Modular Shower/Water System Build

[KeepCruzin]

My goal was to build a removable, standalone water system that would allow me to wash hands, dishes, etc, and take a warm, pressurized shower.
My previous system was passable, but flawed. This is my third water system, and I think that this one is here to stay.

The system: 7 gallon plastic RV water tank with three 1/2" threaded fittings, and one 1-1/2" fitting.
Pump: 3gpm, 3-7amp 12volt, 55psi made by SeaFlow. This unit is undoubtedly excessive for a mere 7 gallon system.
All piping is schedule 40 or 80 PVC

The box for the water pump had to be incredibly tight to allow the T valves to thread on directly without losing space to adapters or extensions.
I used a marine rated push-on, push-off switch to activate the pump.

I painted the tank black so the water might heat up a bit in the sun over time. After testing, on a 75 degree day, after 2 hours, the water was warm enough for a very comfortable outdoor shower.

 

[KeepCruzin]

The next step was mounting the fittings.

Clockwise from top left:

Fill pipe: A 1-1/2" close nipple to 1-1/2" "street" elbow which is capped with a female threaded cap.
Vacuum Relief: 1/2" street elbow to 1/2" filtered vacuum relief valve, hooded.
Outflow to pump: 1/2" Male adapter
Inflow from pump: 1/2" Male adapter

 

[KeepCruzin]

Next I prepped the pump for mounting and its box. First I had to relieve holes for the T valves which fit snug against the wall of the box. The idea was to make the box completely water tight (or 95%). This was to preserve the pump as well as possible. It is still fully rated for water, but I wanted to be safe.

 

[KeepCruzin]

Next I had to plumb the pump unit to the tank itself, then mount the pump box to the base board, and mount the tank to the board.
To mount the tank, I used a strap secured under 1x3/4 wood strips. These also keep the tank from sliding around under the strap. The whole system is very very secure.

 

[KeepCruzin]

The pump wiring uses a relay to avoid any chance of overloading the switch. Its probably complete overkill but I wanted to do this once. I also used a PES connector to make sure the connections are quick to detach and water proof.

 

[KeepCruzin]

All I had left to do was mount it to the roof using cushioned u-bolts to avoid damaging the roof rack. Then I installed a hinging connection to allow the "boom" to flip into the closed position for storage, or swing out for showering, and down farther for kitchen/camp use.

Tomorrow I will post a photo of the system deployed in its two possible positions, and with water running. So far it works fantastic.

 

[OSS]

I used to carry a nice flexible boat drinking water tank on my roof rack for long camping trips. It worked perfectly. No pump is needed to use the water since its gravity fed from the roof- plenty of flow. When the water was gone the flexible tank was just flat & weightless & took up no room.
I could tell when the tank was full when filling it just by feeling it expand. Overall it was a great system for showers but I found that it wasted water. Eventually I got rid of it and just used a gallon jug to rinse off with. Much easier to control water usage and a lot simpler. I found I was using water too fast with a shower type water system and didn't like carrying all that heavy water on the roof. Better to carry it in jerry cans inside the cruiser

 

[Seth S]

Came across this recently:

DIY Camp Shower For Your Car or Van - REI Co-op Journal

Stay clean wherever your adventure takes you. Learn how to build your own car-top 'solar' camp shower.

www.rei.com

 

[KeepCruzin]

Pics of the system fully deployed.

 

[KeepCruzin]

One thing I wanted to mention:

This system might look way over engineered and excessive when a good old water jug can get the job done.
Im fully aware of that. I wanted a system that could also suck water up out of a bucket, or river, or water jug to fill the system. You can throw a hose in a river, and boom you have a limitless shower. The system can also be removed in a minute or two and stored easily, or mounted to another vehicle. It also operates well without the water pump turned on. You can set the valves to allow gravity flow. I built it so it could be easily expanded also.

Ill report back on how it performs over time.

 

[tucson_sailors]

At 3 to 7 amp draw, you could also consider a small detachable battery and solar trickle for it. At 3 gpm and a 7 gallon tank, you have a bit over 2 minutes for a full flow shower. Course with the pump to the tank from standing water and gravity feed shower option you would want to size the motorcycle or whatever small size 12v (think UPS 7aH batteries) for your expected maximum for remote use.

$.02

Glenn in Marana

 

[kirvesmies]

@KeepCruzin, from a lifetime of carpentry n construction, may i suggest that you swap out the 1x2's holding your retainer strap to 2x2's and also run the screws thru the plywood into the 2x2. the threads will have a ton more meat to bite into and not as susceptible to splitting action already goin' on. if that was just a proof of concept, disregard this notice