Hit the shower......

I decided to tackle the biggest thing I had left to do on the trailer, the shower.  The Avalair originally came with a shower, but not much was left of it.  The original pan had been removed some time back and had been replaced with a welded galvanized pan.  Probably would have worked functionally, but it looked odd.

This was the before shot.  

Basically, there isn't  lot of room for design change. It is what it is.

I ordered up a fiberglass shower pan from PPL motorhomes.  It's a pretty beefy unit.  I was impressed with the quality. The sales people at PPL probably won't be joining Mensa, but the parts worked out.

 After mocking up the pan, I marked the drain hole on the floor.  I had pondered this for a while and I ordered the center drain, hoping it would clear the braces below the floor.

 I drilled a small hole and crawled under the trailer to see where it landed.  Luckily, it was where I had hoped for.  Right in the center.

 So, I grabbed a hole saw and went to work.

I was curious how the floor layers being glued together would work out.  According to this core sample, it was a success.

Now I had to form up a base for the pan to rest in and a support for the port-a-potty.

 I fabricated a top out of a scrap piece of MDF I had laying around.  It was lightweight and just about the right size.

 For the walls, I decided on a sheet of FRP, Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic.  This is probably not necessary, since the trailer lasted 50 years with just wood, but if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

This stuff is .090" thick and can be cut with sheet metal shears.  It's not easy, but it can be done.  It's quite the workout.

I snapped a pic before cutting the board and one after to illustrate.

Before

After

The glue is only available in  3.5 gallon bucket and it costs $53.  I even checked with the company to see if I could get it in a quart.  Nope.  Sorry pal, you're screwed.

It has texture like drywall mud, but it costs about 10 times as much.

 You need a trowel, like you use on tile to apply the adhesive.

This is the aftermath of the trimming of the FRP.  Can I get a clean up on aisle 7?

This is the way I like my women....holding cleaning utensils.

Here is a pic of the FRP installed.  The port-a-potty is added for size.  Looks like it will fit well. It needs some sort of edge trim, I'll figure something out.

The adhesive worked well on the plywood bulkhead, but it didn't want to stick to the aluminum wall.  I ended up putting some 3/16" rivets in strategic locations to help hold it in place.

I found a drain kit for a utility sink fits well and has a removable strainer.

I tiled the top and front of the platform.  


I need to add something to hold the port-a-potty in place while traveling.  I would hate to come in and find the Go-Go juice all over the walls and floor.

Tie that Port-a-Potty Down!

 With the help of my brother in law and my Buddy Chuck, we fabbed up a picture frame styled box.

 Chuck had a cool little hootis that made pocket screw holes.

hootis
	noun: A synonym for any object you forget the name of or simply prefer to call hootis. "Have you seen the hootis we use to open jars?" I thought I put the hootis away.

This should work right about here........
I'll screw it down and seal the inside of the box.  I think a piece of the rubber non-slip shelf liner stuff will help as well.  I still have a few pieces of trim to add, but for now, I think it will work.  


This was my first design, but I opted for the port-a-potty instead.

 I am still trying to figure out which shower head unit I am going to buy.  That will have to be another blog post and another time.