Bathroom Marine Grab Handle

teztab

I thought this simple mod item might be of interest to other forum members.  Although my wife and I are both fit and relatively agile, maneuvering around/up/down within the confines of our 2018 Tab 320S bathroom could feel insecure.  A grab handle was the obvious addition, but a regular bathroom type seemed unnecessarily large and obtrusive.  I eventually found this very nice, solid stainless steel, marine grade handle from Marine Parts Depot on Amazon.  It was only $12.89 shipped, came with screws, and feels very strong.  It is 7.5" long and locates perfectly on the narrow stud that runs up through the shower wall.  From memory I believe the stud is 7.25" from the outer wall but exact positioning can be easily ascertained by removing the access panel on the TV wall.



This grab handle, despite having only two screws, locates very securely.  It fits neatly, works great and has the OEM look I always try to achieve with any modifications.

BrianZ

@teztab Do you have a link?

teztab

BrianZ said:

Do you have a link?

Here is the Amazon link: 
 Marine Grade Heavy Duty... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GCB3TI0?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
However, I see it is currently unavailable.  I would suggest Googling Marine Parts Depot for their site.  I know they also had it in other sizes...

MuttonChops

Did a similar yet different one.

Marine Store Teak Grab Bar.

If I did the measurements correctly this location screws into the TeleV Mount boards.  I first removed the TeleV mount cover (white plastic) to confirm location of real wood in that area. Then adjusted handle screw lengths.  Could feel torque of screws in wood when installing.

BrianZ

Both are very nice solutions, and thanks for sharing and reminding me that this is something we've been needing for a while.  Both types & locations look like they will do the job well, though I do like that teak look. I've been reaching out the door to grab the corner by the TV to pull myself up, so the left corner would work for me too.

MuttonChops

BrianZ said:

. . . been reaching out the door to grab the corner by the TV to pull myself up, so the left corner would work for me too.

LOL That's what I was doing before adding the handles.

Actually installed two with one on the outside wall, that one also helps as a balance point when moving around the cabin.

CAUTION:

If you proceed with the left side mounting on bathroom wall recommend you investigate your wall construction/support.  There seems to be a lot of construction variation between production years and within years so your TeleV mounting support structure might not be the same as found in my T@B.

As for the in cabin mounted handle, that vertical wall appears to be solid wood on all units.

gnudad2

This is a great mod, and one I, too, have thought about installing.  Now I'm thinking that maybe the grab bar could be installed horizontally to also serve as a place to hang a washcloth, etc.  It appears that there must be two studs in that wall, so it should be doable.  Something I'll have to check out.  Thanks for the post of this mod!

ChanW

Ha!

Simple mod, and solves a simple problem! Just not enough room in there to 'counterbalance' your way off the throne!

Never even thought of it... 

Thanks for the suggestion! 

teztab

ChanW said:

Ha!

Simple mod, and solves a simple problem! Just not enough room in there to 'counterbalance' your way off the throne!

Never even thought of it... 

Thanks for the suggestion! 

Exactly! 😊

BrianZ

Another solution might be to cut a large hole in the wall for one's counterbalancing head, then insert a large bowl & seal with silicone caulk.  I  still prefer the teak though. 

jgram2

And yet another solution-handles are nice, but I just push off of the wall behind me to achieve vertical orientation.

Homebodyatheart

@MuttonChops I called NuCamp and asked exactly how much space I had on the wall to the left in my 2017 Tab 320S. For my model it is exactly a half inch out from the left corner on the mirror wall side to work with. That's not much. The small outside wall to the left of the bathroom door is a 2x4, so a handle there is no problem. I haven't removed the panel from the TV wall side to see what's there yet. It's on my "list!"

MuttonChops

Homebodyatheart said:

. . . called NuCamp and asked exactly how much space I had on the wall to the left in my 2017 Tab 320S. For my model it is exactly a half inch out from the left corner on the mirror wall side to work with. That's not much.

I'm not questioning NuCamp's guidance that the right side of mirror location is more secure with the shower plumbing space (~ 1x1.5 in) stud available for the grab handle screws.  I strongly recommend NuCamp guidance be followed if the support boards I found cannot be confirmed on each T@B unit before drilling holes.

