Setting up my minivan FAST!!!

[Awesome Street]

Hey y'all, I need suggestions!

Just bought a Honda Odyssey Minivan and I need suggestions. Working 60 hours per week and starting next week I'll be working 80. My van is going to be a critical resource in making this work schedule sustainable and I need to act fast to get it set up. Need suggestions on the following:
1) Looking for some window coverings that I can put up inside the van that will make the windows more difficult to see through, and that aren't noticeable to an outside observer. The windows on my minivan are already heavily tinted, but I'd like something that will amplify the privacy they provide.
2) I'd like to put up some type of a barrier directly behind the front row seats that will conceal the sleeping/living area in the back of the van and that will look innocent/stealthy to an observer looking at it through the windshield. Also, it needs to be something that won't significantly impede my ability to pass between the driver's seat and the back area.
3) I don't need much in the way for amenities for this van build, it's going to be very simple, but one thing I'd like it to have is some kind of a setup that will allow me to sponge bathe in the back. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[bullfrog]

I had pretty good results fitting reflex in the windows and covering one side with black wide Gorilla tape. With tinted windows and the tape side out it wasn’t noticeable the windows were blocked, it just looked like really dark tint.

 

[desert_sailing]

I have  black out curtains that divide my driver area from the living space. Living space is blue and the side facing the windshield is black. From the outside it just looks like blackness and you can't tell there is a curtain there.

A sponge bath set up..I have a collapsible dog pool and a 2 gallon bucket of water. There are also the hard plastic mixing pans that may work for you depending on your size.. I was too big and had to change to the 4 foot dia dog pool.

The dog pool is a little more effort to set up than the mixing pan.. but the mixing pan is going to need a space for when your not using it and the dog pool collapses down to tuck away somewhere.

 

[RVTravel]

Some may even get away with sitting on a beach blanket for a sponge bath if not sloshing a ton of water on yourself.

 

[maki2]

Just get get a shower curtain to put down for some water proofing to keep the upholstery or your bedding dry. A couple of generous sized microfiber towels to dry yourself off with and a couple of smaller ones to scrub with. Sponge baths are easy to do, you don't need a big slopping amount of water. A bit of vinegar in the water with a small amount of soap. The vinegar cleans and deodorizes as well as breaking up the natural oils from you skin to help release the dirt and body salts that gets trapped in it. You do not need to get sloppy wet for an effecitive bath. That is a mistake most people make. The microfiber cloth will hold onto the dirt and dead skin cells making them the best sponge bathing cloths ever invented. Pllus the micro towels dry out a whole lot faster than cotton towels. You blot with them to dry rather than rub if the texture of the towels bug you,

Do not use fabric softener or dryer sheets when you launder microfiber cloth. Those items coat the micro fibers and makes them water repellent rather than allowing for maximum water absorption.

 

[GypsyJan]

A simple spray bottle, a large bowl and a wash cloth can work, to be emptied into a small bucket with lid. I am tweaking a set up of a 2 to 5 gallon bucket with a garden sprayer and bath items stored inside.

I figure I can remove the stored items, spray down a leg inside the bucket, bathe with soap on a net scrubby, spray to rinse the foot and leg, towel dry as I remove my leg from the bucket. Repeat with other leg and arms. Then use a small bowl and wash cloth for the face, neck and torso. Empty bowl afterward into big bucket. Finish with the nether regions over the bucket.

I have head room as one rear seat remains upright and the big bucket is on the floor in front of that...if I didn't have the head room, I would use a shorter bucket perhaps lined with a large trash bag, clipped at ceiling level on 2 sides to contain the spra). Then I will snap the big bucket lid in place to keep the grey water contained until I empty the bucket. I will let y'all know how this works out once I have had a chance to try it.

 

[Awesome Street]

Guys, thank you so much, you've been a huge help!

I'm going to get to work on my curtains. Do you guys have any recommendations as to what I should make them from?

 

[shadowmoss]

Walmart sells blackout curtains fairly cheap. Easy to find quickly.

 

[nature lover]

For my sponge baths i use a plastic tote that is about 10 x 16“ and maybe 8 inches deep. I have a half a dozen of these, using them as drawers in simple cabinets I built. The one I use for a bath contains a clean washcloth and towel some soap, toothbrush and paste. I use an environmentally friendly soap. And this tub is big enough that I can wash my hair over top of it using a cup to pour water on my head. And if I don’t have a place to get rid of the water I just simply put the lid back on the thing and put it in its place until I find a safe place to dump it. I keep another empty tub, same size, under this one so that if I can’t dump the water right away I have one for clean water for bath number two and then a place to put the soap, toothbrush And paste, fresh washcloth and towel in for the next time. If I limit how much water I use I can store three days dirty water in the first tub and one days water in the second. I haven’t had to go four days without finding a good place to get rid of the water. This is like a lot of other things you learn by doing and eventually find a way that works modifying it along the way. I do camp sometimes at friends places where I can grab a shower. I don’t like going more than a week without a shower. I have done it but don’t like to. I also don’t want to wear out my welcome by begging for showers etc. Once the gyms get open again, if things ever return to normal, I’ll probably have a shower three or four times a week. God bless the nomads and keep us clean, well at least not stinking'

 

[gslanm]

Depending on your needs be it whole sections or windows, you need blackout curtains either attached to something to the windows or strung up (to block light in the front etc.) I was researching the "sun joe" portable shower sprayer 5 gallon but for a pure mini van you're better off doing a bucket/plastic large bin and a makeshift curtain containing it or something like that. Then using buckets or containers of water to wash in that larger plastic tub. JMHO

 

[gslanm]

Do something like this or the sun joe, fill it up with 5 gallons of water, maybe mix half hot water in with half cold. Keep it charged. Then put a large plastic container under you throw a curtain around you, and you have a nice little spray shower presumably for $150.

https://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Mult...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[GypsyJan]

Finally got around to testing the 5-gallon bucket bath in the RAV4. It worked! I filled a 2-gallon garden sprayer with water. I sat in the seat behind the driver's seat. The sprayer and bucket sat on the floor in front of me. Then I put a leg in the bucket and was able to spray from just below the knee down to the toes. Soaped up a net scrubby and applied it to the same area, then sprayed rinse water downward into bucket. Toweled off and repeated with other leg. Then did an arm from shoulder to hand by bending the elbow to fit into the bucket. Used a wash rag to wipe suds from face, ears, neck, thighs & torso, rinsing the wash rag by laying it on my palm inside the bucket and spraying til suds free and wringing it out there. The nether regions are done over the camping potty by inserting a very large bowl under the seat to catch the water and suds (more comfy than trying to sit over the bucket). Then I emptied that bowl into the bucket. I was surprised at how little water was in the bucket when I finished.

I'll be able to wash my hair easily over the bucket with the sprayer. When empty, the bucket fits behind the driver's seat and holds the sprayer, scrubby, soap, towel, wash rag and shampoo. The large bowl sits upside down on top of it all. After a bath, I have a lid to snap over the bucket until I can toss the gray water. I will empty it daily. It will be great to be clean daily before bedtime. In cold weather, I can run the car heater during bath time. I can also use the set-up to hand wash smalls, if needed. So I am looking forward to my next road trip!

 

[RVTravel]

Good method, GypsyJan.