Leaking shower - Montana Owners Club

Montana_1577 · 07-04-2004, 02:51 PM

We purchased a 2004 Montana Mountaineer 297RKS in May. While camping at Myrtle Beach last week, I was removing items from the basement while my brother was showering. I noticed water dripping from each top corner of the basement door. It specifically was dripping from an aluminum frame piece located against the outer wall. I calked around the bottom of the shower without any success. I performed a search on here and learned that I really shouldn't have done that. It seems that this gap is "lipped" to allow condensation which may form on the back side of the shower wall to drain. The dealer can't find the leak. At my suggestion, he had one of his biggest guys take a shower in it while they watched for leaking in the basement. I thought that weight in the shower could be stressing somthing. You and I both know that the leak will reappear on our next trip. That's the way it always goes. I reviewed many posts about this same problem but didn't really find anyone with a solution. The dealer has assured me that all fixtures are tight and not leaking. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

sreigle · 07-04-2004, 03:02 PM

The no-no about caulking around the bottom of the shower has to do with closing in the bottom of the shower walls. If you caulked around the tub or shower base but left the bottom of the walls uncaulked, then you should be ok and might have solved the problem.

I think some folks have had leakage around the fixture and others at the connections below the fixture. Does your Mountaineer have access to the area below the faucet so you can check there for loose connections?

Sorry not much help. Hopefully you have fixed the problem and it won't happen again.

Montana_1577 · 07-04-2004, 04:43 PM

Unfortunately, that's where I calked...Inside the shower around the bottom of the wall.It just looked like the obvious spot where calk should be. My unit has access to the backside of the faucet valves through an access panel in the rear of a cabinet on the opposite side of the wall. That's the first place we checked and found no leaks.

8.1al · 07-04-2004, 04:55 PM

Our shower was also leaking when we got it. The caulk between the glass enclosure and tub was suspect so I redid that. NO good. I caulked the outer wall to tub just part way from the glass enclosure and that stopped alot of it but not all. I then put just a little at the bottom corner of the glass where it meets the frame. This seems to have stopped it. Evidently the seal that runs between the frame and glass had a little gap. One dealer told me that many don't seal well between the faucet assembly and tub. If so it will only be wet there after a shower.

VanMan · 07-04-2004, 05:04 PM

Sometrimes leaks show up and then can't be duplicated due to water pressure. If you were using campground water and didn't have a 40 psi pressure regulator in use, the higher pressure may have caused a leak at a fitting. This may not have been found by the dealer if they checked it with a regulator in place. I had a leak at the toilet but remembered that I didn't use the pressure regulator. When I put it on, the leak was no longer there - I did tighten up those fittings, though.

Montana_1577 · 07-04-2004, 05:22 PM

Even back in my "cherry" travel trailer days I always used a pressure regulator...I'm thinking that there's still a gap SOMEWHERE that needs a little shot of caulk.This shouldn't be that hard....water leaks from specific point, water drips from specific point into basement, backtrace to point of leak, fix said leak. The problem is running it down without getting mad and caulking everything to an extreme... I definately appreciate all the input.

sreigle · 07-04-2004, 05:27 PM

GSP805, please let us know what you find. And if anyone here has any ideas we'll post them. As for me, I'm pretty much at a loss. If at all possible once you find and fix the leak, if you can remove the caulking under the shower sidewalls, particularly the one on the outside wall, that might be a good idea. You'd probably want to make sure you have the leak fixed first.

On our first Montana we told the dealer those walls were not caulked so he caulked them. Later I had bubbles in the fibreglass, outside, just above the shower. So you might think about removing that caulking if you can, once you find the leak. Just a suggestion but would sure hate for you to end up with fiberglass problems.

