Leaking shower

[StanandLynn]

Finally bought our first Airstream after 2 years of looking and watching this forum. We ended up with a 2003 Safari 25SS that looked like it was taken care of and in good shape. However, on our first trip out (which we are still on) I noticed that when the shower is on there is a large amount of water coming through the belly pan around the black water pipe. This is right under the corner shower. My first thought is a busted trap, but I can't see much to tell. Any thoughts on where to start? Drop the belly pan, or start from inside somewhere?

We are loving the AS. So many great people at this AS park. We went ahead and joined WBCCI and are looking forward to rallies and possibly even some caravans.

[Silvertwinkie]

Water can get into the belly pan in many ways, but if it's significant, then it may be a broken PVC pipe. Typically PVC is fairly durable, however, if the unit was not winterized properly, any water in the traps as you suspect may have frozen and could have cracked the pipe. I am not sure that if this is the root cause that it can be accessed via the bellypan. Anyone know?

A good first step would be to see if the water only shows when the shower is used. You'd know immediately if it was from the black tank.

If water starts to show with use of the shower, my next step would be to not use the supply water from the shower and pour a few 5 gallon jugs down the drain. If it leaks without using the shower faucet, it's clearly a leak in the wastewater piping. If it doesn't leak, then try using the shower faucet. If the leak appears, you then have a supply leak.

Of course, this assumes that you have checked the shower drain seal for any signs of gaps that could allow water to pass by the neck of the drain.

[StanandLynn]

Thanks for the tip. You helped me get started in the right direction...isolate the supply. I tried pouring water down the drain, no leak. I pulled the water hose in through the window and filled the shower pan until the gray water tank was full and there was about 4 inches of water standing in the shower pan, no leak. I tried running water through the shower hose into the bucket, no leak. I tried hosing down the shower walls, especially around the shower valve on the wall (which is down low just under the hose) and viola! Pinpointed the leak. Now I just need to get some good silicone caulking and seal it up.

Again, thanks for the help. We're happy to be a part of the AS community.

[5cats]

Check that there is a complete seal around the shower faucet control where it fits against the shower wall.

My first inspection showed a large gap between this fixture's decorative plate and the shower wall, just where a lot of splash and running water goes when actually showering.

Cheers,
-jd.

[Utahgoldrup]

Thanks for posting the leakage issue. I just bought a 1991 25ft. Classic and took it out for the first time last weekend and also noticed water slowly leaking from the back corner (next to where the city water is hooked up). At first I thought it was a leak where the outside water hooks up but couldn't find a leak, after reading this post, I think I will check the shower as we used it several times (so much bigger than the one in our 16ft. CCD) and there were a couple of gaps around the tub that looked like they should have some silicon caulking added.

[tpi]

I had exactly the same problem with mine-and it turned out to be something I haven't seen here. I have '05 Safari SS.

Bottom line-when water heater first heated the water, there was excessive pressure expansion in the system. Water would dribble out of the pressure relief valve in the water heater box. ALSO the excessive pressure caused the Shurflo fresh water inlet fixture to leak, and guess what-it dripped from under the trailer in the vicinity of the black tank. It is easy to check-pull off the panel under the bathroom sink cabinets-it has fittings and it pulls straight back. You can see/feel under the sink near the plumbing for wetness.

Since the leakage coincided with taking a shower, I blamed the shower at first.

On mine the solution was an accumulator tank, and tightening the fittings on the Shurflo fresh water inlet (philips screws as I remember).

[Silvertwinkie]

I am very glad it didn't turn out to be the pipes. That would not have been a fun job.

I would use a non-silicone based sealant. If any gets on chrome or metal, particularly the shell (inside or outside skins), I've heard that is just not a good idea.

Silkaflex perhaps? Not sure, but silicone is off my list when it comes to my Airstream. I think I use DAP latex based caulk in my bathroom area.

[ROBERT CROSS]

We had a bad shower leak in our 03 Classic caused by leaking supply lines to the water manifold. Both hot and cold lines were too short causing a leak at the o ring seal connections. Replaced both supply lines with stainless reinforced toilet tank lines. In our Classic you can see these lines thru the access door under the sink.

Just another one of our FUN repairs caused by shoddy assembly procedures.