Exterior Shower Option

jlrray · 06-02-2008, 04:16 PM

I was reading through the Overland Journal and in their review of the new sportsmobile, they showed a "Innovative, Israeli-made shower unit connects easily and regulates hot and cold mix. "

I do not have an external shower built in to my smb, but I'd really like to put one together. Right now I want to add the shower and skip the hot water heater until I can pony up a few more dollars. I can deal with the luke warm water when washing sand from my feet.

Does anyone know what brand shower connection / wand they are talking about? Has anyone here retrofitted their smb for showers? How did you route the pex line?

Joe

Greg In Austin · 06-02-2008, 05:00 PM

I think that this is the shower unit you are refering to....

http://www.sagiv.com/main.asp?sel_nav1=88&cat=site

....we just got our SMB and we have a different unit on ours. We have the unit seen on the SMB website and we used it for the first time this weekend. It worked great. We might wish for a little longer hose, but it was easy to use.

.

jage · 06-02-2008, 06:08 PM

That's the new one. The old one is a panel with H & C knobs and the shower head tube slides in to the panel, the wand clipping underneath the knobs when fully in.

The wand handle has a button to control flow (on/off) and the knobs control the temp. The pex runs from the pressureized pump line on the cold side and the hot water tank on the hot.

jlrray · 06-02-2008, 06:15 PM

It looks like they are all foreign distributors. I wonder where SMB West is getting it from. Do you think 5' is enough of a hose? Are the other shower units just as easy to install? Do they have a longer hose?

Joe

Greg In Austin · 06-02-2008, 06:24 PM

I am not sure how long our hose is, but if the hose were 2 or 3 feet longer it would be nice. We showered this last weekend behind the two rear doors, at the rear bumper. The extra length would help keep the things you want dry dry and get the water where you want it.

We have ordered an outback privy/shower tent, so it may not make a difference once we have that.

Greggd · 06-02-2008, 11:16 PM

The new shower unit is one of best decisions that we made at the time of order , it is coupled to the tried and proven 6 gallon propane fired Suburban Hot Water Heater and is very efficient with regard to water and propane consumption . The Suburban is one of the easiest heater's to maintain with only the Heating Rod and Pressure Relief valve to deal with . The hose that came with our van was a bit to short at 5 feet so I added an extension of an additional 5 feet and changed the shower head that came with the Van for one with a positive shut off and an adjustable spray head . The extension now allows us to clip the hose to the bracket on the provided Shower Curtain as well as our separate shower stall's purchased from Cabelas .
Greggde

jlrray · 06-02-2008, 11:36 PM

where did you buy the extension? how did you couple it? you got pics? i wonder if the new unit will work with just cold. i have the suburban furnace.. i wonder if it will be a big deal to add hot water.

joe

Greggd · 06-03-2008, 07:50 AM

Joe ,
The five foot extension came from Ben Lo RV in Irwindale , California and should also be available thru Camping World , be sure to take your existing hose with you for fitting to the extension's coupler . If they do not have the correct hose let me know and I would be happy to drive over to Ben Lo and see if they could ship one up to you . I will take some photographs today and post them in my Album . This addition by the way does not seem to reduce the effectiveness of the Shower's water pressure and gets you away from the van in the event that you choose to utilize an after market Shower Stall unit .
Greggde

patrick51 · 06-04-2008, 01:00 PM

One of the best options! We have found that operating the water heater a mere 10 min. will provide the 2 of us hot h2o for quick shampoos and showers. This summer it will prove worthwhile also for cooling us.

sdwindansea · 07-30-2008, 07:10 PM

I went to a plumbing store today to extend our exterior shower. I believe they (SMB) changed to a new system sometime in 2006/2007. Mine is the newer one. It was an expensive and easy modification. I bought a 1/2 inch brass nipple and a 5 foot flexible shower hose ($22 total, probably could get for less). I then just removed the shower nozzle, used the brass nipple to attach the existing hose to the new hose and screwed the shower nozzle to the other end of the new hose. It appears to be basically the same thing that Greggde posted in his gallery.