Camp shower

[calawahsteelie]

Going on a two week trip this year to Idaho in Sept and was wondering if anybody has made some sort of homemade camp shower. I usually just do the baby wipe thing but it's gonna be a little longer out this time. I was thinking about modifying a 3gal weed sprayer with a cheap rv shower head. The solar bag, gravity feed thing doesn't really seem that effective. I could be wrong, never used one. Just looking for something better. Any ideas?

[jrebel]

Boil water in a big pan and take a sponge bath.  Make sure you leave enough clean water to rinse with. 

How we do it...
1.  boil a couple gallons of water....make it hot.
2.  Pour 2/3 of boiling water in a basin with non heated water till desired temp is reached.  A little hot is better as it cools fast.
3.  Wash with lots of soap and scrup good making sure to do the real dirty parts last.  Below the waste is always last as you don't want to wash your face following  your butt.
4.  Take remaining water and add non heated water to desired temp....pour over body to wash off remaining soap. 
5.  Dry and powder ass needed.

Repeat every two to three days depending on smell.

[sirfunkeybut]

  we don't want any butt-heads 

[ICEMAN]

I made a five gallon camp shower years ago, use it each year since...

Five gallon bucket.
Added a tiny showerhead to the side of the bucket near the bottom.
Showerhead pops in or out to shut off flow...
Keep thin rope tied to the bucket handle.

Temperature; I bought a baby bath floating temperature gauge. Took the gauge into the shower with me to identify the desired temperature I prefer for a shower. I permanent marked the gauge at this temp...

Shower length; I filled the bucket and test ran it in the front yard a few times and marked the bucket at various levels and wrote 3 minute, 5 minute, 7minute....etc...

How to;
Warn anyone around camp you will be naked in a few minutes so scram!
Throw the rope over a tree branch.
Fill bucket with a gallon or two of water.
Heat another gallon of water at camp to near boiling.
Pour boiling water in and mix until the temp reads a few degrees hotter than you want. (this buys you time to get your skivvy's off and pull the bucket into the air.)
Reach up and open your showerhead, enjoy.


Other tips;
Bring a fake grass door mat to stand on while you shower.
Bring baby shampoo to use at camp, suds up easy, rinses off fast...can also use as an all around soap for your shower... keep it simple...

Nothing better than showering up at midweek or more often at camp...

Enjoy!

[ICEMAN]

JKeen, isnt that funny? That is what most who have used my style shower have said as well....Three gallons? That isn't going to be enough!... It is...

[rasbo]

JKeen, isnt that funny? That is what most who have used my style shower have said as well....Three gallons? That isn't going to be enough!... It is...

roger that,I fill one with water when the power is out and leave it next to the woodstove,in the morning there is a nice warm jug for a shower,call me weird,but hosing down the wife is kinda fun

[GrainfedMuley]

I made a five gallon camp shower years ago, use it each year since...

Five gallon bucket.
Added a tiny showerhead to the side of the bucket near the bottom.
Showerhead pops in or out to shut off flow...
Keep thin rope tied to the bucket handle.

Temperature; I bought a baby bath floating temperature gauge. Took the gauge into the shower with me to identify the desired temperature I prefer for a shower. I permanent marked the gauge at this temp...

Shower length; I filled the bucket and test ran it in the front yard a few times and marked the bucket at various levels and wrote 3 minute, 5 minute, 7minute....etc...

How to;
Warn anyone around camp you will be naked in a few minutes so scram!
Throw the rope over a tree branch.
Fill bucket with a gallon or two of water.
Heat another gallon of water at camp to near boiling.
Pour boiling water in and mix until the temp reads a few degrees hotter than you want. (this buys you time to get your skivvy's off and pull the bucket into the air.)
Reach up and open your showerhead, enjoy.


Other tips;
Bring a fake grass door mat to stand on while you shower.
Bring baby shampoo to use at camp, suds up easy, rinses off fast...can also use as an all around soap for your shower... keep it simple...

Nothing better than showering up at midweek or more often at camp...

Enjoy!

