RV Shower Wall Fasteners: How To Secure a Shower Surround
It is not complicated. One of the aspects you will find when it comes to RV life, is that RV makers find the cheapest and easiest way to do anything. The shower surrounds in most RVs and trailers are no exception as the little pins that hold them in place are very easy to remove and install
One way to secure your shower surround is to use little plastic holders with small pins in the center. These just need to be lightly tapped into the wall to hold the surround walls in place. There are different kinds available so pick the best one for your shower situation.
To learn more about this topic, just continue to read our article. It has the information to help you install or remove a shower surround. It is not as hard as it looks or as you may think. You just have to be careful.
RV Shower Wall Fasteners Options
There are a variety of options for this task. One is found at Amazon and it is an inch long. It looks and acts a bit like an anchor would but is made of plastic and may have to be tapped into place like a rivet.
Most of the results we found when we searched Amazon’s site were the rivet model. They may be the best option to use as they do not scratch or harm the surround walls or your RV walls.
There are other fasteners available at Amazon and other locations. But they are metal and may not look as good as the rivets do. There are also some self-tapping screws that may work but they come with a star shape (not Phillips and not Robertsons) head.
Since RV showers are not the same, it may be best to go to an outlet that sells RV accessories and showers and see what fasteners they have in stock. Sometimes these little pieces of hardware are not advertised on their own.
They are often lumped in with other fasteners and you may need to look for a while before you find the one you need.
What is Blind Riveting?
Blind riveting is doing the work of riveting without needing access to the back of the area you are going to put the rivets. Normal riveting needs access to the back to make sure the rivets are properly held in place.
To use a blind rivet, you need a small pilot hole drilled into the area you are working on and trying to secure. Then you insert the blind rivet and then pull the mandrel back while the rivet is held by a riveter.
After that, you need to press the sides of the mandrel while it is drawn back and breaks. This movement creates the hold on the rear side of the rivet and holds the item you want to secure in place.
These blind rivets are usually made from the following materials- Stainless steel, nickel-copper alloy, steel, and various grades of aluminum. They will be the strongest options you can get.
There are special tools required to work with blind rivets. The y are both air powered as well as hydraulic-powered. It does not take long to blind rivet a shower surround and this method should work well with the hollow walls found in RVs and trailers.
Best RV Shower Surround Fasteners
When it comes to hardware, you will find that many items like rivets, screws, anchors, etc., designed to work in your home will work in your RV or trailer. Which one you use will depend on the wall you are securing your shower surround to.
Some pieces of hardware like screws work best when the wall is solid. Others like anchors, pop rivets, and blind rivets work better with hollow walls. You can also use molly bolts if the look is right.
One of the things you will find, as we did, is that top RV parts outlets do not sell the fasteners. A search produced no results so you just need to go to a big box store or a hardware outlet and see what they have available.
The fasteners for an RV surround set up will be the same for any surround set up designed for a traditional home. That means you should not have to pay more because you are using them for an RV.
Many RV parts are overpriced due to the fact that stores and repairmen think you can afford the higher price. Buying traditional home shower surround fasteners should save you some money and time.
How do You Secure a Shower Surround To The Wall?
This is not a difficult task although you may need an extra hand at some points. There just might not be room for the two of you inside the bathroom. But these RV shower surrounds will install the same way that you would install one in your home.
There is no real difference and you can place the surround directly on the studs or you can place it over the wallboard the RV makers put in the bathroom.
Doing it directly on the studs is the hardest of the two ways. If you want, you can screw the surround sound to the studs or the wallboard. Or you can use a strong adhesive to make the surround stick.
There are no big tricks or tips to get this RV surround secured in your RV. The adhesive is probably the best way unless you plan on removing the surround in the near future. Then you would want to use rivets or screws or anchors.
Some Final Words
Fasteners are fasteners whether they are for an RV or a traditional home bathroom. Just look at your RV bathroom situation and pick the fasteners that will do the best job.
When you use adhesive, make sure to read and follow the instructions to make sure you get that perfect installation you want. This is not a hard task if you have carpentry experience.
