Plumbing stuff. What else do I need?

[dbhost]

Okay so long story short, I am salvaging what I can out of a totalled Class C RV my BIL owns (Serious water damage to the coach work, non repairable unless we want to fully rebuild the coach!)

So the plumbing related items we have salvaged are...

1. 40 Gallon fresh water tank.
2. ? capacity gray water tank.
3. ? capacity black water tank.
4. Black and Gray water dump valves.
5. Tank sensor / control panel.
6. Stainless steel 2 bowl kitchen sink.
7. Oval stainless steel lavatory sink.
8. Stainless steel low rise kitchen sink faucet that I hate.
9. Chromed plastic lavatory sink faucet.
10. Chromed plastic RV Tub / Shower faucet and diverter assembly.
11. RV Tub / shower enclosure / assembly.
12. Yellowed white Oxygenics shower head.
13. City water inlet piece with locking door.
14. Misc braided PVC hose, and clamps.

The water pump and hot water heater are known to be bad. and need to be replaced.

I have a nice high rise Glacier Bay (Home Depot Delta clone) brushed nickel / stainless steel faucet with pull out sprayer I am intending on using instead of the low rise RV unit.

I have a nice, refurbished by me, Delta single handle chrome faucet I am planning on using for the bathroom instead of the chromed plastic piece.

I know I am going to need the following items, and am looking for the best deals on them.

1. Ecotemp or similar on demand hot water heater. But which one?
2. 12v water pump. Again, which one?
3. Chrome Oxygenics shower head.
4. Porcelain, elongated bowl RV Toilet. (Best deal on a Dometic 320?)

I am pretty sure I am going to need valves, check valves, pex piping, but how much, and any clue what I should be looking to pay?

The tub assembly is interesting. It's basically 4 pieces, the tub, and the 3 walls (1 piece each). The tub is built sort of like a residential unit, but a LOT smaller, and is plastic resin over what appears to be stainless steel, with a steel beam / cleat on each side to bolt to... The shower walls appear to be simply plastic sheets. The original attachment looks like liquid nails, and not a lot of it. There was a little bit of caulk sealing things up. So....

Looks like I am going to want.

1. Stainless steel wood screws to attach tub to framing.
2. Liquid Nails for projects to attach shower surround.
3. Tub and tile caulk to seal the seams, and penetrations.
4. Pipe tape to seal the plumbing joints.
5. One of those shower curtain rods that bows in / out to make more room in the shower. I'm a big dude, I need the space...
6. Shower curtain / liner.

What else am I missing / not thinking about?

[Twigg]

You will want cement board behind the shower walls. Plywood isn't good enough.

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Twigg

You will want cement board behind the shower walls. Plywood isn't good enough.

Or redguard. You can paint that onthe plywood. Or a waterproof membrane at least 12" up the side walls.

[Ninjakitty]

I'm going to use hardiboard with redgard.

[Twigg]

So you guys know what you are doing, but for anyone else I'll still recommend cement-board.

The key property is that it doesn't flex like wood, and in a mobile situation you do want the walls behind the shower to move as little as possible.

In a home, the house doesn't move

[o1marc]

Hardiboard is nice because you can get it in 1/4" thick which saves on weight and dimensions. Every square inch on a build is important.

[Ninjakitty]

I've used both cement board and hardiboard in non-mobile applications. I'd recommend Hardi board for the ease of install. I'd also recommend Redgard or Aqualock type paint on products for the waterproofing membrane which is the most important part in a shower or bath area. No matter the substrate behind the membrane, keeping it dry is the important part.

[TheArgobus]

If you're more adventurous, you can make your own ultrasonic tank level sensor:

Measuring Water Level With Ultrasonic Sensor: 7 Steps

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by Twigg

So you guys know what you are doing, but for anyone else I'll still recommend cement-board.

The key property is that it doesn't flex like wood, and in a mobile situation you do want the walls behind the shower to move as little as possible.

In a home, the house doesn't move

Wouldn't some flexibility be desireable in an installation that is going to be bumping, shaking, and vibrating its way down less than optimally maintained roads?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by dbhost

Wouldn't some flexibility be desireable in an installation that is going to be bumping, shaking, and vibrating its way down less than optimally maintained roads?

No, it needs to be stiff and we use high-flex elastomeric sealant.

The Hardiboard is cement board, it's just a brand name.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Twigg

No, it needs to be stiff and we use high-flex elastomeric sealant.

The Hardiboard is cement board, it's just a brand name.

Hardiboard and conventional cement backer board are 2 completely different animals, though they do the same job. The manufacturing process and material is different.

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by Twigg

No, it needs to be stiff and we use high-flex elastomeric sealant.

The Hardiboard is cement board, it's just a brand name.

So the wiggle room as it were would be at the attachment points with the adhesive / sealant instead of nailing / screwing it on?

Sorry about all the questions. Trying to understand how this all works...

I know on the class C this came out of, the backer was just thin tempered hardboard. (Masonite type crap), and it was bonded to the plastic surround using what looked like Liquid Nails. They used big loops of the stuff spaced about 12" apart, so LOTS of gaps between the surround and the pile o junk backer...

