Showers - Any good?

[Sean_5041551]

Hi all.

I am looking at buying at buying a new caravan early next year and have narrowed it down to 2 models. One has a seperate shower, the other is combined with the toilet cubicle. How good are the showers in modern caravans?

I would appreciate your views and experiences.

Thanks, Sean.

 

[Rich B]

Sean, not exactly answering your question but...are you sure you need a seperate shower ?

The consensus seems to be it depends on what sites you visit i.e. mainly smaller sites with few facilities or bigger sites with full faciliites. For me it's the later so it wasn't worth using the space for a seperate shower, as I always use the power showers on site.

If you prefer to use your own facilities I imagine a seperate shower is well worth having.

 

[Mike_5041090]

Hi Sean. Current showers are great, we never use those on site. Prefer a separate shower as there's no fuss about having to wipe down the toilet etc every time you have a shower. Go for one with plenty of space - just in case you drop the soap!

 

[STEVE_5041381]

Obviously they not as powerful as the ones at home but once you get used to using them sparingly by wetting yrself first turning off the taps then soaping and then rinsing off, we have no problem better than using the public ones anyday.

I prefer the separate shower as dont like getting wet feet when using the toilet.

 

[PeterT]

Sean,

With a shower you will have to fetch the fresh water and take away the used water. Discounting cost of heating the water, consider the possibility of some of the water getting into the fabric of the 'van causing damp ! Most sites have showers, and you can always make do with a thorough wash.

Peter T

 

[Moth_5041362]

Hi Sean we have a bailey Ranger 470/4 2004 model and the shower in separate and works brill! nice and powerfull easy to opperate.

 

[millysweep]

Showers in modern caravans are excellent - at least ours is. (Swift Challenger 460, 2004) - cannot see me ever using site facilities again.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I have had aBailey 500/5 for almost three years with hot and cold water and shower combined within the toilet compartment. We have never used the shower facilities or the toilet except at night time as most sites nowadays have very good to excellent toilet/shower facilities, majority are also free. Check the site facilities prior to booking in and if any problems point this out to the site warden.

The caravan flexes when towed and the silicon seal around the shower will eventually fail and water will seep past onto the timber floor and cause major problems without realising it.

Only use the shower in the van if the site has no facilities such as a small CL site. Good luck with your new van and enjoy it.

 

[brian_5039922]

i agree with colin; after all you have to carry all the water to the van and take the waste away, after all that work you'll need a shower. moreover water vapour and vans do not mix; plus any leaks from the shower in that area = big bucks if not fixed pdq. at least get an extractor fan fitted.

 

[botty]

hi we have the sterling eccles moonstone 2002 and have the seprate shower they are very good this is our third caravan with sep shower and all sterling but the moonstone as been the bes

go for it you dont have to stand waiting in the shower blocks we never use the faclities on sites

 

[tony_5041674]

Sean, showers are very good if you follow a simple routine. Separate is best, modern vans have a jointless plastic enclosure - unlikely to leak. If the van is loaded properly and tightly to prevent movement while towing and you drive sensibly I do not think the van will twist/distort and open up seams. We put the water heater on mains and gas together for a shower to keep the temperature up this works particularly well if you turn the tap off while you soap/shampoo yourself. Finally I upgraded my pump to a 921 that outputs 13 litres/min for a good flow. Keeping the shower head as low as practical helps the flow also.

 

[JON_5040770]

Hi Sean

Not sure but I think some of the comments may be missing the point you were actually asking about.

Are you asking about the advantages of a separate shower of having a combined shower come toilet?

If you are then my personal feeling is that a separate shower is better my old van had a combined shower in the toilet but we never used it so as not to wet every were through also if you have kids there isn't enough room for you both to fit in to wash them so you would have to leave the door open which risks the inside of the van getting wet.

In my new van we now have an end bathroom with separate shower cubicle which is really good the water is hot flows nicely and only wets the cubicle plenty of space to wash the kids can't complain and you can camp wherever i.e. farmers field on club rallies and still have a shower.

Only down side is having to fetch and dispose of the water.

Hope this helps.

JON

 

[john_5040735]

My shower is excellent but we only use it when on full service sites due to amount of water it uses.

 

[Sean_5041551]

Thanks to all for the replies. Quite a diverse opinion. Hadn't even considered having to fetch the water and dispose of it!!

I will probably be using sites with facilities as have older kids to keep happy. I will probably go for the combined shower/toilet model, as I would prefer more floorspace.

Thanks again.

Sean

 

[poole_5041504]

we have the bailey with a shower room, i have not used a site shower for ten years, much prefer my own, and prefer cls. the latest 2004 shower are good.

 

[daniel_5040157]

Hi Sean

I notice you are looking for a new caravan next year I have a Abbey Vogue gts 1998 You may say to old but this caravan has only been used for 5 months since new it is in showroom condition please email danielglasscoe@hotmail.com

for more info

 

[MikeH_5041088]

Hi Sean - we've had both. A comined shower/toilet makes a lot more work especially if you intend to use CL's/'van all year round as you'll have to dry off the loo after you've showered. Go for a seperate arrangement - much easier & more space in the shower itself, also better designed & lower risk of leakage as others have mentioned.

 

[Sean_5041551]

Again, many thanks for all your replies. Lots of good info to take in. I think as it is our first caravan I will go for the combined shower/toilet model. Wether we use the shower is another matter, depends on the sites we visit. Time will tell, Just can't wait to get away for weekends next year.

Many thanks again.

Regards,

Sean

 

[GeorgePatton_5041052]

We had a "combined" facility, which worked well, but was cramped and suffered with wet toilet seats. Our replacement van, has a seperate shower, and I wouldn't change it. Plenty of room, clean to my standard, and a dry seat for the toilet. Our caravan bathroom has better facilities than many modern en suites. Haven't used site facilities for years. Yes carrying the water is a disadvantage - but more sites have super pitches nowadays. And the extra advantage is you don't actually need any site facilities apart from water!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

We use both the van and the site.That is I use both and we use the van since my wife fell over in the site shower in Prague.The set procedure is oily rag for several days followed by emery cloth before finally showering using a suitable degreaser.

But to be more serious I was impressed with the new 2005 shower arrangement in the Swift group end bedroom model.It now has a folding glass door between the loo and the shower part.Our older model 2003 has a shower curtain which wraps round well and can be put out of the window to dry off.The new model does not have a window in the shower compartment so you can not throw the curtain out of the window to drain especially as you no longer have a curtain.What you do have is the two side walls and two doors to dry off by hand.Swings and roundabouts ?

 

[TillmanKleinhans_5040868]

We are onto our 2nd caravan now, after two years of caravanning. The first had a seperate shower, the next a combined shower. We, my wife and I, have never used either shower, and we take the 'van away almost every school holiday - we are both teachers. Always abroad at summer, usually at Easter, while half terms are spent in the UK. All the sites that we've stayed at, and believe me they range from the very cheap to quite expensive, have all had adequate or better shower facilities, so we have never felt the need to use the van's. That's probably why we bought a fixed bed van with combined toilet/shower. Having said that, we have never stayed on a CL

 

[RogerL_5041474]

We caravanners are a funny lot, more money than sense. We buy expensive caravans with a super buit-in shower and then go to expensive caravan sites with excellent free showers! The reality is that there are many different types of caravanner so, Sean, you need to work out just what you want from caravan and site facilities and then purchase accordingly.