Here is a thaught. Instead of using a tree branch and showing your hairy butt to everybody and everything in the woods, take an EZ-up with walls and nobody will get scared..........

[Special T]

But then there would be no more Snatchsquatch sightings! 

[fillthefreezer]

i heat water on woodstove and pour in a small extra cooler(holds temp better than bucket) and i have a 12v rv style pump rigged with the type of shower head that has a long hose. bought one of those flipout toilet/shower huts from cabelas. pump was lke $25. tent was like $35. shower head $10. even used it last winter when the power was out. the pump is the on demand style too so when the head is closed it builds its pressure and shuts off, then starts running again when you start spraying

[300rum]

Here is what I did after trying a few different types (bought and made).

I start off with a 5 gallon bucket.  I might "upgrade" to a larger bucket but for right now it works fine.  It also serves to store everything when I am done and for travel which is nice.  In the bucket I use a sump pump, it gives you all the pressure that you would ever want.  I hook the pump up to a Yamaha 2000 generator, of which I have two for the trailer etc.  Off the pump I immediately connect a wye with one piece of garden hose running back into the bucket off the wye.  I leave this petcock on partially all the time so that the water will recirculate and not burn up the pump.  Another hose comes off the wye and into our shower "tent" which is one of the shelters from Cabelas. For a shower head I use one of those half-moon type water nozzles that has a petcock on it.  After trying a few different "shower heads" this turned out to be the best one, cheap and it is easily adjusted or turned off with the petcock (which is the best feature).  Another great feature about this type of nozzle is that it has enough weight so the water pretty much shoots straight down on top of you. 

With 5 gallons, it will give you about a 5 minute shower on full blast (which is pretty much like taking a shower at home).  You can get another minute or so if you dial down the petcock.  What I do is heat up water on the stove, put that into the bucket and then add cold so that the water is a little bit too hot to touch, it will cool down a bit by the time it reaches you.  If you want a longer shower, just have someone pour water in mid-shower.  For the ladies, two buckets are usually enough, I can get it done easily in one, fyi. 

One of the other benefits of this setup is that the shower shelter heats up from the hot water and it gets real nice in there, even with outside temps in the 30's.  It also stays warm for a bit (with everything zipped up) which gives you enough time to get your clothes on.        

[ICEMAN]

I made a five gallon camp shower years ago, use it each year since...

Five gallon bucket.
Added a tiny showerhead to the side of the bucket near the bottom.
Showerhead pops in or out to shut off flow...
Keep thin rope tied to the bucket handle.

Temperature; I bought a baby bath floating temperature gauge. Took the gauge into the shower with me to identify the desired temperature I prefer for a shower. I permanent marked the gauge at this temp...

Shower length; I filled the bucket and test ran it in the front yard a few times and marked the bucket at various levels and wrote 3 minute, 5 minute, 7minute....etc...

How to;
Warn anyone around camp you will be naked in a few minutes so scram!
Throw the rope over a tree branch.
Fill bucket with a gallon or two of water.
Heat another gallon of water at camp to near boiling.
Pour boiling water in and mix until the temp reads a few degrees hotter than you want. (this buys you time to get your skivvy's off and pull the bucket into the air.)
Reach up and open your showerhead, enjoy.


Other tips;
Bring a fake grass door mat to stand on while you shower.
Bring baby shampoo to use at camp, suds up easy, rinses off fast...can also use as an all around soap for your shower... keep it simple...

Nothing better than showering up at midweek or more often at camp...

Enjoy!

Here is a thaught. Instead of using a tree branch and showing your hairy butt to everybody and everything in the woods, take an EZ-up with walls and nobody will get scared..........

What would the fun be in that, besides they need to get off their butts and go hunt!

