Camp Shower?

[Schattenjager]

This past week I have scheduled five excursions into parts unknown - all of them are three+ day trips and some of the areas might prove to be challenging to get through. I would like to get a good quality hot water shower in case I spend a lot of gritty time recovering the rig. I have heard of designs that tap the engine for heat and would prefer not to do that. Ideally it would be a bit portable so as to keep the watered ground away from the rig area.
Any ideas?

 

[StumpXJ]

Zodi extreme, great little unit.

~James

 

[VikingVince]

Use advanced search...put "shower" in keyword box and choose "title only"...you'll find about 30 shower threads.
You'll find the type that uses engine heat in one of those threads.

 

[Abel Villesca]

Zodi extreme, great little unit.

~James

x2 on the Zodi Hotman Extreme. Adventure Trailers has a great price here.

 

[Corey]

X3 on the Zodi, I have a review of it here.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17789

Today if I get time, I will be swapping out the stock showerhead on it for a kitchen faucet sprayer that has the control on it for water flow.

 

[marc olivares]

...I have heard of designs that tap the engine for heat and would prefer not to do that...

Why?

those zodi units are oversized junk, that take up huge amounts of space.
a heat exchanging unit is compact, takes up very little cargo space.
do a search, Helton, and deckers are 2 good brands, or you can make you own like i did :sombrero:

 

[StumpXJ]

Oversized junk? They work flawlessly and take up the same amount of space as one accordian style camping chair

Yeah, they are a little bigger than a heat exchanger setup, but I have had both styles and easily prefer the Zodi. Much more simple operation, and zero installation. You also dont have to potentially compromise an otherwise sound cooling system, which is more or less your lifeline when out in BFE. The Zodi is totally independent of anything.

There are benefits to both, and disadvantages to both. Its a personal decision really. BUT, the OP specifically stated he didnt want that style, hence the other recommendations.

:sport_box

 

[Schattenjager]

Use advanced search...put "shower" in keyword box and choose "title only"...you'll find about 30 shower threads.
You'll find the type that uses engine heat in one of those threads.

Thanks Vince - just the modifiers I needed!

I do want a portable unit.If I am going to be rooted in one spot I do not want to have a mud puddle near camp (RTT etc) plus I may really want to lend it to fellow travelers.
:snorkel:

 

[Bergger]

For summer time trips I still prefer a solar shower. I just put it up in the roof rack and it gets very hot. Nice and simple and they only cost about $20.

 

[Corey]

To the OP, this may be of interest to you.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25455

 

[Bighead]

For summer time trips I still prefer a solar shower. I just put it up in the roof rack and it gets very hot. Nice and simple and they only cost about $20.

X2. We used these in Afghanistan when we were based in the countryside. It amazed me how hot those bags can make the water.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

I too haven't heard great reviews on the Zodi...mostly on the amount of water that comes out. Someone I know who used one for the first time was disappointed when it was just a small dribble of water that came out of the unit, as he was expecting more of a high pressure kind of thing. Also seems to take up a lot of room.

 

[roadkill]

I too haven't heard great reviews on the Zodi...mostly on the amount of water that comes out. Someone I know who used one for the first time was disappointed when it was just a small dribble of water that came out of the unit, as he was expecting more of a high pressure kind of thing. Also seems to take up a lot of room.

I was disappointed with the flow of the pump that came with my Zodi. it wouldn't lift the water up high enough and you had to lift the water bucket up so that you could take a shower. my solution was to take a 50 cal ammo can and mount an ag style spray pump from TSC in the can. I added the cig adapter to the pump and now I have a pump that plugs in my cig adapter and delivers 2.1 gal/minute (probably should have went with the 1 gal/min pump). it definitely has pressure now

 

[ThomD]

I think we need to be clear which Zodi one is speaking about. There are a couple of very different models available.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...You also dont have to potentially compromise an otherwise sound cooling system, which is more or less your lifeline when out in BFE...

While I partially agree in concept, your logic is like saying a CB could comprimise your vehicles electrical system. Could it happen, sure. Does it happen no. On board heat exchangers are a purely secondary circuit, so even if they were to completely clog, they wouldn't interfered with the vehicles cooling. Can they leak, sure, but so can any engine hose. When properly installed with quality components you should have a 100% trouble free experience. To date I'm yet to hear of anyone having a cooling problem issue post heat exchanger install.

I'm biased on the subject, but I'll be the first to say an on-board shower system is not for everyone and a Zodi type system might be a better alternative. Pro's and con's for each obviously, for my personal needs the Helton was the clear winner and has been serving me for 3+ years now, hundreds of showers later, no problems.