How to Fix an RV Shower Leak (Hose, Faucet, Head, and More)
Having an RV is a great way to bring your home on the road with you. You can avoid messy public bathrooms and showers and stay more relaxed. Even if leaks occur in your bathroom shower, you still have a better situation than using public facilities.
How to Fix an RV Shower Leak: The simplest way to fix a shower leak is to look for the easy problems first. You may only have a loose connection that needs tightening or some caulk has a hole in it. All you have to do is tighten the connection or apply some more caulk to cover the hole.
To find out how to troubleshoot your leaky shower situations just continue to read our article. We cover almost all leaky situations and provide you with some good fixes.
Fixing an RV Shower Leak 101
RV Shower Hose Leaks
There are several sources for a shower hose leak. If it is a tiny to small hole, a little duct tape can cover it and keep you temporarily in hot water throughout your trip. Another source for a water leak could be the vacuum breaker system has malfunctioned.
You would have to have a qualified RV technician look at it and see what can be done or replaced to stop the leak. A third source for your water problem is that there may not be a rubber washer inside your hose connection.
If this is missing then you would need to buy a new washer and install it yourself. Double check to make sure the connections are more than hand tight. A loose connection can be a fourth source for a water leak.
How to Fix a Leaky RV Shower Faucet
If the RV is still under warranty, just take your vehicle to the nearest approved dealer or repair shop and have the qualified mechanics take care of the problem. If the warranty has expired,m then there are several options you can choose from.
First, you can buy a faucet repair kit and remove the bad parts and putting the news ones in their place. Second, you could choose to just change out the old leaking faucet and replace it it with a new one. This doe snot take long to do.
A third option is to change the fittings. The only problem with this option is that the fittings are not always located in an easy access location. You may have to remove other bathroom parts to get at them.
Before you start this type of repair, make sure you shut off the water supply and drain any water in your bathroom system.
RV Shower Vacuum Breaker Leaking
If you are not sure what a vacuum breaker is, it is a small piece of equipment that helps control the flow of water to your shower or sink. If there is water pouring out of the vacuum breaker, then a little plastic part has broken and cannot keep the water inside any longer.
The fix for this situation is quite simple. You need to replace the bad vacuum breaker with a new one. Different RVs have different vacuum breaker manufacturers so you would need to check your owner’s manual to get the right replacement.
The key to doing it yourself is to make sure you do not cross thread the new vacuum breaker and ruin it before it does its job. A variety of tools can be used during the repair work and the ones you use depend on how the vacuum breaker is designed. Just make sure to have some Teflon tape on hand to handle the threads.
How to Replace RV Shower Faucet
As we have said many times before, every RV will not have the same designs and this includes your shower faucet. That means replacing them can be done in a variety of ways.
Here are some steps to replacing a generic shower faucet:
- Disconnect your water supply
- Find the access panel- this allows you to easily remove the hot and cold water lines. The access panel can be on the outside of your RV but not in every case
- Disconnect the hot and cold water supplies
- Remove the clips or nuts holding the faucet in place in your shower
- Pull out the old faucet and put the new one on.Then connect the nuts or clips to hold the faucet in place
- Reconnect the hot and cold water supply and turn the water back on
The key to replacing your shower faucet depends on where the access panel is located. It may be behind a cabinet or some other creative spot. If it is located in behind these alternatives, you may spend a few more minutes getting access to your faucet.
Also, one tip to help you get the fix right. Look at how you remove the old faucet. This will help guide you when you put the new faucet on.
RV Shower Door Leaks
RV shower doors are not made of stone and that makes them vulnerable to leaks from time to time. One issue may be that the bottom of the door’s seal has broken and water is leaking out through that hole.
One way to fix this issue is to take an RV rain gutter and turn it upside down. You ten place the gutter under the bottom of the door and let the door rest inside it. You do not have to have the door touch the bottom of the rain gutter for it to stop the leak.
Another issue that can cause your shower door to leak is the caulking around the glass or plastic door. If this has gotten old or has cracked, etc., then water will get out and leak all over.
What you need to do in this case is remove all the old caulking and re-caulk the door frame. It may take a couple of hours but that is better than having the door leak and ruin your RV’s flooring.
