Plastic shower damage

[great2beadaw]

We've been putting our honey wagon in the shower when we travel. (We have a 23fb.) There's just nowhere else to put it. I guess our mistakes have caught up to us. The wheel of the wagon cracked the plastic shower and took an inch sized chunk out of the sidewall. Is there any way to repair these plastic showers? Or is the only option to replace? Thanks

[rmkrum]

It can be repaired by using 2-part automotive auto body filler (Bondo is one brand) and hardener to fill the hole in several layers if it's deep or big. Then carefully smooth and contour the patch to match the shape of the area. It can be painted to match closely with acrylic shower/tub paint. There are a few threads about it on the forums.


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[Drathaar]

I'd call the mother ship on this. My suspicion is that like many plastics, it can be welded or glued. Find out what it's made of, and what they recommend for a repair.

This may not be as bad as you think.

[great2beadaw]

Appreciate the quick reply. I'll sleep better tonight.

[A W Warn]

In a 70's trailer I owned one of the shower corners had a hole in it when I purchased it. I went to the hardware store and got a fiberglass patch kit. It held for a few years, as long as I owned it. My work was not that great, so it was always noticeable.
The kit I got was similar to this:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...7-503946b04d14

[PKI]

Please provide a bit more information on what happened to damage the shower wall. Many use the shower for some type of storage, so you possess special information that is of value to all of us.

Also, I am quite surprised to hear of your problem, so you may have a warranty claim opportunity. Not saying this is an AS design fault, but those wheels on a wagon are plastic, right. How does plastic punch a hole in what I thought was reasonably tough fibreglass. We did talk to a couple who had their shower replaced due to a crack. Their sidewall was replaced with an upgraded design. So there is a bit of history, but it may well be that a 2016 is the wrong side of that time line. Just hoping the shower design was not degraded as part of the change to duct distributed AC. That would be disapointing.

Travel safe and thanks for posting. Pat

[woodfox45]

They are made of fiberglass not plastic

[SteveSueMac]

PKI - I would imagine the bouncing around inside the shower stall could have plenty of force behind it to punch a hole in the shower stall. I highly doubt that's a warranty issue - worth asking, but I can't imagine they'd see that as a defect in materials or workmanship...

[PKI]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

PKI - I would imagine the bouncing around inside the shower stall could have plenty of force behind it to punch a hole in the shower stall. I highly doubt that's a warranty issue - worth asking, but I can't imagine they'd see that as a defect in materials or workmanship...

SSM - Likely no warranty claim unless there is a thin section in the glass, or a flaw in the layup. A patch repair done from inside the shower might not uncover such a flaw. Guess it could be inspected with one of those flexible cameras. Without more information it is hard to understand how a plastic wheel has enough force to punch a hole in a fibreglass shower wall, but then how rough the coach rides is certainly a consideration. A Thetford 27 galllon has a shipping weight of 26 lbs. Now if the wagon was full of stuff, maybe, but it's hard to believe an empty one would be much of a hammer. A more descriptive explanation of the details as to how the failure happened would be of considerable help, but as with many events, a detailed post audit analysis may just not be possible.

As I said in the other post. Information would be helpful to others that store stuff in their showers. Travel safe. Pat

[great2beadaw]

I am almost positive the showers in the 2016 23fb flying cloud are plastic. I know other models have fiberglass, but this definitely seems like a plastic surround in the shower. We stood the honey wagon upright in the shower. The tips or ends of the bar that holds the wheels on the wagon seem to be strong enough to push through the plastic shower if the wagon shifts in transit. My guess is we made too sharp of a turn and that moved the post end into the sidewall creating the hole. Hard way to learn a lesson.

[Ray Eklund]

Plastic or Fiber Glass?

I say Fiber Glass. It is very strong in comparison to a 'plastic shower'. Plastic injection molds are very expensive to make. Fiber glass molds can make 24 foot trailers at Oliver Trailers...

We had a hairline crack in our 2006 Safari up high. Appeared to be from shrinkage. When having warranty work at Jackson Center, they patched it and we would have a hard time finding it. Never was an issue afterwards.

Feel around the back side of the hole. If it is 'rough', that is the fiberglass mat that gives the shower strength. A RV Body Shop would be able to take care of this easily. They fix 'boo boo's' on all fiber glass trailers, all of the time.

Corvettes are fiber glass. If you do not know what your are doing... this stuff stinks, sticks to everything and when 'cured'... you will wish you had paid someone to do it!