during this last camping trip. I normally use the campground facilities, but they were in heavy use, so I used my shower. I'm 6'3" and about 250lbs. Are these showers rated for that much weight? I didn't hear any cracking during the shower and stepped around gently. As gentle as an ape can. Lol

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If there is a rating it wouldn't matter if the floor was hacked out with a chain saw.  I added support under the shower base so that the drain pipes would no longer be taking weight, flexing and cracking.  These things are built to get them out the door, further assembly is required.

lynnmor said:

If there is a rating it wouldn't matter if the floor was hacked out with a chain saw.  I added support under the shower base so that the drain pipes would no longer be taking weight, flexing and cracking.  These things are built to get them out the door, further assembly is required.

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My base flexes also and I'm afraid in time, a crack will show up. I think I'm going to get some spray foam and try to fill the void under the shower floor. I'll use the type used around windows which doesn't expand too much.

Crawled under my TT this morning and started gutting the rear underbelly. Thankfully the leak was an easy fix. Looks like the p-trap just pulled away from the drain down pipe. Probably from an ape taking a shower. Resecured and checked for leaks and we are good to go. However, looks like water has been hitting under that area for some time because I found some water damage. I removed the tarp-like chloroplast and thin balsa-like wood sheet to eliminate the bad areas. What do you all suggest I replace this stuff with? I'd like to install something a little more heavy duty/water resistant. Looks like the wood was held on with an adhesive and I was just going to staple a new sheet of chloroplast material over top of that. Would Tyvek work instead of the official chloroplast? Need to hurry before my neighbors and HOA start getting upset. Lol

Tyvek or any house wrap certainly would be better than nothing down there. Temporary I would use anything waterproof on top of foam insulation board then think of ways to support the shower pan a little better to handle more weight.