DIY Camp Shower

When you're doing outdoors stuff, you get dirty.  Maybe you're camping and have a few days of grime on you.  Or you've been out hiking and sweating in the sticky summertime.  Or you've been swimming at the beach, you're covered in sand.  You don't want to stink up the truck, all muddy and sandy, grit everywhere... all in the seats and stuck on the steering wheel.  Or maybe you're out deer hunting and need some pressurized water to wash off your fresh venison.  Or maybe your four legged friend decided to take a mud bath.  

There's a simple DIY solution, a camp shower---a few pieces of PVC, some fittings, some basic tools, and a bike pump or air compressor are all you need.  Spray paint it black if you want some solar heat on a cool fall day in the field.  Of course, there are companies that build these things, for a few more dollars, but where's the fun in that?

This REI write up was helpful, as was this, and other YouTube videos.  

Here's what you need to get (I used PVC instead of ABS):

• One 10' length of 4" Schedule 40 ABS pipe or PVC (depending on how much water you want, and length of your mounting surface)
• Two 4" ABS end caps
• One 4" T-joint ABS fitting with threaded top opening (some folks use a different cap that has a better seal)
• 4" ABS cleanout cap for T-Joint
• One 1/2" brass locknut
• One flat rubber O-ring
• Two canoe foam blocks (or just tie directly to the bars)
• One Schrader valve from an aluminum wheel
• ABS cleaner/primer (or PVC)
• ABS or PVC cement
• Waterproof silicone sealant
• Sandpaper
• Tie-down straps
• Petroleum jelly
• Schrader bike pump
• One 3/4" hose spigot
• hose and nozzle

Here are some basic steps: 

1. Figure out your length, based on your roof rack, how much water you need, etc. and cut your pipe.  
2. Drill your holes for your spigot and valve, as tight a squeeze as possible, with the valve being above the spigot.  
3. Install your spigot and valve, and seal with silicone.
4. Glue on the caps and T joint.  
5. Let it cure, then test it out. Pressurize it up to 30 PSI or so.  Technically you shouldn't go over the pipes pressure rating.   

My lessons learned are that I'd have made mine bigger for more water capacity.  My completed tank is slightly less than 6 feet long.  I also found that I needed to use plumbers tape on the threads of the cleanout cap, in addition to some petroleum jelly like in the REI article, to prevent air leaks.  Some folks use a different cap with a better seal, along with a pressure relief valve.  I keep a VIAIR Air compressor in my truck, mainly for if I pick up a nail or drive on the beach and need to deflate my tires, but the thing also makes pressurizing this thing a breeze.  It's quick work...within seconds you've got pressurized water.  Obviously how long that pressure lasts depends on how big your tank is and how much you pressurize it.  Go build you one.