To caulk or not to caulk a shower

jbellarmada · 10-15-2021, 12:21 PM

My 2019 Winnebago Intent was caulked from the factory where the shower wall meets the base tub. Typical Winnebago caulking job, terrible at best. I also notice the top of the walls are not caulked so I wonder if the bottom really should be left open for moisture to escape. Note: image is rotated 90deg CCW

Thoughts??

TJFogelberg · 10-15-2021, 06:03 PM

Good Question! This is one weakness of our Winnebagos in some of the lower priced RVs. (One of the few things I miss on my old '99 Lazy Daze is the 1 piece fiberglass shower stall.) The shower stall on my '17 Minnie Winnie is made of flimsy plastic. Looks similar to one posted by OP. (I know you can't have everything when spending South of 100K on a new RV).

BobC · 10-15-2021, 07:24 PM

My thinking is the vertical fiberglass from the base extends several inches up behind the sidewall so there's no need for caulk. I'm not sure if caulking would be a problem but I think that allowing moisture to seep out is a good thing. It's more likely to be condensation than leakage.

be happy · 10-16-2021, 04:21 AM

The bottom of the fiberglass wall should remain caulk free. The shower pan goes up the wall far enough to prevent any water getting in. The reason behind the no caulk on the bottom is for any moisture to have a way out.

Good Luck

thompwil · 10-16-2021, 06:17 AM

Ours came from the factory with sealant. Looks exactly like the one in the picture.

Had to use a silicone based sealant that advertises extreme elasticity. Yes, I found out the hard way before calling Winnebago customer support and getting proper advice on what to use. Regular shower calking won't work since it is not elastic enough to take the temperature extremes. Wouldn't have needed redone if it weren't for the sloppy job they did.

Holding up just fine and looks great.

Upinsmoke · 10-23-2021, 01:23 AM

I'm not sure whether there is a right and wrong answer to this. Ours came with caulking around the base, but at some point we ended up with a leak on the side with the door.

The attached pic shows where I ultimately found the leak. The gold/brass looking rod is a coat hanger I could easily put through there. I removed all of the caulking and resealed with standard "tub-n-tile" silicone sealer which has lasted a couple of years now.

Hope this helps some.