Extending the shower hose

[delosholly]

Our TC did not come with an outdoor shower. I thought it would be easy just to extend the interior shower hose so that it could be used outside. I'd run it through the doorway, not put a hole in the wall or anything. Perhaps with some sort of quick-connect system so that the extension would not be on there all the time. The shower head has one of those on/off buttons on it.

Has anyone done this? Was it worth it?

Thanks, Del

[pjay9]

Hey I made a small trench with the point of a stick...it works. As said if the pressure is low on your unit take the restrictor out of the shower head right where the threads to the hose is, also make sure there is noty another restrictor at the fuacet end of the hose...that will help loads..plus the end of the galley tap has a restrictor in the aerator that if removed will not bother the aeration process, just make sure you get the bits back in the right order minus the restr. Your pump is a whole lot better than most think.

[delosholly]

Thanks for the replies.
You all have made some good points. I would think that the hose would need to be around 12-15 feet to reach from the existing shower pipe, out the door, around the TC to some location on the driver's side. I was not picturing that long of a hose in my mind. Gives me some pause.
I like the idea of the garden weed-block material to stand on... that would be a lot lighter and smaller than the wooden platform I was thinking about.
Also a good point about the ground sloping away so as not to create a large puddle. That might be a tricky thing to find at a lot of sites.
I guess it would not be "green" to dig out a little trench to allow the water to run away from the site.
As far as water pressure... that is a tough one. The shower pipe is way up there above where we would be standing outside to shower, but it would have to go back uphill from its low point to reach our heads.

We had an outside shower on the Holiday Rambler and the DW loved to use it to wash off sand while camping a the beach. I also think it would be nice to have an outside faucet for several reasons, but I am not sure, yet, about cutting out an area to ad a true outside unit.

A lot to think about. Again thanks to all.

Del

[joeshmoe]

That's because your SHOWER HEAD is internally restricted. Disconnect the head from the hose and turn the hot and cold on full blast. You should get a nice, full 1/2" ID stream... or at least you should.

[Super_Dave]

I guess I'm basing my opinion on my own experience that the shower feels like someone is spitting on me even at the shower wall.

[languiduck]

Who said his pressure was weak now?
I'm sure there is some kind of measurable pressure loss through 15' of hose, but I bet it would not be noticeable.

Good point about the doorway though. I wouldn't want to deal with 15' of shower head hose or have a puddle at the door. Perhaps you could find a decent place to go thorough a window or an existing opening somewhere.

[Super_Dave]

mkirsch wrote:
I can't imagine an extra 6' of shower hose is going to cause THAT much head loss, especially if you are going to be using it outside the camper where it can gain a few feet of head due to gravity.

6' barely gets him to the back door and who wants a puddle right in front of the door? I was thinking more like 12' - 15' to get him where a standard outside shower box would be. Also, each of the fittings added reduces pressure. I'm not a hydraulic engineer but if the pressure is deemed weak now, it won't be good with the system he is inquiring about.

[languiduck]

Wouldn't it be fairly easy to just find a suitable place to cut out for a box outside and tee in to the existing plumbing so you can install an outside shower? If you use it as often as we do, it would be worth it IMO. It's awesome to just rinse off or to cool yourself off.

[mkirsch]

Just to be clear, 1/2" pipe thread won't connect to a garden hose, but it WILL connect to shower hose.

Only thing is I don't know of a quick connect that would be suitable.

What I would do is get another shower hose and head/nozzle, and to use it, just unscrew the original shower head, and screw on the second hose assembly using a 1/2" NPT brass male-male coupler.

Your water runs all through the camper with just 1/2" PEX tubing. I can't imagine an extra 6' of shower hose is going to cause THAT much head loss, especially if you are going to be using it outside the camper where it can gain a few feet of head due to gravity.

[Bedlam]

Our outside shower has a quick-fitting allowing the use of a regular garden hose. We use it to clean ourselves and off-road vehicles instead of hauling a lot dirt inside. We also wash dishes or our dogs outside since you can mix hot and cold water.

[pjay9]

Is your galley sink closer to the door? Just get a garden hose sink fauwcet adater...they used them in utility rooms before the faucet came with hose threads. Your galley sink may be closer. The typical shower head shut off drips, so it would need to be outside before you turn it on, then how far from the door will you use this...could be a big mess outside...even with Lance outside shower opposite side from door which I have used in the midddle of a forest, I had to make sure the ground slope didn't send the water across under the truck to the door...then you can get some garden filter cloth to stand on to keep feet clean...have you looked at all the factors? Also if going to do this go to a custom hose shop and get a proper length made up using flexible no kink hose...it is a cost effective way to go rather than a make do set up. Just some thoughts and I do not like aggrevation caused by myself...so I really think it out..but that is just me! Good luck!

[805gregg]

Lance Campers all come with one

[magic43]

Yup, I paid to have the external shower and have never used it. Also the rear awning has never been used.

Now if we traveled with small children and stayed in one location it might be different.

[joeshmoe]

Hose thread is not pipe thread. 1/2" IP will not connect to garden hose.

Dave, I think he just wants to extend it by connecting a nipple (or two) and string together a couple lengths of shower hose. No biggie. It's not like he's wanting to park the camper and run 50 ft up a hill.

[Reddog1]

I simply added an external shower. The shower kit plus all related plumbing cost less than $100. That was in about 2006, and I have yet to use it.

Wayne