Custom bathroom, shower

[rrbrinkley]

Has anyone seen or done a bathroom in tile ? I have a '76 31' Sov. rear bath (thinkin' of makin it a center bath) and want to gut it, and build a shower/ sink/cabinets from scratch. Plywood,drywall,tile etc. ?? Any pics, stories, sugguestions, warnings, would help. I'm doing this 'cause :
1) I'm 6'4" 240 lbs. want more room, don't wanna crack plastic.
2) Don't care for the plastic look
3) Don't care for the painted look of plastic, not any I've seen.
ANYONE ??
thanks,
RB

[ricknach]

rbrinkley, I know of at least one member on the forum that used tiles in the shower and behind the sink as a back splash. There are pictures on the forum of this installation but I don't remember who. The important thing is the weight. If your unit is a rear bath you are adding weight at the worst possible location. Finding light weight tiles is difficult but the 1"x1" tiles will be the lightest in weight for the area they cover.
Rick N

[InsideOut]

We just put in a stainless steel shower pan and walls - much lighter than tile would be and no plastic.

Where are you thinking of using drywall? There really isn't any application I can think of that would be recommended...as your trailer moves down the road the drywall would turn to dust from normal movement over time. Most interior "walls" are wood or wood/vinyl over particleboard, plywood or masonite. Besides, normal stick-frame construction type walls take up a lot of valuable floor space. In an Airstream, every inch is treasured.

Shari

[VIKING]

Welcome Rbrinkley, it's good to have you aboard.
Airstreams love to travel light. I suggest you read through the forums on restoration of interiors to get a feel for what works and what doesn't before deciding what to use.
Rich

[Mainstream]

I would not recommend tile as even one solid piece linoleum wrinkles and moves at each floor seem because of the constant twisting and flexing that an RV does as it travels down the road. I could almost guarantee it would come apart and the grout would crack at the joints. Besides as stated by ricknach it would add too much weight.
Just one mans opinion. Hope it helps.

[rrbrinkley]

Where did you get the pan/walls out of s/s ?? Custom made ? Can you send a pic or two ?? Thanks !!

[Aage]

Originally Posted by rbrinkley

Where did you get the pan/walls out of s/s ?? Custom made ? Can you send a pic or two ?? Thanks !!

Suggest the best "helper" for that work could be the Airstream Service Manual. If you go cutting something, there may be pipes or hoses behind that wall...

They are still available from Airstream.

[blacksheep]

I plan on building a SS shower pan (with seat, hopefully) for my '65 Overlander. That "Airline" bathroom of '65 and '66 is totally ugly and not sturdy at all. Mine br sink was cracked into a few large pieces when I bought it. I plan on doing away totally with all that ABS (hmm, it just occurred to me that "BS" is in "ABS", how funny!) and build something functional, sturdy, and attractive!

Godspeed,
Trent

[janiemerle]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

We just put in a stainless steel shower pan and walls - much lighter than tile would be and no plastic.

I talked to my husband about doing the same in our AS, but he was concerned that it would always feel cold. Is that the case?

[StingrayL82]

Originally Posted by janiemerle

I talked to my husband about doing the same in our AS, but he was concerned that it would always feel cold. Is that the case?

Only if you're using cold water! Seriously, though, once the hot water starts coming through, the metal will get warmer, besides the fact that the heater vent comes out under the shower pan, so you should get some radiant heat from the duct to keep things warm.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by janiemerle

I talked to my husband about doing the same in our AS, but he was concerned that it would always feel cold. Is that the case?

In my old house I had a claw footed tub. Those babies were made out of cast iron with a baked on porcelain finish and took two inches of hot water to warm up the bottom. They also conducted the heat OUT into the bathroom - hence modern tubs are enclosed.

Stainless will warm up with enough hot water, and perhaps you'd want to coat the back side with truck bed liner to reduce noise and help retain the heat.

I did see one very small vintage unit with an end dinette, where they had actually built a copper bathtub cleverly hidden under one bench of the dinette! It was set up with a shower set - flex hose - but I'd take a shower sitting or kneeling if I had it - no shower curtain or protection for the walls, table, etc.

Paula

[truckasaurus]

I really like the idea of a fully enclosed shower unit. I plan to do some investigation and see whether stainless of aluminum would work. I don't want the cold metal feel and look so I'd probably have it painted with something like POR marine. Fiberglass is a close runner up but I think a welded unit that stands alone just secured to the floor has merit in a flexing trailer. Specifically I want to be comfortable with the weight and cost is of course going to play a part.

[RankAm]

Truckasaurus, take alook at http://vintageairstream.com/archives...des/a68a_3.JPG for a nice looking aluminum or stainless steel wet bath.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by rbrinkley

Where did you get the pan/walls out of s/s ?? Custom made ? Can you send a pic or two ?? Thanks !!

We had the pan itself custom made, but the tank cover & walls we did ourselves. Here are some pics.

Originally Posted by janiemerle

I talked to my husband about doing the same in our AS, but he was concerned that it would always feel cold. Is that the case?

No, it doesn't feel cold - it's the same as the ambient temperature of the trailer. There's also wood behind the SS so I would imagine that helps keep the warmth inside during a shower....

Shari

[otek800]

We are going to stay with the old in our 34 ft. Everything is working. Just one thing can some one give me any idea's on what calking to use on the shower walls to the pan?

I would hat to put my back side up to some COLD stainless, Burrrrrrrrr