Alternative to very expensive trailer mount shower

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Need cheap way to heat your water? Small heat exchanger plumbed into your engine coolant system. Run your engine for a few minutes, plenty of hot water. A small water pump and some hoses and you can do your own hot water shower for around $200-300. No reason to spend thousands of dollars on something as simple as a shower.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I'm very sensitive about body hygiene, and can't go a day without showering without feeling miserable and greasy. 

This too shall pass.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

There is a youtube channel. I forget the exact name. Dixie Hiker or Dixie trekker? A young southern lady who does through hiking. She talks about hygiene in a few of her vids. That was where I got the idea of using wet wipes.
I generally do a sponge bath every morning. I start with a bowl of water and wash my face.
Then work from the top down.
I use the wet wipes just for incidental cleaning throughout the day. Like after a messy sandwich.
Or if I've been very active and I'm getting sweaty I might dab the pits.
I also change my shirt a couple times a day if needed.
Once a month or so I rent a motel room so I can take a shower, get all my clothes and junk out of the van and clean the heck out of it and such.
It's habit I got into years ago. Kind of a little luxury.

 

[StarryNights]

I built a $65 roomy inside hot shower that should work if you can clear out (even temporally) 32" dia of floorspace. Whole setup fits in a regular grocery bag and weighs less than 7 lbs. I have 2003 hi-roof Sprinter, but this should work in low roof vans with addition of a stool. No leaks, floor stays dry.

Components:
32" dia folding dogbath with 8" walls
108" × 72" polyester shower liner
Collapsible bucket
12v Cig. Lighter shower pump

Setup takes under 10 min:
Heat 3qt water to near boiling on stove
Attach curtain to clips on ceiling
Mix hot & cold in bucket till warm.
Pump in bucket, clip head to ceiling.

Navy shower, but 1.5 gal more than enough for soap-up and long rinse. If sunny, curtain and pan dry in minutes. Have many absolutely no leak uses!

Really interested for a low roof van owner to try out. Will need to trim liner and probably use stool in shower pan.

Photos and more in my "Boondocking Build" post - if you can open the PDF!





Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[WanderingRose]

I have wondered where the OP has been these past four days, as we’ve all been musing on inexpensive options to stay clean enough to suit our individual selves.

He was hoping to spend $5,000 for a portable wet bath in addition to his van, so maybe he will chime in with his thoughts.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

There is a youtube channel. I forget the exact name. Dixie Hiker or Dixie trekker? 

Yeah,  Homemade Wanderlust, it's a good channel.  She calls herself Dixie.  She has all sorts of invaluable advice for back packers.  Travel doesn't get more basic than backpacking.  It's a spartan existence when you have to personally carry everything.  Serious backpackers don't bounce their reality checks.

 

[VanFan]

Really interested for a low roof van owner to try out.  Will need to trim liner and probably use stool in shower pan.

This is almost exactly what I use.  I have a larger diameter dog pool, but it does not need to be opened all the way if a smaller foot print is needed.  Previously, I used a plastic masonry tub, but no longer have room for it.  I have replaced my 12 volt shower with a marine bilge pump after having two of them fail.  Same idea; hopefully more durable.

So far, I haven't tried this in my low top van, but see no reason why it wouldn't work just fine.  I have a small, folding step that would suffice for a seat. After visiting some Korean-style bath houses, I really wonder why Americans take standing showers anyway, but I digress. The drain plug on the dog pool is on the side, and gray water could be easily routed to a container outside, using a marine sponge to sop up any residual. (I have used the combo in a shelter with a portable power pack).

What kind of ceiling clips do you use?

Really, the only reason I "need" a shower is to wash my long, fine hair, which gets stringy if I don't rinse thoroughly.  In between shampooing, the hokey-pokey routine is fine.

 

[StarryNights]

VanFan - for ceiling clips used 5 sets like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CY6KMSZ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_8JS54PV100SY8TFBW2W5

This setup has made showering into a quick no hassle free activity. Hope to hear how works for others in low roof van.



Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[Sofisintown]

Here is my shower. It works in the boonies. Probably not in a town.

 

[abnorm]

A few minutes GoogleFoo:

https://outboundliving.com/bath2go-portable-trailer-hitch-outhouse/

Looks like the OP's $$$ bath.....I haven't seen that before..................

 

[Scorpion Regent]

VanFan - for ceiling clips used 5 sets like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CY6KMSZ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_8JS54PV100SY8TFBW2W5

This setup has made showering into a quick no hassle free activity.  Hope to hear how works for others in low roof van.



Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

Or self adhesive hook and loop

 

[gizmotron]

This topic brings up the use of outdoor showers for me. Does anyone know of a thread here where being able to shower outside is allowed and that is discussed? What I mean talking about places that allow the gray water to be dumped nearby or at your campsite. For instance I would want to know about NFL and BLM locations. Do they allow it on the LTVA locations? My experience is from membership park campsites. Western Horizon use to let you dump gray if you ran a 50ft garden hose away from your rig off the hill to the side for instance. They didn't want puddles right in your campsite. Not all parks with them allowed it. But dispersed camping allows for some real distance between rigs.

Thanks

 

[Zeke1953]

Short answer...Joolca tankless hot water system. Bob reviewed it in a video, and liked it. Under 500 bucks. Check it out.

 

[gizmotron]

Short answer...Joolca tankless hot water system. Bob reviewed it in a video, and liked it.  Under 500 bucks. Check it out.

I did check it out. Very impressive.

 

[polarizing]

This too shall pass.

The same can be said about life! That it passes doesn't mean it doesn't matter.

I want to enjoy my time living, not feeling miserable and greasy.

 

[Cammalu]

Have you thought about an RV or camper of some kind? Your daily bath might be more convenient for you.

Anyone else on here take a daily real shower anymore?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

I take a shower just about everyday. It only lasts 2 minutes and it's outside, but it's hot and wet so I count it as real.

 

[gizmotron]

Are you sure that you want to count it as real? You could be living in everyone else's heads as that guy that does not stink.  :thumbsup:

 

[tx2sturgis]

The same can be said about life! That it passes doesn't mean it doesn't matter.

I want to enjoy my time living, not feeling miserable and greasy.

My comment about this was not intended to infer it doesn't matter. Only that, for most of us, once we are 'out there'...daily 10-15 minute showers using 5-10 gallons of warm water each time becomes unnecessary, irrelevant, and wasteful...and in some cases, impossible.

If you can 'follow 70 degrees' then hygiene becomes easier since you are not out there sweating as much during those hot summer days. 

You will probably find that you just don't need those daily showers like you feel you do now. And in fact there is science and experience to show that daily showers are probably not really that healthy for most people.

A daily 'wipe down' with or without a spay bottle spritz to freshen up can go a long way towards proper cleansing and is far easier, faster, and very effective. Then you can take a proper shower maybe every 3 to 5 days or so. Oh, the horrors, right?

There are many solutions that people learn to live with. You'll figure it out .

 

[John in Montreal]

I shower every day and dump the grey water out discretely.