bathroom conversion

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
So it looks like after making several calls to  plumbing stores.. pool stores.. rv stores..I am down to.. 45 mil epdm or plastic panels cut to size and silicon.

Or the glassing of it myself..hmmm
 
I used a water heater catch pan as I was able to find one with a almost 2” lip that fit into a corner. I would think you could find and plastic weld some number 2 in a triangle plastic and with a heat gun or form a custom pan if necessary. It gets like pizza dough at about 180 degrees I believe. Just look at a YouTube video about major kayak repairs using a heat gun. Harbor Freight sells them cheap.
 
Regarding getting in and out of it, you might consider some sort of transfer bench/chair where you can have part of it inside and part out. Then you could sit down outside and lift your legs over. Reverse to get out.

Not sure how that would work in your setup, but it would solve a potential problem. I imagine it would have to be collapsible or have a second use for your space.
 
B and C said:
@VanFan
How much water is left in your container when you pump to the bottom without tipping?
I can answer this now.  That little guy sucked it down to the near 'nuthins!
 
Somebody stop me!!

I was looking at more van builds last nite and it is not a good thing. It is fine at the beginning but should be avoided late in the build out process.. cause now I want to redo the whole damn bathroom AGAIN..:((

Finally after spending hours of research to determine how to waterproof the "shower" area I bought frp and silicone. I havent tested it yet but it is nice. A great fit. However I still have just a bucket and a lid.. and I am not overly happy with that.  I also am not over joyed by the narrow space of my current bathroom nor the weight it is adding to the rig.

I saw someone using a barstool with their bucket underneath.AnyConv.com__r5yqynvw5wf51.jpg

I have a couple chairs that would accommodate a bucket perfectly and allow space for a seat underneath the normal seat cushion.

I would still need to have a place to shower.. and already have a mixing tub I just need to somehow modify the box I have so I still get a hinged counter space. I can set this potty/chair still in the mixing tub and call it a day.

Do any of you have a similar shytter hidden under a chair?

What a great idea! I have never seen this before on the countless videos and blogs..
 

Attachments

  • AnyConv.com__r5yqynvw5wf51.jpg
    AnyConv.com__r5yqynvw5wf51.jpg
    72.3 KB
Oh. Conversion. I read conversation. Was hoping for something besides the body noises on other threads.
 
What a schloob!

Finally after several months of research and attempts and over 300 bux.. I now have the bathroom nearly completed.

1.jpg2a.jpg3.jpg

A few things to be modded. Firstly I bought bag liners that said steel..as most men would. Be forewarned, steel does NOT mean they are strong as steel.. they are meant for those tiny metal (steel?) office tube trash cans. So now I have 2 big boxes of them and I have to stretch and kind of tear in order to get over a 5 gal. Also I need a smaller bucket to fit over the 5 gal.. as it is quite the drop from the seat down into the abyss... I am not going to be putting my hand down there to put more peat and chips.

The cheapo toilet seat is one of the cushioned ones from wallmart.. and is it ever cheap.. it is nothing more than a piece of cardboard in side a bit of padding.. I sat on it a bit to get the feel and when I stood up the entire front half of the seat had collapsed into the bucket. Hard plastic is required.. Wood would be ok as well but since this will also serve as my  "shower" I imagine the wood would ruin pretty fast.

As you see I simply cut the back off an old chair I had, adding a few extra supports. It is great and gives the stability a country boy requires. However, flex seal is a joke. I covered the entire chair with it 2x and it is sooooo sticky..even after 4 days. I am thinking a spray enamel would have been better.

The shower curtain is probably NOT going to be long lasting as well considering I used neodymium magnets held in place with superglue. I will give it another attempt  but some of the magnets are coming off the plastic curtain. I dont want any hooks hanging down to support a hula hoop and the ones I did see were small... do adults not hula hoop anymore?

Any ideas on how to make the curtain hold better?

Hilarious that after hours and hours  and dollar after dollar I have this. Of course in  private outdoor spaces I will be using a tarp across the side doors and raised bathmat on the ground.. at least in good weather.
 

Attachments

  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
    132.6 KB
  • 2a.jpg
    2a.jpg
    109 KB
  • 3.jpg
    3.jpg
    112.1 KB
Thanks for the link! Great prices on those.. much lower than I expected.

It however looks like, if they were mounted where I need them, would be a significant pain as they are maybe an inch or more in height. If I had an area that was more out of the way I would do this. But at my main in and out  it would end up pissing me off.  I may go with some velcro strips? At least they are flush more or less and  temporary.

I did bookmark that link... at those prices.
 
