Shower or No Shower? The big Question

Hi dave

exactly the same questions were asked on here recently so it may be worthwhile using the search function of the forum to check out those replies, cheers....

Hi Dave,

We have a small bathroom (the kind with shower & toilet combined) and use it quite frequently. The toilet gets used all the time. The shower gets used unless we're in a van park, then I'll use the facilities there if it's within a reasonable distance, although the other half tends to use the van shower irrespective. Just need to be very aware of your water usage as it can use a fair bit if your not frugal.

The old van had neither - would not go back to one without.

Cheers
Gerry

Hi Dave

This thread was one of them

Bathroom in caravan

Like Gerry, we have a small combination bathroom. We bush camp a lot of the time, and although having a bathroom in wasn't a priority before we had one, we, like most others with one, wouldn't go back to without.

With children, your need for one would be even greater than ours.

Having a toilet certainly increases the places you can free camp. Not all have somewhere you can go marching off into the bush with a shovel. Invaluable if one of your little ones gets an upset tummy, or it is pouring with rain.

We go into a caravan park about once a week and use their amenities rather than our own, although depending on where we are travelling this might not happen for weeks.

When camped at national park type camping, we use the pit toilets they are if in acceptable condition.

More often than not, particularly when watching our water consumption, we find it easier to boil up a kettle and have a ‘tub bath’ sponge over than light the HWS and shower. We can always have a quick cold rinse with the shower if needed. Even using the shower, it tends to be a quick sprinkle to get wet, then standing in our big bowl a sponge over, then quick rinse off. Only when water was plentiful in Tasmania did we have proper full showers every night. We used to use the same bowl for our baths in the previous camper, but in a bathroom it is easier to wash and not worry about splashing in the caravan.

Regardless of amount of use, your toilet will need emptying after around three days. With children, if you use it all the time, it may be more frequent.

Motherhen

G'day Dave,
Had a van for 4+ years without one,the new van has a combo shower/toilet.
Would never go back to not having one.
It's great, especially for the kids if they need to relieve in the middle of the night.No more wandering around a van park in the dark.
My kids are now young teenagers but I still dont like them wandering about at night.

I would never consider a van without a toilet or shower. Our previous van had a toilet/shower combo which was OK, just.

Our new van has a separate toilet and separate shower. We always use them, even if in a park.

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We would never go back to no shower and toilet. Even when we stay in Parks we use our own. I guess it is being bone idle but is more convenient. When bush camping, most of our time, we use the shower recess for a sponge bath. No mess.
If you look at economics and logic then you wouldn't do it, but what the hell.

Happy wife is happy life.

Neil

Hi Dave

For years we said no need for S&T we wanted more room and less weight

Well yesterday we bought our first S&T van

We mostly bush camp but when we are in parks we will use their amenities ( middle of night exception).

I have camped in all conditions and consider myself a tough old girl but will now feel like a camp princess with my S&T. It's a bit like remembering when we first got the sewer connected and didn't have to go into the back yard any more to the out house

Big decision - ours made because of age

Di

We have had our shower/toilet van for 4 yrs and use the van frequently for trips up to 3 months. Usually stay in caravan parks. In all that time we have never used the CP showers. We use the CP toilets during the day, but use the onboard shower every time.
Could not contemplate a van without a shower, but I guess we would if we had to. Ours is a small combined shower toilet, in a Coromal pop top, but it is more than adequate. We have a deal that who ever makes the bed misses out on the shower drying job. I usually get the shower drying job, takes less than two minutes with a chamois, and not at all difficult.
A few years ago 90% of vans had no shower toilet, I believe now 90% are sold with them.
KenD
Bris

Wow, what a great response.
Firstly sorry for posting a thread that has already been done recently, i did search but didn't find it.

Secondly thanks to everyone for their informative responses, you have pretty much sealed the deal for us, Shower and Toilet it is.

cheers Dave

Hi Dave,

We just bought our first van without toilet/shower. I would have LOVED one for our 3 kids but we are just going to have to do without.

We are leaving in July for a 5 month trip around OZ and yes while a bathroom would have come in very handy we didnt get one. I figure it wasnt worth the extra money, plus we needed all the room we could get for the 5 of us. We didnt want a huge van, just something comfortable. We are only going to be staying in caravan parks and free camping at places that have a toilet. We are buying a porta pottie for night time for the kids and we can do without the shower as we can use the caravan parks.

If money wasnt an option and if we were prepared to tow a larger van we would have bought one without a second thought.

Dave,

We have a toilet and vanity in our van, but no shower. We have a Glind shower on the 4x4 and a shower tent.

When in a caravan park, we use the facilities provided there.

Would not have a van without a toilet. It is so convenient for free camping and at night (moreso if you have kids). We are happy with our shower facilities, and appreciate the room in the van provided by no shower.

IMHO you can live without a shower for a short time, but if caught short, the toilet is invaluable.

You will really appreciate the S/T at night when it is raining, cold, miserable weather. Also there are time when you get to the showers and find a queue waiting for the shower. That's when I love ours.
Our toilet gets used a fair bit mainly for number ones at night. If the local showers are a bit grubby as some are we use ours.
Both our current van and previous one had S/T's and we would not be without them.

Pooley

try thread no 72556, I asked the same question last year and got some great answer and it helped us make our minds up to get a caravan with shower & toilet. good luck

We have a slide on camper on our Toyata 79 series WITH a toilet and shower. We never use the caravan parks facilities while staying in a park. We would never have a camper without a shower and toilet.

Yes there is a loss of space for clothes and food but we still manage

Friends of ours have shower & toilet van. They don't use either & also don't cook in van. My view. Why buy the damn thing in the first place!!!