Hi, We have shower on order With AL - we’re now wondering whether we should go ahead as notice some sites have facilities open. Anyone got any advice or experience of showering in a Troll 540 !! Thanks H

Obviously the 'facilities' are a better bet but, yes, if you are sort of medium sized to small it's quite possible even though there's not much room. Just don't think of it as a proper shower, more of an efficient washdown. Make sure the curtain is pulled right round and over the door. Have the window ajar and the sort of curtain thing over the door dropped down to stop too much steam getting in the van. Use some water in the basin to get yourself nicely soaped (with shower gel) and rinse off with the shower. Try picking a dry day so you can hang the shower curtain out of the window to dry off and wipe out the tray afterwards. Oh, and don't forget to take the plug out of the tray drain hole before you start or you end up having a paddle! Some folks say it's not possible or that you risk getting the inside of the washroom too wet but it's OK if you are careful. (PS hope you have also got a water heater - cold showers are not nice).

Thanks for your advice !
I think we may sleep on it before we cancel the order. I’m only 5ft so would probably manage but husband is considerably larger so would probably struggle !
We have just returned from our 2nd warranty check/service and our damp reading on one wall was higher limit of normal so need to think about reducing moisture inside !
Thanks H

Hi Hilary

We have a 540 and when we first got it we did a pretend "dry run" of the shower. I am a big chap and put on some budgie smugglers for decency, pulled the curtain round and pulled out the shower head. Much to Kath's hilarity it was so obviously a no goer - I would have got water everywhere and would only just have been able to turn round. Kath who is only 5ft 2 and petite might have fared better but it was tight even for her. We reached an immediate conclusion that having a reasonable shower was a no-goer and that if we tried we would get water all over the place with all the problems that would cause.

However we had similar thoughts to you about sites re-opening but possibly without toilets or restricted access. Earlier in the week we experimented with the shower to see if we could use it outside the window of the bathroom (I put this on a thread but can't remember which one). We have decided it is a definite goer. Even at my large size I would be able to soak myself all over and we have the hot water boiler for limited quick shower.

Whilst I can be a bit of an exhibitionist in certain circumstances I have no desire to get banned from sites for having a quick naked shower in the open air. Then a touch of brilliance came to my imagination. We have an AL old style porch awning which we could attach to the back of the van by the bathroom window. This has curtains so in theory we should be able to use it as a private shower and the small amount of water would drain on the hardstanding or we could try and stand in a bowl. Our first re-booking is September so we have time to play with it.

It has done nothing but rain since I thought of the idea but when we get some decent weather again I intend moving the Troll further out from the wall so I can try putting the theory into practice.. I will report back on success or not...........................

MikeT

It's an absolute no, no, for me......the thought of that plastic curtain touching and sticking to me, would be as bad as finding a spider in the shower while I'm in it!!!!
Chris

We started using the washroom as a shower when we had a 320GT,at that time it was necessary to buy a portable shower becayse of a fixed tap.I bought a Ring 12v shower which can be used by fitting batteries into a in-line holder or by plugging in to the caravan 12v supply.The leads are quite long as is the sub pump piping which allows for ease of placement.We used a10lt bucket 1/2 full of cold water,boiled a kettle & large pan & added to bucket to suit temperature.a shower curtain was hung,using stick on hooks,over the loo & across the door space.bucket left on van floor ,hose & shower head(which has a on/off swich) thru the curtain.we use a similar set up in the Triton except that it has showerhead/basin tap, so portable unit isn't needed,neither is the bucket as we now add hot water to the inboard water tank & use the onboard pump.we use this system on c l sites with no problem & minimal fuss.I think girth as much as height,will be the limiting factor in using the washroom.Gud luck with that!! Dave

Thanks all - have decided not to get shower fitted ! We’re going to try the pump idea in privacy tent if we’re able to source both before our first outing ! Thanks for advice and safe travels everyone x H

>We are off on Friday for a week, 4 days on a CL which has facilities!

Watch you don't get nicked old chap. You are a day early methinks!!

Think you will be ok as long as you don't go to bed before midnight!

We have been experimenting with the shower options, we have a 540 with hot water,
# the shower curtain supplied only fits on three sides ! It is also about 12 cms short of reaching the tray, there’s no higher holder for the shower head.

So I’ve bought another shower curtain and expanding pole for the window side, sewn extra onto existing curtain, have a cheap gadget on its way for shower head,
So filled up the tank, turned the heater on, insisted hubby tried it out.
He said shower curtain touched him, but managed to have a shower, the water was running cold as he was rinsing !
We haven’t soaked the eriba, we do think we will add sealant between shower tray and walls, just in case. I do think I will be washing my hair in the sink, separately to showering, because of quantity of hot water. Hubby has been shielding so we need to be super careful.
My conclusion we won’t be showering everyday.

Shower? You're lucky to have a SHOWER!

When I were a kid, Mum used to wash us down with a flannel while I was standing in a bowl of water in front of a coal fire.

Luxury.

But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.

Luxury, when I were a kid mum scraped us down with sandpaper in front of a burnt out match, but we wus appy.

Hi Hilary,

When we ordered our new Troll I actually asked for no shower in the bathroom. Instead we bought one of these with the 16 litre Colapz bucket. We have an Olpro pop up toilet tent and the whole set up works brilliantly. Also we are fully independent and no need to queue in the mornings at the shower block. We half fill the bucket with cold water and top up with 2 kettles of hot for a perfect temperature shower.

The Colapz shower can be switched on and off at the handset. So the process is - switch on and get wet. Soap and lather up. Switch on and rinse. I get about a 7 min shower with lovely hot water. We now also take a small builders tub to stand in which actually catches most of the water, which we tip into the campsite grey water drain.

Hope that helps, Robbie

https://colapz.co.uk/collections/portable-showers