Post by Don Ricardo on Nov 9, 2009 22:21:07 GMT 10
Hi all,
I spent the weekend helping to staff the Lost Children's tent at the Whittlesea Agricultural Show. Had a great time - the Whittlesea Show retains the genuine feel of an old time country show which has largely been lost by the big city shows. In fact this year was the 150th anniversary of the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, so it's got plenty of history behind it.
Anyway, while I was there I got chatting to a guy staffing the St John's Ambulance caravan next to our tent, who told me that he'd fitted a shower in his little 11' 6" Chesney which he had parked over near one of the pavilions. The chap's name was Laurie, and I was as intrigued by how he'd fitted the shower as he was keen to show me how he'd done it.
This is Laurie's Chesney.
Sorry, it's a 1980's model. The moderators should immediately tell me off for sullying the V V forum,
but I'm hoping that they will give me a bit of leeway because I reckon the shower is such an ingenious setup, and I'm contributing to the stock of V V knowledge by telling you about it! Aw c'mon guys cut me some slack... 
To fit the shower, Laurie created a shower base out of painted tin and fitted it in the base of one of the beds:
The curtain for the shower is hung on a square frame which attaches to four hooks in the ceiling...
...and hangs into the shower base, like so:
When the shower curtain is not being used it is unhooked and stored in the shower base.
The water for the shower is heated on the gas stove in a big pan which doubles as the rubbish bin in one of the galley cupboards. You can see the the round hole where it fits to the right of the stove:
A rubber tube fits through a hole in the side of the pan into the water, and is connected to a little 12v pump in the cupboard below. The water is then piped under the caravan floor and up through a cupboard at the back of the shower to connect to the showerhead which is permanently attached to the wall:
The black button at the base of the showerhead is an electrical switch, which when pressed starts up the pump to pump the water from the pan on the stove to the showerhead.
Laurie tells me that if he puts the pan of water on the stove at the same time as his kettle, by the time he has had a nice cup of tea in the morning the water in the pan is just the right temperature for his shower.
As I said - pretty ingenious!
In the third photo (where the shower curtain is hanging into the shower base) there is a panel with a couple of holes in it to the right of the shower. This panel covers a portaloo which Laurie has also fitted into the base of the bed. All this is covered by a mattress for sleeping purposes. And remember the van is only 11' 6" long, so it's just a shorty.
I took some other pics at the Show, but I'll post them in the Whatever section 'cause they have "nothing whatever" to do with V V's!
Don Ricardo
I spent the weekend helping to staff the Lost Children's tent at the Whittlesea Agricultural Show. Had a great time - the Whittlesea Show retains the genuine feel of an old time country show which has largely been lost by the big city shows. In fact this year was the 150th anniversary of the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, so it's got plenty of history behind it.
Anyway, while I was there I got chatting to a guy staffing the St John's Ambulance caravan next to our tent, who told me that he'd fitted a shower in his little 11' 6" Chesney which he had parked over near one of the pavilions. The chap's name was Laurie, and I was as intrigued by how he'd fitted the shower as he was keen to show me how he'd done it.
This is Laurie's Chesney.
Sorry, it's a 1980's model. The moderators should immediately tell me off for sullying the V V forum,
but I'm hoping that they will give me a bit of leeway because I reckon the shower is such an ingenious setup, and I'm contributing to the stock of V V knowledge by telling you about it! Aw c'mon guys cut me some slack... 
To fit the shower, Laurie created a shower base out of painted tin and fitted it in the base of one of the beds:
The curtain for the shower is hung on a square frame which attaches to four hooks in the ceiling...
...and hangs into the shower base, like so:
When the shower curtain is not being used it is unhooked and stored in the shower base.
The water for the shower is heated on the gas stove in a big pan which doubles as the rubbish bin in one of the galley cupboards. You can see the the round hole where it fits to the right of the stove:
A rubber tube fits through a hole in the side of the pan into the water, and is connected to a little 12v pump in the cupboard below. The water is then piped under the caravan floor and up through a cupboard at the back of the shower to connect to the showerhead which is permanently attached to the wall:
The black button at the base of the showerhead is an electrical switch, which when pressed starts up the pump to pump the water from the pan on the stove to the showerhead.
Laurie tells me that if he puts the pan of water on the stove at the same time as his kettle, by the time he has had a nice cup of tea in the morning the water in the pan is just the right temperature for his shower.
As I said - pretty ingenious!
In the third photo (where the shower curtain is hanging into the shower base) there is a panel with a couple of holes in it to the right of the shower. This panel covers a portaloo which Laurie has also fitted into the base of the bed. All this is covered by a mattress for sleeping purposes. And remember the van is only 11' 6" long, so it's just a shorty.
I took some other pics at the Show, but I'll post them in the Whatever section 'cause they have "nothing whatever" to do with V V's!
Don Ricardo
