I had the general layout of the bathroom and the pieces fitted to the available space. Now I needed to set exact height of the shower pan by establishing a drain and trap system.
I took a couple of measurements and drove over to the home center. Here I found some $10 clearance price (normally $30) tub drain and overflow connector sets in a variety of color finishes: bronze, chrome, enamel parchment, brass, etc. I selected parchment.
When I ordered the pan we bought white, even though it was available in parchment. We prefer off whites to stark whites but the walls were to be covered in a flexible PVC sheet material available only in white, so we chose a white pan. After finding the sink basin only in white, that also made the choice easier.
When the sink came it was parchment, part number suffix PP (plastic parchment) even though its description had said white. Another site had the sink part number suffix PW (plastic white). And the Thetford toilet was some gray, some bisque (not quite as dark as parchment), but rather than run through returns we determined a parchment sink set in a white counter top might actually offer a nice contrast. And the sink has a parchment stopper. Therefore a parchment stopper in the shower pan was logical.
The stopper doesn't click, it simply uses pressure to hold it in an open or closed (and sealed) position with a rubber seal. During use of course it will be open and when not in use it will be closed to assist in keeping sloshes and odors out.
I also bought the required pieces for the drain and trap seen here. It includes reducers from the 1.5" to a bathroom sink type 1.25" trap, and back to the ordered 1.5" tank fitting. In retrospect I should have gone 1.25" fitting on the tank.
The pieces are not cemented or threaded completely so the overall space they take will diminish slightly, but for now I was after the exact height of the shower pan surfaces.
Also note the trap position relative to the rear of the camper access. You could reach in there for future repairs with major stretching and working blind, with one hand, but that's not good enough for me. One of my biggest irritations about new RV units is how the manufacturers bury everything. They seem to have no qualms charging us a day's labor at $100 an hour just to pull down large expanses of coverings so they can access our basement systems. I don't like to pay labor charges, and as I get older I like easier labor access. No sir, I'll make an access panel inside for this trap.
Now with the exact height of the shower drain known, I took everything out so I could work and transferred the heights to marks on the wall. Here you see a right and left position of the placement for the 3/4" plywood floor that will support the pan.
In essence, the floor was raised 1.5" from the previous pictures showing the one piece of 3/4" plywood on the tank and the pan on top of the plywood. The headroom was still being eaten up. DW isn't short, but I'm taller at 6'4". And fortunately with age I'll be getting shorter. I've already lost one inch! :)
But there's only three reasons I stand up in the bathroom: to wash my face, to brush my teeth, and to - well you know. For the face washing I normally bend forward. For the teeth brushing I also bend forward. And to - well you know - I test drove (simulation) the portable toilet by sliding it forward to the bathroom door edge of the pan, and standing outside I leaned slightly forward and rested my frame on the door opening and lo and behold, I was sooo directly over the center hole of the toilet that I can almost guarantee there isn't a woman alive who would be able to justifiably complain about my aim!
So losing one and a half more inches of height wasn't as bad as it could be. And our showers will be sit down as previously mentioned.
With the new shower pan height in place I measured the sink height again. I split the difference between the previous 36" and the new 34.5" (due to the raising of the shower pan). Normal residential height of bathroom vanity height above floor is 32"-34", but in our home we have the higher vanities for a 36" height (because we're tall). Without encroaching on the rounded ceiling above the basin too much by splitting the difference, we could reach a higher height, keep it above the propane tank compartment, and that still left about 12" of wall above the basin before the rounded roof took over too much. Here you see spacers holding the pan and basin at the exact heights that will be used.
I might mention, the top of the propane compartment will be the counter top board. The basin will be IN THE compartment. Once all the under basin components are completed (soap dispensers, etc.) the bottom of the basin will be spray foam insullated.
I also might mention, many of the bathroom uses not required to be done in the room itself such as: makeup or other use of a mirror, contacts, etc. can be done at the dinette or if standing, in the aisle. When limited by space it is quite easy to make accommodations by simply changing behavior. We've done that for years.
And of course the requirement of such a small bathroom (due to a small RV) is much easier to deal with when it is just a couple (and a close couple at that) without children of the family going along. The nice thing about modern trucks is that extended cab; it can also hold a tent!
Now, back on the inside this shot shows where I'll put my plumbing access. I'll describe that process tomorrow.
