The main features that I am working around is the installation of a shower/bathroom. This was a must have feature that my wife wanted in a new camper, so it must be. I chose a Thetford C403L RV Cassette Toilet and a shower pan to match 27”x24” shower pan that fits the cassette toilet. The key measurement here meant the shower was going to be at a minimum 27” wide. Putting a cabinet on the opposite side of the van (holding the refrigerator) would make a very tight isle way. Before committing to this I decided to mock up a quick set up. We were going on a weekend camping trip so we could test it out.
Well, I chose to solve my dilemma with the wide bathroom/shower by moving away from the cassette toilet and shower pan. This will result in smaller inside dimension of the bath/shower, but I will gain some room in the aisle way. This move also made me move to a Thetford Curve Porta-potty. While it would be nice to have the room inside, this will most likely meet my needs better. One benefit of moving to this solution was the new pan provides me the ability to provide an air vent for the heater to the front of the van. All in all, I will consider it a win, and try to recover the cost of the cassette toilet and shower pan. Now we can move to the installation of the new shower. I started the shower by laying a piece of 3mm plywood against the wall of the van. I had been in limbo on how I was going to handle the “Ford” wire bundle going to the back of the van. The existing hole in the C pillar is too small to get the wire bundle connectors through. This makes pulling it out and rerouting behind the panel difficult task. So given that I did not want splice all the wires in the bundle and chose to split the larger bundle into smaller bundles and lay it flat. I then used the gap between the wall panels and my shower wall. It is a tight fit but works.
I built the walls out of marine plywood, 18mm on the right side, 12mm on the left side, I also put a 3mm piece on the floor. I used some left over ShowerSeal® from KBRS that I had used for a home bathroom project.
I ordered a 36" x 24" x 5" Right Drain in White RV shower pan from RecPro. The new shower pan has some access on the front that will allow my heater vent to the front of the van. After installing the pan, I added 3mm pieces of marine ply to even out the side ridge of the pan. Again, this was coated with ShowerSeal ®
Then I covered the walls with Dumawall waterproof wall tiles, these are made from PVC are interlocking and need no grout. For the inside of a van these seemed perfect. Installation is easy, the biggest problem being the cuts that were specific to the van. The product is glued to the walls with Loctite Power Grip Ultimate, to complete the waterproof function they recommend Dap Kwik Seal Ultra siliconized sealant. Dumawall also provides some various corner, J and L trims. The hardest part was the window, but all in all I am happy with the outcome.
I decided to go with door/curtain combination and went with a NAUTILUS Retractable Shower Door for RV’s from Stoett Industries. This is a fully retractable door that comes with a patented self-cleaning integrated squeegee that removes water and soap and drains it off into the shower floor. During delivery I found the package was slightly damaged, upon later inspection I found one small endcap missing. A quick email to Stoett on a Saturday, and they had the part in shipping on Monday morning. My only complaint would be the “Brushed Nickel” finish, I should have just gone with white.
Note: The heater vent on the bottom front of the shower, there is also another one to the front under the Lagun Table mount. The smaller shower size made me think about the fixtures for the shower. I chose to go with a recessed shut off/mixing valve by Scandvik. For the shower head attachment, I went with RV city inlet by Aquor.
I am attaching a showerhead to removable faucet hose connector. We will also have a removeable closet pole, to hang the wet gear we acquire here on PNW.
Now it is time to install the water tank, Truma-Combi hot water heater/heater, and gray water tank.