BillyRay · 07-05-2004, 01:56 AM

our 2004 3685 leaked as soon as we got it.it wouldn't leak when you turned on the tub, but when you pulled the knob for the shower it did then.(took alot of playing around with it to figure it out)it was leaking from the base of the shower head. the repairman used some plumber's putty and it works fine.I almost didn't believe him becaus it seemed too simple.I check it every so often, and still no leaks.

joe2speed · 07-05-2004, 01:16 PM

There shoud be a panel maybe two panels you can unscrew and take off to see under the shower. My model (3566fl) has two panels one under the shower door and one to the right of the door, just above the floor. Take the panels off and check the tightness of the fittings. They could be loose and weeping when the water is being used. Keystone is really bad sending units to the dealers with loose plumbing connections. The dealers are no better checking either. I have had cougar first and now a monty and both came with loose plumbing.

CountryGuy · 07-05-2004, 02:35 PM

We had the same problem, replaced the faucet during warranty work in Goshen, still leaked, they did the fix that was described in this thread, and guess what, NO MORE LEAK!!

http://www.forumco.com/montanaadmini...chTerms=faucet

OH, and I love the comments on this thread to the tune, of, this faucet was meant to be a wall mount, not a surface mount.

sreigle · 07-05-2004, 03:22 PM

Hmmm, interesting. Went back and re-read that thread. Then went and looked at our shower/tub faucet. We must have a different faucet from the rest of you. If ours was mounted on the wall, water from the faucet would be aimed at the wall. Can't see how this one was designed for mounting any way other than horizontally. Do you all have a different faucet???

Montana_1577 · 07-05-2004, 05:35 PM

CountryGuy, you've been the most help so far. My Mountaineer has a stand up, glass enclosed shower. I have not noticed any water up in the bathroom (such as on the floor). I have only detected the dripping down in the basement against the wall next to the swing up door. My next step will be to rubber washer all connections that I can find. The water wicking back down the lines, especially with the back pressure of the water saver, sounds very likely. I'll let y'all know what happens!

Montana_655 · 07-06-2004, 05:41 AM

I usually read these posts and think to myself how glad I am to not have this problem. Well I could say that on Wednesday of last week regarding this thread but not this morning after encountering leaks in our shower over the 4th while boondocking in upsate NY. I think we've got this squared away, we'll see this week.

Flastro · 07-06-2004, 06:20 AM

Been there, Mine did the same and leaked in the exact location, pulled the access cover off right beside the stairs (ours has the garden tub and shower combo) All of the water line connections was loose, dripping water on the floor and running down the lines. it would drip in the basement right at the outside edge where the basement door ataches to the side of the RV. Checked all of the other connections in the unit and they were also VERY loose.

Montana_1577 · 07-06-2004, 07:37 AM

I brought it out of the service shop this morning. The leak has "magically" vanished until, I'm sure, the next trip out later this month.....I'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm prepared to rubber washer the fittings if I can get to them all. While at the shop, they even increased the water pressure a little to try to induce the leak again without success. They whole system checked out dry as a bone. I'm not optimistic or foolish enough to think that these things fix themselves.

CountryGuy · 07-06-2004, 01:01 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Hmmm, interesting. Went back and re-read that thread. Then went and looked at our shower/tub faucet. We must have a different faucet from the rest of you. If ours was mounted on the wall, water from the faucet would be aimed at the wall. Can't see how this one was designed for mounting any way other than horizontally. Do you all have a different faucet???

Steve, you could be right!!

I never looked at the faucet and tried to imagine it on the wall.

But, I will next time I am out in the rig. Right now it is shut up cause there are terrible storm threats, 2 inch hail and all that rot, even under a tornado watch, ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

We pull the slides in during threats like that, cause we are not living in it.

Anyway, the fix with the washers worked for us, so far

. And when they took the old faucet off and gave us a new one, we got rid of mounds of silicone caulk Al had put all around the faucet to keep the water from running into the basement. He is a great electrician, but his caulking talents lack a bit.

Mine are no better!

Anyway, good luck to all you folks with leaking faucets, hope this fix works for you too!

Carol
Mrs. Countryguy

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