Shower tray always wet

Hi all,

I've never used the shower in my Symbol (2008), and only occasionally use the bathroom fold-away basin... I tend to use camp-site facilities, or the occasional "baby-wipe" bath.

However... I do notice, then whenever I use the bathroom cubicle , the floor is always slightly wet..

At first we thought the shower head must be leaking, so we'd wrap a polythene bag around it while we were on the move... But it's not the shower head leaking..

Has anyone else had this problem ? it's a thetford C402 bench toilet in there... I was wondering if it might be flush-water from the toilet leaking out ? It's not a big problem, but it's no fun standing on the damp floor when I go for a pee in the middle of the night


I'm not filling the flush-water tank as full to see if this helps..

Any insight appreciated.

--
ForresGeek

Hi ForresGeek

I assume that you are aiming carefully when you pay a visit in the middle of the night?

Do you have a full grey water tank as the floor will not drain properly if this is the case? You should also note that the grey water capacity is less than the fresh water capacity so this will probably need emptying before the fresh water needs filling.

Regards
Keith

Do you think the tray is getting wet whilst 'standing' or whislt travelling?

If it were me I'd dry it up, finishing by wiping with tissues etc. Then have a looksee after a few days, if still dry, then the movement of the van is somehow causing it, go for a few mile drive & see whats its like after if however, its wet after standing, then a hairline crack/leaking seal would be the suspect.
Since the only water 'above' the tray is the thetford & whats in the uper pipwork, look around there.

It is possible that water is coming back up the shower drain pipe from the waste tank. My Symbol is an earlier model than yours but if I emptied the tip up basin vigorously, especially if it contained a lot of water, then water would come back up one of the shower drain pipes. It was always and only the shower drain with the shortest drain pipe. There are two shower drains fitted. I cured the problem by fitting a non return valve in that drain pipe.
I may be a good idea for you to put plugs in the shower drains and see if the floor still gets wet. This will eliminate, or not, one source of the wet floor.

squip

Hi there,

It happened to me on an old caravan I had when I lifted the sink unit up too fast!

The water "just" overflowed, ran down the wall and, as I had my specs off at the time, I didn't notice until I saw the staining on the carpet!

Best regards,

We get this problem of waste water coming up through the drain hole but only if we are sloping down towards the front so we always keep the plugs in just in case.

Thanks for all the ideas here..

To re-assure Ki, my "aim" is still pretty good, although after a couple of shandys it does waver a bit..

I thought the problem occurred mainly while travelling, but on reflection, I park the van sloping slightly down-hill, so maybe it is the waste water coming up the shower drain...

I'll follow some of your suggestions:-
a) Dry it up with towels etc, and then see if it happens while driving or stood still..
b) Park the van facing up-hill..
c) Probably the easiest... put a plug in it :-)


Thanks all.

--
ForresGeek

We've had the same problem and found that the toilet flush can whip round the bowl and overflow. We now are very careful and only give a little flush! I also have made a slatted wooden shower mat which will allow water to drain away whist I keep m tootsies nice and dry.

An update..

I've been out in the van for the past few days, and kept an eye on the issue..

At first, leakage from the waste tank via the plug-holes seemed feasible, but I've been driving around recently with the waste tank empty in case it freezes overnight.

Taking Modelmans' advice, I completely dried the floorpan / shower tray, and left it overnight... In the morning, still completely dry.

I then drove for an hour (over the A83 Rest and Be Thankful) this morning, and had a look... Wet.. :-(

It has however helped me pin down the cause.... The droplets of water had a blue tinge to them.. i.e. the same colour as the additive I put in the flush-water tank.. I can only assume it's coming from the flush-water tank.. Where is the flush-water tank ? Presumably in the bench-seat ?? As the bench is fixed-in and mastic/silicone sealed 'round the edges I don't fancy removing it to have a look

--
ForresGeek

ForresGeek wrote:. Where is the flush-water tank ? Presumably in the bench-seat ?? As the bench is fixed-in and mastic/silicone sealed 'round the edges I don't fancy removing it to have a look

The bench seat is the flush water tank, you access the innards by removing the toilet roll holder. You can download manuals etc. from here:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Frank

I have the same problem on our Sussex Duo. Did you ever get to the cause of the problem?

Yes,

I think I got to the bottom of it, not had the same problem for a while.

Turns out that the glass tube which acts as a water level gauge for the flush water in the cubbyhole next to the Thetford cassette wasn't fixed in correctly, and was leaking flush water from the bottom.

I clipped it back in properly and smeared some vaseline around the rubber connector thingy at the bottom of the viewing gauge. No problem since.

Hope this helps

Forres Geek.

Thanks for your answer. I will have a look at the tube in the morning.

Hi


I had the same problem on Year2000 Symbol and it was found that the water was coming from the flush water (as I had added pink additive easily identified) when the the cassette and shower boarding had been fitted in build oringinally a screw had been presumbaly in error put through the water holding tank in th cassette toilet and mastic had been added to prevent leaks. The mastic around a screw had degenerated and water was seeping between the wheelarch cover and bench toilet into the shower tray. The screw was resealed and no problems.

Regards Sally

Hi Forres,
If all else fails why not fit a duckboard made from wooden slats with brass screws to keep your feet off the wet plastic we have one ( a photo was posted in October last (but has for reasons I do not know been deleted.) if you do decide to do this keep the gaps between the slats to a maximum of 1/2 inch for comfort reasons. This will also spread the load and reduce any chance of the shower tray cracking.


Brian