How to Build a PVC Camp Shower

A solar shower bag is a great way to keep clean in the backcountry, but if you are camping with friends or family, you might also want to enjoy some privacy when you shower. A PVC camp shower is a 3-foot square frame that supports shower curtains. You can build a PVC camp shower using readily available parts from your local home improvement store.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

8 1 1/2-foot sections of 1/2-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe 4 1/2-inch PVC slip couplers 4 1/2-inch, 90-degree PVC slip elbows PVC cement
8 1 1/2-foot sections of 1/2-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe
4 1/2-inch PVC slip couplers
4 1/2-inch, 90-degree PVC slip elbows
PVC cement

Step 1

Lay out the eight sections of pipe so that they make a square, with two sections of pipe forming each side. Set a 90-degree slip elbow next to each corner of the square, and lay a slip coupler next to each junction of the 1 1/2-foot sections of PVC pipe.

Step 2

Dry-fit the parts. Form each side of the square by joining two sections of PVC pipe with a slip coupler. Attach each end of these joined pipe sections into a 90-degree elbow, forming a square that is 3 feet on each side.

Step 3

Remove four of the 1 1/2-foot sections of PVC pipe and set them aside. Do not apply PVC cement to these sections of pipe, so that your PVC camp shower can be broken down into easily transportable sections.

Step 4

Apply a thin layer of PVC cement to each end of the remaining four sections of PVC pipe. Insert one end of pipe into a 90-degree elbow and the other end into a slip coupler. Only insert the pipe halfway into the slip coupler, leaving enough room for a second pipe. Allow the PVC cement to cure per the directions on the package.

Step 5

Insert one of the blank sections of pipe in between each elbow-and-coupler section, forming a 3-foot square. You now have a lightweight frame that can be suspended around your solar shower bag and will support two standard shower curtains.

Tips & Warnings

If you are worried about muddy feet when using your new PVC camp shower, use a rubber doormat to stand on.

Ensure that you get PVC pipe from your home improvement store and not ABS or PEX, which are both thinner and more brittle.

Article Written By Roy Scribner

Roy Scribner is based in Silicon Valley, where he writes about outdoor recreation topics for various online media outlets, while moonlighting as the business development manager for a defense aerospace firm. Roy and family are avid RV'rs and campers, averaging 5,000 miles every year in the Western United States.

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