Showers while camping in the great outdoors
I have a couple of shower setups including something as simple as a 5 gallon bucket with warm water and a pump. I also bought a pretty cool propane instant water heater on Amazon for a couple hundred. Crazy thing is, Ive gotten into showering cold, especially in the summer time. Several years back we rented a home in Guatemala and most of the homes there had solar heaters on their roofs. But the one we rented had a busted pipe. My wife and I showered cold and I quickly learned to love it. Sometimes it was initially hard to step into the cold spray but I enjoyed it so much I have continued it at home. She switched back to hot water but I generally shower as cold as I can comfortably tolerate. Its refreshing.
Never really put a lot of thought into bathing while primitive camping until meeting a very fun naturist gal who loves to bathe often in nature. The first camping trip her setup was just one of those solar showers that you would hang up in the tree. November in Alabama it wasn't very effective at heating in the sun so with a metal pail and the campfire heated the water much more rapidly. They only hold a couple gallons and the shower head is so small it was not much of a shower especially when cold outside. Also due to exposure in camp we setup this huge tent structure just for the shower. Effective at blocking wind. She also brought a giant rubber pail to sit in and bathe. She liked to say "men are good for two things, chopping wood and carrying water" Haha. A couple years later we had even more elaborate shower setups.
I have a couple of shower setups including something as simple as a 5 gallon bucket with warm water and a pump. I also bought a pretty cool propane instant water heater on Amazon for a couple hundred. Crazy thing is, Ive gotten into showering cold, especially in the summer time. Several years back we rented a home in Guatemala and most of the homes there had solar heaters on their roofs. But the one we rented had a busted pipe. My wife and I showered cold and I quickly learned to love it. Sometimes it was initially hard to step into the cold spray but I enjoyed it so much I have continued it at home. She switched back to hot water but I generally shower as cold as I can comfortably tolerate. Its refreshing.
A black poly pipe assembly on the RV roof is an idea I've had for a solar water heater. No cold showers for me , thanks! Also DIY 5 gallon bucket and a pump. Glad to chat with a fellow MacGyver! Will follow up with mine.
In early 2014 a copper coil assembly was built that went over the campfire. A continuous supply of pumped river water was used to construct a camping hot tub. I'll leave that out for now as this is all about outdoor showers. Parts from this setup were used to create an even better camp shower. A 12 volt boat bilge pump adapted to a standard water hose and a spray head worked perfect. It did go through the water quickly, And the setup would use a 15-18 gallon plastic bin of campfire heated river water. A portable solar power unit ran the pumps. 16 gallons lasted about 4-5 minutes. The shower head could be set up anywhere overhead, a tree branch worked. Typically we would make a tripod with three poles and a bungee cord.
Using a smaller 12 volt water pump and 3/8 inch hose, this assembly was built for an outdoor shower at a clothing optional campground . The shower head is small and conserves water. Made from a 3/8" brass barb fitting and a penny soldered and holes drilled for the perfect small size spray. With this a bucket of 3-5 gallons of campfire or solar heated water would provide a 5+ minute shower. Some kind soul had thrown out a perfectly good microphone stand which made the perfect adjustible support for the shower. Also later found Amazon sells a USB charged submersible water pump and shower head for camping that would probably work almost as good as this setup.
The original bilge pump and green spray head is now used as a spray cooling setup for hot spring maintenance. After cleaning the tub the source water is 123F and needs quite a bit of cooling to make the tub usable in a reasonable waiting period. A couple years back built a new assembly for the one cent spray head. A new head ws designed with a different hole pattern which seems to work better than the original design. The repurposed clamp on holder has an on/off switch to run the pump. And adjustable angle shower wand that can be removed from the snap in holder and hand held. With the clamp it can be put anywhere. Tree limb, overhang, corner of the truck rack, etc. Use with a 12 volt power source and 5 gallon bucket. All of my 12 volt portable power supplies and RV have universal banana jack plugs installed so are interchangeable with all the MacGyvered devices. In the RV bathroom, the shower unit clamps to the stall edge. Can save power using solar heated water from a 5 gallon jug. Or natural hot spring water. The city water here is horrible with chemicals and chlorine. Very refreshing to use spring water.
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