Test – It’s always a great feeling after you take a nice, refreshing shower. But wait, did you notice the water leaking out from underneath your RV shower? Yup, that’s not a good sign.
Luckily, you don’t have to worry anymore because you are exactly in the right place! Read on to find out all the possible reasons and fixes to this RV shower water leakage problem.
Why Is Water Leaking Under My RV Shower?
In many cases water travels between the seams where your shower pan is join to the wall. However, there can also be other reasons like cracks or lose fittings in the shower faucet, problems with the design of the shower pan, or faulty shower drain.
Let’s, one by one, explore each of the causes of the water leak under your shower. This way, you will be able to find out what is causing the leak in your case:
#1. Leakage between Shower Pan And Wall
A leak between the shower pan and the wall can cause the water to seep out. The motion and vibrating of your RV can be a contributing factor. Motion puts wear and tear on sealed joints.
Or it can also be that you previously sealed that area with a sealant; however, the sealant didn’t adhere well enough leaving a path for water to travel.
#2. Cracks In The Faucet
Sometimes, you might not notice, but an old, faulty faucet can also cause water leakage under your RV shower.
if there are even small cracks in faucets, the water can slowly start dripping from those areas running down the back of your wall. Plastic faucets are more proned to cracking.
Depending on the design and style of your RV shower interior, you may not notice at first what’s causing the issue (as likely all the piping will be hidden behind the walls).
However, the water will slowly start to drip from those sections and fall on the floor.
Check out this video that explains in detail about a faucet problem that caused a leaks in the RV:
#3. Bad Design of The Shower Basin
You take your showers standing on your shower basin. But have you noticed that after that, everywhere around the shower basin area and the floor is wet? Then it can be because of the poor design of the shower basin.
Even though the sides of the shower basin are sealed well with the wall, there can be problems. Due to the poor design of the basin, the water can run all the way to the borders of the shower basin and finally start dripping off on the floor.
#4. Faulty Shower Drain
Do you have a loose shower drain? The looseness between the shower drain and the shower pan can also cause water leakage.
Does this problem mainly occur when you are standing on the shower pan and taking a shower? Then your body weight could be flexing your shower pan. And in addition, if the shower drain is loose, the flexing can lead to water leakage problems.
Find Source of RV Shower Leak
The most common way to determine the cause of the water leak underneath your RV shower is to carefully observe the source from where the water is dripping out. In most cases, you will get the clues to determine the cause of the problem in that way.
For example, if the water is dripping from the sideways of the shower basin, then it is probably because of the poor design of the shower basin itself.
In that scenario, look at the surrounding area of the shower basin.
- Are all the sides appropriately sealed with the walls?
- Do you notice any potential space or gap from where the water could overflow and come out and then leak onto your floors?
Another way to determine what is causing the leakage is to check every possible place related to your shower. For example, if you notice that the water is dripping down from your faucet area, then most probably, the faulty faucet is causing the water leakage.
Also, you need to inspect all the things associated with your shower area. You can just slightly pull and push the parts like the faucet, the showerhead, the shower basin area, and the shower drain.
Did you find anything loose? Then that may be the root cause of water underneath your RV shower.
So this way, after a few rounds of careful inspection, you will soon be able to identify the cause of the problem. And once you do so, it’s time to fix it. So let’s have a look at the troubleshooting guide!
How To Fix Water Leaking From Under RV Shower?
To fix the water leakage issue from under your RV shower, you must first identify what is causing the issue. If it is just a leakage, sealing the leakage with a sealant can fix it. But, if it is because of any faulty parts, then repairing or additional supporting parts can fix the problem.
Again, let’s discuss all the possible ways to solve this water leakage problem one by one.
Fix-1: Using A Caulk or Sealant
So if you notice any crack or leakage between the shower pan and the wall, it can be fixed using a proper caulk or sealant.
