Haven't even found my Eriba yet, but I am scouring the Internet for sales and also nuggets of info. I like the idea of an older Triton or Troll, that has a solid frame, I.e. The vehicle in great nick, but the interior less important as I would be trying to make it less 'insanity due to ghastly upholstery' etc. However when it comes to the 'washroom', which is a must for me, I am interested to know about the feasibility of improving a less than ideal facility into something a bit better. Now, I am not thinking of installing a power shower or a jacuzzi, but having seen some of the older models 'facilities', I would like to try to have a shower in the washroom. I know that they are tiny space, but having worked on a ship, I am used to the contortions needed to shower in tiny spaces.
So, questions:
If an Eriba does not have a shower installed, is it possible to install one?
What type of water tank is required for hot and cold water and with an acceptable flow of water?
Can a shower tray with drainage hole be easily installed if there wasn't a shower originally?
Any other tips or info sites?
Thanks in advance and please don't 'Hee Haw' too loudly at my perhaps daft questions! I have roughed it travelling for years and now I like a loo and a source of hot water!
Thanks again!
Lorraine and Big Dug Hamish!

Our Troll 540GT has shower with tray and curtain, haven't used it yet as a shower as you say it would be a bit tight but can be done. It has a large built in water tank to cope with extra supply. Paul

Thanks Paul, I think the Troll 540 may be a bit big for my needs, but I will keep researching!

That's nice. Paul

That's okay, no offence taken. Paul

Quote: Pepé Le Pew wrote in post #4

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I don't think I'd risk having a shower in the washroom. Not because it's tight - which it most certainly is - but because it isn't watertight.

You wouldn't dream of having a shower in a cupboard at home which consisted of little more than a showerhead, a shallow tray in the bottom and a curtain across the back of the door. You'd make sure that all the water went down the drain, and you'd do it by making sure that the walls were completely waterproof and that the access into the shower was properly covered or sealed with a purpose-built door.

There are far too many places in the van washroom for water to go where it isn't supposed to - places with either no dedicated drainage or no drainage at all. The floor is made of wood, as are the internal structures, and the exposed edges of the wallboard panels will soak it up like a sponge.

And although it's unlikely that water spraying from the showerhead would come into direct contact with any of the 12v electrics in the washroom, it's worth bearing in mind that what doesn't go down the drain will have to go somewhere, and if you've ever had a leak at home you'll know it goes everywhere.

I don't think it's worth all the faff, frankly.

If there were no showers on site and I was absolutely determined to have one I'd sooner put a pop-up toilet tent right next to the washroom and put the shower head out through the window and into the tent.

If you were really conscientious (or made lots of bubbles or sang in a loud and conspicuously tuneless way) you could stand in a rubber tray or a big bowl, but otherwise it's doubtful that anyone else would even notice. It's not like you could spend hours in there anyway; ten or fifteen litres of hot water isn't going to last very long at all.

I really think it's a bit disingenuous to advertise these vans as having a shower. They don't. They have a tiny washroom with a shower head, a tray and a curtain, but it isn't the same thing at all.

.

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Maybe the main purpose of having a shower head in an Eriba is to rinse your hair over the washbasin (or toilet if you need more room!).

Welll...
I wouldn't dream of having a shower in my 540 washroom. At 6'1" and nigh on 16 stone it would be a complete disaster and a better spectacle than some of the entrants on Britain's Got Talent, IMHO. BUT...my 5'5" slim slim slim wife insisted that I specify a hot water system with a shower curtain and pull-out shower head for the washroom on our new van. And on our very recent 27 night summer tour of Croatia she used the Eriba shower on 26 occasions without a murmur of discontent. The only time she deviated from the 'in-house' facilities was when we stayed at a campsite in the Barvarian Alps (www.camping-inzell.de) and I returned from the shower emporium ('block' wouldn't even begin to do it justice) to advise that the showers were 6 star and better even than the facilities at home! She bimbled off to the facilities at top speed and returned to the van beyond impressed. In addition, I think there is an EribaFolk member/contributor called Maggie who has posted that she has showerd in her Eriba washroom on a number of occasions. It short, Lorraine, it can be done but size really does matter.

I must admit that it's more of a spray down than a shower but it's certainly possible if you're 5'2" and no other facilities are available, Must admit that it's always been in the summer when open windows and the shower curtain hung out of the window to dry has meant that the washroom has been dried out after use. Hot water helps too!

We have a 530 Troll with all the mod cons but when we go to a festival we take trunks and a bikini and hand the shower out the window. All the people around us enjoy the spectical but it works for us, I've tried it naked but we got thrown off the site!!!!

We have aTriton 430. The washroom is indeed tiny. The floor IS shower tray with a plug hole. You would need to repace the tap which is fixed with one which has a hose. We had a hot water system fitted and had the 2 small internal water tanks removed in favour of an external 'rolly-poly' water tank. There are a number of hot water imersion heaters you can choose...this is the information we had from the guy who fixed it for us a few years ago

**"TrumaTherm TT-2 mains-only water heater - 5 Litre capacity, 300 Watts.
Propex mains-only water heater - 10 Litre capacity, 900 Watts.
The Truma's 300 Watt power consumption is more suitable than the Propex's 900 Watts for continental sites where hook-up current is limited to 4 Amps, ie, maximum power of 920 Watts. With the TrumaTherm the water is additionally warmed by the blown-air system."

As we spend a lot of time on the continent where many of the campsites offer 6 amps of electric we choose the Truma...it's fantastic...takes minutes to warm up and then has a lot of hot water in there...though we would never want to shower in our Eriba......water ingress don't you know We bought a shower tent and shower with a tank which you can fill with hot water and on the rare occasions when we go wild camping this suits us fine. We use campsites with facilities and use those...we do, though, go camping out of season!!

Whatever you decide about your bathroom...enjoy!!!

Happy travels.

Our Betty (triton) is nearly 20 years old. She has a bathroom complete with a shower tray and a shower hose tap. However, there is no shower curtain, nor a rail for one. The drainage hole in the tray isn't connected to anything - you can see the ground through the hole which I find very handy when I'm cleaning in there as I can sweep all the sand etc down the plug hole :)
The door is wooden so to us, it's obvious that it was never designed to be used as a shower. I'm just thrilled to have the loo and wash-hand basin. We also use the site facilities but if I'm feeling a little tired after too much red wine, I can brush my teeth etc in the bathroom. Lovely!