Shower for Bonair Oxygen

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Hi. This is my first post on this site. It looks like a great place to hang out when we're not camping.
I'm looking for some info on installing a shower in our 2002 Bonair Oxygen. It seems Bonair put a toilet in the shower stall but forgot the shower. Has anyone done this yet? I don't want to go sawing a hole in the floor, only to be unpleasantly surprised.
Thanks in advance. :shg

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Hi Pete
Welcome to this forum.Yes------This is a great place to hang out.Lots of good info and friendship.
Your question is a good one.I personally have never done this,But i would think if you can line up a floor drain with your grey water holding tank,you should be ok.The plumbing for your water should be straight forward.Other folks will jump in here with their opinions.There are about 4 or 5 Oxygen owners on this site now. Maybe One of them will chime in.:wave

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:wave Hey, Pete! Welcome aboard!

Installing a shower. This is a great subject. I think that owners of other types of fiberglass trailers could benefit from this as well. Thanks for asking!

Although we do have some Bonair owner's on here, I don't believe we have any of the interior or one actually out camping. I would love to see one on the Home Page in a great camping place. You got any of those you could share with us?

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Just in case anyone else is as prone to confusion as I am - I believe Suz is asking for PHOTOS of the Oxygen. That right? :)

I'll second that request actually.

mkw

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I don't want to go sawing a hole in the floor, only to be unpleasantly surprised.

what would one find? maybe wires? probably not, they usually run them along the side. you might find the frame if you don't pay attention to where you start cutting. as I'm about to do this very thing with mine, I HOPE there isn't anything there but flooring and fibergalss.
If the sink is next to the toliet room, the plumbing should be fairly easy, I would think.
I third the need for pictures. :)

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Ok. Here they are. I don't have a very wide angle lense so I had to "stitch" some of them. No photos of the outside, since I assume everyone has seen that.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb73b3d4a0e0Front.jpg/> This is the front sitting area with table up. Also makes into a double bed.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb73b637e4c8Back2.jpg/> This is the bed at the back etc. the nice thing is that it stays a bed all the time.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb73bb69db70Kitchen.jpg/> Kitchen unit including 2 burner stove and 3-way fridge.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb73bd2905e0toilet.jpg/> This is the subject of conversation. I want to install a shower in here.

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Thanks Pete. it's just a nice as I thought it would be. The only outside picture we have is the brochure. and we need one with you camping. :banana
looks like the main problem with the shower would be the hot water line. you already have cold water run over there because of the toilet. maybe you can get some people who have added showers in other brands that could do some input here. (please people - we need some help here)

just a thought. you could try what I'm doing. put your drain in, but use a seperate shower unit. mine works off a battery. drop in a bucket of warm water, turn it on, and shower. do NOT have to run water lines that way. :)

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Jana:
I'm having a hard time picturing your intriguing battery shower.
Is it sort of a reservoir with a battery powered pump?
Does it have an enclosure?
It sounds like a good idea, but somewhat mystifying.

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Hi
1
We're 2002 Oxygen owners too, bur haven't got it home yet. I'm glad you have interior shots as other threads have asked for them. The water heater is under the bed only 3 feet from the bath(?)room.The dealer told us that taping into it would be a simple plumbing job.We hope it will.
Now what about that curtain? I'm trying to imagine a really light weight door.Would I be crazy to suggest a panel of corrigated plastic rather than a wood panel? Somewhere it comes in colours and is impervious to water. I would leave the curtain on though.
What colour is your O2? Ours is a very light grey.
Jean

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Hiya Pete! GREAT looking rig you got there... really like the cabinets! Love the looks of the rig!

As for the portable shower issue... do a search for portable showers and you will find the info... basically it's an inline water heater and pump that is powered by 110v or 12v. The pump sits in a bucket of water that you have filled, pumps the water through a line to the heater, then from there out the end of the line, where hopefully there is a shower head. You can recirculate the water to get to a hotter temperature if you choose. I think the first time through, depending on the unit it will heat the water to 95 degrees or so. Not scalding, but better than ice cold spring water!

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Orginally posted by Rock MacRae

Jana:
I'm having a hard time picturing your intriguing battery shower.
Is it sort of a reservoir with a battery powered pump?
Does it have an enclosure?
It sounds like a good idea, but somewhat mystifying.

some of these you buy with an inclosure, some not, some have a 110 option. here's the box with the one I got from e-bay. you can buy new from other places for about 25.00 plus freight. I've seen them go for more, so e-bay carefully.
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb886d5ea16eshower.jpg/>

you usually use a bucket or such with warm water you heat some how and drop in the pump punch the on button and go for it. .

