Sealing inside of shower door frame?

[Mike & Rebecca]

I noticed that due to the flexibility and texture of the shower surround there are quite a few places at which water could easily get in-between the surround and the shower door frame. At first, I thought that wouldn't be a big deal because any water would just travel downwards and presumably drain back into the shower pan.

But then I realized that any water getting behind that vertical frame piece might also travel horizontally into the trailer framing by way of the screws securing the frame to the wall.

Now I'm wondering if I should apply sealant along the entire seam where the surround meets the frame to prevent water from getting back there. That vertical seam is completely sealed on the exterior of the shower door framing.

I know from my prior trailer that minor moisture penetrations into the framing may not show for many years down the road, but when they do it becomes a very expensive fix.

Thoughts?

[Jlawles2]

Mike, all 3 of my campers were not sealed along the bottom edge. the wall panel will expand and contract with heat. The floor pan should extend up behind the wall panel an inch or so, and if installed correctly the water will not climb high enough to reach the screws.

[Mike & Rebecca]

Jlawles2 , I edited my photo in an attempt to help with my question. It's not the floor pan/surround joint I'm concerned about (yes, it's funny to see how many people try to caulk that seam when it's not meant to be.) My concern is that water will get behind the metal shower frame due to the big gap between the surround and the metal frame, then leaks back into the wall by flowing along the body of the screw. Although the picture I took only shows the bottom 1ft of the frame, that gap you see is present almost all the way to the top. There are two other screws that water would potentially be coming into contact with above the one shown here. Thanks for taking a look!

[Jlawles2]

That vertical seam most definitely should be sealed. Butyl tape may be a better choice as it retains a lot of flexibility. Alternative would be BIG STRETCH https://www.sashco.com/products/big-stretch/

[pvduke]

When I got my camper (2nd owner) 45 days ago the dealer swore they had the rig on water for 3 days and there were NO LEAKS, so when I got it home I went to purge lines. Along with several leaks at the wet bay fittings/clamps the basement flooded running they shower I mean it was RAINING in there. Removed shower head and put the hose in a 5 gal bucket. Ran shower til half full. No more flooding. Gently poured bucket down drain to keep pan dry. Ditto. This ruled out plumbing leaks. It was the gap at the surround/pan. The sticky seal dried out and the surround pulled away. There is almost no overlap so don't take that for granted as a "sealed area". White silicone fixed it fine. Masked the vertical and horizonal tracks pulled and sealed screws and sealed tracks. - there was literally nothing there. Also- the plastic pop rivets that hold the surround are NOT waterproof, they are simple push/pop fasteners like what are used on side-by-sides/ATV's for panel fastening. Dollop some sealer on those as well or you will have a dozen small seeps going down the wall under the pan and into the basement that will add up to major damage over time. Everything is hi-n-dry now. Now I just have to pull all the corn chip curled up flooring and replace everything that got ruined in the basement- I doubt the prior owner knew of the leaks. Thankfully- no mold, because the pit between the coroplast and the basement floor had a big puddle so I went under the rig and CAREFULLY (go SLOW watch for wires!) just barely pierced the coroplast and made two tiny pin holes with an ice pick in two low spots and it slowly drip drained and dried out with fans. Ok- on to tackle the furnace propane leaks.....ugh....freakin dealer got me good. lol.