Showering in my Oxygen!

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Ok, I've done it! I finally installed a shower in my Bonair Oxygen.
I was really nervous about it since I didn't know what to expect under the floor of the shower stall. The floor of the toilet/shower stall is 2 1/2 " higher than the floor of the trailer. The whole process required that I had a hollow space between the floors in order that the sink drain that I planned, had a surface to seal on. If I had run into a solid support between the floors, I would not have been able to attain a seal. I located the drain in the corner of the shower stall closest to the bed by cutting the appropriate size hole with a hole saw completely through the shower floor AND the floor of the trailer. Believe me, I was sweating! I didn't know what I would find. Luckily, the whole thing went as hoped. There was no support block in the path of the saw, and I had a clear path all the way through. No wires cut either! As luck would have it, the shower stall floor is a 3/4" fiberglass sandwich with chip board in between. The chip board was not good news, but I managed to seal this surface with epoxy so that it doesn't get wet if water seeps into the cavity.(THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. DON'T MISS THIS STEP!) The reason for locating the drain in the corner was so that I would have a way of holding the sealing nut on the drain so that it could be tightened against the shower floor. I cut a 3/4" slot in the corner of the stall with a hack-saw and held the nut with a pair of vice-grip pliers while turning the pipe with a strap wrench from under the trailer floor. I used a rotary (Dremel) tool to round and smooth the edges of the slot and it doesn't look all that bad. Once the epoxy had hardened in the hole, I inserted the drain while threading the sealing ring and nut on from under the shower floor, through the slot. Before tightening the nut, I filled the cavity in the shower floor with silicone 2 in order to ensure a good seal. Most of this oozed out when I tightened the pipe against the nut. Once installed, I sealed the hole where the drain exited under the trailer with silicone. I have a ten gallon container that I slide under the trailer to catch the water from the drain. This doubles to catch grey water from the sink when we are on a "dry site" for extended periods. The Oxygen has a very small black/grey water tank.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efcf9095f5f7Drain.jpg/>

The shower installation was simple in comparison. I started by locating the taps at a point where the water could enter from under the bed. This is lower than I would have liked, but the alternative was running pipes on the surface of the shower stall. Plumbing into the existing water system is easy with "flex-pex" pipe and removeable fittings, although the fittings are incredibly expensive. I located the hand-held shower bracket as close to the ceiling as possible. This ensures that most of the water drops to the floor and little gets on the walls etc.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efcf92d007b8Shower2.jpg/> <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efcf93ee098cShower3.jpg/> <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efcf94bcdffaShower4.jpg/>
I have ordered the battery powered shower unit from Coleman to complement the installation when we are on a "dry site" since the Oxygen only has an electric hot water tank. We will simply heat the water on the stove and put it in a bucket for a shower.
If you attempt this project, be sure you are really handy with tools and protect yourself from fiberglass dust by wearing a face mask.

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Hi Pete
Great job you did there.Keep up the good work.:wave

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almost 2 months since your last post.. that's too long.

That Oxygen is one beautiful TT....keep it coming.

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Now, just how big is the black water tank? No trailer manual came with our Oxygen. I have 2001 brochures, but the black tank was new for 2002.
Enjoy your showers.
Jean

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I realize it's been a long time since I posted last, but I've been busy. Travelling, gardening, etc. Here's a shot of my friend Kim when we did a canoe trip to the Nazko Lakes in central B.C.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efd2333c65eetrailer.jpg/>

Jean: The black water tank is only about 6 gallons.

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Hi Pete:

Nice job you did with the shower install. Can you provide details on the Coleman shower unit?

I paddled the Nazko Lake chain with my sea kayak, prior to having my Boler or Trillium. I would like to do it again, recalling it to be a remote, peaceful place, with many pelicans!