[windygorge]

get you a pump(rv style), a large water container, large propane bottle, torch, 3/8" copper tubing, plastic tubing, shower head and shower stall. 
hot water is instant, so no need to let warm up.  not safe to stop running water while torch is on, so take a very quick shower to minimize water waste.

pretty self explanatory.  fresh water source(tank, creek, whatever), water pump between water tank and copper tubing which you will coil to allow torch to heat.  rig the torch in a way to disperse heat to entire coil, not just one spot.  usually from below or above facing down.   have it rigged to where its close to the shower stall so you can ignite the torch and start shower right away, if that means you are lighting torch while still naked, then do so  
like i said, its instant heat.  the longer the copper tubing, the hotter it can get.  your able to adjust torch level to  once you figure out water speed and torch level, you will have a great shower.  hot, warm, or cold.  the water is traveling through the coil as the torch heats it up.  I can not express how this can be dangerous (explosive)if you let the water stop at the shower head.  just let it flow, and when done showering, turn off torch then shower head.

[washelkhunter]

Or you could just buy a hot camp shower setup for 150.00 and add a bucket. 

[windygorge]

yea, for those who don't already have the stuff laying around.  some of us do.   

[washelkhunter]

Well sure, but it will just be a novelty. It will never be as compact.or.portable and space.in the truck heading to camp quickly becomes an issue w/o adding some rubegoldberg contraption.

[ICEMAN]

Well sure, but it will just be a novelty. It will never be as compact.or.portable and space.in the truck heading to camp quickly becomes an issue w/o adding some rubegoldberg contraption.

Comeon', mine is an empty bucket you can cram full of beer! You can't ask for a more compact and useful thing! 

[Rick]

Pick up a Zodi shower. We've been using one in elk camp for years.

[fillthefreezer]

Pick up a Zodi shower. We've been using one in elk camp for years.

i looked at these before i built mine, all the reviews are terrible ie broke halfway through one shower over and over

[SnakeEyes]

The Zodi shower has worked well for us. Have used it many years now.

[windygorge]

the original question was has anyone built a homemade shower.  you catalog shoppin, bottomless pocket, money flashin folks stay out of this thread.  its not for you. 
 its for us redneck, hillbilly, white trash folks.  its for those of us that feel likes it makes sense to make our own stuff, even when it doesn't make logical, nor financial sense.   its just plain fun!!

[couesbitten]

I picked up an unused, stainless steel, 5 gallon pesticide sprayer, changed out the existing hose and added a kitchen sink spray nozzle, squeeze it's on, let go it's off.  Have the sprayer sitting on a turkey fryer base that I picked up at a garage sale for next to nothing, heat up your water, then turn it down or off, and get to showering.  Bought a pop-up shower enclosure for privacy.  Shower base made of some enameled, perforated metal on wooden blocks for platform to keep you out of the mud.  Just got to be careful not to let a full sprayer sit on the high flame to long, or potential for over pressurization.

[heavy hauler]

i used the cheapo 3 gal black solar shower from wal mart.  it worked great. i was impressed.  it was better than just wipes

[Alchase]

I use a roll of quarters.......
Then drive to Pearygen State Park, lol

[calawahsteelie]

I think I'll try the 5 gallon bucket. I got a couple of those around and I won't have to buy a weed sprayer. Plus like Iceman said, it will carry my beer.   

[D-Rock425]

I just jump in the creek with a bar of soap.  Kinda cold at first.

[Miles]

Going on a two week trip this year to Idaho in Sept and was wondering if anybody has made some sort of homemade camp shower. I usually just do the baby wipe thing but it's gonna be a little longer out this time. I was thinking about modifying a 3gal weed sprayer with a cheap rv shower head. The solar bag, gravity feed thing doesn't really seem that effective. I could be wrong, never used one. Just looking for something better. Any ideas?

We bought two cheap 5 gal solar shower bags (always have a backup) from walmart for about $10 each.  Then buy a long neck funnel.   We heat up water on the stove or in the turkey fryer pot.  1 part hot (with bubbles, not boiling), 4 parts cold.   Hang the bag on something, stick the funnel in the opening and fill it up.   Hang it from a tree and you've got a hot shower.    We bring a small shower tent now and just hang it in there.   Simple, easy, and cheap.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/COLEMAN-SHOWER-CAMP-5GAL/13848644

[PlateauNDN]

I just jump in the creek with a bar of soap.  Kinda cold at first.

