Neat little fresh water in an ABS pipe idea

So here is a variation on that theme -- I used to bring a solar shower (just a big black plastic bag) and stick it on the roof of the car while we were surfing. Except on cloudy days, the bag would be nice and warm when we got out.

"Used to bring:" one day, I forgot about it and left it on the roof as we drove away from the beach. It flew off on Pacific Coast Highway and splat! Nobody was hurt except my self-image.

Now we have a six gallon jerry can that I fill with hot water in our laundry sink, just before we leave for the beach. The can sits in the back of my truck till we get out. The water stays hot for about three hours, and these days I am lucky if I can surf for two hours. (I'm in my late 60s, so I use that as an excuse for a lot of shortcomings.)

The hardest part is lifting the full jerry can (almost 50 pounds!) high enough so that DW can crouch under the nozzle and wash off the sand and the salt water. Fortunately, she is both small and agile!

By the time it is half empty, I can then lift it above my own head. Especially in the winter, that warm water sure feels good.

This was common on a number of our jeeps with roof racks. On a hot summer day in the desert you had to be cautious with the water temperature. We would take a 20' stick of 6 inch pipe and cut it into 5 four foot sections giving us about 20 Gallons of water at about 160 lbs.

That is a gorgeous camper van. Wouldn't take long to find a buyer for that if he was crazy enough to sell it.

bgum wrote:
That system is sold commercially or it used to be.

They still are, but they are based on the original do it yourself ideas. One is commercially known as the Road Shower and as made of aluminum and sells for around $400. Yakima owns the brand name now. 4 inch ABS and DIY is a lot cheaper.

Reminds me of the outdoor shower I built as a kid at the beach house. I wanted an outdoor shower like a few of the neighbors had, but Grandpa didn’t want any water lines run back there. I rigged up an elevated platform about 8 feet above the ground, painted an old beer keg black, and mounted it up top gravity feeding an old shower head. Every time we went down, I’d run the garden hose out there the first day, and there would be enough warm water for like 5 quick showers after a beach day. Inspired by the showers in TV show M*A*S*H

Inventive. Good idea.

That system is sold commercially or it used to be.

I've seen that system mounted to numerous van campers. Saw one with black pipe on one side and white on the other. I suppose in the right environment, the black could be scalding hot.

Alan_Hepburn wrote:
By my calculations a 4" X 60" pipe will hold about 750 cubic inches; converting that to liters results in about 12.3 liters. So, you could, indeed, pour 24 500ml bottles of water into the pipe...

Thanks professor. But not still in the bottles?
It just looks smaller in the pic. :S

EDIT: You too, Chum lee.:W
Agreed about the van. Rare and cool. Someone must still be making them, as I've recently seen a few that looked showroom fresh. Like new builds.

A good idea. That said, THAT is a really cool older VW synchro camper van in what appears to be great condition. Last time I priced a good used one in San Diego, if I remember correctly, it was in the $30,000 range and it sold . . . . immediately. That's a very desirable and rare VW with a cult like following.

"if its 4", and roughly 60" long, it holds around 3.25 gallons."

By my calculations, that is roughly correct.

"I don't think there's any way you'd get a case of 24 X 500ml water bottles into that pipe, if the 4" by 60" dimensions are accurate."

Check your numbers. You should be able to do the above with a little room to spare.

Chum lee

Before we got lazy and plumbed our outdoor showers with hot water we used tanks painted black mounted above. This looks to be the mobile version of the same concept.

Dave