shower surround/enclosure/pan

smallfry · 04-06-2003, 05:17 PM

Trailer is gutted (57 Bubble) and finally starting on the interior. Want to build a bathroom in the right rear of the trailer and having had much luck researching a waterproof little enclosure for the whole thing - shower & potty. Is there a specific product available or will this have to be fabricated? I'm thinking of a plastic or fiberglass pan or total enclosure. Otherwise I'll wind up having to waterproof the interior walls? I guess the rounded corner is going to be the sticking point. I've checked the archieves and came up empty. Thanks all.

59toaster · 04-06-2003, 07:15 PM

I'll be pulling our 59 apart and it has a bath in that location. I'll get some pictures of how it was done and post them. I hope to start later this week to get the floor repaire in that area.
Might be able to slavage the shower pan from one of those. It's a 59 Caravanner. For that matter you might b eable to salvage the whole bath and even if you don't use the walls you could use them as templets. Also get the black tank. These units had above floor tanks that the head sits on. That would leave you room under the floor for a greay water. The walls were wood but sealed.
You can buy shower suround in 4'x8' sheet from most home stores and use that on the wet walls. Just have to make sure it's sealed around the edges. We are tossing around the idea of using aluminum or stainless sheet on ours when we redo.
www.vintageairstream.com hit the archives and there is some pictures where you can see the bath these had. I don't have a clear shot of the bath posted anywhere yet.

thenewkid64 · 04-06-2003, 08:38 PM

No idea on cost, but you may want to consider having a pan fabricated from sheet alumiminum that is sized and shaped, the way you want. The walls are already aluminum so all that would be needed is a sealant between the walls and the pan. Even if one wall was an interior one you could "treat " it the same way and place a sheet of aluminum on it.

I have the disease BAD!!!

smallfry · 04-06-2003, 10:54 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I hoping to find something that is "warm" at least in appearance - Al being "cool" to me - of course, some of my fly reeds are beautiful green, grey, etc. aluminum but I wonder if colored Al comes in colors. Wouldn't that be terrific. Anybody know?
Other than fiberglass, Al, and plastic is anything else out there?
JW

amfab · 04-07-2003, 01:05 AM

I am going to do an aluminum bath/shower in our Caravel. ....If I ever get to it, but I am going to put another sheet on the inside of the wall to lap over into the pan because I am paranoid about leaks.
You can have aluminum anodized, which is a process done in a similar way to plating. It imparts a very tough relatively clear "coating" that inhibits corrosion. The "coating" can then be dyed. This is the finish you see on translucent colored aluminum parts like gold shower door frames, bronze screen doors or red or blue bicycle handlebars.
The part is anodized, then moved to a tank with the dye, let soak to absorb the dye, then boiled in water to seal the dye and make it permanent.
You would need to find someone locally who has a set up with large enough tanks to hande the part you need anodized, then if you can wait long enough for your part to be batched with others for a color you want, it probably wouldn't be too expensive..... Or how 'bout a copper pan?

-Andrew

amfab · 04-07-2003, 01:14 AM

Here is a copper bath with teak:

http://www.geocities.com/bobkrumwiede/page2.html

Here is a tiled bathroom:

http://www.marinestove.com/airstream.htm

-Andrew

smallfry · 04-07-2003, 08:32 AM

WOW! Holy shower pans, Bat Man - that's "way cool". Thanks for the picture sites and the info on the aluminum fabrication - I am definitely getting some beautiful options going here.
Jo Ann

59toaster · 04-07-2003, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smallfry
WOW! Holy shower pans, Bat Man - that's "way cool". Thanks for the picture sites and the info on the aluminum fabrication - I am definitely getting some beautiful options going here.
Jo Ann

