Dear Dave,
There is a stress crack in a piece of my RV’s molded shower floor where the bench seat meets the floor. I put tub caulking on it, but it still opens up. Can it be repaired? —Diana, 2018 Cameo Crossroads
Dear Diana,
Typically, the plastic starts out as a large hard sheet that is heated in an oven and then placed over a wooden mold with holes in it. It’s then vacuum-formed as the one-piece shower surround.
When it cools, it becomes a hard plastic and cannot be sealed with tub caulking since it is a flexible/soft sealant. The crack will allow the two sides to move back and forth and the caulking will just pull away. Since the crack is where the shower pan meets the bench, it is obviously in a curved and a stressed area.
Products that help with RV shower floor cracking
There are several products on the market that you can use such as Permatex, J-B Weld, or a new one I came across recently called Easy ABS Repair Kit. Most of the ABS repair products are a resin or patch and most are only available in black. We used the J-B Weld on one project as it dried an off-white color and can be sanded and painted. You can get it at Amazon here.
How to apply
Start by drilling a small hole at each end of the crack so the crack will not migrate further. We spread the product out an inch or more wider than the crack, sanded, and did another layer the next day. Then we painted with Zinsser 123 as it adheres great to plastic. The white match was not perfect; however, it was close enough. We probably could have color-matched it but did not want to get that picky as it was an older coach.
If the crack is larger and moves, you might need to use a patch, as there are several that can be contoured to the design of the curve you have. It might not look as good as you would like, but would work.
Another option would be white Eternabond tape. This stuff sticks to everything and lasts forever! Again, it would look like a band-aid, but it would hold, I believe.
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Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
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She could also try waterproof epoxy, some of them dry clear, just use enough to give plenty of area for good adhesion. This fixed a cracked condensate tray on my A/C.
There are products such as Plastex, Plast-aid and Plastipair. They use a solvent and plastic powder that actually melts into the plastic and bonds. Not just a surface repair like epoxy.
Motorcyclists use it to repair plastic parts on the bikes.
Eternabond worked for us albeit the white color is now gone and just the adhesive now remains (gray)
I have had great luck with JB Water Weld. You need to ruff up the area real good. Go about 1/2 inch around damaged area. Then sand it smooth. It dries a light grey. Stuff even cures if it is wet
I might suggest using expanding foam beneath the shower pan as it’s probably not supported properly in the first place, causing the initial problem.
Just a note; be careful with expandable foam as it will expand and can push the pan and other components out causing leaks. Use the limit expansion type if possible.
My manufacturer advised: “…add some weight in the shower pan so it doesn’t get pushed up.”. He knows that the foam under the pan breaks down. I would want the strongest foam–the low expansion foam may yield.
You can also get that JB Weld Plastic Weld at O’Reilly auto parts and avoid Amazon.
But they get a commission when you buy from Amazon through them.
Back years ago I dropped a wrench on my shower floor working on the shower head. First you have to figure out what material it is than you should be able to buy the kit to repair the shower. Temporarily I sealed the crack with gorilla tape. It’s a clear tape like shipping tape, but is waterproof. It worked great till I got the repair kit.
Got this comment from David with a 2013 Mirada in my email;
An answer…My shower floor got cracks in it and trying to patch the crack did not work did not work. I found a sheet of rubber material from Home Depot that I applied and it fixed the shower floor……”Unbranded 16 in. W x 36 in. L Bathtub Floor Repair Inlay Kit in White. ” Had to cut it a little Good for three years now.
If you know what the material is, they sell repair kits that you can fill the hole or crack with and sand. Since most RV showers are white it shouldn’t be hard to find. One time working in my stick and brick house I dropped a wrench in the shower and put a hole in it. Bought the kit and you couldn’t tell it had a hole. Before I bought the kit, I used Gorilla glues clear waterproof tape to cover the hole and it worked great.