Homebodyatheart said:

. . . haven't removed the panel from the TV wall side to see what's there yet.

I really wanted the left side of mirror mounting location so did remove the TelV mount to investigate.  However I got so busy measuring, calculating, measuring and re-calculating that I forgot to take any pictures of the wall space when the TelV Mount was removed.  And even with all the checks my first hole did miss the available support boards.  Lucky for me I was only off by less than half an inch so the larger teak mounting surface covers the error.

These simple drawings (created from memory) show what was in my 2018 320S.  The Teak Handle hole spacing was 7 or 8 inches and the total board width (height) was not much more than that.

Removing TelV Mount is not difficult and the TelV Wiring does not need to be disconnected.

Remove a locking screw at the Mount Slide top, pull some wire slack up from the wall, slide mount arm off mount and place TelV on seat cushion.

Remove Mount (4 screws), Remove 3(?) small screws holding plastic in place, Pop plastic out of cut-out hole.

Then you can decide if the support boards if there will work for your installation.  If yes then the fun begins attempting to define your drill hole locations with no simple / easy common measurement point between the TelV and Shower side of the wall . . .

teztab

Locating a grab handle nearer the bathroom door would not achieve the objective I was looking to achieve.  For me, the full vertical stud that runs up through shower wall was the perferct position and, drilled on-center, provides a very secure location.  Again, it is easily identifiable by quickly removing the access panel on the television wall (with no need to disturb the tv or recess panel).

Homebodyatheart

@MuttonChops and @teztab thank you both for your detailed descriptions! Probably the hardest part for me is getting up the nerve to deconstruct my Tab. I am rather handy with tools, but don’t want to mess anything up I can’t fix! Again, thanks!

BrianZ

Hmm, decisions, decisions! 
Will likely look at both & see what I'm comfortable with.  If I  used the thinner boards, I'd probably drill a small pilot hole from the TelV side.  Wondering if the door side of that left corner would work, as far as space available & some possible sideways torque stress on the handle.  Maybe less stress if tilted towards the corner.

ericnliz

I had to chuckle at the "grab handle" post. I just improvised some dance moves from when I got my foot stuck between the toilet & the wall when taking a shower & trying to find the right "position" to thoroughly rinse off.
(Might have to check out this grab handle thing after all.....or turn up the stereo & learn some more moves...hmmmm.)

teztab

ericnliz said:

I had to chuckle at the "grab handle" post. I just improvised some dance moves from when I got my foot stuck between the toilet & the wall when taking a shower & trying to find the right "position" to thoroughly rinse off.
(Might have to check out this grab handle thing after all.....or turn up the stereo & learn some more moves...hmmmm.)

Too bad there is not enough room for a dance pole...! 😁

ChanW

No @BrianZ , I do think the bowl is the best idea, or possibly two, one for the DW as well, in the color of her choice of course! (They make colored caulk that could be added in a contrasting hue!)

I had tried simply moving the wall, but it made it more difficult to focus on the mirror for shaving, without finding my glasses (nearsighted). And then having to extend the bed out the back of of the Tab became a whole can of worms, with the taillights and all.

So I put the wall back.

Teak is nice, but I think I like the chrome better.

@BrianZ said:

Another solution might be to cut a large hole in the wall for one's counterbalancing head, then insert a large bowl & seal with silicone caulk.  I  still prefer the teak though. 

BrianZ

Haha, @ChanW !  

Well, I removed both the corner panel & TV panel (which was actually quite easy) to have a look.  Inside the driver side corner panel, the right vertical side of the shower plumbing space is boxed in by what appears to be 1-by framing, so no view into the rest of the wall from there. 
Looking into the hole where the TV was, two1-by boards appear to span the rest of the wall horizontally from the shower door corner to the corner plumbing box.  These two 3/4" thick boards, side-by-side, provide a solid wood surface behind the entire area of the TV opening & across the rest of the wall, about 12" vertically, and provide the support framing into which the TV mounting plate is screwed. 
By looking through the TV hole inside the 1-inch space between these boards and the outer wall panel, I could not see any evidence of a 2x4 wall stud towards the driver side near the shower handles; however, I did notice that the clear plastic drain tube from the A/C drain pan runs down inside this same wall space in the same area near the shower faucet handles.  So, if mounting to the right, in the area near the shower handles, one needs to be careful not to pierce that drainage tube.