They are .6 inches with the rollers out of the way so just over a 1/2". You get used to things being where they are. I have overhead storage over the drivers compartment that I hit my head on the rear edge of a few times getting in the front. Haven't hit it in years now.
 
desert_saili said:
The grain is soo nice.. I wish it wasn't so dark. Today it has received a few coats of white paint. :dodgy: 
I would have liked to restain it something lighter..but I am exhausted from this whole process and want functional over form at this point.
Its so nice to see some pride in craftsmanship for a change!!!  Great work!  Beautiful work takes time... So many today just blow it off and say I got "extreme intelligence" and not the "laborer's craftsmanship" when skills were  passed out.  Results: crappy builds, crappy frig box covers, crappy shelving, etc. etc. all w/o pride.    Coating....How about  a really good job caulking the joints and then paint with Marine paint. Wood boats lasted for decades.  I fiber glassed a shower pan for a camper once upon a time, and what I remember was that it worked great but I always knew I had FG in the camper. I finally had to paint over it to block the FG odor. Good luck!!! Enjoyed your build and thanks for sharing.
 
OK.. well it seems the 4th iteration of my "bathroom" is the winner.

After trying to use the sawed off chair and bucket system and discovering how flimsy that also was I along with my carpenter buddy ended up with this box.

It is snug as a bug and super convenient. It is light weight and will be a snap to move around. It fits a 5 gal with gamma lid perfectly. I also have a smaller duty(doodie?)  pail sitting in the 5 gal.. I am not a fan of crapping into the abyss of a 5 gal bucket. When you dont get an audible confirmation of a landing.. like in water, I wonder where it went, so I like the little pail.. at least for the moment. The actual toilet seat had to be trimmed a little and an "outhouse" seat would have been better as they sit flush..but this is what I had and it is just fine.

I am not sure what to use to waterproof.. maybe exterior paint? I am also wondering about putting a cushion on the top. I have some 3 inch cushion and plenty of marine vinyl that I can tack onto the top lid. It is also pretty darn comfy without a cushion. As I will be using this for my sitting shower I found the vinyl to be super slippery when soapy. I also dont want my naked bony butt to be sticking to paint. I am pretty sure a cushioned top would be best. Maybe there is a less slippery waterproof fabric?

I am ordering one of the "giant" sized dog path pools.  I think they are 42 diameter which is very spacious. I will simply put the box in the middle and stick up the curtain and voila! When finished I can fold up the doggie bath and put the box back in place. I am super excited. After all these varients and probably around 500 dollars. I FINALLY have something I can be happy with. I have not used this of course but I am seeing a win win win here.

A nice stable seat. A nice snug fit to help with odors. It is discrete.. nothing more than just a box. I can fit bags and a few other bathroom items inside. Easily moved around. Maybe I  can put a houseplant on top of it???..LOL
 

Attachments

  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
    181.3 KB
  • 2.jpg
    2.jpg
    154.2 KB
  • 3.jpg
    3.jpg
    147.2 KB
  • 4.jpg
    4.jpg
    196.1 KB
  • 5.jpg
    5.jpg
    155.6 KB
The box is very nice!

Be aware that the floor of the doggie pool (if it's like mine) is fairly thin and won't hold up to a lot of abuse.  I plan to stand or use a low folding stool in mine, and have even thought about softening the bottom edges with some pipe insulation(?) to protect the pool.
 
Mine had a magazine rack on the side! Also a slick finish on top so I could use it as a lap desk and a pillow for just sitting.
 
I do like the non cushioned seat for using as you say a desk top of sorts.. or to hold the cheese plate??..LOL

I wonder if just using a removable pillow cushion would be best.. maybe a water proof cushion?

Any suggestions on painting or staining the exterior for water proofing..??
 
VanFan said:
The box is very nice!

Be aware that the floor of the doggie pool (if it's like mine) is fairly thin and won't hold up to a lot of abuse.  I plan to stand or use a low folding stool in mine, and have even thought about softening the bottom edges with some pipe insulation(?) to protect the pool.
Thank you, I hope it works well for a long time.

Do you recall the brand of doggie pool you have? It is hard to tell the thickness of materials from the pictures on amazon.
 
I just used polyurethane. And you have a couple of options on pillows. I put some snaps on mine as it kept sliding off. I had thought of using a vinyl covered foam kneeling pad as it is water proof but never got around to trying it. If you want to get fancy try using TightBond III water proof glue and a paint brush with crushed up brown paper bag decoupage.
 
I love it! It looks great, especially with the flower pot on it!  :thumbsup:
:D  :D  :D  :D

Stealth  L :cool:  :cool:
 
Top