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Pete! Sharp looking trailer! Can't wait to see some pictures of you camping with it!

Jean>>not home yet

Jean, when do you take delivery of yours? Bet you are excited!

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Orginally posted by norman and jean mulloy
The water heater is under the bed only 3 feet from the bath(?)room.The dealer told us that taping into it would be a simple plumbing job.

step back here. if the heater is this close, I'd put in the real thing. Call the factory and get directions and the rest of what you need. :yep. the trailer is nice enough to go all out. :yep. (nice enough?? understatement)

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great looking trailer. please post exterior shots soon.

It's hard to believe that your bathroom setup doesn't already have a shower - it sure looks like one. :wave

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Jana/Pete contacting mfg
The Peak Co.has bought out Bonair. The web-site is back up but no mention of the Oxygen. Maybe some of the staff in Thedford Mines could help. No on-line contact found.

Charles
Like"So many cats,so few recipies." So many jobs, so few hours. Norm's plan was to finish the tow vehicle -deuce roadster- and pick up the O2 with it. BUT the body is still at the paint shop. Can I sic you guys all on the painter? Insurance jobs apparently take priority. Three weeks to paint the top of the gas tank:O
Yes I am excited about the new little egg. We plan to take the truck the end of May to pick it up when we all have a Sat. off. Too bad because they have some really steep hills up there to test the new transmission.

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Hi Everyone!:wave

Jana - thanks for the in on Mike's battery shower... that's perfect for us. We've been spounge-bathing it.:o

Pete - My husband and I have been doing some MAJOR renovations to our 1974 13" boler. We've gutted our egg back to the outside shell. From what I've seen on our egg, and what I've heard from the others here on this site, it shouldn't be too hard to install some plumbing for your soon-to-be-shower stall. Jana's comment rings true for our trailer too.... the only stuff under the floor was the fresh water tank, it's basic plumbing, and the frame rails. I say "Go For It!"

Jean - On the subject of shower door material. That corrugated plastic (looks just like cardboard, but plastic) can be pretty flimsy in larger panels. We have some safety signs at work made with that stuff and it's pretty bendy. You'd have to come up with some way to stop it from saging.... perhaps a rigid frame, or maybe more hinging to attach it than the regular two hinges?

~ Melanie

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Thanks to everyone so far for all the suggestions. The toilet/shower stall's floor is the problem. It is below the level of the black/grey water tank. I will have to drill a hole in the floor and attach it to a portable tank on the ground when parked. That is no problem. The plumbing to the shower is also not a problem. My biggest concern is sawing through the floor and perhaps running into embedded wires or...... The other problem is that I need a drain fitting that will make a positive seal on the fiberglass floor, and I wont have to make a hole big enough to fit my hand in to tighten any flanges. The best I have come up with so far is a sink drain, But it requires some method of turning the nut underneath the floor.(which is inaccesible)

On the other subject of Bonair. They have indeed gone under, but peak has bought the company EXCEPT, as I understand, the previous owner of Bonair has retained the rights to the Oxygen. Very strange. i had difficulty finding the one that I did. I had to rush to Calgary Alberta (about 800 miles away) to have a look and pick it up. We loved it at first sight!

This weekend, A friend and I are going to the Nazko lakes for a canoe trip. I will take outside photos then and let you know how the trailer faired.:wave

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I have a similar situation in my Scamp 13 -- the shower floor is below the gray tank. (See my pictures of renovation in General Chat under "I've gone legit...") What I am doing is mounting a 3-1/2" deep plastic oil change pan under the shower drain. It holds 2-1/2 gallons. In that pan will be a 12v automatic bilge pump (for a boat). As the pan fills, the pump will kick on automatically, and pump the water up into a splice in the hose that drains the sink, which can then gravity drain down into the gray tank.

Where there's a will... I did all this to achieve an additional 6" of much-needed headroom in the shower stall.

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I completed the shower project successfully. I have posted the results in the 'Modifications' forum where I suppose I should have started this thread to begin with. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. You have all been helpful. Thanks to Jana Journeycake for the suggestion about the battery powered shower. It will be a nice addition.

Edited by Mary F to add the link:
Read about the new Shower in Pete's Oxygen travel trailer.

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Hi!

I saw this shower last week, while I was in Platsburg, in a big department store call BigMart or Cmart or something "Mart", I can't remember. The price was 19$ (USD).

The shower is working on 6 volts, 4 D cells.

Is there someone who could figure out, with only this information, how to make this unit work on 12 volts.

I know you can play with voltage, for led lightning for instance, by inserting a resistor of a certain value. Would it be the same for a small motor?

Alain