Showering on the road
Clean every day
December 2010
In RV's, you'll either have an LP or electric water heater. Both will heat the water at about the same rate, but the size of the water heater and flow rate will determine recovery rate and length of hot water supply.
Here's our setup (compare to your system to estimate your performance):
Water heater: 12 gal, electric; heats only when generator is running, or connected to shore power.
Shower head: 1.5 gpm flow with shut off button
Water tank: 160 gal fresh
If the water heater has been powered for 15+ minutes it will deliver a hot shower for a minimum of seven minutes. Using the off button as described below, we can get 3 people through the shower before running out of hot water. Or, we spread out pairs of showers by 10-15 mins.
LEFT: A water shut off button can be added to any showerhead. Cost approx $3.
RIGHT: A tankless water heater designed for portable outdoor use. Cost approx $120
TIPS to improve your shower experience:
Run the water military style. Turn the water off while lathering up or shampooing. Research shows that the average use will drop from 17.5 gallons to 5 gallons for a shower. In our case, we're probably at about 2-3.5 gals per shower.
Use a hand towel to dry off. You'll get very dry, take minimal space on the towel bar and cut laundry by about 75%. We use a small towel for daily showers, and have standard size towels in our 'beach box' thet we pull out when we arrive at the seashore or pool.
Consider a demand heater for outdoor showers (or even daily showers). As an example, an outdoor LP fired heater runs about $125, and will continuously heat any amount of water for one person to shower. If you have a good water supply, you could go against the grain of RVing, and take a long hot shower on the road!
Want to learn more about RVing?
Read our Trip Notes and learn from our experiences- good & bad.
Trip Notes Index (click here)