RV Shower Door Repair or Replacement? (How To Repair Guide)
It’s a tough decision. Sometimes a repair only delays the inevitable. It is a stop-gap measure while you wait to find the perfect shower door for your RV or trailer. Generally, replacement is usually the best option unless they do not make your brand’s shower door anymore
This is a choice you have to make as a new door usually lasts longer than a repaired shower door. There is no guarantee the repair will hold. Replacement usually is the best option as you know the door should last a long time. With repairs, you never know if they will break again shortly after being fixed.
To learn more about this topic just continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about so you can make a good repair or replacement decision. Sometimes going with a shower curtain may be the best option.
RV Shower Door Repair
Shower Door Repair or Replacement?
The most common complaint that RV owners have is that their shower door is leaking. This can happen easily and frequently because the shower door is in use almost every day.
If your shower door is leaking, the best thing to do is to track down where the water is leaking through and simply fix it. A little silicone caulk should do the trick. Leaks are not a big enough problem to replace the door.
That is unless it leaks everywhere and the new caulking did not stop the leak from happening. Using caulking is cheap and easy when compared to replacing the door. Of course, you can use the leak as an excuse to justify installing a nicer and better-looking shower door.
Weigh the costs and see if the repair option will solve your problem first. No sense in spending a lot of money on a new shower door if your budget isn’t big enough to handle the expense.
Also, look at how much room you have to work with and see if you want to replace the shower door or not. Tight fits do not make for great working conditions especially if you are installing a nice glass door.
This is a decision you have to make for yourself as your RV or trailer may give you plenty of room to work. Also, the cost of the new door may not be that cheap.
Repairing RV Shower Door
This option will depend on what is wrong with the shower door. If it is a simple matter of a leak, caulking or new seals will be the fastest and cheapest options to use. It won’t take long for you to repair the door when it is a leak that is the problem.
Since RV and trailer shower doors are designed differently the problem could be any number of things. For example, if you have a sliding door, the track may be the issue. You may have to remove the door and replace just the track.
If it is a swinging-type door, look at the hinges. They may need to be replaced as RV makers rarely put top-quality components in their RVs. When it comes to broken parts, we have always advised you to look at the cheaper parts first before moving on to more expensive parts to repair.
Or the problem may be that the door or glass is cracked. Then this is not a simple fix and replacing the door may be the better option. Some people may take this time to really cheap out and replace the broken door with a nice heavy plastic shower curtain.
That would be an option if you are on a tight budget. Shower curtains are easy to maintain, wash, and move.
How To Fix Sliding Shower Door in RV
The first step would be to remove the door and put it in some place where it won’t get banged and knocked over. These doors usually just lift up and can be pulled out with the bottom going first.
Once the door is out, you can find the screw or screws holding the track in place. Remove the screws so you can look at the tracks better. There may be rollers in the track or in the door.
Check those rollers to see if they are in good shape and if not, they may need to be replaced. If that is the problem that means going to a nearby RV parts outlet to get replacement rollers.
Fixing the rollers is a simple matter of seeing how they are secured and then removing the screws or bolts, etc., Once the old rollers are out, just reverse the process to put the new ones in their place.
If the track is bent, you can try straightening it out. But only if that action does not ruin the tracks. You may have to replace them as well. But all of this will depend on exactly what is wrong with your shower door.
With almost every RV model with different designs, your repairs will vary.
Replacing RV Shower Door With Curtain
This is the cheapest option you have when the shower door cannot be repaired. There is nothing wrong with putting a shower curtain in place of a shower door. They are hard to break and very easy to repair or replace.
To do this task, you would have to remove the shower door. This is a matter of pushing up and out if it is a sliding shower door. Then you can determine if you want to remove the tracks or not.
You never know if you will want a new shower door sometime in the future so leaving the tracks will save you some time and work. But you are free to remove the tracks if you want.
Just make sure to seal up any holes or cracks left behind when you do. Next, buy your shower curtain and rod. Make sure to measure well so you do not get a curtain that is too short for the opening or too narrow either.
A spring-loaded curtain rod is good as it will hold itself against the walls and stay in place. Or you can go with those curtain rods that use screws to secure them to your walls. If your walls can handle the screws, this is the best option.
Once the shower curtain rod is in place, just hang your curtain up. That is all there is to this project. You save time, and money and still have great protection against the water spray.
Can You Use a Glass Shower Door in RV?
Yes, you can. There are many RVs and trailers that come with glass shower doors. The key to this option is if the glass shower door will fit the shower frame. If you have to be careful as many traditional home shower doors are not small enough to fit inside an RV bathroom.
That is something you have to take into account. Without major renovations to your bathroom, the glass door, if it is not made for an RV or trailer, may not fit. You are going to have to measure accurately and then decide if you want a swing door or a sliding one.
Putting in tracks is not always easy either especially when the bathroom is not made for tracks. A good carpenter should be able to advise you due to the specific nature of bathroom designs in RVs and trailers.
