New bathtub

Keep the water inside the pipes, tanks, and sinks
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EdwardM
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B190 Year: 1993
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New bathtub

Post by EdwardM »

We've been living in our van for over a year now, using the shower regularly. A couple of weeks back I noticed water flowing out the back doors when Melissa was having a shower. It turned out there was quite a large crack in the bathtub which we hadn't noticed, who knows for how long! To make matters whose this happened in Guatemala, so there was no chance of buying a replacement online, although the stores we looked were out of stock anyway.

We removed the broken tub and found that the wood supporting the bottom wasn't even attached in the front left corner! So all this time all our weight when we went in and out of the shower was being taken by the very thin plastic, which cracked in this exact spot.

We found a fiberglass company in Nicaragua which looked competent. We had them take the old tub to use as a mold, and a couple of days later they'd made a brand new bath for us!

We're very impressed by how strong the fiberglass is compared to the old plastic. We're also a little annoyed that the support was never installed correctly, if it had this may never of happened. When I installed the new tub I made sure to install proper supports all the way around.

Just thought I'd share this in case anyone is doing any work around the bath, I definitely recommend fixing the supports, or if your tub breaks think about getting a fiberglass one made. Using the old one as a mold it only took a day(ish) and cost around $250. I know this is more than replacement ones from the internet, but it was the only choice we had. I've included a couple of pictures, one shows what happened to the old tub when it was unstuck as a mold. I used putty around the drain and lowered the bath back in with the u-bend attached, then screwed it back together reaching from the back. Checked for leaks, and after using a pipe wrench, not a drop! I had to cut the hole slightly bigger in the plywood under the tub so the attached u-bend could slide in, but that was all.ImageImageImageImage

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190-b-651
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Re: New bathtub

Post by 190-b-651 »

Wow that looks pretty good. Thanks for the information glad you two are doing well in South America quite the adventure

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usachris
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Re: New bathtub

Post by usachris »

Looking Good!
Christopher Salazar
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okaynagan
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Re: New bathtub

Post by okaynagan »

Other than replacement of this tub is there anything that can be done to improve its longevity? At one time I was thinking of painting it with epoxy resin. But that was when I believed it was fiberglass now I think that will not work. Anybody have any suggestions?

Airstream used a chintzy tub, eh. I suffered from the delusion believing all things airstream were of better quality; those oak cabinets had me fooled; this has been an education.

It does appear like most things were watered down from the Okanagan. Now I see why I could never get the stains out of the Airstream tub. The Okanagan's tub seven years longer in the tooth than the Airstream's is holding up substantially better; however it is fiberglass rather than plastic.
o vs a tub.jpg
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Kentuckian
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Re: New bathtub

Post by Kentuckian »

Ed,
Awesome job! Some of the jobs the two of you tackle on the road really impress us! New tub looks great!
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Sub2RainEN
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Re: New bathtub

Post by Sub2RainEN »

Great upgrade! I just assumed I wouldn’t use my tub and here’s one more reason. The list of future updates is growing.

Well done!


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EdwardM
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Re: New bathtub

Post by EdwardM »

Kentuckian wrote:Ed,
Awesome job! Some of the jobs the two of you tackle on the road really impress us! New tub looks great!
Thanks for that! We really had to fix the shower, as we use it all the time when we boondock. Although now that we're in Central America we've been staying in campgrounds more. As we speak we are preparing the van for the shipping to South America, which I'm sure will mean more boondocking. So we fixed it just in time!

We love having the shower, it was a major reason for choosing a B190. For us we can wash away the dust from a long drive and go out for the evening in any city.

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