Cracked shower tray.

[vindiboy]

My friend has a cracked plastic shower tray in his van.

Does any one have a solution on how he can fixit without removing it .We understand that there is a product called Plastic padding GRP shower tray repair kit,anyone know where it can be bought in small quanties ? *-)

[DonB]

Used to live near you. Have you thought of trying the various yacht people on the River Hamble? Somebody there should be able to fix it and match the colour. Look in Yellow Pages or on the net for GRP Repairs. Hope this helps.

[maggyd]

We had a cracked shower tray on our last caravan unusual as I had never used it!! my OH bought a upvc repair from a local window company it consists of two tubes that you mix together it goes like putty which you fill the crack smooth it over and it sets hard.

[ROND]

Having now had 2 cracks in our shower tray, the first when the towel rail fell and knocked a hole in it and the second when i had a rear tyre blow out on the inside rim and it ripped the drain pipe out and in the process partly ripped out the drain from the tray, on both occasions i have used Araldite Rapid and it has now held for 2 years. It goes off very quick in about an hour but looks a bit yellow, im sure some white paint would cover it ok.

One day i might get around to renewing it but the Araldite has certainly done the job.

[Cattwg]

One tip I have heard mentioned several times over the years, is to drill a very small hole (1 or 1.5mm) either end of the crack. This stops it running any further. Then apply your chosen repair.

Cattwg

[Michael Culver]

If you can purchase another tray, same size etc just stick it over the damaged one, did it with a caravan worked a treat.

[Derek Uzzell]

There are Plastic Padding GRP-related kits (GOOGLE-search on "plastic padding grp"), but I'm doubtful that there's one aimed specifically at repairing shower trays.

 

The first thing to establish is what the cracked shower tray is made of, as this will have a bearing on the repair methods and the repair materials that will work best. Some trays are made from GRP (Glass-Reinforced Plastic), many are made from acrylic-capped ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), others (like the one in my Hobby) are made of SSORPS (Some Sort Of Rubbery Plastic Stuff). The position and extent of the damage will also be significant, as a long crack in the 'floor' of the tray will inevitably prove harder to repair satisfactorily than a short one in the tray's top edge.

 

(There's a chapter in John Wickersham's "Build Your Own Motorcaravan" that offers useful general advice on working with plastics. JW's book also mentions the need for shower trays made from thin ABS plastic to be fully supported and includes details/photos of how he fitted an ABS tray and wash-basin to his own self-build motorhome.)

 

I'm never too sure what people have in mind when they ask this sort of question, as it's often possible to do an easy, but unsightly, repair that allows the damaged item to function OK, but it's a whole lot more difficult to fix the thing so the repair is cosmetically near perfect.

 

In vindiboy's friend's case, if (as seems likely) the crack in the shower-tray is due to stress or under-engineering, then any 'from-the-outside' type of repair must really be considered temporary. Unless you use Michael's ploy of sticking another tray over the damaged one, or thickly 're-skin' the top surface of the cracked tray with a GRP layer, there's every chance it's going to crack again once weight is put on it. Drilling holes beyond the ends of the present crack may stop it increasing in length (this also works for cracks in sheet-metal), but there's no guarantee if the tray is able to flex.

 

If the damaged tray is made from ABS, then it would be best to replace it, either on a like-for-like basis or with a GRP equivalent. In both cases the replacement tray should be fully supported so that it wouldn't flex even if King Kong were dancing in the shower. If the tray is made from GRP, then it could be removed and a GRP 'patch' be adhered to the tray's underside so that the patch extends well beyond the extent of the crack.

 

I'm a fan of Araldite Rapid (as used by ROND) and I keep a pack of it in my motorhome just in case small 'stick it' repairs are needed. The slower-setting version has better grip and strength, but Rapid's handier. It does yellow with time and, if there's a need to really gob it on to seal a large crack, the repair definitely won't look pretty. But that's going to be true whatever type of adhesive/sealant is applied to a shower tray's outer surface.

[argyler]

Hi, I had a similar problem on my Autocruise. Silly design - the drain hole is right where you stand in front of the wash basin and the hole in the timber below the hole is too big, allowing foot pressure to depress the drain and crack the surround. Suggest you check if you have a similar problem. I back-filled the hole in the timber floor with expanding foam before repairing with GRP. Also cut a thin ply former same shape as carpet to go under same to prevent another failure.

Awra best - Argyler (lol)