Outdoor Shower Leaks into Cabin

Gherzig

During our recent trip to Nova Scotia (cut short by Hurricane Lee), we woke up one morning to find a considerable amount of water on the cabin floor.  After some investigation, we found that it was originating from the outdoor shower and entering from the Nautilus box into the compartment under the bed in the  2021 400BD.

With experimentation, we found that it was not a plumbing leak.  An outdoor shower valve was left open and the shower head leaked into the nautilus box.  It appears that the seam where the sides of the nautilus box meet the floor of the box are caulked.  The seam where the back wall of the box meets the floor of the box is not.  (See Photo).  Before I caulk this, could there be a reason for it not having been caulked?  Or an oversight at the factory?

Of course, the other solution is to be more careful to be sure the valves are closed.  But water should not be able to enter the cabin from the exterior Nautilus box.

Thank you for any ideas.

manyman297

It may have been an oversight from the factory. I’ve had a good amount of water in that compartment and it’s never leaked into the interior.

pthomas745

The Nautilus "boxes" are leaky, it seems.  The trailers with the low point drains inside the Nautilus compartment have reported leaks around the valves, which were not caulked at all.

I think the "shower box" built into the "Nautilus box" is a separate assembly?  If you could get us a bigger photo of the area of the shower box and how it fits into the Nautilus that might be useful.

Binghi

My 2021 400 Nautilus compartment is not watertight by any means. I do my best to make sure no leaks occur in there. Recently I added Teflon tape to a brass pressure reduction valve and screwed the valve into the city water inlet. That setup eliminated a previous drip-prone hose-to-inlet connection. I think the plastic inlet threads have worn and stretched over time.

manyman297

@pthomas745 The low point drains have a sleeve around them to allow the water to drain from the compartment from around those valves. The sleeve goes all the way through the floor. If you look up under the trailer at the low point drains you'll see what I'm referring to. People are caulking around those and actually making the issue worse. I too thought those needed to be caulked but upon closer inspection I realized they served as drains. 

bergger

Yes as @manyman297 said, do not caulk around the low point drains.  They are not supposed to be caulked.  I know the newer models have the low point drains moved out of the Nautilus compartment so it's now a mute point. 

Our 2021 400 has not had any leaks from the Nautilus compartment into the cabin.  I Looked at it today and the side walls are obviously caulked.  The rear wall either is not caulked or is only very lightly caulked.  Hard to tell.   Maybe it is molded and needs no caulk?  I'll have to take a closer look at it tomorrow.  But so far no leaks.  Usually the only water that gets into ours is when I disconnect the black tank flush and water back flows out of the connection.  Or when I connect the shower hose it usually seems to drip a little bit. I always wipe up any standing water in the compartment.   

A few tips are to make sure you get a good connection when you hook up the city water.  A slow drip over a several day trip can lead to standing water in the compartment.  Also I use a brass 90 degree elbow on that connection so there is not an awkward bend on the hose.  I also always disconnect the shower hose when done using it, as it seems to leak a bit at the connection point, and drain the hose of any water.   

Gherzig

Thank you for the replies.  Note the caulk around the drain lines where they enter the rear wall.  I am the second owner and now I wonder if this was done by the previous owner and if I should remove it.  Should have cleaned the box up before taking pics 

LonesomeRoad

Here's a side view of a 'raw' P3 Nautilus. Unless NuCamp has some arrangement with them, it is boxed in by the RV manufacturer and not by B&B Molders (makers of the Nautilus). We've not had an issue ('21 T@B 400), but we've kept the compartment dry. I'll be looking at doing some caulking when we winterize next month.

bergger

@Gherzig no do not remove the caulk where the waterlines enter the trailer. That is done at the factory. It prevents water from entering the trailer. If it is leaking there then remove the caulk and reapply it. There should be no caulk where the low point drains exit out the bottom of the compartment. Yours looks just fine. We also have no caulk where the back wall meets the bottom. It is either one piece or needs no caulk for some reason. We’ve never had any leaks. But I’m also very careful about keeping the compartment dry. If it’s not a plumbing leak it must be leaking either where the lines come through the rear wall or where the sides meet the bottom. If you can confirm that then I’d re-caulk where needed.  If for some reason it’s leaking where the back wall meets the bottom then caul that as well. 

Here are some pics of our compartment. 

LonesomeRoad

If you look inside the compartment, your issue may be the gap from the container for the Nautilus where it hits the exterior wall. If the tray fills, it will leak where shown below at the bottom arrow. Based upon your report, I'm going to caulk the bottom and sides (at least part way up) of the Nautilus surround.

We've tried to get in the habit of turning off our water pump anytime we leave the trailer. We ran a lot of fresh water through to the grey tank once when I didn't completely shut the valve on the bathroom sink and left the water pump on. No damage, but wasted fresh water.

Gherzig

@bergger thank you for the explanation about the caulking around the drains.  Sounds like my problem may be that I assumed the box was designed to not leak into the cabin and I need to do a better job in keeping it dry.
@LonesomeRoad thank you for your reply.  I would think those exterior wall seams would drain below the cabin floorboards - but I could be wrong.
If a leak persists, I will remove the wood box which partially obscures the plumbing connections to the Nautilus to make certain that I do not have a plumbing leak.  I have found no water leaking onto the floor when running the pump or city water with hot or cold and no visible leaks on the exposed plumbing.
I appreciate the helpful feedback.