Shower Grab/Safety Bars
- Thread starter DB Family
- Start date
Midnight Rider
Prominent Member
DB,
INMH Opinion I would be worried about suction on the walls?
I think the suction would stick well to the smooth surface of the shower wall but I would be afraid to really have to pull on that bar to steady yourself from falling and not have the shower wall sheet pop loose, pop off, Damaging the shower and possibly hurting the person in the shower Who is not steady to begin with? There is to much back and forth play on the shower wall panels to have it support any weight?
i would recomend finding something to drill into.
INMH Opinion I would be worried about suction on the walls?
I think the suction would stick well to the smooth surface of the shower wall but I would be afraid to really have to pull on that bar to steady yourself from falling and not have the shower wall sheet pop loose, pop off, Damaging the shower and possibly hurting the person in the shower Who is not steady to begin with? There is to much back and forth play on the shower wall panels to have it support any weight?
i would recomend finding something to drill into.
Thanks for the reply, we are both in our 70's, my wife needs to steady herself occasionally. I have contacted Alliance and Brinkley and I am awaiting a reply.
Jwtsg
Well-known member
Good morning,,,,realize this is an older thread & post but wondering if there was ever an answer to the question? Am not a fan of the suction approach,,,,Specifically am wondering if our trailer has in wall backing locations in the shower & bath for wall mounted grab bars? Probably a service call question but wanted to check w the Allies first,,,appreciate any info on what other Allies have done, suggest, or know,,,TIA,,,,John
RoadJunkie
Active member
A significant mitigation, for safety in the shower, is to stabilize your shower footing surface in a manner that helps to prevent slipping. I think that it's going to be hard to properly anchor a grab bar for the full impact of someone that is falling.
I just rebuilt my shower in a 370FB....I would say NO! They frame the walls out of 1x3's and there is nothing to grab, most likely. The paneling behind the PVC shower walls are 1/16" and better glued during installation, than they they are stapled. Here is a picture of my adventure into my shower walls.
The shower fixture wall in the first picture, has no framing to grab. When looking at the 1st pic, the main back wall, is nothing but 1x3's with no chance of driving a screw into them. The poor installers, were barely able to hit them when end nailing them during framing.
My end wall in the second picture, backsides the washer and dryer area and is structural for the front cap. However, this is not a good placement for a grab bar.
3rd picture shows how the nailing went, when trying to hit a 1x3 during the framing stage. I ended up scabbing in 2x3's around my shower.
In closing, perhaps you can look at "adhesive" grab bars. My only concern with "adhesive" or "Suction", will be how well your Vinyl wrap was glued to the paneling backing....as well as how well it was attached to the 1x3 framing. Unfortunately, this will vary by unit. If you have the time and money to rebuild, then that is the fix. Otherwise, I would recommend "adhesive" as my first try. I tried suction cup soap holders on my vinyl shower walls...and they fell to the floor, after every road trip.
The shower fixture wall in the first picture, has no framing to grab. When looking at the 1st pic, the main back wall, is nothing but 1x3's with no chance of driving a screw into them. The poor installers, were barely able to hit them when end nailing them during framing.
My end wall in the second picture, backsides the washer and dryer area and is structural for the front cap. However, this is not a good placement for a grab bar.
3rd picture shows how the nailing went, when trying to hit a 1x3 during the framing stage. I ended up scabbing in 2x3's around my shower.
In closing, perhaps you can look at "adhesive" grab bars. My only concern with "adhesive" or "Suction", will be how well your Vinyl wrap was glued to the paneling backing....as well as how well it was attached to the 1x3 framing. Unfortunately, this will vary by unit. If you have the time and money to rebuild, then that is the fix. Otherwise, I would recommend "adhesive" as my first try. I tried suction cup soap holders on my vinyl shower walls...and they fell to the floor, after every road trip.
