A Shower Story

The shower in the bus, though very cute, was simply un-functional. The 8" galvanized basin had grooves in the base of the tub and the drain was set nearly an inch above the floor. This was a poor combination for draining water. Any time we showered, we were left standing in our own filthy water. We tried squeegees, sponges, bilge pumps, turkey basters, you name it. None of these worked and all were temporary, dirty solutions. So, we basically didn’t use our shower. Instead, we would shower other places like fitness centers, rock climbing gyms, aquatic centers, campgrounds, etc. Truth be told, we once went 14 days without showering. Anyways, we decided it was time to think of a more permanent solution.

Original shower: cute, but not cutting it

Back in April, my family visited us in Minnesota to help us prepare for our road trip. Among other things, we brainstormed until we were blue in the face to come up with a shower drainage solution. Considering what little time we had (and the fact that we were working on the bus during a blizzard), the best fix seemed to be raising the floor level above the drain. Ultimately, we bought HDPE (thick, waterproof plastic) and a lot of silicone. We used a jigsaw to cut the HPDE into a circle with a smaller circle for the drain. Then, we siliconed like crazy to adhere the new floor on top of the aluminum wash basin and drain. Finally, we siliconed around the inner and outer edges to get a waterproof seal. Done! Everything looked and seemed to be functioning great. Once we were able to fill our water tanks, we ran the water and sent my family a video of the water doing down the drain- victory! Or so we thought.

We took our first shower after backpacking 4 days through The Needles in Utah (much needed). The next day, however, we noticed the silicone had separated on the inner ring around the drain, creating a gap. There was also a lot of orange “dirt” inside the crack and in the drain. We thought, “surely that’s just orange dirt from our Utah bodies. We’ll just add more silicone to seal the crack.” Strange, orange, crumbly mounds were forming on the inner and outer rings of our new floor. It smelled like rust and even after wiping it off, it would slowly come back.

HDPE floor showing signs of rust

We finally came to terms with the fact that: 1) the silicone is not creating an adequate seal 2) there is probably sitting water under the HDPE floor, and 3) the metal tub is likely rusting through. So, in Yellowstone National Park we couldn’t take it anymore. I took a paint scrapper around the edges, and to my surprise, the floor came up like paper. And this is what was underneath….

Rust damage underneath HDPE floor

We knew immediately that this tub was beyond repair. It needed to be gutted. We had fire in our eyes and were ready to work. But, we couldn’t get very far because the drain pipe was mounted on top of the aluminum basin, holding it firmly in place. We tried with all of our might (twisting, prying, hammering) to remove the plumbing, but it would’t budge. In the meantime, we were able to remove everything else, but the rusty tub continued to haunt us. It was time to get advice from Home Depot for how on earth we were supposed to unscrew this drain.

Stubborn drainage pipe holding aluminum tub firmly in place

After a few days, we drove to Bozeman, Montana and pulled into the Home Depot. We said a prayer as we walked back to the plumbing aisle. The Lord answered those prayers the second we were introduced to Perry. We explained to him our situation and brought him out to the bus to get a look at our problem. He was hooked. He immediately got on his hands and knees (in our tiny bathroom) and tried to remove the drain. Turns out, all of the plumbing was glued together. So, after we bought the sharpest wood chisels in the store, all three of us whacked away at the stubborn drain. We tore that thing to shreds and finally removed the nasty, rusted aluminum tub! That’s when Perry turned to us and said, “Listen, I really wanna help you kids. This is going to be a bigger project than I am able to help with while I’m at work. How ‘bout I come in on my day off tomorrow, bring my work truck, and we knock this thing out?” We were speechless. This man is a plumbing and carpentry professional and is willing to work on our bus on his day off, expecting nothing in return. The Lord truly works in amazing ways.

Perry jumping right in to help

The old tub is gone!

Perry's work truck full of equipment

The next day, Perry met us in the Home Depot parking lot equipped with every tool we might need. He walked us through Home Depot aisle by aisle making sure we got all the right materials ($29 23" x 25" laundry tub, white FRP wall board, variety of wood and plumbing parts, Great Stuff foam insulation, and DAP Kwik Seal adhesive caulk). Then, we got to work. Perry spent the next 7 hours with us and was able to build the most beautiful and functional shower. It’s better than we could have ever dreamed and is plumbed to perfection. Kyle and I could never have done this extensive work on our own (considering Perry had to saw off the glued plumbing from underneath the bus and use a table saw to cut a new countertop to sit on top of the tub). Thanks to Perry, we have a beautiful shower...that we can U (if you listen closely, you can hear my greasy hair rejoicing).

Spray-foam insulation around pipes and on the floor to secure the tub

Utility sink is a perfect fit

Almost done...

The finished product!!

So that’s the end of our shower story. Kyle and I are so overwhelmed with gratitude, we just had to share. We can’t believe there are people out there like Perry that are willing to serve others so selflessly. It definitely encourages us to give our time more freely to others, and jump at the chance to help those in need. Perry needs to win any and every award that Home Depot offers. If we all worked as hard and whole-heartedly as Perry, the world would be a better place.

Thank you, Perry!