   X's 2

[hrd2fnd]

I use a roll of quarters.......
Then drive to Pearygen State Park, lol

If you used that whole roll then you are taking to long of a shower 

[KFhunter]

I use a roll of quarters.......
Then drive to Pearygen State Park, lol

If you used that whole roll then you are taking to long of a shower 

Either that or he's rubbing one out and sweeping it down the drain with a bare foot

[hrd2fnd]

I use a roll of quarters.......
Then drive to Pearygen State Park, lol

If you used that whole roll then you are taking to long of a shower 

Either that or he's rubbing one out and sweeping it down the drain with a bare foot


Note to self make sure to bring the flip flops next time I go to park 

[JBar]

I use one of those clear colapsable 5 gallon water jugs. Hang it in a tree with the faucet end pointing down and away you go. Leave it hung in the tree during the day and the sun will warm it up and it'll be ready for you when you get back to camp. I think they're like 7 bucks and squeeze down to nothing for space.

Like this

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Water-Carrier-5-GL/13848633?findingMethod=rr

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trails-5-gallon-fold-a-carrier-water-container/10098757

[D-Rock425]

I just jump in the creek with a bar of soap.  Kinda cold at first.

i also have an outside and inside shower in my trailer 

[oldcamper]

I use the Solar Shower. It's a bit warmer then D-Rocks jumping in the river idea. 

[calawahsteelie]

I just jump in the creek with a bar of soap.  Kinda cold at first.

i also have an outside and inside shower in my trailer 

No trailers where we are going. The creek is a option but at 7500' I hear things tend to shrink in the mountain cold water.   

[huntnphool]

 I have tried lots of things but for packing the "Sun Shower" or "Solar Shower" works pretty well. The idea is fill it with water and lay it out in the sun all day to warm it up, hang it and shower. It has a clip on the shower head to cut the flow off while soaping up.

 What I found worked best was heating water in a pan, filling up the bottle and hanging up, its much faster and hotter that way.

 This is one of my hunting buddy's about 15 miles into the Bitteroots  , we woke up the next morning with about 6" of snow, we were camped at about 9000'.

 

[TheHunt]

Was the above post suppose to be on the BigFoot thread?   

[washelkhunter]

Reckon you two dont have any secrets eh?

[huntnphool]

  We were hunting in 80*+ weather for several days then all of a sudden snow.

[KFhunter]

I must not have very close guy friends, can't think of a one who'd take a picture of my ass.
 
If so, then I'd be posting in the "who hunts alone" thread.

[huntnphool]

I must not have very close guy friends, can't think of a one who'd take a picture of my ass.
 
If so, then I'd be posting in the "who hunts alone" thread.

If you are that modest and uptight then you wouldn't fit in to well in our camps anyway KF.

[KFhunter]

I'd probably fit in fine since I'm not uptight, but since you found out I can be a bit modest I'd be worried I'd be the butt of your jokes 
 
(and pictures)
 

[huntnphool]

I'd be worried I'd be the butt of your jokes(and pictures)

No pun intended? You should have seen the look on his face when his wife and him started looking through the prints and it popped up, classic.

[TheHunt]

When packing in from a base camp the black solar shower is what I use.

When at base camp:  5 gal bucket for the water.  I picked up a 3/4 inch submersible pump pond that people use for ponds for nearly nothing at a garage sale.  That sits in the bottom of the bucket.  I run 12 volt wire with a push button start and stop.  I also picked up some hose and installed a shower head on the end of the hose.  Everything sits in the bucket when not in use. 

Great shower for the September archery hunt. 

[Johnb317]

How many mules you have packing you in?   
Simplest is the solar bag and pour hot water into it,  as far as going in the river or stream with soap, please don't do it.  Even with camp suds try to keep our impact and pollution to a minimum.   (you may be the guy downstream)

[pianoman9701]

Some time ago, someone posted a picture of a bug/weed sprayer, 5 gallons, painted black with a kitchen sink sprayer replacing the regular nozzle. Leave it out in the sun to warm up all day and take an afternoon shower before the evening hunt. Really an awesome setup.