Personal cleaning options for long term camping

[johnny b]

I was doing some storage clean out at work on Thursday and came across three old stainless steel water fire extinguishers. Hmmm....twist off top for refilling, pressure gauge, integral schrader valve to recharge...I figure I am a genius and will be the first one ever to convert one to a camp shower! I throw a small pex ball valve in line for throttling, a sink sprayer and voila! Feeling all proud of myself, I have a quick google, and see that once again I am late to the party. "If it has been thought of it has been done" beats me again. Lol! 

Works a treat though and will provide two quick showers.I plan on leaving it by the fire to heat or just throwing it out in the sun. I just need to swap out the pressure gauge for a pressure/temperature gauge and I am good to go. I have a Viair compressor in the van and it charges it to 100 psi in no time flat.

Are you using the original hose? I made one a while back but my hose was cracked and dry rotted (insert joke here). :blush:

So i unscrew the hose and what looks like normal American pipe thread I was hoping to simply adapt, turned out to be some rare British thread that took some serious googling to find an adapter. After solving that issue I got a $20 garden spray hose that came with a squeeze handle shower head.
Works like a champ and holds 2 1/2 gallons.

If I had to do it again.....I'd just get a Home Despot hand pump garden sprayer. :idea:

 

[bcbullet]

I would love to do a blog post on that if it works out the way you hope it will!
Bob

Sure Bob, I can take some better pictures while on the trip and email them to you if you want. I works great already although I have not had the patience to wait to see it heats up! You can't see it, but there is another hose bib and schrader valve at the back on top of the pipe to allow it to vent while filling or to vent for gravity only use. 

During my "proof of concept" while it was still on the ground unpainted, I put it up to 150 psi using my shop compressor...I could have stripped the paint off the van!

 

[bcbullet]

Are you using the original hose? I made one a while back but my hose was cracked and dry rotted (insert joke here). :blush:

So i unscrew the hose and what looks like normal American pipe thread I was hoping to simply adapt, turned out to be some rare British thread that took some serious googling to find an adapter. After solving that issue I got a $20 garden spray hose that came with a squeeze handle shower head.
Works like a champ and holds 2 1/2 gallons.

If I had to do it again.....I'd just get a Home Despot hand pump garden sprayer. :idea:

Yes, the original hoses are on all three. You are right though, it uses what corresponds to compression fitting thread with an o-ring to seal. Unfortunately, compression fittings do not have a "shoulder" for lack of a better word, to seal the o-ring against.

I ended up going with the roof top idea from a couple posts above. I will hang onto the extinguisher sprayer as well for cooler temps when I can heat it next to the fire.

 

[vanmannorm]

I set up my van with a 22"X32" tub I bought at Lowes to stand in...velcro a shower curtain to the ceiling and heat up about 2-3 quarts of water and put it in a gallon jug with a few 1/8" holes drilled in the lid. Wet down, soap up, rinse off...works great. But after a while I found that a couple of quarts of water in a wash basin and a sponge bath is quicker and works as well.

 

[USExplorer]

I just grab a rag, some shampoo and a change of clothes, lock myself in a single person restroom for 10 minutes, and emerge fully refreshed. City camping, of course. I buy a shower at a truck stop or campground every 10 days or so, or end up staying at someone's house and using theirs.

Baby wipes for wild car camping, and maybe that nasty no rinse body wash. If weather is warm, then a bath in a natural setting.

 

[BobBski]

Regarding truck stop showers. I drove truck for many years and accrued many more shower coupons/tickets than I could use, 1 given for buying 50-100 gallons of diesel. If you have a handheld CB, just get on channel 19 and ask if anyone has a ticket they're not going to use. It's done readily by truckers themselves as they may not have fueled where they're parked for the night. You'll find truckers very willing to give the ticket out.

 

[SoulRaven]

hehe... I have a shower in my van, but in some places I've stayed, while it was warm weather, almost every afternoon there would be a short but fairly heavy rain. The perfect time for an outdoor shower, or to wash the van...

