TheSamba.com :: View topic - How do you shower in the wilds? Gain some square footage.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:55 am

Jon_slider wrote: It seems the guys who have shower curtains, have girlfriends.

and the guys who don't, don't.

There are also girls out there, such as myself, who don't require shower facilities, nor flushing toilets.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:33 am

Jon_slider wrote: It seems the guys who have shower curtains, have girlfriends.

and the guys who don't, don't.

I'd buy a shower curtain, or shower hut, in a heartbeat, if it came with one of the pictured models <g>

When Im by myself, I dont pay for campgrounds.

If I dont have a warm shower available, I use rubbing alcohol and a paper towel ...

otoh, If I'm camping with a woman, I pay for a campground, which comes with a shower and toilet.

All this talk of showers and girlfriends in the wild is making me feel kinda... umm... dirty. :oops:

Seriously though Van, clever set-up. One of the Syncro guys, I think his name is Bill, who drives a heavily modded seafoam green van with orange wheels has a slick hot water shower system that pumps out the rear. Rig a similar system and you'll have it made in the shade, literally. Everyone will want to be your camping buddy!

Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:50 am

I have my solar shower from my sailboat. That will do if I need it, I'd just wear a bathing suit or pants and Tshirt, depending. I'm good at basin baths.

For those who want to use a shower curtain (if I did, I'd put my pot with a seat and lid in there for the day time) a lot of shower curtains come with magnets in the bottom. You could just hang it upside down on the hatch and/or always save the magnets when you are throwing out a shower curtain. I advise against fancy expensive ones. Why not buy the inexpensive liners, they come in all colors and most have magnets. Dollar Stores are the best source.

For standing on I think something like croc shoes are the best and like said you can take them off to dry out. When I'm travelling I have rubber sandals that I always wear in wash rooms and especially shower stalls. Then I just leave them in sun and they dry. Take up a lot less room, all of the above if you feel you need the privacy.

I like the natural availability of water as well, morning, noon and night!

If you want a larger solar shower, look for black flat rubber water tanks, they all have an opening which can be made to facilitate some kind of hand shower. This is not always a gender thing. Experienced gals can make it :lol:

Tue Jul 13, 2010 3:33 pm

Well, you got me jonesin for a shower solution now ... That gal earlier said she's ok with no shower. Usually I am too, but since acquiring Spud, I find that our camping trips have lengthened compared to previous tent-camping excursions. Our last trip was 11 days. We camped at a site with a shower on-site about once every two to three days, which was just right. But boy, California campsites cost an arm and a leg! It sure would be nice to not have to pay for a campsite just so you can get access to a shower.

At the risk of sounding as girly as I am, I thought I'd share a sweet shower curtain. My van is brown but has a grey pop top canvas and the grey Fiamma awning. So I figure this should match well:

Our awning has the grey wavy stripes on it:

This would be really perfect if I happened to own the pale yellow Westy. They'd even make nice interior curtains in a pale yellow van. It would also spruce up a silver van. But I will call it good enough :)

Thanks for enabling my shopping habit for nesting the Westy. I'm never done.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:02 pm

FYI, many state parks will sell you just a shower for less than $2. That has been my solution for longer trips. Every 3 days, swing by a SP.

The only reason I would even see the need to carry my own is if I were swimming in salt water everyday.

Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:47 am

SpudlyHotPotato wrote: Well, you got me jonesin for a shower solution now ... That gal earlier said she's ok with no shower. Usually I am too, but since acquiring Spud, I find that our camping trips have lengthened compared to previous tent-camping excursions. Our last trip was 11 days. We camped at a site with a shower on-site about once every two to three days, which was just right. But boy, California campsites cost an arm and a leg! It sure would be nice to not have to pay for a campsite just so you can get access to a shower.

At the risk of sounding as girly as I am, I thought I'd share a sweet shower curtain. My van is brown but has a grey pop top canvas and the grey Fiamma awning. So I figure this should match well:

Our awning has the grey wavy stripes on it:

This would be really perfect if I happened to own the pale yellow Westy. They'd even make nice interior curtains in a pale yellow van. It would also spruce up a silver van. But I will call it good enough :)

Thanks for enabling my shopping habit for nesting the Westy. I'm never done.

I like that curtain a lot. It would match our decor pretty well. Buy it and hang it!

Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:28 pm

re natural water/bathing

I hope none of you are using soap in our rivers, lakes, or streams. Even so-called biodegradable soaps will pollute the water.

Swim; Put some water in a bucket and walk 30 yards back from the shore to suds up & clean the suds off.

Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:01 am

> There are also girls out there, such as myself, who don't require shower facilities, nor flushing toilets.

great!
But, just to check my theory, that no shower means no sex, do you sleep alone?

and just to stay on topic, here is Bills shower and schematic

Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:08 am

Wow! That is the sweetest shower set-up. I'll definitely be handing those specs over to my engineer husband and saying "Make it go!"

What color is that green Westy? I think I love it.

That permanently-mounted mirror is also a terrific idea. I will definitely be putting one of those back there. The passenger-side mirror in the front seat of our van keeps popping out, so I don't see myself often on trips. It's nice to check in every now and then to see how much of a doofus I look like on a camping trip, and keep the doofus-dom in check. Score on that idea!

One thing about desert camping in AZ is that sometimes you can't be near water and it really helps to just keep you cool. I'm all over this plan.

VanWilder: the shower curtain is at urbanoutfitters.com and I incidentally discovered a matching soapdish and liquid soap pump on modcloth.com yesterday when I wasn't even looking for them.

Fri Jul 16, 2010 1:57 pm

I like that shower curtain around the hatch idea. Hmmm... :idea:

Jon_slider wrote:
great!
But, just to check my theory, that no shower means no sex, do you sleep alone?

Considering there's no man in my life, yes, I happily sleep alone. But keep in mind, just because one doesn't shower out in the wilderness doesn't mean that one doesn't bathe out in the wilderness. :wink:

Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:01 pm

Please notice the Bentley for reading material in the bath...I am not alone!

Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:21 am

> just because one doesn't shower out in the wilderness doesn't mean that one doesn't bathe out in the wilderness

very true :-)

So far my theory is holding,

People who Don't sleep alone DO Have showers.

And People who Don't have showers, DO sleep alone.

(some people with showers also sleep alone)

Moral of the story, a shower wont guarantee you will get laid, but not having a shower Does guarantee you Wont get laid <g>

OH, sorry, this thread is about showers, I got side tracked :-)

Sun Jul 18, 2010 11:53 am

Let me see if I have your theory right:

No shower = sleeping alone = no sex
Shower = sleeping alone = no sex
Shower = not sleeping alone = sex

That's a fair theory, but I'll toss the following wrench into your moral:

Just because one sleeps alone, does not mean that the van never rocks on every adventure; just because two people sleep together, does not mean that the van rocks on every outing. In other words, sleep and sex are two different things. :wink:

But I think I'll toss that Zodi shower back in the van anyway... :lol:

Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:32 pm

:?: have shower in Vanagon, have sex, But not interested in sex but have shower works. You gotta be flexible :!:

So what do you need to carry to have cuddle and snuggle :?:

Right now I'd take a vanagon with or without shower. :roll: Theories are one thing but are not always applicable to all applications. :wink:

Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:43 pm

since we've been on our long Alaska trip, I have been using what I think is a good system. I have one of the shower systems sold by GW and actually sold in many places (sorry can't recall the name) on it's own it's not so great because you can't shut it down to save water without it heating up way to hot, but it heats water very fast and has a good pump.

So now what we do is use it to quickly heat water, put the heated water into a large sun shower bag and then what's nice is you can carry it away from your van and shower, my biggest problem with what's being discussed here is I don't really want a mud puddle right outside my van. This simple way saves water and is very simple. My 2 cents.

Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:08 pm

kamzcab86 wrote:
Just because one sleeps alone, does not mean that the van never rocks on every adventure;
Here's a case of the van rocking when one person was sleeping inside.
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=2247

Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:41 pm

now now Randall I try to be very secure when I travel alone and that could give a person bad dreams :lol:

and I wouldn't like a puddle anywhere near the van either.

Oh the simple life for me, one solar shower bag, sleep alone, no Big Foot Reports in the area, socialize with people and have the odd shower, like I said simple life for me with no complications for me other than I own a Vanagon :roll:

Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:34 pm

DAIZEE wrote: now now Randall I try to be very secure when I travel alone and that could give a person bad dreams :lol:
Here are some reports from Ontario. Sweet dreams!
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_county_reports.asp?state=ca-on

Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:46 pm

having trouble sleeping let alone sweet dreams! Shall not read all the Ontario incidents. It's all very possible but I prefer not to live my life paranoid BUT I may never shower in the wilderness again :)

So slider does your theory support that having a shower guarantees sex? What exactly is the relationship between wilderness shower and sex? Is it that the fancier the shower, that sex occurs?

Mon Jul 19, 2010 11:43 am

As shown by the first photo in this thread, its the folks who bring a lover, that go to the trouble of providing showers with privacy enclosures.

> I think I'll toss that Zodi shower back in the van anyway

lets not put the cart before the horse, it only works if you bring shower curtains,

and a partner <g>

> Is it that the fancier the shower, that sex occurs?

no, curtains dont cause sex

sex causes curtains