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Shower Drain access?
Was wondering if there is an easy access to the shower drain. Thinking I have a leak below the shower pan and the ceiling of the water bay (only see signs of water when running shower, and its not the faucet as Ive checked from the side access panel).
I have the Liberty with the passenger side double vanity with the shower in-between the vanities. Above the fresh water tank I see a drain line about 9-12 inches in from the outer side of the coach. Dont see water here, but I see water coming from a hole that was used to mount the filtration system in the wood ceiling of the water bay.
Looking for a way to see how to get access above the ceiling and below the shower. Cant seem to find anything. Figured I would ask here to see if anyone has any ideas how to get up in that area to see where the drain could be leaking?
Thanks
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7 Replies
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Charles, I am incredibly lazy so any time I am affected by a problem I look for the easiest solution first.
Like any drain the shower needs a trap so I would start by taking off the little perforated drain cover, pushing all the water out and then cleaning it as good as possible at least to the extent of my ability to see in it to make sure there are no obvious cracks or separations. I would make sure the entry from the tile to the drain is sealed. I have one of those cheap TV cameras with a flexible line and to the extent possible I would try to use that to see what I cannot see from above.
If I came up with no obvious answers I would next go at it from the hard way. I would pull the water tank and with something I could use to control the depth of cut such as maybe a die grinder or circular saw with the blade depth controlled I would cut a small section of floor out to see if I could see from the outside of the drain line the problem.Last resort would be to break up the tile, try to remove the pan and start from the beginning. That would get into a big project.
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Charles, If your shower has a seat as i expect it does check the joint at the seat and shower tile. We had a leak on our 2000 Liberty that turned out to be coming from there. Good luck
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Jon is a great guy, has provided us all with outstanding advice and counsel … but sure can go off the page sometimes or maybe I’m lazier than him!
We too have the 45’ Liberty with double vanities flanking the shower. I’ve had water leaks twice … both times dripping through holes in the ceiling of the water bay and also getting the carpet in the bedroom wet. Both times I feared a problem with the shower trap or the tile around the trap. My worst possible fear.
Leak #1: Turned out the plumbing fittings under the aft lav sink were loose. After removing the back panel under the sink I crawled into the cabinet to try to look under the shower where I suspected the trap was leaking. Fortunately I had the water pump on while contorting myself in a position God never intended a human to get into … I felt water dripping on my forehead.
I hand tightened the Flair-It fittings Liberty used on the PEX. Be careful NOT to over tighten the Flair-It’s or they’ll crack.
Leak #2: Same symptoms, this time more pronounced. Water under Coach, icicles from holes in water bay floor to the concrete, water on the floor of the water bay, water dripping off pipes in the water bay, carpet in bedroom wet.
Removed panel in aft under-lav cabinet, dry. Removed back panel in forward cabinet. Water on pipes. Turn pump on. Noticed a very, very tiny mist of water coming from the Flair-It “tee” that supples water to the ice maker. Couldn’t see the crack until I look it apart. We don’t use ice maker so I went to the local ACE, found that Flair-It fitting with small branch for the ice maker valve and compression fitting to copper line to the ice maker and the small brass plug to close it off.
I hand tightened the Flair-It fittings in the cabinet, it’s been good so far.
I’d rather eat bees after an appetizer of razor blades than to face the project of tearing into the original tile shower.
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Don’t know about liberty, but our CC had a shower leak that turned out to be a broken fitting below the shower drain. Looked impossible until I removed the panels in the water bay. Then it was easy to access and replace with a different drain fitting. The original was some kind of hard plastic that had fractured in the threaded area. The more you tightened the nut the more it leaked. We were in Mexico at the time so couldn’t find an exact replacement but could source locally the pieces needed to replace the original.
the three tanks are stacked one on top of the other in our configuration so it is easy to get to the drain plumbing once the deco panels are removed. Hope yours is equally as easy. Water can travel long distances horizontally so where it comes out is not necessarily where it is leaking.
jerry
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Jerry wrote: “Water can travel long distances horizontally so where it comes out is not necessarily where it is leaking.”
Very, very profound statement. If you’re chasing a water leak, don’t just assume it’s coming from directly above. If you think you have to tear something apart to “fix” make awfully, awfully sure you’ve really found the source of the leak.
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I started with the two vanities, no leaks (as well as easy access). Next moved to shower faucet, no leak (again easy access). Ran water in shower, water leak. So I think my trouble shooting narrowed it down.
Now I dont have iclecles in my bay, but if i did i know i messed up real bad. No reason to be someplace that cold! Okay, I take that back. Did spend a week in Durango and Pagosa Springs last month but that was in a hotel and sulphur hot springs, no coach 🙂
I checked and trap for shower is actually after a couple bends away from drain. But seems to be where the shower drain (metal) connects to a 90 degree PVC and then goes into a run, bend, run and into a trap and finally into holding tank.
Seems to be the metal drain pipe that is at issue. Some one sent me a possible solution. Need to work on that and should work fine as it makes sense when looking at the design of the drain.
This is what I get for being on the road for 3 months leaving the coach to fend for itself at our place in florida 🙁
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Feel free to post some pictures. Curious what you found there.
2000 Featherlite H3-45
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Leesburg, FL
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