how to stay clean

[beachbumberry]

i've been googling and searching, but aside from a shower tent and a small electric shower, how does everybody shower during extended trips? lame, i know, but i think this is going to be a big part of how i design my expo truck

 

[mrlocksmith]

I made one of these. Like the guy in the video I'm bald so it does not take much water to wash-up. Nor does it take up much space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmY4k6OBvUE

Mark

 

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

IPA Wipes

My wife and I picked up some 'Industrial' strength Isopropyl Alcohol wipes a couple of years back. If we are not getting too 'grimy' they work well. I used them for about a week during my trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River a couple years back. By the end of the trip, the entire group was using them. One wipe is strong enough to clean off most of your body. Just don't get them too close to 'certain areas'.:Wow1:

 

[Desert Dan]

Some of the ways I try to stay clean include:

Wipes,
wash cloth and hot water, water in a bucket,
water from a gerry can on the roof,
portable Coleman shower (on long trips),
streams, and hot springs (the best).

Also some campgrounds and RV parks offer hot showers for about $3.
Truck stops do too.

 

[Martinjmpr]

i've been googling and searching, but aside from a shower tent and a small electric shower, how does everybody shower during extended trips? lame, i know, but i think this is going to be a big part of how i design my expo truck

Where are you going to be traveling?

Last May I had a great experience traveling with some folks from ExPo across the Great Basin. We tried to stay at a hot spring every night (and there are a lot of hot springs in the Great Basin.)

It was great being able to camp out and also knowing that every morning I would be able to clean up

FWIW, we did NOT "bathe" in the hot springs, that would foul them with soap and other stuff. What I did was dip my canvas bucket into the hot water, then strip down, stand on a towel, and dump the hot water on me. Then soap up, get another bucket of hot water to rinse, and rinse off a couple of times. After I was thorougly rinsed then I would jump in the hot pool for a few minutes.

It was awesome, I was camping out and yet I felt clean every day!

I think if I take another trip across the desert, I'll try to find some locations of natural hot springs and plan my trip so that I can be near one every couple of days.

The other alternative might be to bite the bullet and stay in a commercial campground (like a KOA) every 4-5 days. They have showers, laundry facilities and other amenities that can make it nice to be out for an extended period of time.

 

[MontanaBBQ]

Solar Sun Shower

We have had good luck using a solar sun shower - available at outdoor stores and raft shops. If you haven't seen one, it's a PVC/Vinyl type bag with a hose and push/pull shower head.

The one we have holds approx 6 gallons. This size is plenty for two people to wet down, suds up, and rinse (including your hair). Fill it up, lay it out or strap it on the roof rack, and it will come up to a comfortable temp after several hours in the afternoon sun.

We've used it mostly on canoe trips, but also on our driving trip to Mulege, Baja. We haven't invested in a shower enclosure, but swimwear seems to be OK for times when someone else is in the vicinity.

I'm also a big fan of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap - buy it at the outdoor store or even Target. It's an all natural product that gives a great refreshing feeling. It's not real sudsy and it's biodegradable - works good for washing your hair, face and everything else.

 

[beachbumberry]

ok so for the most part its what i had expected. i'll probably end up with a shower head and an enclosure then and try to stop (depending on where i'm going) at camp sites. the wet wipes just made me think of basic training! haha field training would have sucked with out those

 

[Lynn]

There are several threads on the forum r.e. building the weed sprayer showers, using a metal weed sprayer so you can heat it up on the stove.

There are also several threads about different shower enclosures.

And there is a good review thread of the Colman on-demand water heater.

 

[dport]

Don't discount baby wipes. I've gone for two weeks in the desert with them. I probably smelled worse than what I realized though :sombrero:

 

[beachbumberry]

anybody used G.I. wipes? i cant remember who makes them, but they are wet wipes that are between the size of a dish towel and a shower towel. depending on how good those are, i may invest in a few packs of them

 

[AlwaysExplr87]

Baby wipes are a good suggestion but they do make wipes designed for waterless bathing, they are usually used in nursing homes. I've used them once or twice and they worked well.

Usually I try to find park service campgrounds nearby were I'm camping and just swing by one every few days to shower and stock up on water. It might seem kind of strange to those at the campground but I don't mind and I've never had a ranger question me.