Disaster in our Elkridge - water leak from cracked shower pan

Sandie · May 18, 2013

Major water damage to wood beneath bathroom floor and possibly beyond due to a cracked (hair line cracks) shower pan. Must have completely restored. All floor boards and new linoleum. What is the name of this flooring they put in these things so I can try and match it. Sorry Im just a bit upset at this. We have a 2011 Elkridge with the wood looking floors.

Invizatu · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

Sorry to hear about your problem. The brochure I have calls it Beauflor Resiliant flooring ( plank wood style vinyl flooring).

Good Luck.

Sandie · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

Thank you...in all this crazy mess I cannot find my paperwork. Thanks again.

TravelTiger · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

Sorry to hear this Sandie! Thanks for posting, I think someone else mentioned concern about their pan recently. It becomes a reminder for us to check this out.

Hope you get it fully restored. Let us know how it goes.

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olcoon · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

We also have a 2011 Elk Ridge & we've noticed cracks in ours also. For a temp fix, I just rubbed caulking into the cracks & I "think" it's working ok. Hoping to get it fixed while in Goshen. Ever since day 1 I noticed there was some play in the pan when stepping in certain areas & would try to avoid those areas. But the cracks are all over the pan, not just in one area. Hopefully we don't have the damage that you've got. Good luck!

ParkIt · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

olcoon said:
We also have a 2011 Elk Ridge & we've noticed cracks in ours also. For a temp fix, I just rubbed caulking into the cracks & I "think" it's working ok. Hoping to get it fixed while in Goshen. Ever since day 1 I noticed there was some play in the pan when stepping in certain areas & would try to avoid those areas. But the cracks are all over the pan, not just in one area. Hopefully we don't have the damage that you've got. Good luck!

There seem to be more posts about the pans and cracking, I'm starting to wonder if the thickness of the pans were reduced at factory causing this?
If you do find even a hairline crack there is a repair kit from just about any hardware store, it seals it up completely but not recommended for long time use. If you find a crack in the pan you may want to contact Heart Land about a replacement.

One more thing we all need to keep checking to the list: shower pan for cracks.

olcoon · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

I got one of those kits, then decided to just use the caulk for a temp fix & try to get Heartland to replace it in Goshen at the Rally. I've put the caulk in there a few times as more cracks have appeared. I'm kind of thinking with ours at least, that there was no, or improper bedding under the shower pan, as there were certain places that would give when stepped on. Don't know, hopefully I'll be at the 5er when they come to fix it & I can see what the problem is.

ParkIt · May 18, 2013

Re: Disaster in our Elkridge.

There has to be space under it for the drain pipe and expansion/contraction with water temps and weight. Too much space and it will crack, too little and it will crack. It will be interesting to know what HL has to say since its a rare failure.

TravelTiger · May 18, 2013

Roy or Sandie, can you post a pic? I got down on hands and knees today and looked, no cracks in ours (2010), so curious if they changed pans in 2011?

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olcoon · May 19, 2013

Erika, I could post a photo, but I'm sure you wouldn't be able to see the cracks. If you are just wanting to see the floor of the shower, I'll try to get one for you tomorrow. Let me know.

ParkIt · May 19, 2013

Most times they go unnoticed since it really does look like a strand of hair or thread from a towel on the pan...until you try to wipe it up and it doesn't wipe up.
I'm not sure it would have much to do with Heart Land unless they changed to a different manufacturer though there are only a few companies that make the enclosures to RV/Towable specs, even then there is little variance on materials and manufacture process so it could have been a plant that had a bad batch go out to vendors with HL being one of many.

I wish we could install a custom poured porcelain pan like we did in our house for a smaller shower. It's 3" thick and has a slight slope to the drain so there is never any sitting water. Problem is it weighs 275lbs and its not much bigger than the one in our BC, there wouldn't be anyway to really support it. That pan is going to outlast the house.

TravelTiger · May 19, 2013

olcoon said:
Erika, I could post a photo, but I'm sure you wouldn't be able to see the cracks. If you are just wanting to see the floor of the shower, I'll try to get one for you tomorrow. Let me know.

Just a shot of the pan is fine. I did have a cat hair that scared me for a second, but it wiped away, lol!

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Sandie · May 19, 2013

I haven't been able to reply as I had forgotten my password...thank you Dave for helping me. Our cracks were barely visible but our floor felt very mushy and now it's all warped. We have to take ours to a RV renovation place and they have to remove everything out of the bathroom and replace all that board underneath. As you can imagine, we are more than furious regarding this. This will cost thousands of dollars and really someone should be responsible for the cost of this repair, not us!

ParkIt · May 19, 2013

Hope you contact Heart Land in the morning, you aren't the only ones that have posted about cracked shower pans which means there are probably more out there with the same problem. It could be a recall, no way to know until the repair shop starts on it.
Not sure about your insurance company but its always worth checking into as well.

Keep us posted so we know what to look for and how to address it - very sorry to hear you are having to go through this.

olcoon · May 26, 2013

Erika,
Finally got around to taking a photo of the shower floor. Not the best photo, but you'll be able to see what it looks like. You may be able to see the "off color" areas where I tried a temporary fix.

TravelTiger · May 26, 2013

Thanks Roy, interesting. My drain is in the center, not to one side like yours.

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gwalter · May 26, 2013

Our drain is also in the center. I checked it on Fri. and did notice 3 very fine hair line cracks. They don't appear to be all the way through nor do they flex any but I worked silicone caulk into them and will keep an eye on the situation. Thanks for the heads up.

TravelTiger · May 27, 2013

gwalter said:
Our drain is also in the center. I checked it on Fri. and did notice 3 very fine hair line cracks. They don't appear to be all the way through nor do they flex any but I worked silicone caulk into them and will keep an eye on the situation. Thanks for the heads up.

Where were your cracks?

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Invizatu · May 27, 2013

I didn't have any cracks in mine (sold it Friday) but, early on when we first got the trailer I noticed a couple of spots that seemed to flex more than others. I used some block styrofoam and wedged it in a few areas between the pan and floor as a preventative measure. I don't know if it made a difference in prevention, but it did feel stiffer and more stable when standing in it. note... The styrofoam although supportive will flex a little, I used leftover packing from a printer or something. I guess you could also shoot some liquid expanding foam in a couple of spots. Something to think about going forward.

gwalter · May 27, 2013

TravelTiger said:
Where were your cracks?

When I look in the door there are 2 small ones at the 10:00 position about 1" and 1.5" long and another small one at the 4:00 position. If the silicone wears off I may try a tub and tile caulk. I have looked as best I can underneath and have not noticed any signs of water leakage.

Disaster in our Elkridge - water leak from cracked shower pan

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