Shower Door

[robandzoe]

Has anyone seen the new Newline disappearing shower door. It is verticle and goes into a roll top desk like storage device. I saw one on a new Airstream last week out in Arizona. Their website is www.newlinebathroom.com . I am wondering if anyone has updated there old shower door with one of these. I am thinking about it for my 34' old gold accordian door that is just about worn out.


Rob

[jcanavera]

Looks very similar to the shower door that came on my '01 Safari. It worked well, although we did have a small leak problem with water that drained inside the box that held the rolled up door. It was just a matter of getting the caulking done correctly.
I would think it would be a fine replacement.

Jack

[myboyburt]

I'm thinking of replacing our pleated shower door with this screen from Campingworld:

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...17264&tab=desc

Just need it to stop snowing so I can send my husband down to the barn to see if it will fit our shower enclosure.

[robandzoe]

My shower on my 85 Limited side bath is 57 and 3/4 by 17-18 inches. I'm going to order the 57 model in white from Camping World. I talked to the manufacturer today, and he said that is who to go to for them. CW is $120 and Oasis out in Tuscon wanted $210.

Rob

[myboyburt]

Our shower door area is wicked small (that's New England speak for tiny) so I would guess the smaller version from Campingworld would be the right one for us. Once I purchase/install the unit I will let folks on the forum know how it works out.

[nickcrowhurst]

I need to replace the shower door in our 1988 Excella. The choice seems to be between the pleated or roll-up types, both available as described above from Camping World. Has anyone any views on which is the better choice? (I don't like traditional shower curtains.) Nick.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by nickcrowhurst

I need to replace the shower door in our 1988 Excella. The choice seems to be between the pleated or roll-up types, both available as described above from Camping World. Has anyone any views on which is the better choice? (I don't like traditional shower curtains.) Nick.

The roll-up version self-squegees as it retracts. After 18 months of use, mine is still quite clean. Only problem is that on my 25 side bath, the doorway is quite narrow to start with and is made narrower by the roll-up door. I have to turn sideways and suck in my gut to get in and out. I still prefer the door to a curtain.

BTW: I carry a spray bottle of Shower Shine (or any similar product that I happen to buy. After showering,l I spray down the walls and floor. The shower always sparkles without having to get in there and clean it.

[nickcrowhurst]

John has given us his experiences with the roll-up style, so has anyone installed the pleated shower door from CW, to assist in choosing between the two styles? Nick.

[nickcrowhurst]

To replace the folding plastic shower door I eventually bought a "Folding Shower Door", color Ivory, manufactured by Irvine Shade and Door, Inc, size 57" high by a max. of 36" wide. I ordered it through Sanders RV of Alachua, FL, tel. 1-800-541-6439. Cost was $83.39 inc. shipping and tax. Fitting was easy. Cut the bottom plastic channel to fit the gap, and double sided tape secures the bootom channel and side uprights. Hacksaw the top bar (self-supporting) to width, and press down into place. The new surround is slightly wider than the old frame, so I centralized it and allowed an equal overhang inside and out. The top bar for the current door can remain in place. Seal all round both sides with 100% silicon caulk. We are very pleased with the result.
The same company manufactures a "Pleated Folding Door" which matches the shower door. This is a direct replacement for the bulky and ugly "faux wood effect" plastic folding door between the living and sleeping quarters. In the Sanders RV catalogue on page 59, it is item #17-1072, almond color 72" drop 30" wide, costing $62.39 before S&H & tax. This not only looks vastly better, but is more compact, and, unlike the existing item, it does not obstruct the walkway down towards the bedroom. There are other sizes and colors in the catalogue.
Nick.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by myboyburt

Our shower door area is wicked small (that's New England speak for tiny) so I would guess the smaller version from Campingworld would be the right one for us. Once I purchase/install the unit I will let folks on the forum know how it works out.

I had the same door on my 2003 Classic 25 with a bathroom that would be just about the same as your trailer. The shower doorway was narrow to start with and the roll-up door took away some extra space on both sides. As a result, the only way I could get into the shower was to turn sideways, pull in my gut, and slide in. It really makes me appreciate the glass door on the 28.

OTOH, it is a very nice door and is self-squeegeeing.

[Joe Z]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Looks very similar to the shower door that came on my '01 Safari. It worked well, although we did have a small leak problem with water that drained inside the box that held the rolled up door. It was just a matter of getting the caulking done correctly.
I would think it would be a fine replacement.

Jack

I'm also having some problems with the shower door leaking on my '03 Classic. The water is coming from two places: 1) Water that leaks in the box that holds the rolled up door. As Jack stated above - Seeps out between the bottom cap and roller tube. Can't see how to fix it unless I could get inside the tube and caulk around the edge. 2) Second leak is definitely due to a poor job of caulking. This one I can fix.

I've got it all removed now but I don't want to reinstall it until I can figure out how to fix leak #1. Appears to be a design flaw. Anyone know how to take the roller tube apart? Do I have to remove the rivet that holds the top and bottom end caps on? Don't want to break anything.