If you are a regular RVer, then you probably already know the importance of Caulk. Almost any type of leak can be stopped and prevented using the proper RV caulk and sealant.
The Caulks can be of different types, and each of them has different applications. So here I’m giving you a quick rundown of the caulks and sealant:
- Non-Self-Leveling Sealant: This Caulk can help seal the cracks and joint areas. It prevents the water and the stress in the area where it is applied. However, as its name suggests, it won’t self-level itself. So you would have to apply on your own. This type of Caulk is best if the crack is on the vertical surface as it will not run.
- Self-Leveling Sealant: This Caulk is mainly applied and best suited for horizontal surfaces. (Don’t use this on vertical surfaces as it would run) So depending on the nature of your crack, if it is horizontal, choose this option. This Caulk remains soft, and using gravity; it levels itself into a smooth surface.
- Eternabond: It is a peel-and-stick role type sealant. This bond contains a combination of rubbers and resins along with a primer. You should avoid using this sealant if fix is temporary.
- Butyl Tape: The butyl tape, or putty tape, as the name sounds, comes in the tape form. This thing is quite handy in terms of ease of usage because there are no worries about the mess. You can use this sealant on almost all surfaces. However, you can also complement the sealing strength by using a self-leveling sealant along with it, especially around the edge areas.
Here I’m recommending some of the best sealants. You can decide which type of crack you have and select the ones accordingly:
| Sealants: | Product Link (to Amazon) |
| Dicor Non-Leveling Sealant | Check It Here |
| Dicor Self Leveling Sealant | Check It Here |
| Eternabond Roof Seal White | Check It Here |
| Dicor Butyl Seal Tape | Check It Here |
You can dry out the bathroom and shower area before starting the fixing. Then you can apply the sealants to the cracked portion of the shower pan area and the wall.
Fix-2: Repairing or Replacing The Faulty Parts
Did you find that the problem is associated with the faulty parts in your shower area? (suppose it is with the faucet). Then you can just repair or seal the crack in the faucet that is causing the potential leakage.
If needed, you can also call professionals to do this task. But is your shower faucet quite old now? And do you feel you haven’t replaced it for a long time? Then why not get a new one?
You can check out some of the best RV shower faucets here on Amazon.
Fix-3: Adding A Guard Strip Around The RV Shower Basin
Now, if the problem is with the design of the shower basin, you can add additional guarding strips around the basin.
You can either use silicone or a plastic water splash guard barrier. Installing it will not allow further water spillage from the shower basin around the surrounding floor area. Thus, you will solve your problem in this way.
Fix-4: Repairing The Shower Drain Or Adding Supporting Elements
When you find the problem is associated with the shower drain, you can either repair it or add a few supporting elements.
- First, clean the above shower area in your bathroom and let it dry so that you don’t have to mess with anything while working.
- Next, depending on the design of your shower basin and the drain, you will have to reach that point and take a few parts out (likely the valve and the drain fitting)
- Once you remove those parts, you need to clean everything properly to prevent any clogging issues.
- And then, use a sealant to reinstall and repair it correctly. After the reinstallation of the shower drain parts and the application of sealant, you can leave the whole setup as it is overnight. And from the next day, that will most likely solve your problem.
However, remember that this solution may not last long based on how much flexing issue you are experiencing with the shower drain. In that case, you may have to contact the professionals and ask them to set up additional supports to solve the flexing issue of the shower basin and the drain.
You can also follow this RV Drain Repair DIY Guide Video:
Final Thoughts
In short, the water leak underneath the shower can be due to many reasons like leakage in the shower pan, crack in the faucet, shower basin design, or a fault in the shower drain. Depending on the cause, you can fix the issue accordingly.
In cases, you will need a good sealant to patch the leakage. Or you will have to repair or replace the affected parts. That’s it.
I hope this guide has helped you to clear all your doubts. Thanks, and don’t forget to share this helpful guide with others. See you again; till then, Happy RVing!
