shower/toilet in a van

[steveh2112]

hi all, i'm back on the forum after a long break. me and my wife did a 5 months van tour of the US west last year in an unmodified ram 3500 cargo van, just a mattress in the back. we mostly stayed in national forests, etc, so we could shower and pee (and #2) in the woods most of the time without a problem.

this year we want to tour Europe and I've found a fantastic website with tons of great info about places to stay all around UK and Europe. http://ourtour.co.uk/home/all-tours/

the big difference in Europe is at 90% of the places to stay are in what are called Aires in France and stellplatz in Germany. both are basically parking lots, or sometimes more like highway rest areas, often with a public bathroom but not always.

it seems for this trip I would need a van that is more self contained, with cooking space and a shower and toilet area.
as ever, i'm trying to do it on the cheap. i'm looking for creative ideas about how to take something like a high top ford transit cargo van and get a shower and toilet in there and still have space for a twin mattress. maybe photos and a floor plan of how someone has done this before.

thx steve

 

[WriterMs]

Steve,
Here on the CRVL forum, there is a whole discussion section on Personal Hygiene. You'll find discussion on various types of toilets and showers. Some have pics or links to videos.

Great to hear your initial long trip went so well!

 

[Mattkcc]

I haven't showered in three weeks and I'm not to smelly. Tomorrow after my surgeon's nurse removes the 38 staples, AKA crab claws, from my back I'm planning a long hot shower. After several surgeries and lots of time spent in the outdoors I've learned how to stay clean without a shower or bath. A wash cloth, some warm water and no soap. If you have to do spit bathes you really don't want to use soap because you will never get it all off. I use warm water and a little skin sensitive See Breese I steal from my wife. The neat thing is the chronic itch I brought back from Fiji last year has gone away. Don't need to spend any more money on anti-fungus creams. Actually studies are finding soap is actually bad for you, healthy bacteria is supposed to live on you just like in your gut. The good bacteria crowds out harmful bacteria and fungus. The one problem is hair, but they are coming out with none soap shampoos.

 

[cherterr]

Baking soda! I started using it to shampoo my very long hair. (They call it No-Poo method.. lol) Just a tsp. per cup is all you need. (And you should only use a cup or two at most so not to dry out or get a powder on you!! lol)

I'm sharing this because actually, I figured if it was so great for my hair, I'd use the run off to clean my body as well. I did this for over a year, and I have to say; my hair and skin has never been in such good condition.

A good rinse is a Tblsp. of Vinegar in a cup or two of water. SHINEY, REALLY clean hair!

 

[accrete]

seconds on utilizing as little soap as possible, and yes on baking soda also : )

On shower in a high top, easy to do if creative as others have noted. A simple small hoola hoop with shower curtain hung from ceiling ribs and a small ~2x3ft cement mix tub from lowes/home depot.

If you ever get to the _real_ install of anything I give you this tid bit of an idea my MacGirlver of a wife came up with that is in our van.

this is a shot looking back from the swivel-passenger seat in the cab of our regular body chevy high top conversion:

the bed is a full size futon with gell top. Street side closet behind black sliding doors, and bathroom closet forward of bed behind driver seat.
Simple to open door and all we need to potty, shower, etc is right there.

in potty mode:

and shower mode with ~5'10" headroom:

If weather is nice we will set up the shower under the fiama. We mostly camp in BLM/USFS camps so we must be self contained for the most part. We will do an annual outing with a local PNW rv group at a state park with hookups. Other than that one plug in we are without external power/water on all trips...just the way we like it.

Life's _chores_ can be super simple. I think the typical Western lifestyle/mindset wants us to be in some compliant-creature-comfort box that complicates a rig with unnecessary plumbing and support mechanics.

YMMV,
: ) Thom

 

[Ballenxj]

Life's _chores_ can be super simple. I think the typical Western lifestyle/mindset wants us to be in some compliant-creature-comfort box that complicates a rig with unnecessary plumbing and support mechanics.

I like the basic layout of your van.