Make a Camp Shower Enclosure or Changing Area

Intro: Make a Camp Shower Enclosure or Changing Area

Camping is lots of fun. However most of us enjoy a shower at least once in a while on prolonged trips and not every campground has a shower house. There are lots of instructables on how to make a shower, but what do you do about getting a little privacy while you use it? Here's how to make a quick and easy shower area out of PVC that can double as a changing area if need be.. Although not ideal for backpacking, i think it's going to be great for those of us who are car campers.

STEP 1: Don't Be a Tool

It doesn't take much in the way of tools to put this shower area together. A drill and bit, some pliers, and something to cut the PVC pipe with.

STEP 2: Bits and Pieces

You will need
4 lengths of 1/2 inch PVC pipe
4 1/2 inch elbow slip joints
4 eye hooks
rope or paracord

The pipe can be whatever lengths you feel comfortable with for the size of your shower. I used ones that were slightly shorter than four feet, and it made for a pretty roomy shower area. Be sure the rope or paracord you select fits through the eye hooks. 

STEP 3: Screw It

Pre drill a hole in the corner of the elbow and then place an eye hook. You want it to be snug, so use a smaller drill bit and then use the pliers to screw the eye hook in. Nobody wants their shower falling down while it's in use!

STEP 4: Connect Four

Connect the pvc pipes to the elbows to make a square (or rectangle if you cut two pieces shorter and two pieces longer).

STEP 5: I'm Knot Kidding

Take your para cord or rope and thread it through the eye hooks from corner to corner making a big 'X'. Leave a loop in the center so that you have a way to hang your framework from a nearby tree while camping. You want to make the line snug, but no so tight that it distorts the pvc frame.

STEP 6: Curtains Up!

Now you're ready to add a shower curtain and hang your frame. At the time I made the frame, I hadn't bought the curtain yet, so I just used the one from my shower to try it out. Just use the loop in the middle to attach it to another rope that you've looped over a tree branch or other such sturdy object.

A note on curtains: I would suggest using a shower curtain that has tabs or grommets already installed so they are less likely to come off the frame than curtains with hooks. Adding some weights to the bottom of your curtain will also help prevent the wind from blowing it so much. I plan on sewing washers to the bottom of mine. I also plan on using a rubber mat as a 'floor' to keep my feet out of the mud while I shower and to reduce 'splash'.

STEP 7: Storage

When you're all done camping and using your shower (or changing) enclosure you can simply pull apart the PVC pieces for easy storage and transport.  I ended up adding a beener to the loop on mine so I could attach it to a hanging rope more easily. 

Comments

[rufusbirder]

Thanks this is very doable. Great design.

[JanxAngel]

I made one of these a couple of years ago, but I just threaded the rope through the eyes when I got to the site instead of installing a center piece. This turned out great since the only place to hang it was right up against a tree, so the far eyes could have longer ropes going back towards the trunk and the near ones could go straight up. From the side it was like:

/|

/ |

if that makes sense.

[tomstedham]

Excellent instructable! You can also add 4 T-joints and pieces of 6-long PVC pipe, and have a self-standing enclosure, in case you are in a no-tree area...

Also: you can cut all pieces in half, and use connectors to put them together, which will make all pieces 3' or so long, and thus easy to keep in a small bag.

Overall: a great instructable!

[wmac96]

love the idea, I did this with an patio umbrella. glued velcro to outside of unbrella, glued velcro to shower curtains. hammered piece of pvc in ground. insert umbrella. worked like a charm.

[ligiya]

maybe I'm just a paranoid Looney, but I'd probably adjust some of this construction to be a lot longer so I can see over, I wouldn't want to be changing, or showering, and someone steal my things and or try to hurt me. if I was alone that would be my biggest concern. but this is a really clever instructable, and something very useful for camping.

[Puzzledd]

Nice idea and great explanation- thanks :)

[utest_987]

test tedy

[jessyratfink]

This is so smart - being able to break it down all the way is great :D