# Showers



## Lawrence22 (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi, I haven't been on here in a while, but I'm still working on wife trying to convince her that a motorhome is for us. We are hopefully going to hire one later in the summer to try it out, but one question I have always wondered. Approx how much water do you use in a shower? Just wondering if we were camping rough somewhere is having a shower a possibility, or is the shower really only useable on sites? Thanks in advance.

Lawrence


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## greenasthegrass (Oct 27, 2007)

I would say quite the reverse.

Our experience of showers in our previous Hymer I can't remember which model of Truma it was but it was gas only and we managed to get 4 showers consequetively without running out of hot.

In our current one CE6002 we do have to wait at least half and hour between them. It's not quite as good as the previous one but decent enough.

We use the sites one if we are on a site as we have paid for it and means less emptying of the waste water and filling fresh up.

We are not talking long showers its more of a wet all over turn off soap all over turn off rinse etc - its amazing how little water you actually need. I supplement ours with a solar shower for my hair which is rather long and thick and needs a good rinse.

So to sum up depends on which model of van you get but if just two of you you should be more than fine.

Greenie


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Our 80litre fresh water tank lasts us about three days/nights.

We both shower each night.

However, you have to think out of the box a bit when it comes to water usage.

Just imagine that you have walked three miles in the heat and dust of the desert, heaved the water up in a bucket from a deep well and then carted it back the three miles on your head.

So, you do not leave the tap running when cleaning teeth.

In the shower - quick wet, water off, soap then quick rinse.

We rarely use sites and rarely run out of water.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

greenasthegrass said:


> I would say quite the reverse.
> 
> Our experience of showers in our previous Hymer I can't remember which model of Truma it was but it was gas only and we managed to get 4 showers consequetively without running out of hot.
> 
> ...


what she said!

but if you're getting to the details about 'vans, check how much fresh (and waste!) water they hold. Some have a fairly small capacity, and would need to re-fill more often. Ours is 140 litres (fresh and waste), and we can easily do 3 days off-site and that's with washing up, cooking & showers.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Agree with Greenie on this one.
It's not the water but fighting with my shower curtain that takes it outa me. 

Ray.


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## Lawrence22 (Aug 10, 2009)

Thank you all, I am really glad to hear that. I don't think I would use too much water as I keep my hair so short I can towel dry it with one wipe. My wife however has quite long hair. 
We were in Donegal a couple of weeks ago and saw a couple of MH's parked up in a car park by a beautiful beach and I thought what a wonderful way to spend a weekend. It was the showering thing that I always wondered about though. For some reason I presumed you would use a lot more water than the MH stores.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

_fighting with my shower curtain _

No such problem with the crafty swing-wall in our Hymer.

I detest cold, wet, clingy shower curtains!


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

You can replace the standard shower head supplied with the van with a trigger one- costs about £7-8 to do. Water will flow while you press the trigger lightly and stop when you release it but, if you want a continuous flow, all you have to do is press until the trigger clicks and does not turn off.

It makes a difference to our water consumption in the shower.

G

Here is the link to the CAK Tanks shower head we have ( page 29 of the catalogue, ref DLTTSHC/W depending on whether you want chrome or white):

CAK TANKS trigger shower head


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

pippin said:


> _fighting with my shower curtain _
> No such problem with the crafty swing-wall in our Hymer.
> I detest cold, wet, clingy shower curtains!


Mee too pippin.
It's the one thing in this Hobby I could kill over. After being used to full size showers in RVs, this one is more than a compromise and tests me to the limit.

It's got weights along the bottom, is almost new but bend down to get the soap or shampoo and it shrink wraps you in a second.

Ray.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

raynipper said:


> It's got weights along the bottom, is almost new but bend down to get the soap or shampoo and it shrink wraps you in a second.
> 
> Ray.


Ray...is it a fabric type one rather than a plastic one ? If fabric then try rinsing it in a bucket with a good dollop of fabric softener in and letting it dry over a line ( rather than spinning or wringing). This goes a long way to reduce static and hence clinginess.

G


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Thanks 'G'.
It's actually 100% Polyester and made in Germany. So it could be the orginal..??

Would fabric softer work on that?

Ray.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

raynipper said:


> Would fabric softer work on that?
> 
> Ray.


Can't do it any harm to try. Make up a strong solution of the stuff with water.

G


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## jhelm (Feb 9, 2008)

pippin said:


> _fighting with my shower curtain _
> 
> No such problem with the crafty swing-wall in our Hymer.
> 
> I detest cold, wet, clingy shower curtains!


Our 644 has the swing out shower. It works well and saves space. The actual shower area is pretty big but I also wonder sometimes if we would be happier with a separate shower.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Grizzly said:


> You can replace the standard shower head supplied with the van with a trigger one- costs about £7-8 to do. Water will flow while you press the trigger lightly and stop when you release it but, if you want a continuous flow, all you have to do is press until the trigger clicks and does not turn off.
> 
> It makes a difference to our water consumption in the shower.
> 
> ...


That sounds good. I cant see how to order one on the website or any prices though?


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

barryd said:


> That sounds good. I cant see how to order one on the website or any prices though?


The price list is downloadable Barry- here:

http://www.caktanks.co.uk/

Looks like they have a new price list so perhaps quicker to give them a ring and order if you like the price.

G


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Shower*

Hi

I have, sad as it maybe, measured the amount of water used! Basically, I leave my waste water drain tap open all the time and flowing into a bucket. I emptied the bucket, had a shower, and the looked again at the bucket. A decent shower takes me 12 litres, a quick freshen up without hair wash is about 5 llitres.

For showering....don't laugh....

1) Water heater on to the highest temperature setting - the hotter the water from the relatively small hot water tank, the more cold is needed in the mix - thus maximising the overall water use.

2) Open shower, wet hair, tap off.

3) Shampoo hair.

4) Tap on to rinse etc.

There are two of us on tour at present, and when using aires on our journey we managed fine, although we do top up with water at every opportunity.

Russell


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Your gonna love a full hook up stateside Russell.
50 amp supply, mains water and drains.

Ray.


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

pippin said:


> ...In the shower - quick wet, water off, soap then quick rinse....


An on/off trigger control on the shower head makes this very easy


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

Agree with all said so far. Would just add that our shower had a solid screen and is ok for me to stand up in and I'm 6ft 2in. There's not lots of room so reaching down to your feet requires reasonable flexibility - could be tricky if you're wide rather than tall - worse still if you're both!


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

Just for info- MH showers are self contained. The method of washing has already been described. The water drains into a waste tank and is easily disposed of.

How much water can you shower with? Our first MH had a 50 ltr water tank...we learned to be frugal then!

We then went to a camper and used one of these:










and could both shower from that.

We now have 120 ltr tank and a large shower room- bliss.

MHs are there to be used.

ATB


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Grizzly said:


> raynipper said:
> 
> 
> > Would fabric softer work on that?
> ...


Done and back up on the runners. Thanks 'G'. Haven't used it yet but the small room smalls lovely. Just waiting for the feeling to come back into my fingers after pressing all those hooks back.

Ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

does the showerhead have pressure switch or does the pump continue to run when the water is switched off ?
and ---would that matter?
aldra


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