Check your shower drains!

[lwg]

Thought I'd mention this to others. This morning i happen to be doing some maintenance behind the basement wall while my wife was taking a shower. Noticed that just about all the shower water was just poring down into the basement completely missing the drain, after informing her abruptly that her shower was going to be cut short I found out what the problem was... The pipe that connects from the drain to the p trap is a 6" pipe. Well it needed to be at least 7", preferably a little longer. It will hold in place but there's just enough tension on the p trap pipe that when going down the road it could vibrate loose by pulling down. The fix was to get a 12" piece and cut it down. After installation of the new piece it can tug on the p trap pipe and it now stays in place.

Hope this helps someone else identify an issue before you get water damage. I don't know how long mine has been this way, back in the fall I was behind the wall and it seemed fine. Fortunately it appears I don't have any water damage as most of it just drained down into the holes for the holding tanks and out the bottom.

BTW, at least with the 38BR, you can clearly see the shower drain with a flashlight from the water filter access hatch.

[atom ant]

Did you ever notice water coming out of the belly? Or would it hold it all?

[0nTheRoad]

Eventually water would start dripping/pouring out of the belly of the rig. More difficult to detect if you're sitting on gravel or grass but still you would be able to notice it eventually. Another reason to "check under the hood" periodically!!

[lwg]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Did you ever notice water coming out of the belly? Or would it hold it all?

I hadn't noticed water coming out of the belly. Makes me think I might have luckily caught it early on.

[r time soon]

Glad to hear that you caught this potentially damaging leak early. Yes slip nuts can and do vibrate loose from traveling. Keep in mind also that the trap arm is usually raised to the tail piece of showers and sinks and then tightened. The trap arm might have been glued horizontally, then pushed up to tighten the arm and p-trap in place and it might have been under tension. Remember that 1/8" of slope is required for proper drainage, not to exceed the diameter of the pipe in its length of run. Too much slope has the potential to drain too quickly and remove too much fluid from the trap and not seal out the nasty odors from the tank. Another fix might involve plumbers strap or zip-ties or wire ties to secure trap arm to the proper height by securing to the floor above the p-trap so it wouldn't lower, but might still need to check occasionally to be sure it is still tight and leak free.

[jhardin]

Thanks for the information, we upgraded our tires to the G rated tire and last week found all 4 of the valve stem lock nuts loose. (Not the caps)Had to replace one and tighten the others. This is a safety issue that should not be missed.

[lwg]

Originally Posted by r time soon

Glad to hear that you caught this potentially damaging leak early. Yes slip nuts can and do vibrate loose from traveling. Keep in mind also that the trap arm is usually raised to the tail piece of showers and sinks and then tightened. The trap arm might have been glued horizontally, then pushed up to tighten the arm and p-trap in place and it might have been under tension. Remember that 1/8" of slope is required for proper drainage, not to exceed the diameter of the pipe in its length of run. Too much slope has the potential to drain too quickly and remove too much fluid from the trap and not seal out the nasty odors from the tank. Another fix might involve plumbers strap or zip-ties or wire ties to secure trap arm to the proper height by securing to the floor above the p-trap so it wouldn't lower, but might still need to check occasionally to be sure it is still tight and leak free.

Honestly, when sitting with no tension it actually slopes away from the drain pipe, towards the p trap. You have to put tension on it by lifting it up so that water runs down the pipe like it should. That being said I like your zip tie idea. Might go back under there and add that piece before we head out in a few weeks.