In case you haven’t noticed from my two previous posts on how to camp for free in Southern California and Big Sur, I’m a big fan of free camping (also known as primitive or dispersed camping). I love the flexibility and peacefulness of dispersed camping compared to the expensive and often crowded established campgrounds of Southern California. Plus I usually don’t plan camping trips 6 months in advance, so it’s often tough to get a campsite on the weekends.
I’m lucky to have a wife who is also down to set up shop in the woods. However, she has two main problems with primitive camping: first, she doesn’t like to poop in the woods; and second, she thinks I stink when I don’t shower for a few days (unrelated, but she thinks my BO smells like cumin). Anyway, this post is about my solution to the second problem. Read on for a complete guide of how to build a DIY camp shower for under $25.
Side bonus: I now leave this shower in the back of my car and use it to rinse off after surfing. It works perfectly and makes my wetsuit smell a little less funky.
Materials
- Weed sprayer (preferably 2-gallon or larger)
- Sink sprayer replacement kit
- Pipe tape
- 1/4″ brass pipe fitting
- 1/4″ hose clamp
- Tip: If you can find a black weed sprayer, that’s ideal because then the water can get nice and warm during the day. Mine was supposed to be black, but it showed up clear.
Instructions
This is quite possibly the easiest project I’ve ever done. Once I got all the supplies together, it probably only took me 15 or 20 minutes to get the whole thing together. Important Note: make sure you buy a new weed sprayer. Ain’t nobody got time for a chemical shower.
- Cut the nozzle off of the weed sprayer – this nozzle creates too fine of a mist for a shower
- Insert the 1/4″ brass pipe fitting into the cut end of the weed sprayer hose. Then secure it with the 1/4″ hose clamp.
- Wrap pipe tape around the threaded end of the pipe fitting.
- Attach sink sprayer replacement kit to the threaded end of the pipe fitting.
That’s it. Fill the tank with water, use the pump to create pressure in the tank, and you’re good to go. You’ve just saved yourself like $75 because you didn’t have to buy one of these.