Based on all the above, I plan to mount my handle in basically the same spot as @MuttonChops.  I've already drilled pilot holes for the mounting screws that I haven't bought yet, and they are about 1-1/2" from the top & bottom edges of the two boards.  I have some #10-24 oval 2" stainless machine bolts that are a perfect fit for the predrilled teak handle I got, but I don't want to have to remove the TV to remove the handle for adding some teak oil, so will try some wood screws first.

PS:  As Lambchops pointed out, you can first remove a single screw from the top left corner of the TV mounting bracket & lift off the entire TV & mounting, which makes it easy to remove the rest of the screws.

Also, there is not enough space to mount the handle immediately next to the shower door and still be able to get your hand around it.

MuttonChops

BrianZ said:

. . . shower plumbing space is boxed in by what appears to be 1-by framing
. . . I could not see any evidence of a 2x4 wall stud towards the driver side near the shower handles;

Believe when NuCamp says use the stud on the right for mounting they are referring to the 1x frame not a real 2x type of stud. So for right side mounting drill hole measurement from wall is critical.

BrianZ said:

. . . hole where the TV was, two boards appear to span the rest of the wall horizontally from the shower door corner to the corner plumbing box.  These two 3/4" thick boards, side-by-side, provide a solid wood surface behind the entire area of the TV opening & across the rest of the wall, about 12" vertically, and provide the support framing into which the TV mounting plate is screwed. 

@BrianZ, did your horizontal boards also have a small thin rectangle spacer board under the TeleV mount location?

BrianZ said:

. . . As Lambchops pointed out,

Trust me I'm Mutton not Lamb.

BrianZ

Yes, @MuttonChops, there was a small spacer board glued there.  And my apologies for not properly recognizing your level of ovine maturity!

BrianZ

This looks familiar, like I've seen it before somewhere..

I used a pair of #10 x 2" oval head Phillip's sheet metal stainless steel screws, which fits the pre-drilled holes in this handle perfectly..
Whitecap Teak Boat Grab Handle
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GOML0W0

MuttonChops

@BrianZ, Nice job.

Your wall support boards were wider or placed lower then on my T@B.  I wanted a Handle placement more like yours however the first lower drill hole missed the board so I had to rise the Handle position.

Good example of why anyone doing the left side mounting needs to remove the TeleV and confirm their unit construction before proceeding with a drill.

BrianZ

Thanks, @MuttonChops , but I was just following your lead.
And also like you, I forgot to get photos while I had the wall open the first time, but since it's so easy I opened it again for photos..


The tips of my 2" screws barely came through the board, maybe 1/8" if that much, and amazingly both were the same distance from the edge of the boards, but I was just guestimating where to place the handle, by centering it on the board in back, then folding a tape measure around the wall to the other side for rough placement of the screws on the shower side.  Your point is well taken though, that T@Bs are not all exactly the same in some regards.


Here's another view looking down inside the wall space (about an inch or so) & towards the drivers side wall.  At the green arrow is the other side of the 3/4" wall "stud" behind the right corner shower plumbing panel which also lines up just to the left of the shower handles fixture that @teztab managed to use for a right sided mounting.  Seems to me though, as long as you are far enough to the left of its other edge and within the height region of the boards I used, then you'd hit wood, unless you hit the seam where they meet, which would not be ideal.
The white arrow shows the clear plastic drain tube for the A/C condensate (though it looks dark in the shadows), and in front of it are electrical cables for fans & lights.
With the stud being so narrow, and the presence of a plumbing tube in the area, one must be careful with measurements, placement, and length of screws when doing a right sided mount.  So if you're not up for a slight bit more of a challenge, then I think a left sided mount may be easier, with less risk.
In any case, thanks to you both for sharing your excellent work!

VictoriaP

Added a grab bar to the bathroom yesterday, utilizing all the tips listed here. This handle has six screws, five of which are embedded nicely into the plywood of the TV mount area. The very bottom screw missed by a couple of millimeters. (“Measure 15 times, still mess up” is my motto.) That said, it feels absolutely rock solid when I use it to help myself up, and I’m not a small lass by any stretch.

Thanks to all who did this mod before me!