Stainless steel shower tray suggestions?

grizzlyj

Tea pot tester
Hi

Maybe the wrong place, and not mainstream, but thought I'd ask anyway

Our new camper has a 1200x900mm bathroom which I need to fit out.

It will have a "composting" toilet, so no downward pipework for that.

There will be a large dog and our two year old boy, both of which tend to get muddy.

So, I would like a 1200mm by 900mm shower tray with maybe 200mm high sides so it can be used as a shallow bath for either cooling down or scrubbing clean either junior members of the team.

The toilet will just sit on it, the tip up sink might just deposit over the shower outlet.

The tray needs supporting maybe around 75mm off the ground to allow pipework for the bathroom and other stuff, so needs to support itself.

Fibreglass would be another option but just doesn't appeal.

Any suggestions on what grade stainless, pre-existing products I can either drop straight in or adapt to reduce cost, or even is this a really stupid idea?!

(Won't be me welding, but neither welder I've asked who can has experience of shallow baths in campers for some reason)

Jason
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
Sounds like an easy enough job for any welder if you were to provide a drawing. I could do it easily. Probably just 16ga 304 stainless sheet. If you are raising it up off the floor, some support underneath is probably in order.
 

jschmidt

Adventurer
Right. Any good nmetal shop should be able to make it. The bottom is not flat, it needs to taper to a drain.
 

Neil

Observer
Hi Jason.
We looked at Stainless but found it too expensive for our budget.
In the end we constructed the try in wood and lined it with bathroom anti slip vinyl welded up the sides. 3 years later still perfect.
I would pot the drain slightly in from the edge or even central and angle towards it from all directions. This allows you to be able to park on a slight incline and still drain.
somd more info on ours is here

http://cloud9isborn.blogspot.co.ke/p/interior-construction.html?m=1

Cheers

Neil
 

adam88

Explorer
I would consider building the entire thing in wood and then taking it to a LINE-X or RHINO LINING shop and having it completely coated. Shouldn't cost more than $100. Since you could do the wood work yourself it would be a cheap shower pan that would be water proof and also the line-x would give you an anti-slip coating.
 

Mwilliamshs

Explorer
I would consider building the entire thing in wood and then taking it to a LINE-X or RHINO LINING shop and having it completely coated. Shouldn't cost more than $100. Since you could do the wood work yourself it would be a cheap shower pan that would be water proof and also the line-x would give you an anti-slip coating.

The texture would have to be VERY fine compared to typical LINE-X or RHINO to prevent trapping dirt, soap scum, etc that would lead to both a slippery mess and likely a bacteria farm. Soap scum on hard rubber is way more slippery than clean stainless steel to a bare foot. A plain textured shower mat or those stick-on anti-slip pads would be a MUCH better option IMO than bed liner. Stainless isn't THAT expensive and it's a one-time purchase. Never gonna crack or warp like plastic shower pans do in RVs and assuming a proper installation, would be worry-free for the life of the vehicle. Most any metal shop should be able to fabricate a stainless pan tapered to a central drain with a return on 4 sides and spacers/legs underneath. If you don't need it rapidly and find a small shop willing to work it in at a slow time it should be quite affordable. If you keep an eye on craigslist and scrap metal yards in your area you can likely find the material very reasonably then just need the fab shop to bend and weld which would save you even more $.
 

Neil

Observer
The key to stainless steel work is the welding. I have some that invisible and perfect and i have others that are obviously inferior and are now discolouring and even showing signs of corrosion.

I would definately look at Kitchen or Laboritory grade work

Neil
 

grizzlyj

Tea pot tester
Thank you all for the replies.

For simplicity and cheapness I was thinking of the four vertical edges being about 300mm high, and a flat piece welded in on a slant (so not square and an odd shape), to fall to one corner. The drain hole could be in the floor, or in the wall. Access under would be from holes drilled in the front and back edge pieces before construction. Maybe one central support.

At least from the supplies if I can find a decent suitable supplier it should be ok. One stainless specialist near me said it would cost, and modifying an existing thing would be cheaper. this size is fairly standard Euro tray size but not this deep in stainless. He is good at bike exhausts at least!
 

doug720

Expedition Leader
If fiberglass would work for you, there are many options. Fiberglass shower pans and small tubs are common, and are used in homes, commercial buildings and RV's.

These are light, very cost effective, and wear well. We have a fiberglass shower pan and walls in our RV - No problems.

Another option
 

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