Aluminum takes a Tig or Mig welder to work with if you want to make a pan but you can work copper with a blow torch and solder. Your just looking to make a sealed area. You can use thin copper sheet and it's soft enough to bend by hand. make a wood frame to suport it. Create an overlap on the non finish side where you can solder it and not be visiable from the front and awrap it of the wood frame. To get you drain to work use some leveling compount or even fiberglass resin to build up the edges and taper down to the drain. Sand it smooth so it doesn't show through.
Copper sheet is not as cheap as aluminum but you can work with it easy. Clear coat it if you want to keep the shine or leave it alone and let it patina. Brass can be done the same way but it's a little more brittle.

pap · 04-07-2003, 09:43 AM

Go to a sales lot and look at the current Bambis with the bath in the corner. They are a neat little S&S unit. (that's 'sit' & shower)

.

The roof arc is wider in the new Airstreams but one of the good guys in Airstream service at the factory told me he thought the unit would easily fit in the older configurations. How the H you'd get it thru the door is a horse of a different color. Maybe it is sectioned, but I dont know. He said the bath enclosure was first thing put in at construction.
You could find out who makes the bath enclosures for Airstream and see if they could/would help.
I have a full rear bath in a 31 ft, 74 Excella and consider the "tub" useless cept for kids. I would love to configure a corner shower stall, but probably never will.

BTW I gave thought to a metel stall and even to using a pie shaped shower pan with corrugated fibergalss wrap around walls, (like the stuff used on patio covers).Figured the pie would nestle into the corner. Wasn't clear how I'd seal the corrugated to the pan nor how I'd frame the whole thing. Twas just a daydream!

Best wishes and good luck.

Please keep this thread posted with your progress or lack thereof.

smallfry · 04-07-2003, 03:55 PM

All good advice - I like the idea of the copper one and tomorrow a.m. I'll head to the local AS dealer to check out the enclosure in the Bambi (19 ft). I wonder if the 16 footers had a shower? I'll keep you posted on this thread.
I get to tow the Bubble home from the Trailer Barn tomorrow - new axle (Dexter straight, in lieu of the original drop; new brakes; Prodigy controller being installed today; new trailer tires and rims sandblasted and repainted a nice clean shiney Al color. Seven something-or-other plug and wiring with the receptacle put into an opening in rear truck bumper created by removing one of the two license plate lights. The best part of this is that I didn't have to do the work. Just write the check. She looks sorta perky sitting up that extra 3 inches.
Since it's completely gutted and very light, towing it along CA Hwy 1, over the coastal range of mountains (to avoid the freeway speeds & the 7% Cuesta Pass construction zone) will be a bumpy ride. We threw in sacks of cement and sand to hold her down but the trip up was pretty wild.
Jo Ann

amfab · 04-07-2003, 04:12 PM

If you are down L.A. way you can check out IMS (Industrial Metal Supply) they are in Burbank and it is where I buy most of my metal. They have a show room and have all sorts of neat stuff, embossed, painted, diamond plate etc.
-Andrew

WayWard Wind · 04-07-2003, 07:33 PM

We have a 2002 Bambi & the shower is a two piece style. A/S also said in their literature that everything inside the unit, will fit through the door in the new models. Don't know how this might go with yours, however I would think by turning the sections side ways they should fit.
Best,

smallfry · 04-07-2003, 09:52 PM

I live on the Central Coast of CA and can certainly get down to LA to check out the fabricator you mentioned. In addition, I will stop by the AS dealer in my area tomorrow and see what I can find out about the Bambi facility. Good to know it will fit throught the door - that was my main concern.
My decision on this kind of thing is to get what works, is easily available, reasonably affordable and then if fishing from the AS "cabin" is as much fun as I think it will be, thence to beautify with original and creative, artsy(?) updates such as the anodized blue aluminum enclosures. Thanks for all the great ideas.
Jo Ann

amfab · 04-08-2003, 04:43 PM

IMS isn't really a fabricator, although they will shear and bend up some things for you, they are a supplier. They carry Ridgidized aluminum and stainless products, which come polished, brushed, painted, or anodized. Great patterns check them out at:

http://www.rigidized.com/

-Andrew