External Shower Set-up

We got a unit from a camping shop just last week. About $35- Primus brand.
Ciggy lighter plug. waterproof in-line switch, small bilge pump- to an adjustable shower head !!
Washed the dog with it over the weekend and it works fine.

Hi Thomas

There are several models available from camping stores for around $30 as Signman described.

We use one with the shower-head stuck on the side of the Troopy with its built-in suction cup. A modified tent pole lashed horizontally to the roof-rack extends to support a lightweight blue tarp hooked back to the roof-rack to form a triangular shower room. A foam mat stops mud. If it would stop raining I would take a photo for you!

A small plastic bucket accepts the pump. One kettle of cold water and one of hot gives a two-minute shower. No complexity in the engine compartment and no chance of scalding. You set the temperature in the bucket before starting the shower. Cheap and very effective.

A point to note: A small diameter bucket is best to avoid leaving too much warm water in the bucket when the pump sucks air at the end.

We just use one of the shower sets from the camping shop. Hang a bucket of warm water off of the tie rail on the ute, suction cap shower head off of Carry-me camper. Don't usually bother with any curtains. Wife has seen it all before and we don't usually camp close to anyone else. Have not been sprung yet.

Steve

As above, there are a range of cheap 12v submersible pump/shower kits from camping stores and Jaycar for around $20. One boiled billy in a 10L bucket, topped up with cold will give 2-3 good showers.
Also worth considering is a folding shower tent for about $60. Not so much for modesty, but to keep the wind out on cold windy nights/mornings. Will double up as your dunny tent. They pack flat and don't take up much space, but the downside is working out how to fold them up after use :-). Someone here on an earlier post had a video of how to do it; it's quite tricky!

If you use a plastic bin that you can stand in ...with a 12v shower as the others have stated, the water can recycle as you shower and you can shower for as long you like without wasting water , but it does get colder the longer you take...we have a popup tent to house the shower in...goes up in seconds , and can take ages to come down if you do not do it right....cheers

Thomas, as per others I reccommend the pop up tent, however the cheap showers tend not to last long. I went through about 1 every year or 2.
We were using it regularly, but I did find they weren't great quality.
In saying that, what can you expect for the price?

I now use a boat bilge pump $20 from BIAS and a bit of hose connected to a shower head. Wire a switch in line and tape it to the shower head.
This gives great control while lathering up etc.........

It works out about the same price as buying one of those bucket showers, but its just a lot more reliable and longer lasting.

Cheers
Brian

The one that hasn't been mentioned is the weedsprayer, pump up, bottle.

Having said that, we've gone from

-The old canvas bag with a rose; too hard, has to be hung from a tree and filled at a significant height.

To

-Solar Showers, still have to be hung and are useless if the sun doesn't shine

To

-Coleman Hot Water Service. Bulky, fiddly to get the temp right and a lot of set up and pack up

To

-Boil the kettle and mix it with enough cold water in a bucket. Take the bucket into the shower/dunny tent and douse one's self with warm water, soap up and rinse with a flannel or pour cups of warm over to rinse. Simple, effective, no set up and little wasted space.

Cheers,

Jim.

My setup looks like this, the green hose goes to a small tap, the white hose is the breather, I connect a 2m length of garden hose to the right side tap with a garden spray attached by the nylex clip on connectors. then just hang it over the rear door. IT DOES NOT GET USED IN WINTER.

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We have the Oztrail ensuite tent, great buy and has many uses and tucks away in the back of the Troopy. We bought a Primus shower a few years back at a camping show and love love love it, especially when you are camping down in the Snowy Mountains area of NSW and it's cold and you can have a nice hot shower at night. Just connect the gas bottle and away you go. We have a 40ltr BLACK drum that we carry around with us, given to us by a mate. It stores our waders when we are travelling, but when we set up camp it gets filled with water in the morning, and sits out in the sun all day. Some places like the Snowies you need to do that to take the chill off the water, which saves gas by not having to heat it so much. But in warmer climates, the water will be at a perfect temperature by mid to late afternoon for a shower and you don't need gas to heat it at all. Solar hot water!