With the plan to switch from a toilet and black tank to a Thetford cassette toilet, I knew that I would need a different shower pan. And having sold the original shower to an Avion trailer owner, I was committed! It would be impossible to find something pre-made, so I decided to try my hand at fibreglass.
The first step was to make a plug (or form) over which the fibreglass would be laid. Then the two parts are separated and, in theory, I would be left with a nice smooth shower pan. It’s not perfect, but good for a first try and will certainly work for what I need.
The plug is the space within the shower pan. I tried to visualize it as what I would have if I filled the shower pan with water, froze it, and removed the chunk of ice. That imaginary piece of ice was what I had to create out of wood. The lowest point, which is the drain, is the highest point of the plug. I wanted a platform that would keep the toilet raised above the lower level where the drain is. A trip to the Toronto RV Show to look at professionally made pans helped me come up with the proportions. I made the plug out of MDF because it’s easy to shape. Most of the work was done with a router.
The round part on the top will create the recess for the drain.
I created a slope for drainage.
and the router moved closer to the drain.
with West System epoxy.
fill in the voids.
After trimming the excess, the whole thing was turned over and supported from the top so the pan’s weight would help separate it. Now for the moment of truth! If the two parts can’t be separated all of this effort and money could be wasted.
This was fixed with waxed gelcoat.
Lots of work yet to be done!
At the front right corner of the pan you’ll see the corner was cut off at 45°. This is to allow for the sink drain to go through the floor, and also to provide a chase for wiring. A very small sink will be mounted in this corner, which is the original location.
1965 Avion C-10 Truck Camper 
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