To Shower Or Not To Shower...

[jwh92020]

Actually, it is to install a shower or not. I'm building a 7 x 12 and I'm going back & forth on whether to commit 34" x 34" of floor space to a permanently installed shower. if I knew I was keeping it, I wouldn't worry about having one in the trailer because I always stay at places with full hookups & shower facilities. That being said, when I go to sell it, is having a shower in the trailer that critical or would having the ability to shower (heater, water tank & pump) suffice? There are no holding tanks on the trailer (other than 2 - 7 gallon Aquatainers for fresh water during those Walmart overnighters), so grey water will go into a portable tank either way. I was thinking of using something like this if I didn't install a built in shower. I like this unit better than the Mr. Heater Base Camp because this one can run off a 12v system & the Mr. Heater runs on 6 D cell batteriers.Any thoughts will be appreciated.

https://www.costway.com/tankless-batter ... XQQAvD_BwE

[flboy]

You never know what the future holds and you may find yourself boondocking one day where the shower will serve you well.

Why don't you commit the space and use it as a closet and storage area and possibly a place for the porta potty.. If you change your mind later, can always finish it off to a full shower/bathroom or at least market it that way. Just a thought.

Btw.. if you get creative, may be able to build your own shower pan or get a customer one smaller than 32"*32*. That is alot of real estate. It made a shower with a 24*24 in pan and added some turn around space at an angle.

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[jwh92020]

Don - If I could fit in a 24 x 24, I would have used one, but that size is a 1 leg, 1 cheek stall for me. My original plan was to set the porta potty in the shower, and pull it out when showering (or if I'm really tired, use it as a seat. Here are pics of what I'm dealing with. When I started planning the layout, the right side shower wall was to go right at the end of the "V", but that puts the drain on top of a floor support. I would enclose the area between the right shower wall and the wall of the "V" for storage space. The right side of the "V" is where the 14k btu dual hose portable ac will sit with storage above it.

Bed Platform Face Shower Area "V" Area

46" From Shower Wall To Bed Platform 37" from Bed Platform To Door Trim

[domoarigato]

Jwh,

This decision is one that I think can only be guided by you, the one who knows what you want out of the trailer. We decided on going with a shower, mostly due to the exclusiveness if it but also as flboy said, if we go boon docking.

In regards to resale value, I'm not sure that you'll ever get back what you put into it when you account for the hours of labor involved. I built mine for my familys immediate and potential longer term use (after the kids leave) and assume some loss if I re-sell when I account for labor. As long as I get some good use out of it, I'll be satisfied. It's kinda like a honda civic with 10k of parts added to it. It's still a civic. Build it for you, not somebody else.

- Domo

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[jwh92020]

Domo - Good advice. I'm not sure that this will be a "keeper" long term, which is why I'm looking at potential resale. I've been lucky on the other 2 I've built that I got cost + back when I sold them. I don't think anyone can get their labor back when you sell one, but in my case, I build during down times in my cabinet career. I'm fortunate that whatever I make from my "real job" is designated for our retirement accounts, and trailers are a way to keep me busy & out of trouble as my wife says. I wouldn't give up the space if this was a keeper. There are ways to shower when boon docking that work well and we are both comfortable with. I'm just trying to figure out if that "exclusiveness" you talked about is that important to a potential buyer vs the extra space, especially in light of the fact that when boon docking, all water will be dealt with using portable tanks.

[EZDog]

How can anyone possibly know what your potential buyer would prefer,if you decide to sell at some point?

To me it seems a little silly to build anything that you don't feel you need for yourself and hope to attract a similar buyer if it comes to that.

I have and have had several trailers and about 1/2 have had full baths in them but I have NEVER really used the bath at all if by myself which I usually am when camping.
If I have managed to drag a Woman along then it is a different story for sure.

Luckily I have a Casita that is fully equipped and a Cargo that is not. This works out fine for me.

I guess I am glad it is there in case I need it but the extra space would also be something that I could be using all the time and this is the way it has gone for me so far.
You can sure use it as it is now and always add as much bath as you think you need later if you change your mind or for resale.

