Simple 12v Shower setup.
When you are a family of five on the road that are free camping it’s important to be self-sufficient; showering is no exception. One thing about our life changing lap, it sure makes you appreciate the simple luxuries waiting back home for us like a nice long mains water shower. For now if we have been for a swim at the beach or in a lovely fresh water spot then the shower box has been ticked for the day. Some days we simply bust out the washer or wipes and freshen up that way, life on the road is like that sometimes.
We put a lot of thought into our shower set-up before we left and it has proven highly effective on the road. It may not be the flashest set-up but it certainly ticks all our boxes in water heating, water pressure, shower duration, water conservation, privacy and of course that fresh feeling of having just had a shower. Let’s not forget once the initial outlay for the items has been made, the ongoing running cost for our showering is FREE! Anyone who knows anything about the Roaming Rowes knows that the word FREE makes us feel all kinds of happy!
12v Shower Pump
12v Extension allows for ease of setup.
Solar Bags Heat the Water.
Our shower setup involves:
- 12 v Shower Pump ($20 ebay)
- Solar Shower Bags ($10 ebay)
- 60 L Tub ($8 any variety store)
- Privacy Tent ($30 ebay)
- 12v extension (optional homemade)
Here is how
Take your Solar Bags and crack them in the sun, won’t take long for those badboys to heat up and when we say heat up we mean hotter then our shower at home. We have six Solar bags including one 2o litre bag, we usually use 25 litres to comfortably shower our entire family. When water is tight we have even been known to reuse the shower water straight in our washing machine to wash our clothes.
The setup time for our shower is abut 5 mins, the privacy tent erects in about 4 seconds peg it down place the tub inside the tent. Run the 12v pump from our power and into the tub, we do this via anderson plug via or our 12v outlets from our van or just straight from the car. Once your water is heated we pour the water into our plastic tub this forms a bath, we then place our 12v water pump into the tub. Get your shower head in position so it throws the water back into the tub, this allows for a longer shower, handy for hair washing and the like. For this we use the kids totem tennis pole and an ocky strap, ok so it’s not pro but works a charm. Flick a switch and hey presto who’s up for a shower?
Interested to know what size gas bottles you carry and how many? How often, on average, do you refill or swap?
Warm regards
Gordon and Barbara Campbell
Hi Gordon and Barabara we carry a 8.5kg and a 3.5kg. We use the 8.5kg most of the time and it takes about 8 weeks for us to go through it, when it is empty we swap it for the 3.5kg and use it as a back up. Once we switch to 3.5kg we know it’s time to replace the 8.5kg bottle. Your facebook group is a fantastic resource – BBQ Gas Bottle Refills Group
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