Safe to drill holes in shower wall for shampoo dispenser?

MauiBen

I want to mount a shampoo/conditioner dispenser on the wall of my 2018 Tab clamshell. It holds 14oz in each tank, so it's fairly heavy when full. Is it safe to drill some small, shallow holes in the roadside wall of the shower? It would be in the upper 1/3 of the wall. Is there any wiring back there? Thanks.

4ncar

If you mean the exterior wall, no, it is a laminated foam filled wall. There is nothing of substance to grab. 

MauiBen

4ncar said:

If you mean the exterior wall, no, it is a laminated foam filled wall. There is nothing of substance to grab. 

Not the exterior wall. The interior wall of the shower. The roadside (driver's side) interior wall.

NovaTab

use 3m tape

pthomas745

Here is a thread with pictures and descriptions of what the interior walls look like. And some other hints on how to hang things.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/11255/to-drill-or-not-to-drill

Sharon_is_SAM

You can mount items on the wall behind the toilet.  Here is a picture of an S, but the construction is the same for the clamshell.

grubbster

There are some pretty strong command strips designed for wet environments.  I have had some in the shower and they have held for years.  Easily removable and leave no residue.

4ncar

@MauiBen: the 3 “interior” walls that make up the shoilet are frame construction, as you can see the forward wall clearly in @Sharon_is_SAM’s photo. The adjoining wall to the kitchen is similar would suspect same construction in CSS), as is the TV wall. These last two walls may not be sheathed 100% in plywood, but they for sure are framed in wood.

gulfarea

Another thing you can do to make a very solid mount between the inside shower wall and the left kitchen wall (which is the other side of the bathroom inside wall) is to make a small spice rack or shelf on the kitchen side that would at as a backing for whatever you mount on the bathroom wall. You could bolt or screw the two together as a sandwich with the wall in-between. I have seen some beautiful woodwork done from folks on this forum and I would like to also have a small cabinet on the bathroom wall and it wouldn't hurt to have some small shelf on the kitchen side also.  If anyone makes something like this let us all know especially if you want to make and sell them, I would be one of the first to buy. Art

MauiBen

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I don't want to go with just command strips or glue because the only thing holding up the dispenser would be the wall paper. I'm concerned that in hot weather, or after taking a hot shower, the wall paper would separate from the wall. I plan to use command strips and screws in combination. I don't need the screws to bite into much. I figure the screws will carry the vertical load, while the strips will prevent the dispenser from pulling away from the wall.

Thanks for the photo, @Sharon_is_SAM. The wall behind the toilet looks sturdy, but it's not an ideal location. The dispenser will have hand soap in one of the tanks, so I want it near the sink. I'm not sure from the photo, but it looks like the driver's side wall has a layer of thin plywood? If so, that should be enough to hold some short screws.

Sharon_is_SAM

@MauiBen - the driver’s side wall is only foam insulation.  There is no wood within the TaB side walls.  That is the beauty of Azdel - no risk of rot.  I don’t have a picture, but, I think there is wood on the wall shared with the galley sink.  Maybe someone has a picture or you can email nuCamp.

Another option is the wall with the mirror.  Here is a picture of a 2015 with the TV removed.  Not sure how far the wood extends.

gulfarea

I installed this handle and tray which bolts into the wood backing you see in Sharon is Sam photo. Art