Bathroom

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I would hesitate about using any suction cup grab bars. There give no warning to predict when they will fail. . .

My biggest concern would be whether pressure applied to the suction cup grab bars would rip the shower liner off the wall. Yes, the suction cups are that strong.

Wayne

So you are prepared to risk injury to another person that the OP's wall surface is perfectly smooth and that the surface is spotlessly clean and that the suction cup will never come loose. Anyone that has ever used a suction cup for anything knows that they can and will fail to stay in place and always when they are needed the most.
This is not a GPS unit attached to the dash. You are talking about an injury to a person that the OP cares about.
If you want to cut corners on something as important as personal safety, I would suggest you do it to your own loved ones rather than recommend it to someone else that has a shower wall you haven't seen and a wall surface you know nothing about.
If the suction cups were indeed that strong, the building codes that require handicap grab bars would specify them as an acceptable alternative. They do not, which SHOULD tell you something about their ability to perform. Do the job right or don't do it at all.

Clearly, you have not tried them.

After my mother had a stroke, her therapist at the rehab facility recommended them and told me where to find them. In my experience, they work incredibly well.

I trust this more than I would trust being able to hit skinny, perhaps fragile studs in an RV wall with screws. I chose to use one on our motorhome shower. Both my wife and I depend on it.

I do expect that the OP or anyone else reading this can assess the suitability of their shower stall for using one of these and that they can install it properly.

Wayne

I, too, had a balance problem when I was paralyzed from the neck down (for two weeks) after taking the flu shot five years ago. The shot attacked my spinal cord and it was a slow recovery from a wheel chair to a walker to a cane and now I'm FREE! I recovered about 98% and that's the highest level I will reach and feel thankful that I'm there.

What helped me tremendously was a shower chair with arms. I really didn't need grab bars as I could put my weight on the arms of the chair while standing under the shower head. After about three months, I didn't need the chair for balance. I still have to be careful on ladders but know my limitations.

Safe travels,
MM.

In my S&B there are the molded tub/showers with "smooth" walls and I have trouble having various soap dishes, etc. sticking with suction cups.
bumpy

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I would hesitate about using any suction cup grab bars. There give no warning to predict when they will fail. . .

My biggest concern would be whether pressure applied to the suction cup grab bars would rip the shower liner off the wall. Yes, the suction cups are that strong.

Wayne

So you are prepared to risk injury to another person that the OP's wall surface is perfectly smooth and that the surface is spotlessly clean and that the suction cup will never come loose. Anyone that has ever used a suction cup for anything knows that they can and will fail to stay in place and always when they are needed the most.
This is not a GPS unit attached to the dash. You are talking about an injury to a person that the OP cares about.
If you want to cut corners on something as important as personal safety, I would suggest you do it to your own loved ones rather than recommend it to someone else that has a shower wall you haven't seen and a wall surface you know nothing about.
If the suction cups were indeed that strong, the building codes that require handicap grab bars would specify them as an acceptable alternative. They do not, which SHOULD tell you something about their ability to perform. Do the job right or don't do it at all.

About 10 years ago when we bought and were extensively remodeling the stick house where we retired to, DW wanted grab bars just in case. I had the builder put 2 X 10 backers in the wall where bars would go in the shower and near the toilet. After the ceramic tile was done, I installed grab bars anchored to the 2 X 10 backers with 3 large screws at each end. I think this is probably the ideal solution for grab bars, given how difficult it would be to line up both ends with studs. All these years later, the grab bars are pretty handy.

After my mother had a stroke, I installed 3 of the suction cup type fastened to the ceramic tile in her bathroom. In the 2+ years before she passed away, I had to refasten one end of one grab bar one time. These things hold incredibly well to a smooth surface.

Based on this prior experience I decided the suction cup type is fully acceptable for the motor home. I’m confident it would pull the shower surround off the wall before the suction cups would let go.

As an added benefit, it won’t mar the surround if the next owner doesn’t want it there. If I don’t like where I put it first time, I can reposition it.

This is the one I’m using: http://www.lowes.com/pd_191936-94039-S10255_0__

Wayne

Suction cup bars are good temporary fixes, if you plan on using that motor home for years, Bolted to stud is better,, Just make sure you find the studs BEFORE you buy the assist bars.

Of course in that phone booth shower,, At 6'plus and 300 pounds, I can not fall down.. Won't fit sideways. (that is half joke, half fact).

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I would hesitate about using any suction cup grab bars. There give no warning to predict when they will fail. . .

My biggest concern would be whether pressure applied to the suction cup grab bars would rip the shower liner off the wall. Yes, the suction cups are that strong.

Wayne

that may be true if the liner was a hard thick plastic/fiberglass one, but a thin one in a RV would be pulled and warped a bit and the cups would just break loose. even my toothbrush holder stuck on my mirror in the S&B pops off on it's own occasionally.
bumpy

Tell her not to shower while you're driving down the road. JK, grab bars might help.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I would hesitate about using any suction cup grab bars. There give no warning to predict when they will fail. . .

My biggest concern would be whether pressure applied to the suction cup grab bars would rip the shower liner off the wall. Yes, the suction cups are that strong.

Wayne

Well I have neuropathy (Was measured at 50 % impairment some years back when I lost my nerves for medical science.. Er, Was a test subject in a drug study).

I manage just fine in my shower

But if you want to install grab bars,, As someone else said, Find the studs, The plastic of the shower shell is not enough to grab, Find the studs,, use a stud finder or do it by some other means. But find the studs.