RV Shower Curtain Leak
Generally shower curtains do not leak on their own. They may be able to tear, or get a hole in them which lets water out. The best and quickest ways to fix this type of shower leak is to replace the shower curtain with a new one or turn to Duct tape to cover the tear of hole.
Another way to fix this type of leak is to replace the curtain round. If you have a straight curtain rod, then you would want to replace it with a curved one. This move gives you more space and keeps the curtain in place.
Another way to solve this issue is to buy an oversized shower curtain. The excess material will block any openings on the end or bottom of your shower opening. This will keep the water inside your shower.
A final solution would be to add some small weights to the bottom of your shower curtain. These weights should keep the bottom of your shower curtain inside your shower pan and not let the water escape.
RV Shower Leaking Underneath
If you are experiencing a leak beneath your shower, it might be the pan itself that has a crack. If you are good at doing it yourself, then all you will need will be a few supplies from the home improvement or hardware store (epoxy or fiberglass paste)
Then what you do is:
- Search your pan for the leak
- Once you have found the crack, use a sharp knife and cut a V notch in it.
- Shape the sides of the crack so it will be able to hold the filler. You want a 45 degree angle on the sides of the crack. You also do not want the crack larger than 1/16 to 3/16 of an inch in size
- Wipe the crack clean and do a little light sanding. Wipe the crack again with a paper towel or soft cloth
- You may also want to clean the crack with a little acetone and a soft cloth
- Mix the epoxy or fiberglass paste following the instructions on the box.
- Apply an even coat of the mixture making sure the crack is filled and covered. You will have to be quick as the mixture can dry in under under two minutes
- Let the repair dry for about an hour then sand the surface smooth. Don’t sand too hard or you will ruin your patch job.
RV Shower Drain Leak Repair
Drain leaks can be a bit of a hassle to repair because they are not always in a very convenient location. But once you get access to your shower drain, the leak may be coming from a cracked drain nut.
Once you remove the cracked nut you can replace it or you can do a JB weld on it to close the crack. Once you made this decision and taken action, use some plumber’s putty instead of caulk.
The plumber’s putty will spread out making sure everything around the drain is closed off. You can use caulk but it may be a little too thin for this task and it doesn’t always set up well after it is applied.
The key to this type of repair is to make sure there is no clearance or movement between the floor and the drain. If there is, then you need to replace the plumber’s putty.
Another issue is if the drain has cracked. In this case, you would have to separate the drain from the pan. You have to do this carefully as the pans are fragile and can crack easily. Replace the drain and seal it up well.
If the pan is cracked by the drain, then you would need to use epoxy and seal those cracks from underneath. This is cheaper than replacing the whole pan. A final source for a drain leak is that it was installed wrong.
To fix this you may only need to do a little trimming on the sub floor around the drain to give it more space.
Why do RV Shower Heads Leak
There is a logical reason why many RV shower heads leak. They are designed to let a little water flow even when shut off. The reason for this is to protect the shower head from cold or hot blasts when turning the water back on.
This system also helps prevent the the hot or cold water from returning to the wrong water line. In other words, there is nothing wrong with your shower head when you see this type of leak.
But if the leak does bother you, you can always replace it with another shower head that is not designed to offer this protection. Or you can buy a shower shut off valve. This part installs on either side of the faucet to shower head hose.
You can find these shut off valves at most home improvement stores. There will be cases where this on purpose leak is leaking too much. If that is the case, then you will need to replace your current shower head with a new one.
Some Final Comments
As you can see, most of the leaking issue sin your RV’s shower can be solved quickly and without calling in an expert. If you are handy with tools and know a little about maintenance, then you can handle these leaks on your own.
All you will need to do is find the right parts and adhesives to do the job correctly. In some simple leak cases when you are in the middle of nowhere, you can use a little Duct tape and temporarily seal the leak till you get back to town or your home city.
The only hassle in replacing some parts, like faucets, the pan or the drain, is the location of the access panel. If they are placed in inconvenient spots, then you may spend a few extra minutes finding the access and getting to the trouble.
A lot of repairs can be done during the off season when you are not using your RV. Just do some preventive maintenance and inspect your connections, lines, faucets and drain before you head off on your next adventure.