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George
Prominent Member
@Bill Martin This might be somewhere that Alliance could start adding a piece of EGS like you do around windows, the stairway handrail and in TV mount areas, among others. The 101st Feature 😉
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Jwtsg
Well-known member
Thank you to each of you for your thoughts, pics & your insight. I will send for my wall stud layout but tend to agree the designed framing does not appear to provide for typical wall mounted grab bars. Appreciate each of your responses. Will do some more noodling’ but tend to agree with RockDr896 & George. Will reach out with any news I get in my discussions with Alliance Service,,,Our Mobil RV tech,,,and dealer service departments. Enjy you adventures,,,travel safe,,,and thank you👍🌞🤞
Jwtsg
Well-known member
Good morning Update: Here is my follow up personal opinion:
I requested, & received, my wall layouts quickly. IMHO, my review confirms insufficient structure for in wall backing as noted in discussions and layout response in thread above. No response from Alliance on my design message. I had sent one follow-up to my Alliance message but today closed my query.
Further reflection on my part is that w the large shower bench fully backed, shower handheld reach, and the low shower curb, coupled with industry availability of in shower “ seats and walkers” to assist medical needs, it is probably an Alliance decision that demand for provisions need would be infrequent as varied needs would hinder covering enough options for these placements.
👍🍀🌞
I requested, & received, my wall layouts quickly. IMHO, my review confirms insufficient structure for in wall backing as noted in discussions and layout response in thread above. No response from Alliance on my design message. I had sent one follow-up to my Alliance message but today closed my query.
Further reflection on my part is that w the large shower bench fully backed, shower handheld reach, and the low shower curb, coupled with industry availability of in shower “ seats and walkers” to assist medical needs, it is probably an Alliance decision that demand for provisions need would be infrequent as varied needs would hinder covering enough options for these placements.
👍🍀🌞
However, they could use 2x3's for framing and give a person a fighting chance to hit something solid. Hitting a 1x3 is a shot in the dark. Maybe even turn a 2x4 sideways. The walls are only 3" thick in my 370fb shower.
If I really got serious about installing grab bars in my shower, I would install some kind of backer board or framing in the bedroom. My shower backs up to the bedroom wall.
And before I went through that much trouble I would at least try the suction cup Grab bars to see how well they would work. I agree the suction cups are not ideal but I would how well they performed before I gave up on using them
And before I went through that much trouble I would at least try the suction cup Grab bars to see how well they would work. I agree the suction cups are not ideal but I would how well they performed before I gave up on using them
Socal-Paul
Well-known member
Might try a mounting the grab bar to a large piece of aluminum to spread the load then mount that to the wall. You could build a mock up to test.
Take a look at this. Other make similar solutions. Unsure if it will meet your needs but worth researching.
If you want a solid grab bar, then take the time to remove the outer wall and frame as needed. Here is what the framing looks like in our 340RL. There is even a small (maybe 1x2) just above the water lines, used to mount the shower bar. The second image is from a YouTube video, showing the frame of the larger side of our shower. The 340RL has a very large/long shower 
I see what you're saying but that's a lot to go through for a Grab bar.If you want a solid grab bar, then take the time to remove the outer wall and frame as needed. Here is what the framing looks like in our 340RL. There is even a small (maybe 1x2) just above the water lines, used to mount the shower bar. The second image is from a YouTube video, showing the frame of the larger side of our shower. The 340RL has a very large/long shower
View attachment 5079 View attachment 5080
This is a grab bar. It needs to be sturdy. It doesn't need to support the weight of the entire RV.
Taking down walls is more effort than I would ever put into putting up grab bars.
I was thinking this grab bar was more for someone that could fall in the shower, not just a simple hand bar for getting in/out. If someone is about to fall, that grab bar better be mounted to something VERY solid or the whole wall is going to come down with the person.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say a person who is that unsteady that they are unable to safely take a shower probably isn't RV'ing. A person that unsteady will have more challenges in the RV world than just taking a shower.
A grab bar could be useful to steady yourself as mentioned taking on your full weight is problematic I
A grab bar could be useful to steady yourself as mentioned taking on your full weight is problematic I