Water Pressure for Shower

Rick · 03-13-2015, 05:28 PM

We have never used a trailer before. We are thinking about purchasing. We would like some idea about what its like to take showers in the trailer. Can someone help with information about water pressure and temperature? We are thinking about the Jay Feather SLX 19XUD. Thanks much!

dewey02 · 03-13-2015, 05:39 PM

Well, first, unless you are at a full hookup site (water, elec. and sewer) you will probably be taking military showers. Turn water on only long enough to get wet. Turn water off. Soap up. Turn water on, rinse off. You are done. If you are running off your on-board water supply, the trailer you are considering has only 26 gallons of fresh water and a 16 gallon grey tank. So you will need to be very water conserving in your showers.

You can adjust the temp just like at home, but that 6 gallons in your water heater won't last long if you leave the water running. Pressure will depend on your shower head and whether you have good pressure from your city hookup and if you have a good pressure reducer. The cheap Camco ones really cut down the pressure. Many folks here (including me) have good things to say about the Oxygenics shower head. It creates good pressure even when overall pressure is low.

And we take a shower every OTHER day. You are camping after all, so smelling like smoke is generally OK. Good luck with your trailer purchase.

Rick · 03-13-2015, 06:14 PM

Thanks much. If we are at a full hookup location, will we have pressure, temperature, volume and length of showers just like at home?

rbrent · 03-13-2015, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Thanks much. If we are at a full hookup location, will we have pressure, temperature, volume and length of showers just like at home?

not temperature that 6 gallon hot water tank will run out pretty quick if you use it like home!

mhuntington · 03-13-2015, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Thanks much. If we are at a full hookup location, will we have pressure, temperature, volume and length of showers just like at home?

to a degree yes. if you are on a sewer site you can shower as long as you like. with a oxigentics shower head your pressure should be fine and your temperature will last as long as your water heater last. takes about 20min. to heat your water back up once it turns cold. so waiting between showers is a good idea. good luck.

oldmanAZ · 03-13-2015, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbrent

not temperature that 6 gallon hot water tank will run out pretty quick if you use it like home!

If your water heater is propane and electric, you can have BOTH on at the same time to heat the water faster. That might help a bit.

Tunce the traveler · 03-13-2015, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhuntington

to a degree yes. if you are on a sewer site you can shower as long as you like. with a oxigentics shower head your pressure should be fine and your temperature will last as long as your water heater last. takes about 20min. to heat your water back up once it turns cold. so waiting between showers is a good idea. good luck.

X2 on this one and I can tell you for a fact that taking a sort of quick shower ( not the short navy) that 5 people can take a shower with out running out of hot water with just using electric from the camp ground. Oxigentics shower head is the only way to go. I do not carry or use propane for my TT, I've just been able to live without it.

Rick · 03-13-2015, 10:37 PM

I appreciate all of your responses. What helpful people! Since you seem to have knowledge, I'd like to ask a broader question:

What would I need to purchase (in addition to the Jayco Feather SLX 19XUD such that I could use the trailer as a home for periods of time?

Assume we'd like to stay in it for a week or two, maybe even three. It will not be in a place with any hookups of any kind. But it will be in an isolated place (in the woods).

We've been told things like "inverter", generator, extra water tanks, 7 gallon propane tank instead of the standard 5, and maybe even two of those instead of one, ...

I've researched generators, but having a hard time figuring what we'd need. (For example, if we did get a generator, what kind would we need? How long would it run our air conditioner, fridge, tv, and computers before we need to refill it with gas? Would a propane generator be better? Are those quieter?)

Can we buy a back up water heater to get more volume of hot water? (I didn't understand the response indicating that we can run the hot water heater on both propane and electric to get more hot water).

Thank you for any replies.

Tunce the traveler · 03-13-2015, 10:45 PM

Oh, and another thing Great to have you join our group and we hope you enjoy you're endless vacation as much as we do. Any other questions you have just ask away, we have many long time campers here that have experienced just about everything you can imagine.

oldmanAZ · 03-13-2015, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

...snip... (I didn't understand the response indicating that we can run the hot water heater on both propane and electric to get more hot water).

