Showers are an important part of staying clean while living on the road. Many vans don't have enough room for a shower since a shower stall takes up a lot of space, onboard water is limited, and not all vehicles have water heaters installed either. But for many nomads a shower (or two!) is an important part of their home on the road. Outdoor shower heads, typically installed at the back of the van, are an option in warm weather.
Onboard, offboard, and portable showers
Be sure to put some thought into whether or not you need a shower in your vehicle, even if you have space. It's a commonly-sought amenity for vanlifers, especially in large vehicles, but an onboard shower stall takes up significant space for something that is usually not in use. The decision on whether or not to include a shower is a common regret among nomads. A shower stall nearly always doubles as a toilet room ("wet bath"), however, which may be another desired amenity.
To reduce the space impact, many people make a temporary shower space with a removeable shower curtain, or have an outdoor showerhead instead – more details on those below. If you don't have a shower in your vehicle at all, there are plenty of places to shower elsewhere, and there are plenty of other ways to stay clean – more details on those below also.
In vehicles with a low roof and in all small vehicles, there isn't room for an onboard shower. You'll need to rely on showers in buildings (see below), outdoor showers, or other methods for personal hygiene.
Onboard showers
Shower stall
Fixed shower stalls take up a lot of room in any vehicle! In most builds, the shower stall will also serve as a room for the toilet, also known as a "wet bath". In some wet baths, the toilet is installed in a drawer that slides out of the way when taking a shower. If the toilet is portable (cassette toilet, etc.) it is simply removed from the shower stall and placed elsewhere. Some nomads use the shower stall as a closet when it isn't in use, and then remove the hanging clothing when taking a shower.
Conventional shower pans have a drain in the center, which doesn't work very well when your vehicle is not level. Consider a shower pan with a second drain (one in diagonally opposite corners) so that water can drain whichever way it wants to. You may have to
See the shower gallery below for examples.
Installed shower systems
If you already have (or will add) a pressurized water system in your vehicle, an on-demand propane water heater is a popular choice. An on-demand electric water heater can work for you, but only if you are on shore power, or possibly if you have an extremely large electrical system with hundreds of watts of solar panels and battery capacity to match and take short showers. An electric system of this size will cost thousands of dollars.
Temporary showers
Recirculating showers
Recirculating shower systems, designed for marine or RV use, are an expensive but water-saving alternative. These showers filter and minimally treat used water (with UV light, for example) and reuse it. For most nomads, recirculating showers will not be worth the expense and complexity.
Sink showers
If you have a sink in your van with pressurized water, you may be able to get a removeable faucet on a long hose that doubles as a showerhead.
Offboard showers
Outdoor showers
Places to shower
If you don't have a shower in your vehicle due to space or cost constraints, there are more places to shower than you might think! This includes campgrounds, truck stops, gyms, and more, usually for a fee. Continue reading …Portable showers
Portable showers (for camping and nomadic living) have the advantage of being useable inside the vehicle (if a shower stall is present) or outside the vehicle in a shower tents, behind a tarp attached to your vehicle, or out in the open. There are three main types of portable shower systems (also called "camping showers" or simply "camp showers"): Pressurized water with onboard heating, pressurized water without onboard heating, and gravity-fed water.Continue reading …Nomadic shower tips
Solar water heating
Solar water heating allows you to use the sun to heat water for showers, cooking, making coffee, and other uses. By using solar energy directly, instead of first converting it to electricity via solar panels, you can generally heat water more efficiently. This method also doesn't use any fuels like propane, but it does depend on fairly sunny weather.Shower with solar heatWater conservation
When not connected to water hookups in a campground, water conservation is important due to the limited onboard water supply. "Navy showers" are short, methodical showers intended to use minimal water; 1-2 gallons or 4-9 liters of water per shower are possible. Turn water on just long enough to get your skin and/or hair wet; turn water off while soaping up, lathering, scrubbing; turn water back on to rinse off. You may wish to practice this process before hitting the road.
Towels
When showering, squeegee as much water off your body and out of your hair as possible before toweling off. This keeps your towel as dry as possible, which allows it to dry faster in your vehicle – and towels tend to take forever to dry in a vehicle due to the humidity that always seems to be too high (unless you're in a very dry climate). Get a microfiber towel for fast drying[1], or an extra-large car wash shammy towel (purchased from auto parts stores) which can be wrung out and stored in its container wet.[2] Wet towels can be stored in a dry bag if you know you will be able to do laundry very soon.
