portable showers

err.... billy and sponge or 5L garden sprayer for me.

otherwise, twine, glind, helton etc. seem popular.

Coleman portable hot water unit with shower attachment

I use a $20 12V unit from K Mart. Heat the water via the Colman, drop in the little pump, plug into 12 V outlet & nice hot shower. We find that a 9 Lt bucket is more than enought for 2 showers, with a bit left over. Light weight, get a new one if it buggers up, you don't have to shower at the bull Bar.
Vince

Depends on your use and requirements.

IMO , the best units are the onboard vehicle units, glind, twine etc but requires vehicle mods (although fairly minor) to work.

If you want a stand alone unit , the Coleman Gas units get good reviews

Hi Tasman,

I had a Primus hot water system but found it to much hassle and took up too much space for what it does. Now I simply use a 20L plastic jerry can and 12V powered shower pump (~$30). We heat ~4L of water to boiling on the camper stove and tip it in the jerry to get 20L of warm water - have found 20L will do fine for a family of 4.

IMHO, this method is far less hassle, cheaper, takes up less space and is more reliable than a shower unit.

Cheers

Captain

After a long stinking hot day on the road the good old canvas bag type is just the thing.

Simple ones like a solar shower bag can be just as effective and cleansing.

We used a 12V pump shower from Dick Smith's for years. Just drop the pump into a bucket of warm water.

We moved onto a Coleman Hot Water on Demand, although good, it can be a little more cumbersome and time consuming to setup. You still have to drop a pump into a bucket of water.

COLEMAN!
I had a Primus unit, as above it was way too much hassle.

Instead of plugging into the cigarette lighter, the alternative unit runs on a couple of "D" type batteries,less wiring to deal with and the proximity of the car no longer an issue.
Simply drop the pump into a bucket with pre heated water to right temp.
Price less than $30 from memeroy.plus shower tent.
Cheers
Joe

I use the $10 solar ones, take 3 away with me and have them filled and heating all the time. Mind you I only typically go camping where there is water and you can't beat a swim after a million Jimmies and a fly blown hangover..!

have a look here

http://www.mcs.net.au/~grungle/tips.html

some i car shower setups that may give you an idea.
i have a Twine in mine and its bloody great mate

SHOWER ?????
When in Rome.......

Hi Tasman,
Like many of the above, I use a $20 12v shower from Jaycar or camping stores. I also carry a solar shower, which I only use to heat the water if sunny, otherwise I boil the billy on the fire. Empty the hot water into a 10L bucket and add enough cold, drop the shower in and you're there. Wet down, soap up, wash off. While soaping, drop the shower head back in the bucket so water's not wasted.
Men can get about 3-4 showers out of a single bucketful, women, well, about one ;-) - esp if you want to keep them happy in the bush!
A useful addition is one of those pop-out screens for shower or dunny. Apart from the privacy thing (which I don't worry about - it's someone else's problem, not mine) it keeps the wind out when showering.
cheers, Gerry

$15 12 volt shower from Jaycar

20lt plastic jerry

warm some water and use 5 litres for two showers

Shower hooks up on Hi Lift Jack which is mounted on trailer

When weather isn't agreeable for shower use a rag and soap and 1 litre of water for a Top and Tail



Cheers

$35 12v Bilge pump..much better shower than the little units.
Plug into Battery Booster, no vehicle proximity issues. Heat the water if you must. The idea of the 5Litre pressure garden spray
would seem to be good one..will check that out...no pump or power required.. got to be good...oldbaz.

Ours is also a Coleman brand unit, but a portable battery operated one. Cost about $30. Uses 4 "D" size batteries which last ages.

I usually take a 45 litre tub with us and as well as storing things in, it is very practical for showering in.

Boil some water up on the fire, pour into the tub and add cold water until you have a sufficient amount of warm/hot water at the required temperature.

Drop the immersible pump in the tub, stand in it and proceed to shower. The water recirculates and serves the two of us without the need to add more water. The ground remains relatively dry and a perforated foam mat keeps the dirt off the tootsies while drying off.

This is all done in the shower/toilet tent if "modesty" is required.

If the shower packs it in, $30 is not a big investment to make for a replacement, but we have had the same unit for 6 years or so.

We just boil the billy and add to a 10l collapable bucket that hangs from the tray. Have a portable shower pump that suction cups to the side of the camper. All sweet, pump was ~$30 from a camping show and it takes up almost no room. Not sure of the brand. Of course the occasional passerby may get an eyeful. But thats life.

The heaters tend to be pretty expensive and they are relatively heavy and bulky. We tend to be on the minimalist side to keep weight down. If I had to set up a speciel tent, heater etc it would probably never happen. We have a 10 minute rule. If the camp is not set up in 10 minutes I don't want it. I'm out there to enjoy myself not spend hours setting upcamp. But to each there own and if you want something more elaberate there is plenty to choose from.

Steve

KISS
Buy a 10 litre Stainless steel crockpot from Cheap as Chips ($10) and a $20 12v shower. The crockpot in warm enough for a shower after 5 minutes on the fire, and the temperature is constant - not like all the fancy under-the-bonnet gizmos.

If the 12v shower siezes up, buy another one.

As Subaru's are very tight under the bonnat you can pretty much discount the Twine/Glind type heat exchange units as they'd be difficult to install.
The portable Primus & Coleman instantainious gas units are a bit bulky, expensive & can at times be temperamental to adjust. They can however be good for a large number of showers when working.(big family/group). If moneys no object an instant gas unit plumbed into the van would give hot water to the sink & and an outlet for the shower could be taken out the side.
The simple options are often seen as the best with the $20 elcheapo pumps drawing water out of a bucket heated on the gas or fire. After trying many of the above my preference is the canvas bucket shower pulled up over a tree branch. With one moving part there's not much to go wrong. I've fiddled with pumps, wires & hoses far too often.
Cheers Craig...........