Shower Tent

[April Wilcox]

This was posted in the pump shower thread, so I thought I would carry it over to a new topic...

****Hi all,

While checking out the info. on April's Zodi shower, I found that the company also makes a simple shower stall. I kind of liked it because it doesn't have a roof. It has always perplexed me, why a roof on a shower stall? I would think that without a roof the stall would dry faster, and the sun would feel great.
Anyway, another thought. Are these stalls (any brand) made to withstand the weight of a sun shower? I've only used my sun-shower for simple sponge baths and washing dishes, but my husband is thinking a stall would come in handy.
What brand do you all have, how do you like it, and how sturdy is it???

****Thanks, and Happy Holidays, Marjie

I was also wondering about that. I have been looking at the different shower tents online, and noticed a few of them show what looks to be a full solar shower hanging from the top inside, but there is no mention in the product description about it supporting that kind of weight. Has anyone out there done this successfully?

I thought having a roof on a shower was kind of silly too, until I starting thinking of also using the stall for the porta potti, then I started to think it wasn't such a bad idea in case of bad weather to be self contained. If you don't need a roof on top, why not just build a stall out of a tarp or some sheets? We have done that in the past when tent camping, makes a good temporary stall, as long as you have some trees around to tie off of.

[Parker Buckley]

We have a Paha Que shower stall, which comes with a clip-in net shelf to put your shower bag on. It holds the weight with no problem, but the bag won't drain fully on its side. I've since come up with a short piece of rope that I loop around the four poles at the top, and then hang the shower bag with a caribiner. Easier to do than desribe, and it works fine.

As for the shower tent itself, it works great. It was a little tedious to learn how to put up at first, but I've since conquered that. If someone is contemplating buying one of these, I recommend the aluminum poles over the fiberglass ones. The fiberglass ones are heavy and have large ferrules at the joints that make it more difficult to fish the poles through the loops inside the tent. This may be peculiar to Paha Que. By the way, they seem to be having a sale on all their tents right now, including the shower tent. It's still a little pricey compared to the competition, but it's very well made. www.pahaque.com

Parker

[Eddie Longest]

I found the Outback Porta-Privy works great with small trailers. They are sold at Bass-Pro and Cabelas.(About $60.) It is a self supporting structure and folds up like a wire frame windshield sun shade. From the reviews the biggest complaint is people have trouble folding them up. Just go to the Outback Website they have a video on how to fold it up. (Just takes seconds once you get the hang of it.) Stores flat and has no poles. It will not support a sun shower. I just tie the sun shower to a tree or throw a line over the trailer and hang it from the trailer. I had a shower tent with poles and trust me the Porta-Privy is the way to go.

[Daniel V.]

Here's a more detailed description/review on three different shower enclosures.

[Donna D.]

This one says it comes with a "Texsport Sun Shower - 5 gallons" so I guess it should support the weight: Texsport Deluxe Camp Shower/Shelter Combo

[April Wilcox]

I found the Outback Porta-Privy works great with small trailers. They are sold at Bass-Pro and Cabelas.(About $60.) It is a self supporting structure and folds up like a wire frame windshield sun shade. From the reviews the biggest complaint is people have trouble folding them up. Just go to the Outback Website they have a video on how to fold it up. (Just takes seconds once you get the hang of it.) Stores flat and has no poles. It will not support a sun shower. I just tie the sun shower to a tree or throw a line over the trailer and hang it from the trailer. I had a shower tent with poles and trust me the Porta-Privy is the way to go.

I got one similar called the Aussi privacy hut, but found it very difficult to fold it back down, so I got rid of it on ebay. As much as I dislike putting tents together, I think having a solid enclosure would work better for us in the long run. I wouldn't go as far to say that the Outback design isn't good, just not right for what we need. It is a very good concept for an instant shelter, takes almost no time to set up.

After reading a dozen or so good reviews about the Ozark Trail shower tent, I think we are going to give this one a try. I found it here> http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8571890 for a reasonable price. If I can't find a better deal on line somewhere else, I will probably be going to Wally after the Christmas madness is over to find one. Has anyone else used this one?

[Daniel V.]

I had a shower tent with poles and trust me the Porta-Privy is the way to go.

Eddie: I am myself looking for something that is very quick to install and have read mixed comments about the Outback Porta Privy being a bit flimsy and prone to tears, as well as offering very little protection from the rain. Have you experienced otherwise?

April: Did the Aussie hut seem better in that respect? Where did you get yours?

[Todd Sleeman]

We got this one from Cabella's when it was on sale for $99. It came with a solar shower bag and a folding porta-potti that you hang a bag from.

Cabellas Shower

It weighs about 25 lbs and is very sturdy. It will easily hold the shower bag. The pain is in hanging it up, and for taller folks having to stoop.

Pros: Very spacious (4.5 ft by 4.5 ft), includes an optional roof to keep it dry, has shelves for holding stuff, an external towel rack, zips up completely, has a sold floor with mesh edges so that the ground doesn't get all muddy, mesh roof to keep out bugs, big mesh windows (that zip up) let it dry out quick, the poles are all external so there's no fishing them through the fabric. It also comes in a duffle bag that zips, has carrying straps, and is actually large enough to hold everything even after you've used it, unlike the typical tent bags.

Cons: A little tough to set-up alone-especially if it's windy, the floor holds water unless you're on a slope, The ropes are built into the optional roof, so you have to untie them then tie to the poles.

