Make a Portable Camping Shower

In this Instructable learn how to make a portable camping shower. What sets this apart from a regular shower is it's pressurized so no need for a gravity feed bag that you hang from a tree, make this shower truly portable. This shower is super useful and is great for washing off after a day at the beach or after surfing. Or it can be used to water plants, especially useful if you have a rain barrel and need a way to get water to your plants.

Step 1: Check Out the Video

Check out the video for the whole process the written instructions are in the following steps.

Step 2: Parts

The parts for this shower are very easy to obtain and you should be able to find them at the local hardware store.

You will need:

• Garden sprayer or deck sprayer (use a new one or one has not been used to spray chemicals)
• Garden hose barbed adapter
• Garden hose nozzle
• Small hose clamp

Step 3: Assembly

• Remove the spraying wand or nozzle from the garden sprayer.
• Save the wand in case you want to convert it back.
• Screw the barbed garden hose adapter into the garden hose nozzle.
• Put the hose clamp on the hose.
• Fit the barbed end of the garden hose adapter into the hose.
• Tighten the hose clamp.

Step 4: Operation

Pump up the garden sprayer to pressure the system. You are now ready to start showering!

Comments

[jaydenthorup]

I actually bought a pre-made one of these. My hack was to add a valve stem to make it easier and faster to pressurize with a compressor. Do not modify the safety valve, just drill a new hole for the stem. Even if there is not compressed air near, you can still use the pump.

[mease1965]

love your idear but how do you heat the water. Dan

[lapsedex]

Fill the tank with hot water and wrap it with towels until time to use.

[lapsedex]

I tried this but don't get much pressure. Please comment on the inner and outer diameter of the hose, and the hose adapter's barb diameter.

[duncan195648]

Could I link two together for a longer shower and presurise them both

[JaK10]

I have three hose ends and no way any of them will fit the size hose on my tank. You can buy one already made at Sportsman's Warehouse for $30.

[theo67]

If the internal feed to the spray is a plastic hose then with hot water use there is a fair chance that the heat will cause the internal tube to collapse on itself cutting off the flow. If this happens then replace the internal feed tube with a metal aluminium , copper or otherwise heat proof tube. You can join the new tube with a minimum length of flexible tubing over the end sections closest to the external fitting so that there is little chance of it collapsing at this junction.

As for heating the water, heat it in the usual way but not in the sprayer. I usually use 1 measure of hot [boiling] to 3 of cold, mixed externally. Happy trails.

Theo

[JasonP110]

I will be living on a boathouse without running water and am wondering if anyone used a 2-3 gallon version of this.

[vref_guy]

What size barbed garden hose adapter is used?

[trebory6]

How long does the water pressure last? Looks like you'd be pumping every minute or so.

[dlangley2]

When you use something like this to shower, it's not the same as at home. Get wet, soap, rinse. Minimal! I'm looking into making something like this for an Airstream trailer.

[PaTaNiKi]

great insight manythxs

[JanaM13]

Thank you for this one, I will definitely be making one.

[jsimoens]

I like this

[kpqowieuryt]

You can try painting It black and leaving It under the sun a bit for free heated water

[nochoi]

Great instruction :-) I'd suggest to paint the container black in order to heat the water in the sun. That works for the gravity fed showers and should work here as well.

I will build one and let you share my experience.

[mikef135]

I love this hack ! I have a bad back which makes hanging a bag overhead painful . I have a backpack sprayer that I haven't used yet. That would be perfect

[rufusbirder]

Thanks this looks like it may be a bit expensive but better than putting loonies into the meter and then only getting seconds or no showering time which is what happened at my last camp site.

[DylanD581]

Great hack for a portable shower - much better than starting a siphon or placing a gravity-fed shower high-up.

[jon_chalk]

I did a similar thing a few years ago, but instead of a shower, it was connected to my bidet that I installed onto my toilet. Room temperature water is more comfortable than the cold water from the pipes.