Sometimes I would do a load of laundry in a bucket, then hang them up on a portable clothes line and let the rain do the final rinse, then the following sun dry them out.

I just love the warm summer time rain is some areas.

 

[lterry]

I voted bathroom shower simply because I have it, though I'm going without a water heater. I'll just warm up water, pour it into my tub then use a rechargeable shower pump thing. If I'm not overjoyed with that setup, I'll look into the pressure sprayer shower in which I'll fill with warm water. I need a little pressure to get the shampoo out of my hair or else I'll be wasting a lot of water.

 

[Canine]

I'll look into the pressure sprayer shower...

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Shower-options?page=2&highlight=shower

On that link I made a lengthy comment (the 8th one down, not the earlier comments I made) that explained what I use.

You can use a lot of water with little pressure to rinse well, or you can use a little water with some pressure to rinse well. Utilizing pressure is an excellent way to conserve water!

Another option was the Duckworks shower- it is no longer available. It is easy to make your own, though. Just make sure you pick a sprayer that doesn't have a chemical type smell in it because that smell never goes away. The smell also gets in your hair, towels, etc. Nasty.

 

[RVTravel]

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/index.htm

 

[Patd4u2]

My daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her I would like one of these portable showers. You can put it in a bucket or what ever to take a shower, and charge it with a usb port.


http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Batte...qid=1456366353&sr=8-1&keywords=ivation+shower

 

[SoulRaven]

My daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her I would like one of these portable showers. You can put it in a bucket or what ever to take a shower, and charge it with a usb port.


http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Batte...qid=1456366353&sr=8-1&keywords=ivation+shower

I think I like this one better...

http://www.amazon.com/Xcellent-Glob..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=08320J8Y9RP1Y4QQXW3N

No power ports or switches in the water, and an adjustable flow shower head.

 

[Canine]

I think I like this one better...

http://www.amazon.com/Xcellent-Glob..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=08320J8Y9RP1Y4QQXW3N

No power ports or switches in the water, and an adjustable flow shower head.

I really like the head on this one. It provides the best pressure/volume and the on/off switch is superb. I have a pump up shower and use this head with some of the holes super glued shut. I left like about 10 holes open.

 

[highdesertranger]

I would recommend a pump up shower like this one, http://duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/ . no electrical malfunctions, super simple. the one offgrid linked to can only handle water 60 degrees or less. brrr cold shower. highdesertranger

 

[Konaexpress]

Just thinking out loud....

How about a piece of PVC pipe, hose, shower head and a cheap fish tank air pump to displace the water in the pipe? Could use a large water jug with a screw on cap too I would think. Then use a large storage tub as the shower pan so you can stand up in it?

John

 

[mayble]

I would recommend a pump up shower like this one,  http://duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/ .  no electrical malfunctions,  super simple.  the one offgrid linked to can only handle water 60 degrees or less.  brrr cold shower.  highdesertranger

I thought the same thing about the 60° water, but assumed they're talking Celsius rather than Fahrenheit since the rest of the description seems to be exclusively metric.

 

[SoulRaven]

I would recommend a pump up shower like this one,  http://duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/ .  no electrical malfunctions,  super simple.  the one offgrid linked to can only handle water 60 degrees or less.  brrr cold shower.  highdesertranger

I also prefer non electrical ones myself, but the 60°C = 140°f, plenty warm enough for a shower.

 

[highdesertranger]

ah I see that makes more sense. highdesertranger

 

[Patd4u2]

I think I like this one better...

http://www.amazon.com/Xcellent-Glob..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=08320J8Y9RP1Y4QQXW3N

No power ports or switches in the water, and an adjustable flow shower head.

That is nice but I like mine better, more portable and you can have it in a back pack. That one is not portable and has to be plugged into a 12 volt cigarette socket on its power cord or it doesn't work.. I can charge the internal battery in mine and its good for up to one hour anywhere. Your tethered to a power supply with that one.

 

[Geodoc]

I'm bummed - I don't see the Simple Shower in the poll (actually developed for the vandweller - the idea was generated by one of Bob's blog posts on cleanliness).