You also have to consider the walls of the bathroom and if they will be strong enough to hold a glass door. By walls, we also include ceilings and floors. You will need to examine your bathroom to see what kind of glass door will fit.
With this said, many RVs and Trailers have a bathroom too small to fit a glass door. If you have room to renovate, then do so, as long as you are not cutting wires or plumbing in those walls. Or other vital RV parts are hidden there.
What Are RV Shower Doors Made Of?
There are only a few construction materials used to make RV shower doors. The first and cheapest option is the pleated door. Made from heavy vinyl or plastic, these doors fold up like an accordion.
The next type of construction material would be plastic and they are used in retractable doors. The plastic is a little stronger than the vinyl or plastic used for the pleated door. It may be made of fiberglass as well.
The third type of RV shower door is glass. It is a very popular choice for many luxurious RVs, etc., and glass gives the bathroom a great look. That is if there is room for it.
The final door is not really a door but a curtain. These work well no matter where you put them. And you do not have to worry about breaking them. They are made from vinyl or plastic as well.
The key to getting the right material for your shower door depends on your preferences. The thing about the glass, retractable and pleated doors is that they are fragile in some spots. You have to be careful with opening and closing them.
But the glass door adds the best decorative look. You have to make the decision that is right for your RV living situation. Also, you may have to watch your budget as pleated doors can run around $90 and they are the cheapest option next to the shower curtain.
How To Remove RV Shower Door
This is not a hard task to do and it only takes basic carpentry skills to do. The first thing you have to do is see how the door is secured. The second thing you need to do is to assess the situation and see if you need a second pair of hands to help you.
Too many accidents have taken place when some repair or handymen figure they do not need any help. After you have made the right decision in these two steps, you simply pick the right tool for the job.
Most glass doors just need to be lifted up and then pulled out at the bottom to remove them. The right tool for this task will be your hands. All you have to do is be careful maneuvering the glass door once you get it out of its track.
For pleated and retractable doors, you should only need a screwdriver to remove the security screws. Then you simply lift up and out at the bottom of those doors that are designed in that way.
Your removal action will depend on how the doors are designed. Taking the doors out will be easier than taking the tracks and the frames out. Those shower items have more work to them.
How To Install RV Shower Door
This will depend on your shower situation. If you have tracks in place and are simply putting a new door in, you just fit the top of the door in the upper track. Then push up so that the bottom of the door clears the top of the bottom track.
After that, you gently put the door down and see if it slides easily or not. If you need to install the tracks, then you have to screw those in place first before installing the door.
As long as the tracks and frame fit the opening, you should have no problems installing them. Pleated doors may be a bit more time-consuming as you have to worry about the frame and securing the door so that it moves properly.
There is a little more work involved since pleated doors need to be secured to one wall before they work right. The key to installing any RV shower door is to make sure you have all the hardware you will need and the right tools.
When securing the frame or a door to the wall, you have to be careful where you put those screws. You never know what is behind them or if you are going into a stud or not.
How To Adjust RV Shower Door
This work will depend on the type of shower door you have in your RV or trailer. For some models, there is an adjustment screw at the top of the door. You just turn this screw one way or the other depending on the type of adjustment you need.
This is an easy adjustment to make unless there is a problem with the frame. One owner adjusted the screw so far that it would not hold to the frame, etc. It was basically a bad frame and their brand sent them a new one to replace the broken frame.
For some glass doors, you may need to adjust the rollers. This is done with a screwdriver as well. You can adjust some shower door rollers up or down depending on what will level them out and close any gaps.
Then for the hinge or swing doors, you can just tighten or loosen the hinges. If the hinges are damaged in some way, you may have to replace the frame and the door. Some adjustments just cannot be made due to the type of damage done to the frame, etc.
Look in your owner’s manual to see if there are any instructions in it to guide you when you need to make an adjustment. Those instructions may be found in the troubleshooting section if your owner’s manual has that section.
Finding RV Shower Door Parts
Amazon may be your best bet. They seem to have lots of different parts that will help you find replacements for broken or damaged roller,s handles, etc. There are vendors there that sell the hardware for different RV shower doors or frames.
Other locations may not be so generous as we found some outlets that just dealt with shower doors and frames. The hardware or spare parts are all included but not sold separately.
Other RV parts stores simply sell pans, handles, faucets, parts for drains, and so on. They do not sell the parts for the doors separately from the doors. You can try to check with Lowe’s or Home Depot or other large big box stores to see what they have on sale.
This may be a case where you have to buy the complete door, or frame to get the spare parts you need. This situation makes replacement a lot better than repairing an old door.
Some Final Words
When it comes time to repair your RV’s shower door, it may be best to look into replacing instead. If you have an older RV, those spare parts may not be sold anymore. The door and the frame may not be sold either.
That may mean you have to find a good alternative or think about renovating your bathroom. You have to measure accurately to get a replacement so be careful and do not fudge any figures.
Or just go the cheap route and put in a shower curtain instead of spending time looking for a new door.
