How to Build a Gravity Shower

A hot shower is one of the luxuries camping enthusiasts are likely to miss while enjoying the great outdoors. This does not have to be the case, however. If you have a permanent campsite, one of the better camp projects you can build is a gravity shower. This will allow the entire family to enjoy a hot shower after a day of outdoor activities. If you situate the shower where it can receive full sunlight, solar energy will heat the water during the day and eliminate the need to expend fuel for water heating.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Post hole digger
  • 4 pressure-treated posts, 4-by-4 inches by 12 feet
  • 5 pressure-treated 2-by-4s, 8 feet long
  • Saw
  • 8-foot step ladder
  • 12d nails
  • Framing hammer
  • 2 wooden pallets
  • Food grade black plastic drum, 55 gallon
  • Pipe thread reducer bushing, 2-inch to 3/4-inch
  • 3/4-inch galvanized close nipple
  • 3/4-inch galvanized 90 degree elbow
  • 3/4-by-6-inch galvanized nipple
  • Pipe wrench
  • 3/4-inch brass ball valve
  • 3/4-inch male NPT to 1/2-inch male NPT brass reducer fitting
  • Shower head
  • Shower mat
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Instructions

    • 1

      Dig four post holes two feet deep; one at each corner of a five-foot square. Place one of the posts in each hole.

    • 2

      Cut both 2-by-4s in half. Set the ladder next to the poles and nail the four sections of 2-by-4 to the outside top of all four poles to connect them. The poles will now point slightly inward, which strengthens the structure.

    • 3

      Put the loose soil back in the post holes and tamp it to help hold the poles. Nail 2-by-4s around three sides of the structure, two feet above the ground. Cut the excess 2-by-4 material off with the saw. The open side will be the shower entrance.

    • 4

      Set one pallet on top of the structure and nail it in place. Set the other pallet on the ground inside the structure. This will be the shower floor.

    • 5

      Remove one of the bungs from the plastic drum and replace it with the reducer. Screw the close nipple pipe into the reducer. Screw the elbow into the close nipple and screw the 6-inch nipple into the elbow. Use the pipe wrench to tighten all of the fittings and position the 6-inch nipple so it points to the outside of the drum.

    • 6

      Set the drum on its side atop of the structure, with the nipple down so it extends between the slats of the pallet. Nail one of the excess pieces of 2-by-4 to the pallet on each side of the drum to prevent it from rolling.

    • 7

      Screw the reducer into the valve and screw the shower head onto the reducer. Take the assembly inside the structure and screw it onto the 6-inch nipple. Tighten all connections.

    • 8

      Place the shower mat on the pallet inside the shower structure. Climb the ladder and fill the drum with water via the upper bung.