Thanks,
Joe

[B25guy]

I believe I have finally solved this mystery...on the bottom of the roll box is a clear plastic piece that has a small step molded into it so it is not flat on the bottom of the shower sill when mounted. When water is squeegied off the retracting curtain, it pools in the clear plastic piece. Most of the water will run out the bottom of the notch where the curtain goes through but some will also find its way to two 1/8" holes in the bottom of the clear piece. If/when the rolled curtain is installed at the factory or repaired, it is easy to assume that you would calk around the entire inner gap to the shower sill...this is what is causing the leaks to form on the outside of the curtain (in my case, pooling on the raised portion for the toilet). There are two solutions as I see it: (1) lay a bead of calk on the lowest portion of the clear plastic base piece and leave the inner joint open, thus allowing the water to either drain out the slot for the curtain and/or the two holes in the clear plastic piece (which are raised off the shower sill by ~1/8" and into the shower. (2) Caulk the two 1/8" holes in the clear plastic piece, caulk the entire inside gap (most logical), thereby forcing all water to drain out of the slot for the retracting curtain. It is important that when caulking near the slot that you do not build a dam of caulk any higher than the thickness of the clear plastic bottom that would hinder the draining.
I'm in the process of re-installing mine now and am going with option 2. I'm going to put a good bed of caulk under the clear plastic plate, sufficiently plugging the two drain holes and rely on all the water to drain out of the notch (as designed, I suspect). When I removed mine yesterday, it only had caulk on the inside and nothing at all under where it meets the sill. I'll post pictures of what I'm talking about here because unless you've removed the curtain and seen how it is shaped on the bottom, this won't mean much to you...except that you probably suffer from this like many do.
Good luck!

[Kamiak]

My 2000 Excella has the rigid plastic accordian shower door that I think was used for a number of years. It works ok as a shower door, and it's still in good condition. Still, as others have noted, the opening on a 25 footer shower door is small to begin with (and I'm not particularly large), and in the retracted position it still gobbles up 3-4 inches. I've looked at those Newline products before, maybe not this exact one, and came away thinking it didn't give me enough additional opening.

I keep thinking about and looking at a ceiling-hung shower curtain track, and then a nice shower curtain than can push back into the shower, completely inside the opening. By removing the rigid plastic, and the associated lateral frames, it would add several inches to the opening. Check this out, and see if you have any thoughts about this approach. RECMAR 4372 Deluxe Shower Curtain Kit - Flexible - Flexible Curtain Tracks - Curtain Tracks & Drapery Hardware - Curtain Tracks

[B25guy]

One picture shows the molded step in the clear plastic bottom piece. Not exactly sure why this is made this way and what other applications this curtain is used in "properly".
This only had caulking from the factory in the inner-most joint with the shower sill (you can see some residue) and allowed water to seep through the two holes you see and out the other side.
I will be be sealing the holes by "bedding" the base sufficiently in caulk and then caulk the entire inside joint (purple line). The option 1 would just follow the green line at the lowest point on the bottom piece where it meets the sill but would leave the inner gap open to drain via the two holes...but would look awkward and probably grow some things in there.

Just need to make sure I don't put excess caulk in the gap for the curtain as this will hold water if not perfectly flat to drain.
The bottom curtain guide will likewise be bedded in caulk as well as a bead on the inner joint.

I started this task primarily because the double-stick tape that holds the vertical curtain enclosure to the wood divider had dried up and was not holding the top 2/3 of the length. I am using 1" 3M automotive tape now and don't expect this to be an issue in the future. Once I had the curtain out and started cleaning things up to reinstall I noticed the design flaw that is causing this leak.

Hope this helps.

[ROBERT CROSS]

I had the "no stick double sided tape" fail. Leaked like a sieve.

Shower frame pulled away from the wall.

Tried better tape, several different caulks nothing held.

Shower=Water...light bulb moment.

Last resort...marine epoxy resin mixed with verrrry fine sawdust, with a 1/4 round molding at the bottom epoxied to the wall for extra support. A thick bead of PL roof caulk across the threshold frame.

No leaks and SOLID

Bob

[B25guy]

I made one little modification...drilled an 1/8" hole to drain ALL the water back into the shower. I noticed that after plugging the two holes in the bottom (that were causing the original leak to the outside of the shower), there was about a 1/16" of a lip preventing all of the water to drain fully out of the notch where the curtain retracts.

I've tested it by squirting some water into the box and it all comes out the new hole...yay, no more puddle outside!

Marc

[Tim A.]

The rollaway shower door in our 2002 Bambi is the same as B25guy's and has leaked twice since the trailer was new. In both cases it was because the caulking along the bottom rail had lost adhesion with the edge of the shower stall. The first time it started to leak, I went nuts trying to find the problem because the caulk LOOKED like it was okay. The second time, I knew exactly what to do and stripped out the old caulk and put in new in about 30 minutes.

B25guy's solution for that little lip sounds good. I cut a little channel on the inside (on the shower side) so the water could run out. Caulk on the outside took care of the two drain holes.

Tim

[BigAl]

the important thing with these acrylic or fiberglass enclosures is to make sure that you are using a caulk that holds to those surfaces. A lot of silicone caulks do not.
Al

[Travel Bird]

Here is the info. I received from Andy Thompson, Can-Am RV. He highly recommends the roll away shower doors:

$330.00 The roll away shower door does not have as much bling as the chrome one that Airstream installs but I find them much more functional. First of all having the opening into the shower makes the hallway feel wider. If you want to hang bathing suits or towels in the shower they will try as there is air flow. Getting in and out of the shower is easier because the door is not swinging around or getting tangled with the bath door. Also the swinging door drips water all over the floor when you open it. The roll away door just looks like plastic but is a really well done piece the panel is made a material that won’t mold and it has squeegee that wipes the water off it when you roll it up. They have been used in the corner bath Airstreams for 11 years now, we have never had to replace one.

[rjgmt1]

Nick, I love your tag line "The Price of Freedom ..."