Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 07:57:08 -0800
Reply-To: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Re: Solar Shower &Water Storage Tank for Luggage Bin
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
"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."
I picked up some more tubing and a barbed coupling to lengthen my solar
shower. I put it on top of my open hatch and shower behind the van... works
great. You can either use a prop to keep the weight from pushing the hatch
lower or get a set of the stronger struts from Bus Depot. Also, I like the
smaller solar shower bags because they heat faster (important on cooler
days) AND they are easier on my back. I'd rather have two smaller solar
showers than one large one... water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon! That
means the 5 gallon bag weighs about 40 lbs!! The 3 gallon one weighs about
24 pounds full... much easier to get onto the top of the van and keep my
back in alignment. :)
On really cool cloudy days I add some boiling water from the stove to bring
the temperature up to my comfort zone. (the built in thermometer in the bag
helps me get the right temperature)
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, February 04, 2000 3:34 AM
Subject: Re: Solar Shower &Water Storage Tank for Luggage Bin
>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&prrfnb
r
>=13512
>
>
>Tony
>'91 Syncro Westy ('teepee')
>Pacific Grove, CA
>
>
>
>
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>
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