The bottom line for me is that I would rather have no bath instead of having a bath to clean and since I pretty much stay where there are decent facilities if over 1 night it has worked out fine.

YMMV as they say!

[jwh92020]

EZDOG - Obviously no one knows what any one person would want, but I'm trying to gauge when it does go up for sale, is having a shower important? I want to appeal to the widest pool of buyers when the time comes.

[jwhite]

When I built my trailer the shower/ toilet was one of the most important things I wanted besides air condition, but I boondock 95% of time and even with a bath house available I rather use my own.
I use my trailer mostly in hot weather and after I have loaded the golf cart and have everything packed up I want to jump in the shower and rinse off and change cloths so I have a comfortable clean ride home I normally have the truck running with the AC on waiting for me.

What I did learn about shower pans is it's best to buy one so it will drain properly I built the 1st one with tile but it would not drain right, lucky for me I made it the same size as a RV shower pan so I just pulled the homemade one out and replaced it, if I had not planed ahead it would have been a complete tear out remodel/ I did noticed that although I built a really nice tile base it had water leaking because the water was standing and not draining out and would have eventually have rotted the floor and would be a nightmare to replace but I caught it in time but I did have to let the floor dry out for weeks before putting in the new shower pan.

[fourbtgait]

I put a standard outside shower in. Quick put up, take down shower curtain enclosure. Why waste valuable interior space for an item you use for minutes? Wife and I even use it in come of the NF campgrounds.

[jwh92020]

fourbait - I think thst is what is going to happen. I always stay at places with shower facilities snd if I sell it, the "ability" to shower will be available.

[kirkupnorth]

We have a 6 x 12 V-nose, and decided early on that we could not afford to give up the space needed for an indoor shower. Instead, we use an outdoor shower. We got an awesome pop-up shower tent at Amazon, here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNMQBM3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This shower tent is very simple to deal with. It's up in about 15 seconds, and has a small zippered opening up high for the hand held shower. Putting it away takes about 90 seconds, and is easily done by one person. It has a nylon storage bag, and takes up very little space in the cabinet. The pop-up shower tent is roomy, and offers complete privacy.

This system works great! Both my husband and I have been very comfortable showering in this set-up. We just put the shower tent next to the camper, and we have all the privacy and comfort we need.

[jwh92020]

kirkupnorth - We've pretty much decided to forego the inside shower, use an outside shower tent if we don't have facilities and we're taking flboy's advice and building a small closet/potty room that could be coverted to a shower in the future if need be. It would take a custom made shower pan, but what isn't custom in these builds?

[KennethW]

Have you thought about a two door shower stall in the V. Two doors that fold against the V-walls when not in use. And fold out to make a full size shower when needed. Would have to devise some type of water curb that you would not be tripping over. You would have the walking room when not using the shower. Or maybe a fold up kitchen counter mounted on one of the doors(sink over shower drain?) Win-Win

[McDave]

I opted to install a "wet bath" style like you would find in a truck camper or a mini RV. It is basically a toilet stall with a shower drain pan. 32 x 32 so it is tight for a 6' 210lb man, so you really about have to sit down to shower. Then its not bad and the wife loves it, and it beats the nasty public facilities at biker rallys by a long shot! I only use a black tank but I put a diverter valve on the shower drain so it can drain to the ground when acceptable, saving the space in the black tank and stretching out the amount of time before dumping is needed. I never have filled the tank even after 10 days, but I don't spend a lot of time at camp. For us it was totally worth the effort to install it in the toy hauler. I could easily live without a kitchen in there, hardly use it ever, but the fridge is sure handy to have.

McDave

[jwh92020]

McDave - We decided not forego the shower. We don't have holding tanks, we 99% stay where there are facilities and my big butt doesn't like small showers, even sitting down. In the future, we could put one in, but for now, no inside shower. I posted pics of what we built in another thread. Thank for the input. You always have creative ideas.