[VAC] Re: adding shower to '51 FC

[Robert C Townsend <rctowns@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The shower/bath issue is a crucial one in my case - my Trailwind was built
with a small (48" x 24" x 12") porcelain-over-steel bathtub placed across
the rear of the trailer. There was no toilet in the original setup. There
are/were two sinks - a galley sink, and a bathroom sink. All of the 'grey'
water drained to a single outlet (no holding tank in this '48 trailer).

My '65 Globetrotter rear-bath was as described in previous posts, the shower
drain in the middle of the floor, the entire bathroom ensemble was basically
one-piece fiberglass construction, the entire bath separated by an
accordian-style, vinyl-covered door.

My '72 Overlander (27') had a rear-bath arranged as follows: curbside -
small, shallow bathtub with hand-shower; center (under rear window) - sink;
streetside - toilet. The shower/bath had a shower curtain. The 'bathtub' was
about the volume as the steel tub in the Trailwind, but a little
shorter/wider.

My problem with undersized bath/showers is as follows: they're too damned
small. I'm not a huge person (5', 11"; 150 lbs or so). In boondocking
situations, all one can do (to conserve water, and the propane required to
heat it) is take 'navy' showers at best, or 'sponge-baths'. In those
situations, it turns out to be MUCH more efficient to use a 'Sun shower'...
you know, those two- or three-gallon vinyl bags which one hangs on the side
of the trailer, heated by the sun. They get the job done, without having to
run plumbing lines, or heating water for bathing.

In hook-up situations, the only improvement is in the amount of water
available, and the pressure at which it's delivered. Water-heating is
limited by the capacity of the heater's tank. Forget about long, luxurious
hot showers... we're still talking 'navy shower'. If you happen to retro-fit
a 'tankless' hot-water heater, the amount/pressure of the hot water is still
limited by the gallons-per-minute rate of the heater, and the temperature
'rise' at the time - (the colder the 'source' water, the lower the gpm).
Too, the tankless, or 'flash', water heater takes a little while to heat the
water... so you need to run the water until it heats up, usually a bit more
than getting pre-heated water from a tank. The advantage is, once the
water's running hot... it'll run hot as long as there's propane to fire the
heater...

If i were to put a bathing/shower facility into that '51 Flying Cloud, i'd
leave the toilet/sink as they are, put a shower drain in the floor (joined
to the sink drain line), build a 'shower-pan' around the whole bathroom
area, fiberglass the floor all the way around, and up a few inches along the
trailer walls, and put a shower-curtain around the whole deal, and call it
good.

In my own case, I've decided to go a whole 'nother way with the Trailwind
(heads up, Debbie & Michael Smith) - about ten years ago, i bought a
SofTub... one of the best purchases i've ever made. It's a lightweight,
portable hot-tub/jacuzzi.  http://www.ventless.com/html/softub.html
I've got the smallest one, which is about 5' in diameter, and about 2' deep.
the associated heater/pump runs off of 110v, and has an in-line GFCI.

Here's my plan: I'm going to put the SofTub in the Trailwind. Probably in
the forward section, where it will serve as a large, round
work-surface/table when not in use. The large sleeping surface will be on
top. When in a 'hook-up' situation, i'll set it up outside, and fill it once
with water heated by my Takagi TK-1 'Flash' hot water heater...
http://www.cetsolar.com/tk1.htm .
The heated water is maintained by the SofTub's heater/pump for pennies a
day.

In boondocking situations, it'll either stay home, or stay empty, or could
function as an on-board 'cistern'. It holds 200 gallons or so, which would
amount to1,666 lbs of additional weight (in addition to 'sloshing' problems)
so it would never, ever travel 'full'... however, at half full/empty
(depending on one's personal philosophy).

At the rear of the trailer, I'm going to install a conventional
shower/bath/sink/toilet and a grey-water tank mounted amidships, below the
floor, accessible from inside the trailer by removeable floor sections.. I'm
using PEX/Flair-it plumbing throughout http://www.flair-it-us.com/ , and the
Monomatic recirculating toilet mounted on its own blackwater tank which will
sit on top of the floor, with both greywater and blackwater plumbed to a
conventional gated sewer outlet and a 'sewer-solution' drainage system.
 http://www.sewersolution.com/

I'm leaning towards a flexible-panel solar system for 12v, and transplanting
the Onan 4kw propane-fired genset from my '79 Dodge 'Champion'
mini-motorhome. Likewise, i'm transplanting the rooftop Coleman A/C from the
Dodge to a floor-level inside compartment in the Trailwind. I'm
re-installing the Marvel (110vAC) 'fridge, and the original Coleman 3-burner
oven/range.

This is 'The Plan', as of 03/08/01, anyway...

Tuna.
'48 Trailwind (highly-modified)
'50 Jeepster (repowered TBI 350 V-8, 700R4 Transmission w/OD)
WBCCI#8862, VAC
Reno, NV