DW likes a bathtub instead of a shower. SO, how difficult/easy would it be to convert our shower to a bathtub ? Cost ?Thanks for any suggestions/ideas.

Weight would be the major issue. Your home bathtub if it is not on the ground floor requires heavy beams, closely spaced to support it. My house has 2X8(might be 2x10) beams with 12 inch spacing. RV's are not built on the ground and don't have the bracing for a tub. Water is heavy (62.4 lb/CF) and you also have the weight of the bather.And do you have room for a tub? Few RV bathrooms are that large.

Does your DW like cold baths?I’ve never come across an RV with much of a hot water heater. 6 gallons won’t go very far and the time to reheat would likely mean the previous tank full of heated water would then be cold before the next one was hot.

agesilaus wrote:Weight would be the major issue. Your home bathtub if it is not on the ground floor requires heavy beams, closely spaced to support it. My house has 2X8(might be 2x10) beams with 12 inch spacing. RV's are not built on the ground and don't have the bracing for a tub. Water is heavy (62.4 lb/CF) and you also have the weight of the bather.And do you have room for a tub? Few RV bathrooms are that large.The RV tubs look like they are drop-in's into your present shower unit, having dimensions typical of shower units. In our past 3 MH's I wanted to replace the shower floor with a tub, but never got around to doing it.Here's a link to some options: http://www.rvpartscountry.com/RvBathtubs.html I don't know how to attach a pic of an example 24 x 36 tub.I imagine one would just use the present drain hole. There would be the concern about sealing the sides so that water would not leak down the sides when using the showerhead or splashing around with your baby duck. And then there is the question how to seal the front/visible side of the tub, where it would meet the shower door.I am sure someone has solved these things.Obviously, the size will be prejudiced against overweight people, and the elderly and others with arthritis and orthopedic problems might have difficulty getting up from being scrunched into such a small area.BUT, similar to your situation, my wife also wants her tub!

We have a so called "garden tub" that's about 24"x36" in our coach. We have tried using it as a tub, but as said, the hot water capacity really limits the amount of water you can fill it with. Getting in and out of the limited space is also not that easy. It does make for a little roomier shower area though, than the common 30" units. As far as sealing goes, it's no different than many shower stalls where the wall surround extends over a lip on the tub edges. At the front, we originally had a 3-section sliding door, but have since replaced it with a retractable shower screen that's sort of like window shade mounted sideways. The screen has a lower track that prevents water spray from escaping the tub area. The screen opens up all but a couple of inches of the full tub front, making entry/exit and tub cleaning much easier.

stasha wrote:BUT, similar to your situation, my wife also wants her tub!Well you can't always have what you want. :)I strongly encourage anyone who actually embarks on this project to NOT disable the shower because.......if you are not connected to "city water", just one bath likely would use up your ENTIRE fresh water supply. I also wonder about the 12 V pump moving that much water all in one shot.

Changing shower to a bathtub | Good Sam Community

stasha
Explorer
Feb 28, 2018
Ice2Fire -- what did you decide?
If you put one in, can you post pix or give some details?
THx.
BTW, we have an Outlaw 37MD (motorhome with internal garage --Toy Hauler). Thinking of purchasing one of the 40+ inch tubs and just stowing it until needed (maybe pulley system to ceiling). Then pull it down and fill from the wash machine hoses when needed. Might put a drain in the floor to connect with wash machine drain -- or something like that.
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 07, 2017
No, I think it makes more sense to remove the U shaped piece of metal that goes all around the top. Is anyone reading any of this drivel ? Am I out on my own - again ?? :)
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 06, 2017
Housted wrote:
The tub and surround are both 24 wide by 46 long.
The hard thing to find for some reason is the 24x46 surround??
I got the first tub/surround from the Northwood factory as part of the purchase.
The second tub/surround came from pplmotorhomes in Texas.

Good luck,

Housted

Thanks. So we're going to do it ! DW agrees, the RV repairman will do any plumbing, another guy, who has experience, will help build the walls etc ! We're going to use frp type walls from Home Depot for the ends and the back.

So first job is to dismantle the existing shower.

How does the door come off ? There is a straight piece of metal across the bottom, with three screws in it. I'm going to undo those first !

Wish me luck.
Housted
Explorer III
Dec 06, 2017
The tub and surround are both 24 wide by 46 long.
The hard thing to find for some reason is the 24x46 surround??
I got the first tub/surround from the Northwood factory as part of the purchase.
The second tub/surround came from pplmotorhomes in Texas.

Good luck,

Housted
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 05, 2017

Here is a link that should work....
first of three pics

Housted

Those look fantastic ! Thank you. Can I as you what size they are, the bath and surrounds manufacturer ? If I could duplicate those I think my DW would be in heaven ! (And so would I !)
Housted
Explorer III
Dec 05, 2017
ice2fire wrote:
Housted wrote:
I have converted two 5ers from 24" x 40" shower to 24" x 46" tub.
I moved a wall 6" to accommodate the tub. Everyone is right about the water
heater requirement. One of the conversions has a 12 gal and the other has a 16 gal.
DW is very happy with the results.
Photo -> https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPo-Z_FlJaP5-jDE75uV2S68AHzQxDo4GWzJ6Q1

Housted

404 error on launch of link. I'd really like to look at them. Can you fix it please?

Here is a link that should work....
first of three pics

Housted
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 05, 2017
I see the flowing hot water units can be run on electricity or propane. Which is better ? Thanks.
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 05, 2017
CharlesinGA wrote:
http://www.rvpartscountry.com/RvBathtubs.html

Charles

Tried 'em. No 42" surrounds.
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 05, 2017
It seems there are two manufacturers making RV bathtubs: Lippert and www.icondirect.com. I really like the 42" long Icon, but they don't make a surround to fit it. Had a multiple e-mail session with them. Looks like I'll have to go with the Lippert 40", which is not so heavy (and thus probably not so good) as the Icon. Lippert have 40" surrounds. If anyone has a solution for the surround problem, I'd like to know. I maybe will strengthen the Lippert with fibreglass along the bottom.

I had a session with a fellow RV'er. He has one. He's going to help me and we'll use a professional to move the plumbing. Fortunately, the current surround sheets on the shower are not stuck to the wall, so should be easy to come off.

I told my DW. She is delighted !! I needed some inducements as she has a grand-daughter who wants her to stay home !! Got to fight fire with fire ! She's not that concerned about the hot water. She's a good "makedoer" ! Stay tuned.
ice2fire
Explorer
Dec 05, 2017
Housted wrote:
I have converted two 5ers from 24" x 40" shower to 24" x 46" tub.
I moved a wall 6" to accommodate the tub. Everyone is right about the water
heater requirement. One of the conversions has a 12 gal and the other has a 16 gal.
DW is very happy with the results.
Photo -> https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPo-Z_FlJaP5-jDE75uV2S68AHzQxDo4GWzJ6Q1

Housted

404 error on launch of link. I'd really like to look at them. Can you fix it please?

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