Infectious Off-Road.com

Oh man.... I figured something out that is BAD ASS!

So.... I have been recently thinking about shower options for camping. There is the solar bag, a bunch of stuff from a company called Zodi, and a few products that attach to your vehicle's cooling system.

The solar bags are really iffy and not worth the problems they can cause. These are inexpensive.

The Zodi stuff looks great and can be moved between vehicles, but I was concerned about some of the reviews.

The vehicle systems are the best that I could tell, but that aren't portable and all showers would have to occur next to the vehicle in question, plus it needs to be at operating temps. Then there is the expense.

So I was thinking the Zodi would fit my needs the best. They have one that works from a hand pumps pressure and I felt that was best. I then saw Poly at Fordyce and they were demoing a new vehicle system they came up with. Same as the ones I had been eyeballing for 300. I was changing my mind because of how nice they were.

When I got home, I was doing just a tad bit more research on the Zodi system I liked and figured out what they were utilizing. An industrial style bug sprayer. Hmm.... started thinking and priced out these.... turns out, for 80 to my door, I could have a pretty high end bug sprayer made of stainless steel and brass with a quality pump. Another 5 adds a longer hose from the local hardware store. So I bought one.

How does it work?? So.... the sprayer tank I have holds about 2.5 gallons (rated at 2, but there is a lot of spare room in there). I am still playing with ratios, but 50/50 (boiling/cool) seems to be not bad. The water stays hot for about 45 or more minutes, so you have plenty of time between heating the water and using the shower. With two gallons, I can get seven straight minutes of water at a very decent amount of pressure (about 2/3s of the pressure that comes out of the sprayer attached to my sink). I think that is easily enough for two showers if you are mindful to turn it off when you are lathering, etc. or one if you want to stay warm the entire time. Boiling water is easily produced on my camping stove.

In conclusion... field testing still needs to be done, but a quick test in my backyard shows this to be a winner!!

This is the sprayer I obtained from Amazon:

[url=http://goo.gl/HnbMv][img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ypS36iFjL._SY450_.jpg[/img][/url]

yea I seen polys at the rubicon last year it was pretty cool

After the swamp lake trip I really got to thinking about this. I took a dip in the lake 30 minutes after we got there. That felt so good to be clean after such a dusty day, but not all trails have nice mountain top lakes to take a dip in...

The shower Rebecca mentioned is the.best i have ever.seen...

Basic heat exchanger under the hood inside an ammo can the actua shower was 20ft from vehicle and the.vehicle was 10 ft.from water source but.could.easily run from 5gallon jerry can

[quote="Beck*A*Poo"]yea I seen polys at the rubicon last year it was pretty cool[/quote]

Wow... they've been prototyping that for a long time... it still isn't ready.

[quote="REDxj5150"]After the swamp lake trip I really got to thinking about this. I took a dip in the lake 30 minutes after we got there. That felt so good to be clean after such a dusty day, but not all trails have nice mountain top lakes to take a dip in...[/quote]

For not too much coin, this one seems like a major win!

Personally, I like to be clean when I wheel... but yeah right, that will never happen in an open topped vehicle with a guy that doesn't usually mind tossing a rock or two around. Pure filth.... and over the years, I have come to learn to accept and even respect it a little (although not as much as mr. bobbed burb). Recently I found my girlfriend will go camping... although she still maintains that the desert is an exception . Anyways.... one day was the max.... because of a shower. So BAM!! I win!! lol. Not like I wasn't previously curious in something like this for myself, but never felt the need to spend coin on it when I was accepting of the fact that I will wear dirt and oil when I wheel. So while I can point my fingers at my old lady for 'needed' a shower, I am the one whom actually goes camping all the time and will be the one to have a plenty large smile every evening (and maybe mornings too) from the benefit of being squeaky clean.

Thank you my fellow dirty friends... well, I'll now be a former.

[quote="Lake_v2"]The shower Rebecca mentioned is the.best i have ever.seen...

Basic heat exchanger under the hood inside an ammo can the actua shower was 20ft from vehicle and the.vehicle was 10 ft.from water source but.could.easily run from 5gallon jerry can[/quote]

Oh yeah.... they've out some work into that now. It really is the shit!! I was totally impressed. The new design for the exchanger is the size of a small paperback.... maybe 6 x 4 x 1..... yeah, that tiny and just tacked to the firewall! That is what will make theirs different from the ones you can get from Australia (which looks also to be badass). I think they needed to go back to the drawing board on the pump as it kept tripping up the electrical on the Jeep and Eric had to keep giving them fuses. lol. But they are almost there and Dave was guessing I could order one in a few weeks.

I think they have a big time winner on their hands with this product!

Now... after seeing theirs, I was set on buying theirs. But that last bit of research and the thought of saving some coin plus the portability... I decided to give the bug sprayer a shot. Seems like a good choice so far, but field testing will really be the tell all. I can always go to this Poly setup if the bug sprayer idea turns out to be a failure and reassess if I still need to be clean.

I find drinking will make the dirt go away pretty good too.


Thats a great idea though, and for less then $100 you cant go wrong.

Love the PP shower, I am amazed at how hot he got that sucker.

Yea, that Poly shower was awesome. After running with Drew on the con and seeing it in action, I am seriously considering it. The Poly system gives you perfect water temp fast.

The system I used when I was camping in one spot for an extended period was 2 of the sun bags left out all day to heat the water. Then I transferred it to a bucket where I had a small battery operated water pump with a shower head. It worked out very nicely and I could take it anywhere. The bucket also doubled as storage. Everything, bags, pump, shower/toilet supplies fit in the bucket when not in use.

The biggest down side was the water cooled quickly at night and no warm water in the morning.

The Poly one looks awesome.

a golden shower is always 98.6

sorry.......probably should have saved that on for brad's playground

Baby wipes set them the sun or use you defroster vents if you want a hot wipe down. Ive used them for a month strait. Nothing fancy but light weight, small package and works.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[quote="chuckanut105"]Baby wipes set them the sun or use you defroster vents if you want a hot wipe down. Ive used them for a month strait. Nothing fancy but light weight, small package and works.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2[/quote]

I've used them for years..... but really, after seeing what I have, you think that is a better idea?

I made my own system using a little "oildale Ingenuity" and a shower/RR from "Townsend Design" Here in bakersfield.. I just use a power pack to pump the water and a small gas burner, I made a coil tube out of copper that fits inside a 5 gal pail, then i put the coil over the flame and put the bucket over the coil to trap in heat. this works great and you can adjust the heat with the flow control or by turning down the heat.. everything fits back inside the bucket. other then the cooker and power pack. when i first made it i used 40' water to test it and it heated it up over 110'. the down side is you need to be around a water source.

I can post pics if anyone likes the idea

pics please. this is where im thinking of heading as well.

[quote="AJ99"]pics please. this is where im thinking of heading as well.[/quote]

Sorry, I haven't forgot about posting pics. Just been busy trying to get the new jeep ready for the con trip in two weeks.. Will post soon.

Okay.... The bug sprayer is amazing. Hot pressurized water for showering, washing dishes, washing hands, etc.. The water stayed warm for at least 40 minutes when I ran out (heated, washed dishes, then showered).

I give a full recommendation and endorsement!

Ok brad u can stand five feet away from my flat bed and with all the beer i drink u can have a golden shower problem solved