Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2000 13:36:13 -0800
Reply-To: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Subject: Re: Solar Shower &Water Storage Tank for Luggage Bin
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
Tony:
I think it was my post that gave you the idea, but mine is a smaller size
(the largest one that is hangable) I started using it last year and took it
on a 3,500 mile 15 day trip. It works very well, but it is HEAVY when full.
(I can't imagine how heavy THAT one will be!)
Normally, when you are in the back country, filling it means lugging it to a
water source and then hauling it back and flopping it onto the roof of the
luggage rack; this is tricky, believe me. It holds enough water for a
couple of downright decadently long showers, but beware, the on/off is
accomplished by pulling/pushing the nozzle into itself. This is almost
impossible if you have soap on your hands. (oops - guess the engineers
didn't think of that one, eh?)
Also, the hose on mine is not long enough to use it while it is on top of
the car, so you really have to string it up in a tree or something like
that. This can be tricky, since the sucker is so HEAVY - you need a pretty
stout tree to hang it from. This one looks like the hose would be longer,
but with the same nozzle arrangement. Rigging up some PVC pipe sections to
hold the shower head out away from the van would be a good idea, since you
don't really want to be hugging your passenger side mirror while trying to
shower (I wonder if Dr. Bronner's is also good for washing Vanagons?). This
is what I am hoping to do eventually, though I haven't come up with a good
way of rigging it securely to the side of the luggage rack while making it
easy to set up/knock down.
All in all, I really like the way it works. Beats the heck out of jumping
into a frigid stream to get wet, then trying to soap and rinse 500' away
with a little tin pan with warm water in it... :-)
Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Peet [mailto:tpvw@HOTMAIL.COM]
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2000 1:16 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Solar Shower &Water Storage Tank for Luggage Bin
Hi All:
I think I've finally found how I want to use my rooftop luggage bin on my
Westy. I've been wanting to figure out a way to create a cheap shower
option, and one of the list members recommended the "Basic Designs SunShower
and Water Storage Tank" -- which holds 8-10 gallons, measures approximately
21'x30" (just about perfect for a snug fit in the bin), and has 4 grommets
that look like they'll work great for secure tie-down. From the picture, it
even looks like I can stow it such that the water fill hole is on the
drivers side -- same as the other intakes -- and the shower hose is on the
passenger side.
I think I know that a gallon of water weighs around 10 pounds -- so the load
could be around 80 pounds -- well below the recommended 100 pound limit for
the bin.
Has anyone else had any experience with this product? Does anyone have any
strong recommendations for a similar product?
It costs $24.99 from www.campmor.com. GO to the homepage and type
'22320' (without quotes --its the product number) in to the search bar. Or
, you can click on:
You can view it by clicking on:
http://www.campmor.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr
=13512
Tony
'91 Syncro Westy ('teepee')
Pacific Grove, CA
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