Thank you for any replies.

If you are plugged into the electrical outlet at a campground, you can heat water with both electric and propane at the same time. It heats cold water FASTER, it doesn't make MORE hot water.

At that time, I was responding to your question about showers in a campground with FULL hookups.

Your recent question regarding "... a week or two, maybe even three. It will not be in a place with any hookups of any kind. But it will be in an isolated place (in the woods)." Is called boondocking or drycamping. That is a whole different kettle of fish and will take some thinking, research, and discipline on your part. It can be done and many do, but it isn't easy and as far as I know there are no easy answers - but there are lots of tradeoffs.

You've just started and there is a considerable learning curve. There are some answers on the way (I am sure) and you can also use the 'search' function on this site. You'll probably find answers to questions you don't even have yet.

Hattie · 03-14-2015, 06:40 AM

How many people? Kids? Teenagers? Dogs? It depends on your personal tolerance level! We 50/50 boondock/drycamp and hookup (both full and partial=no sewer). I'm personally not so tolerant and MUST have a daily shower (just me); but in all cases, we're much more H2O conservative than when home - that plus fresh/gray/black tank size determines your degree of independence:

Cooking/Drinking: we always bring gallon jugs filled with home water, and we brew lots of tea. The jugs and our fresh water tank are all water softened; with hookups we use an inline softener.
Showers: not as frequently and they are always military by using the on/off toggle added to the nozzle, purchase bottles of pre-combined shampoo/ conditioner/ bodywash, use campground/local facilities or go elsewhere else (gym visit, pool/swim-park, creek/lake swim, once even stood under a waterfall!), and finally if all else fails - consider a quick sponge bath using a pre-moistened towelette (don't flush it) and some strong deodorant or perfume. If you are where it rains heavily AND in an isolated location - have biodegradable soap ready and step-out au-natural!
Toilet: have a waste-tote, rely on campground or local facilities, optionally add to your supplies a marine or composting toilet.
Other: our TT came with LED lights, we have 2 Honda generators (provides full power to include running air conditioner) and sufficient gas [know the hours you can/can't run them], make sure you have full propane tanks, consider switching-out powered items to 12-volt (e.g., TV), how about solar? Know your energy footprint.

dewey02 · 03-14-2015, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

I appreciate all of your responses. What helpful people! Since you seem to have knowledge, I'd like to ask a broader question:

What would I need to purchase (in addition to the Jayco Feather SLX 19XUD such that I could use the trailer as a home for periods of time?

Assume we'd like to stay in it for a week or two, maybe even three. It will not be in a place with any hookups of any kind. But it will be in an isolated place (in the woods).

We've been told things like "inverter", generator, extra water tanks, 7 gallon propane tank instead of the standard 5, and maybe even two of those instead of one, ...

I've researched generators, but having a hard time figuring what we'd need. (For example, if we did get a generator, what kind would we need? How long would it run our air conditioner, fridge, tv, and computers before we need to refill it with gas? Would a propane generator be better? Are those quieter?)

Can we buy a back up water heater to get more volume of hot water? (I didn't understand the response indicating that we can run the hot water heater on both propane and electric to get more hot water).

Thank you for any replies.

As others have said, boondocking is an entirely different kettle of fish.
First off, if you intend to do a lot of boondocking, you may want to look at a different travel trailer. While the one you are considering sleeps a lot of people (how many adults and kids will you have?), it is VERY small on the Fresh Water (26 gallon), Gray water (15 gallons), and Black water (9 gallon) capacity. Even with the most stringent water conservation measures, you will NOT be able to stay out very long (probably only a matter of days) with that small capacity.
I realize you are probably looking to get a TT that is small and light so that you can tow it with your existing Tow Vehicle, but you might want to look for something with at least 60/30/30 gallon capacity if you are thinking of boondocking. (And larger on all tanks is better) That blackwater tank is going to be the biggest problem. Nine gallons isn't much, especially if you have more than 2 people, which I assume you do based on the sleeping capacity of your Hybrid.

You may also like: