Using Your A'van Pump to Power a Shower

Using Your A'van Pump to Power a Shower

This is actually two stories in one. Ingenious Terry Williams who lives permanently on the road in a Roadstar tandem caravan has a really bad back. Filling up the water tank can be a real chore. So he set about to solve two problems with one go. Simply by using plastic taps/cocks he can use the van pump to suck water up into the water tank as well as direct it to a tap on the A-frame so it can also be used for a shower. The photo above shows the new line going to the pump inlet. This tap is normally closed.

The photo top left shows the ordinary brass tap on the A-frame. This can be used to decant water from the tank or to shower using a hand wand. There are two ways of doing this. A cold shower uses the caravan water tank. Now here is the good bit. If you boil up some water and stick it in a container beside the van you can use the van pump to suck it up into the front tap (with the wand attached). This is a great way to have a nice long shower albeit in the open air. Terry has used this method for about 18 months and has had zero problems. The only drawback we can see is if you get some iffy water, there is a small chance of it staying in the water line and getting mixed in with your drinking water. Overall though it is a good system and certainly solves his lifting problem and it is easily adaptable to an A'van and you are multiple using equipment.

Bob Eustace - special thanks to Terry Williams for sharing these ideas!