on board shower system

[VafrontierVa]

ok, after having read about the frontier project truck on here, ive been enfatuated with this onboard shower system. Has anyone actually done it yet, or is it still in the development phase? ive got some idea's on how to make this work, but any input would be awesome.

right now, im thinking about a good amount of water.....10-15 gallons for the tank to hold. any thoughts on this, too much not enough? from the other article, it seemed that people didn't feel their would b e a problem with handling when the tnak was full.

my biggest delimna right now is heating the water....haven't figured that one out yet. was thinking about an on/off propane heat source, that way the water could be heated before it was to be used, but not sure exactly how to go about it.....

 

[VafrontierVa]

anyone?

 

[Tucson T4R]

One option has been discussed here:

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4098

 

[kcowyo]

I'm sure articulate of the project Frontier, might have a suggestion, but at this moment he's probably enjoying breakfast on a beach in Baja. The link to Captain Coors' solution might work for you.

As I recall on a trip with articulate last year, his water heats up in the tank during the day while rolling. I remember Mrs. articulate wanting to get a shower right when we got back to camp before the water cooled off at dusk. But we were drinking, so I might not be remembering that correctly.

Anyway he'll be back in a week and once he gets the beach sand out of his crevices, I'm sure he'll chime in with a reply.

 

[Tucson T4R]

By the way, for myself, I went down a differnt hot shower path. I use the Zodi X40 propane instant hot water system.

http://www.zodi.com/web-content/Consumer/zodix40shower.html

What I have found is it gets the water hot so quickly, you might cook yourself if used directly. The temp control is pretty sensitive. I line the padded storage bag with a trash bag and fill it with about 5 gallons of water. Then I recirculate the stored water with the Zodi water heater on high. It only took about 5 mins to heat the 5 gals up to about 100 degrees. Then I just pump the pre-heated water to the shower through the heater with the heater turned off. Since I bring propane with me anyway, this was an easy solution for my set up. :REExeSwimmingHL:

 

[Clutch]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3261

 

[VafrontierVa]

thanks guys......

any one know if you can buy just the heating units alone, like the one that is mounted udner the hood of the truck? seems to me I can get a water pump and shower head for wayyyy cheaper than buying this set up......

all I really need is a way to heat the water and have it perminatly mounted to the truck. I could use one of the 12v pulps and a garden hose for the rest haha :lol:

 

[kcowyo]

You might check out the Helton Hot Water System available from forum member Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters.

Desertdude did a nice write-up w/ pics for the install on his Tacoma.

 

[articulate]

As I recall on a trip with articulate last year, his water heats up in the tank during the day while rolling. I remember Mrs. articulate wanting to get a shower right when we got back to camp before the water cooled off at dusk. But we were drinking, so I might not be remembering that correctly.

Anyway he'll be back in a week and once he gets the beach sand out of his crevices, I'm sure he'll chime in with a reply.

You are correct . . . all crevices are clean thanks to our lovely on-board shower system. :REExeSquatsHL1:

We don't have a heater in the tank, so summertime driving heats it up just fine. Athough I'm going to replace the tank with a larger one (about 18 gallons) and add in that heater the Cap't put in. We also use the water in this tank for washing dishes and whatnot. That 12 gallons goes fast.

About the quantity, I don't think 10 gallons is enough for longer trips. For a weekend where only 2 people will need to shower off, 10-12 should be adequate though. Obviously you can re-fill it, but it's not always a possibility when you need it. When you get the water running over your smelly, sticky self, you'll be surprised at how much you'll use, even when you just do a fast hose down, shut it off, soap up, and hose down again.

No doubt about it, having a way to shower is one hell of a nice feature.
:beer:

 

[Ursidae69]

Mark, I agree the water goes fast. My ten gallons was gone by the end of the first week. Also, my little tank shower tank setup didn't work out in Baja, sand got in the pump and then it was done... I want to get a 15-18 gallon poly tank for the back. I'm wondering about treating water in the tank if you fill from a questionable source. I might have to research some RV sites to see what they do.