[CaptSquid]

Instead of a black water tank and toilet, have you considered a composting toilet?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by dbhost

I know on the class C this came out of, the backer was just thin tempered hardboard. (Masonite type crap), and it was bonded to the plastic surround using what looked like Liquid Nails. They used big loops of the stuff spaced about 12" apart, so LOTS of gaps between the surround and the pile o junk backer...

... and you just found one of the reasons why we are so skeptical of RVs.

[weboughtabus]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

Instead of a black water tank and toilet, have you considered a composting toilet?

I believe dbhost mentioned that porcelain is a must

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

Instead of a black water tank and toilet, have you considered a composting toilet?

Yes, and no.... I know they exist, but I thought I saw something on the state RV requirements page where a composting toilet didn't comply... I could be wrong...

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by dbhost

Yes, and no.... I know they exist, but I thought I saw something on the state RV requirements page where a composting toilet didn't comply... I could be wrong...

You are right. It takes beaurocracies years to catch up. However, most insist on some features in a whole list to choose from, so it's rarely an issue.

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by weboughtabus

I believe dbhost mentioned that porcelain is a must

Black tank, or composting toilet, both are going to need waste removed. I don't really get the composting toilet thing... Just seems easier to me to deal with a black tank.

And the porcelain / elongated bowl have their purposes. I am a big guy, I need the room...

The composting toilets I have seen are either plastic, or a toilet seat on some sort of home made box with a urine diverter...

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by Twigg

... and you just found one of the reasons why we are so skeptical of RVs.

You noted the manner I refered to the quality of the backer did you not?

Yeah, stick built RVs tend to be pretty poorly made.

I actually have a few good reasons to be trying to go the skoolie route.

#1. Safer. Simply put, school busses, being big steel boxes that are designed for the most part, to haul children safely to and from school... And generally speaking they do a really good job of it. Factory built motorhomes have very little, if any safety testing done on them. Cutaway Chassis have the crash tests etc... of the donor van, but otherwise, nada...

#2. Materials selection. Assuming the walls, floors, cabinets etc.. of a factory RV were all done right, I would still want to / need to replace things like sinks, faucets, toilets etc... with units that are actually usable, and durable enough for maybe not full timing, but frequenting... The concept is every other weekend tripping. Full timing is not out of the question though. I can do far better work wise if I weren't chained to where I live...

#3. Layout. Almost every factory RV is not designed for anyone that isn't skinny (ever tried being fat and fitting in a dinette booth? Not possible!). We require a king bed, and a couple of bunk beds. Simply put, RV designers don't have me, or my family in mind when they design these things. I don't need sleeping accomodations for 12. My needs are changing so a short bus is no longer a good answer for my family, but then again, I sure as heck don't want to provide acccomodations for my in laws either!

#4. Style. And this si where I will have a problem I suspect, because, well honestly, I hate the way most RVs look. This is 2018, but the interior design / decor of all of the new RVs we have looked at look like they are stuck in 1992. And not in a good way...

I mean dream build would be a 1970s Crown, with a very custom roof raise. I've seen one here, where the owner did a raise that looked, well... factory. I mean it is gorgeous. However the places I want to go, a conventional with a mild roof raise would be a better option.

[golfersmurf57]

Originally Posted by dbhost

You noted the manner I refered to the quality of the backer did you not?

Yeah, stick built RVs tend to be pretty poorly made.

I actually have a few good reasons to be trying to go the skoolie route.

#1. Safer. Simply put, school busses, being big steel boxes that are designed for the most part, to haul children safely to and from school... And generally speaking they do a really good job of it. Factory built motorhomes have very little, if any safety testing done on them. Cutaway Chassis have the crash tests etc... of the donor van, but otherwise, nada...

#2. Materials selection. Assuming the walls, floors, cabinets etc.. of a factory RV were all done right, I would still want to / need to replace things like sinks, faucets, toilets etc... with units that are actually usable, and durable enough for maybe not full timing, but frequenting... The concept is every other weekend tripping. Full timing is not out of the question though. I can do far better work wise if I weren't chained to where I live...

#3. Layout. Almost every factory RV is not designed for anyone that isn't skinny (ever tried being fat and fitting in a dinette booth? Not possible!). We require a king bed, and a couple of bunk beds. Simply put, RV designers don't have me, or my family in mind when they design these things. I don't need sleeping accomodations for 12. My needs are changing so a short bus is no longer a good answer for my family, but then again, I sure as heck don't want to provide acccomodations for my in laws either!

#4. Style. And this si where I will have a problem I suspect, because, well honestly, I hate the way most RVs look. This is 2018, but the interior design / decor of all of the new RVs we have looked at look like they are stuck in 1992. And not in a good way...

I mean dream build would be a 1970s Crown, with a very custom roof raise. I've seen one here, where the owner did a raise that looked, well... factory. I mean it is gorgeous. However the places I want to go, a conventional with a mild roof raise would be a better option.

Tow a snookie behind it with the yellow stick-on sign "In-laws on board"![emoji6]