All in all, I'm happy with it. After three years of the PVC pole and tarp home-made contraption, this was a welcome change.

[April Wilcox]

April: Did the Aussie hut seem better in that respect? Where did you get yours?

I found it on ebay a couple of months ago, I could not find anything about it online, and have not seen one like it since. It was nice that it popped open, all you had to do was stake it down. The trouble was folding back down, it had so much tension it kept popping back open when I was trying to get it back into the pouch. Very frustrating. I tried several tries before I got it down into the bag. Maybe I am just not strong enough, or maybe it requires 2 people, but it just seemed like too much trouble in my book. I can raise and tear down tents with little trouble so the few extra steps will be worth keeping my temper down. It didn't look like the sturdiest of material to me either, and with all that tension on the seams, I wondered how long it would really hold up. I recently sold it on ebay, hopefully the next owner will find it more useful.

here is a picture of it...

[Greg A]

After reading a dozen or so good reviews about the Ozark Trail shower tent, I think we are going to give this one a try. I found it here> http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8571890 for a reasonable price. If I can't find a better deal on line somewhere else, I will probably be going to Wally after the Christmas madness is over to find one. Has anyone else used this one?

I've got the Ozark one from Wally, but I haven't had occasion to set it up yet. We have a 5 gal solar shower for it and it has a shower hanger dead center of the roof, so I'm assuming it holds it.
Sure seems like a nice one. Might get to finally use it at the Quartzite gathering in Feb.

[Raya]

Good idea for a thread!

Since I'm interested in buying one of these, I'm reading avidly. I use a garden sprayer, so I won't be hanging a solar shower, but the set-uup/take-down information is invaluable.

Thanks all,

Raya

[Rarebird]

Happy Holidays,
It appears that a shower stall with dark sides would be most private. Of course if you are out in the woods it doesn't matter, but at a campsite, with the sun coming through just right, a light colored stall may allow a silouette? (sp?)
I love the garden sprayer idea.

Marjie

[Donna R]

Holiday greetings
With all this shower talk, I started thinking about escape (again) and using what we already have.
We have one of those wonderul 6x6x6 twisty screen tents that go up in a moment and now takes only 15 secs to fold (years of practice!) It is very light and stable, and may be it could be duel purpose??? Because we always carry a light nylon tarp or 2, maybe we could use some giant plastic cloths pins to attach those to the outside when needed for privacy. Not fancy, Not good for hanging a shower bag ( without some clever metal stand or something) but OK for the Zodi or garden sprayer. Always try to lighten the traveling load and have items serve several purposes. Maybe not ideal but worth try for us. Thanks all for this shower stall talk.
This years resolution for us is "less is more"

[Alan Weinel]

one note of caution to all...


be sure that where ever you are using out door showers that it is OK to dump grey water. else you COULD end up with a ticket.

[Georgana D]

We have the Cabella's and I have to agree that if you are taller you will have to either stoop or sit on something. You positively will have to be aware of the sun's position.
We've used ours for about 3 years now at Creation Festival and learned not to be x-rated by attaching a tarp around the outside supports!

[April Wilcox]

I just ordered the Ozark Trail Shower Room from walmart.com. They also had some mens and womens thermal long sleeve shirts in the clearance section for $2 and $3 ea. so I got a few of those too. I will post after I get a chance to set it up and see how it goes. We have a 5 gal. solar shower, I will also see how well it supports a full bag.

[Parker Buckley]

be sure that where ever you are using out door showers that it is OK to dump grey water. else you COULD end up with a ticket.

Good point, but it's almost one of those "better not ask if you can't stand the answer" questions sometimes. I'm sure you're correct, and there are certainly places where I would not put up a shower tent; on the other hand, it seems like we should get a few points for using camp suds to take a 2 gallon shower vs pitching gray water from our cooking and dish cleaning into the brush nearby. Some RVs even come with built in external showers. I guess gray water is gray water and rules is rules.

Parker

[Al Stansell]

We bought the trekker model from Cabelas and hang a solar shower in it - it works great. I also found that it is a great temporary shelter for folding chairs and other items when it rains - very handy to have a place out of the rain to stow that stuff. Here's a link:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true

Al

[April Wilcox]

I got our shower tent today! It took me about 15 mins. to set it up for the first time, I expect the next time around will go a little quicker now that I have done it.



I filled a 5 gallon solar shower about 3/4 full and it does support the weight, but the shower hangs a little low, so washing your hair would be tricky if you use the solar shower, and it is a bit tricky to get it hung up above your head without another person to help. It isn't quite as roomy as the more expensive ones look, you have about 4 sq.ft. inside. The soar shower hangs dead center so you will have a cozy shower with the bag hanging like that, it's a good thing we found that hand pump shower. It is nice and tall, 7ft, and it has a screen window you can open for extra ventilation or to see out, or keep closed if you want extra privacy. Also has 2 adjustable straps with clips to hang a towel or clothing from and several mesh pouches up high.



The floor is solid, but has mesh around 3 sides along the edges to allow drainage. It was a snap to take down and fits in the bag nicely after being unfolded.

[April Wilcox]

without the rain fly




with rain fly

I would say this looks like a good product for $37 (wally) the poles have chains running through them instead of bungee cord. I have put together many a cheap tent, and this one is fairly well constructed IMO.