Rick B
Williams Lake, BC

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Hi Rick.
The Coleman shower is a neet looking rig that uses a battery operated submersible pump. You load it with 4 d-cell batteries (good for 6 hours) throw it in a bucket of warm water, and with the foot operated switch, turn on the hand-held shower. This is all per: Colemans advertising. I have ordered mine from Alberta. Haven't received it yet. Here's a pic clipped from another post.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efdb48a279523eb886d5ea16eshower.jpg/>
I will get you the name of the company I ordered it from if you are interested.
The Nazko chain is still as remote and peaceful as you remember it. Pelicans abound. I got some great photos when we were there. In one day we saw pelicans, eagles, beavers, moose, geese, otter, fox, snakes, and every imaginable water bird. It was amazing. You should go again. Don't let the Boler or Trillium hold you back. (grin).

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Hi Pete:

Please send me information on the company you ordered the shower from, as well as the estimated cost for the unit. I presently use a solar shower, but your idea may be better, notwithstanding mechanical failure.

A group of us did the Nazko Lake chain over 3 days, a few years ago. I recall that the campsite was perhaps the only BC Park site where an attendant did not appear to collect the fee.

Thanks
Rick

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Hi Rick.
I bought my shower from a company in Alberta called 'Cross Country' They can be reached at 1-866-253-3983. I talked to May. She hesitated a little because she said that they didn't usually sell to the public. They are a distributor. I explained that the distributor in B.C. had no stock and that Coleman had given me their name. She then happily took my order. The total was CAN$32.50 plus tax and shipping.
Hope this helps.

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For those who like to see before buying sometimes Walmart has the Coleman shower in stock. The Zodi version, a different brand that works the same, is also carried in REI stores.

If you like web shopping REI, Zodi and Cabelas offer the battery powered shower on their websites. www.zodi.com, www.rei.com. and www.cabelas.com. Cabelas also has a no name version of the same thing that pops up on their website from time to time. They all cost about the same $28-$30. The differential is shipping.
(If you go to the Zodi website look for the battery powered solar shower near the bottom of the Home page and follow the links. For some reason, probably that it is one of their cheapest offerings, it doesn't show up on the Products page of the site.)

The Zodi version
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3efe050c02dddzodi.jpg/>
Camping, boating, fishing or hiking; showering, camp clean-up or dishes; use it anywhere for anything, the Shower On The Go gives you instant water pressure at the flip of a switch. All you need to do is add water and four D-cell batteries (not included). Just place the powerful pump into any water source (lake, stream or included 3-gal. collapsible bucket) and flip the power switch located on the waterproof battery case. Extra-long 7-ft. shower hose with on/off flow-control shower head. Water pump with clog-stopping debris filter.

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It looks like it is exactly what is needed when camping without services. I tried it out and it delivers at least as much water as my permanent shower. It looks like a well made unit with a 5 year warranty here in Canada. The only small disappointment is that it runs 3 hours on a set of 4 d-cells. Not 6 as advertised. Oh well, 3 hours of showering is a lot of showers.

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Hello,


I was looking on the Coleman site and saw this. Its a propane hot water heater, you can get a spray attachement for hand held showers as well. The coleman site has the instruction manual and a short video as well.


<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3f01b450708ae2300-700_500.jpg/>

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I will have to look into that. We just got back from a two week trip in Wells Gray Park in central British Columbia. Had a great time and the shower worked perfectly. We used the Coleman battery powered shower since there was no shore power. It delivered at least two showers per day and sometimes three or four. The original batteries are still going strong. Four of us used it, and everyone found it terrific after a long sweaty day of hiking. We highly recommend this unit!

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Just in case somebody is trying to find one.

While I was camping in Cumberland Bay, last weekend, I went to Big KMart in Platsburg and bought the Coleman Camp Shower.

They had at least 4 or 5 in stock. The price was 21 dollars and something, tax included (USD).

Alain

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Hello Pete
I am curious about where you found the shower stall?
I have a 17' Boler and I would like to retrofit a Shower.

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Hi Wally. the Bonair Oxygen has a toilet already installed in a fiberglass shower stall. They just forgot to add the shower. As you can see from this thread, it was an easy fix.
I don't know where you would begin to look for a stall for your Boler, but I'm sure someone around here could help.