Life in a Van - Necessities Part II

So, where do you shower?

Most people not familiar with van life don't understand how we maintain hygiene on the road. Granted, most vans are actually too small for a bathroom, much less a stand-alone shower. Cold weather climates do have their own set of challenges when it’s shower time, but warm weather is no problem at all. Actually, there are many options for showering when traveling and living in a van. If you should happen to have friends or relatives along your route, you can stop and shower at their homes. If that’s not a possibility, think truck stops or a gym membership, YMCA or even stopping at an RV park. I choose not to pay for RV parks, but showering is still not an issue on the road. I have a membership to Anytime Fitness. This organization has facilities all across the USA and are located in small and medium sized towns as well as the cities and they’re open 24-7.

I rarely have a problem finding an Anytime Fitness, but if I should, I can go to a truck stop, a YMCA or.... You can get a good hot shower at a truck stop for around $8.00 or so, depending on the location. A bonus at a truck stop is that I can do my laundry at the same time. Modern truck stops have everything a traveler might need including a laundry so you can wash all your dirty clothing, bedding, etc.

If I happen to be off grid boondocking, I can take a shower there. I have a portable shower I purchased off Amazon for $35.00.

It’s battery powered and can be charged by a USB port on my power inverter which is powered by my house battery. I simply place it into a 5 gallon bucket filled with water and hang the shower hose over a limb or the back door of my van and I get a nice shower. If it happens to be cold, I warm the water on my gas cook stove. Obviously in very cold weather, this would not be the ideal means of showering, so that’s when the truck stop or gym works out nicely. It it happens to be warm weather, then a river or waterfall works very well.

Source: Most of the photos in this blog are provided courtesy of pixabay.com.

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Until next time…