All You Need to Know About Shower Enclosures

All You Need to Know About Shower Enclosures

The A'van is truly made for self sufficient bush camping! However not all our young lady friends are so adaptable, so we have to do a little bit of coaxing to get them to come with us out into the facilities deficient "bush"! Showers are absolutely top of the list of the "must have or I wont go"! There are dozens of models on the market and therefore lots of opportunities to make expensive mistakes. If you really want to get it right first time, we suggest you ask all your friends how they solved the problem. Be prepared for a long list of "errors". The photos below are of a very unique type of new enclosure that has been on the market about a year now. You don't have to wrestle with poles and ropes. Simply take it out of the cover, twist and let go. It pops up into a fully enclosed shower or change cubicle. Very clever. But, at this point we must tell the truth! Siggy and Heather Nowak are the proud owners of this nifty gadget, BUT it has not always been a joy to own. They could erect it OK, but found it impossible to fold up and had to take it home strapped to the bed after its first use! Then it went back to the shop for extra instructions! We like the convenience of this enclosure, but have reservations on how long it will last, as the spring steel rods sewn into it could eventually rust. As none are visible this is hard to monitor. Cost is around $100.00 from most camping stores. This enclosure ONLY works with battery operated showers. You cannot hang a bucket from the roof as it would collapse. You could however hang a conventional canvas bush shower from a tree and pop the enclosure around it, but this is not what it was designed to do. The enclosure is made of quick drying nylon and this should last quite a few years with careful use. Further down the page we look at methods of heating water. Don't forget that this enclosure can be multipurpose. If you are an an old "bushy" you can dig your hole and use it as a toilet enclosure. To use it as a shower simply move it away a few feet, and away you go as a shower!

The shower packed in its compact bag

Remove from the bag and just let go!

The structure is free standing except in windy conditions. A couple of pegs in the bottom stiffens it right up. The top is completely open. As you can see, Siggy really loves his shower tent!

Packing up is NOT a piece of cake and does require a knack, as it is not the bleeding obvious and the instructions are typically hopeless! The Siggy Method:- Fold up flat as per the left photo. Then twist as per the right photo then poke in bag. Best of luck! Email Siggy if you have problems.

The last step is to pop it back into the cover supplied. The 12 volt shower shown at right is typical of the dozens on the market. This one came from Camp Mart in Brisbane and was about $30.00. It works great in your A'van

Li Lo Shower

A very good example of an outside shower! Spotted this one on the June's Birthday long weekend down by the river in Gordon Country near Cunningham's Gap in Queensland. It was help up with an ingenious pulley system which didn't actually come out in this photo! The Li Lo is actually a blow up gadget and folds down to a very small package. We have one of these ourselves and hang it from out Explorer TV pole and use 12 volt. It costs around $48.00 from any large camping store. It is more effort to use than Siggy and Heathers automatic one at the top of this page. You can of course use an electric tyre pump to blow it up but it is a fiddly operation and you find yourself looking for excuses not to use it!

Bob & Chrissy Eustace