My 2010 Ford Transit Connect conversion.

[BigT]

That's a nice looking shower design, but it takes up too much space imo. I wanted something I could mount to the outside of the van, up out of the way.
That system you linked to would have to be stored inside the van, and the Transit Connect has very limited interior room.

Always nice to see other options, though. Thanks for sharing!

 

[akrvbob]

BigT, I have a request of you, would you be willing to let me re-post your photos and text of your shower as a blog post on my blog? It wouldn't require anything of you except allowing me to cut and paste your text and use your pictures.

It's such a great design I'd like to have as many people as possible see it!

Please don't make me beg, it will NOT be pretty!
Bob

 

[BigT]

BigT, I have a request of you, would you be willing to let me re-post your photos and text of your shower as a blog post on my blog?

Sure, no problem, go ahead.  Please send me a link to the blog post.  

If you do a few YouTube searches you'll find that with the exception of the mounting system, my design is the way pretty much everyone does it.

 

[ergodrive]

where did you get your side windows installed. I live in N.C. and can.t find or this one guy so busey won't return my call. thanks Ergo

 

[BigT]

Wish I could help, but I didn't install them. The original owner, who I bought the van from, had it done.
Personally I don't think it's all that hard to do. You just need a way to cut the sheet metal.

 

[Ballenxj]

BigT, this whole project takes on a touch of minimalist BRILLIANCE!
A couple questions about your shower water tube.
Do you fill it all the way up, or do you leave room for air pressure?
Also, do you have any idea how much weight in water is in that tube?

 

[BigT]

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon. My tube is 6.5' long by 4" wide/diameter and holds 4.25 gallons. That's 35.4 pounds, plus the pipe, fittings and caps, which is about another 12 pounds. So the entire assembly weighs roughly 47.5 lbs when fully filled. I'm pretty sure those 4 hose clamps can handle that load for a while. Eventually I plan to flip the entire assembly over so the aluminum channel and pipe are on top of the crossbars. That will be a much stronger load-bearing system.

How full I fill it depends on what I plan to use it for. For showers I leave a small air space, maybe 1/2 gallon, so I can compress it, but if I'm just using it to store water I want to have on hand, I'll fill it all the way up and just use gravity to drain it. The radiator drain valve I installed at the filler spout/cap is to allow air into the tube for gravity-feed draining.

 

[offroad]

Was just watching an interview on YouTube about a person living full time in a 30mpg ford transit van with a teardrop trailer. They seem to like the lifestyle.

 

[BigT]

I considered using a trailer instead of a storage unit for extra stuff, but trailers slow you down and rob mpg. A hitch-mounted box might work, though, if I could find one I like.

Do you have a link to the YouTube video?

 

[Ballenxj]

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon.  My tube is 6.5' long by 4" wide/diameter and holds 4.25 gallons.  That's 35.4 pounds, plus the pipe, fittings and caps, which is about another 12 pounds.  So the entire assembly weighs roughly 47.5 lbs when fully filled.  

Thanks, it would seem you have carefully thought this out.

 

[BobBski]

Great thread, I've got a 2012 TC I'm planning on converting and you've given me some great ideas. Thanks for the effort.

 

[BigT]

I'm glad my ideas have helped! Please post pics of what you come up with!

 

[BigT]

For those who warned against having anything loose in the back of the van that could go flying in an accident...  I finally got around to bolting the bunk to the floor.  
I also added a piece of 1/2 inch plywood to the existing 1/4" carpeted plywood flooring, making it 3/4" thick (I wanted the 24, #10 wood screws to have something to get a hold of).  

I also did this because of the idiot who ransacked my van a couple weeks ago.  That bunk is the single most important thing in my van.  
Having that bed back there is what makes my van such an awesome camping rig!   It would suck to have it taken.  

 

[4GNomad]

Nice looking Transit build. Love the minimalist approach as well as the shower. Very cool.

 

[offroad]

Check out this video on YouTube:



You asked about this video. Ford transit and a teardrop trailer.

 

[myke]

I also did this because of the idiot who ransacked my van a couple weeks ago.

Ugh... that sucks... what happened, how did he get in? Did you have a solar panel on the roof? Wonder if that was taken too?

 

[BigT]

Ugh... that sucks... what happened, how did he get in? Did you have a solar panel on the roof? Wonder if that was taken too?

My guess is I accidentally left the door unlocked, even though I've never done that before (first time for everything, right?).  
I do have a panel on the roof, but the solar doesn't seem to have been the target.  All the fool did was ransack the contacts of the glove box and console, and move a few things around on the inside.  Funny thing, but nothing was taken.  Nothing at all!  :huh:

The only thing I can figure is that it was a homeless person, stoned on glue fumes, who was looking for cash.  When they didn't find that, they walked away.  :s  I thought it odd that they didn't take something they could sell for cash, but perhaps the local pawn shops won't do business with the homeless because they know whatever they bring in to sell is likely stolen.

 

[BobBski]

Sorry to hear about the ransacking but glad nothing was taken. Just curious what height you left under the bunk? I'm looking at 16" to accommodate a Koolertron 12v cooler.

 

[Almost There]

Sorry to hear about the ransacking but glad nothing was taken.  Just curious what height you left under the bunk?  I'm looking at 16" to accommodate a Koolertron 12v cooler.

Beware of the thermoelectric 'coolers' - first they're a total energy hog, they'll run down a starting battery overnight to the point where you can't start the engine. Second, they only cool to a maximum of 40 to 45 degrees cooler than the surrounding ambient temperature which means on a 90 degree day they'll easily reach 50 - way warmer than is safe for keeping food.

They were designed for keeping drinks colder while on the road not for actual refrigeration of food.

There's a much better product on the market - the compressor fridge and if you do a search around here you'll find all kinds of info on them.

 

[BobBski]

Thanks for the info but still lots of life left in my existing one. Lived out of it the better part of 20 years driving cross country truck and has served me well. You can also get all the spare parts to fix them at most major truck stops. Having said that, I'll probably get a compressor fridge somewhere down the line.