Sprinter Conversion. How to build a shower Part 1
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Our first video!
In this video we build a shower in our custom self converted mercedes sprinter van. We will be moving into the van full time in the spring of 2019. Follow along with us as we transition into Van Life!
New Espar S2 D2l from Esparparts.com
weekendsweroam...
Check out our website www.weekendsweroam.com for products we used and updates on our adventures.
Electrical Components
Victron solar charge controller 100/20 300 watts of solar - amzn.to/2NTEI7L
Victron solar charge controller 100/30 - amzn.to/32AhGqy
100 ah AGM batteries - amzn.to/2NT0fNR
100 ah LiFePO4 Batteries, twice the usable storage and half the weight -
amzn.to/2O1aW1b
Victron Inverter charger - amzn.to/2NYpeiT
The inverter we used before the water heater, has a remote switch - amzn.to/32Cj1NL
The inverter we use now. More power than well ever need also has a remote switch - amzn.to/2NT1lZZ
Fuse block - amzn.to/2NTIs9j
Bus bar we used the 150a 4stud with cover - amzn.to/2NXzFTJ
100 Watt Solar panels - we have 3 - amzn.to/32z2lqj
Renogy connectors for solar panels - amzn.to/309f1CC
Battery cutoff switch - amzn.to/308O6qw
Waterproof connector for wires to go into roof - amzn.to/2Q3Icr9
30 amp fuse - amzn.to/2Q3ZMer
Lighting
LED lights, dimmable low profile - amzn.to/2HXxPPe
Dual zone dimmer LED switch
www.superbrigh...
Garage lights led strips - amzn.to/2NVV5Rg
Outdoor motion sensing lights add magnets and put them anywhere -amzn.to/2I1z4wN
Red LED - amzn.to/2N9uH78
LED Light Bar (we use this all the time finding campspots) - amzn.to/2N7FK0t
Plumbing
Pump Shurflo 4008 - amzn.to/2N5AUkh
Pex piping ½” Heres the link from amazon but we just bought it from a hardware store in shorter lengths. - amzn.to/2N5O3tP
Water fill - amzn.to/2NQaoem
Water tank 20 Gallon -amzn.to/34DA2Jl
Water tank 30 Gallon - amzn.to/2LHMOhg
Accumulator - amzn.to/34BLZiI
Water Heater - amzn.to/2NWA9JS
Strainer for pump - amzn.to/309lwp0
Kitchen
3 stage water filter (we use this daily and love it)- amzn.to/34FMtEy
Faucet - amzn.to/2LsWihw
Soap Dispenser - amzn.to/2Q5Gl51
Sink - amzn.to/305QzC8
Sink Drain - amzn.to/2LsWEVn
Refrigerator - www.westmarine...
This is the fridge we used in our first two builds - amzn.to/2LqKix2
Bathroom
Shower pan - amzn.to/3033lS5
Shower organizers - amzn.to/2Lp6KpX amzn.to/34E2hYk
Toilet Natures Head Composting - amzn.to/2LrdlR2
Shower rod extending - amzn.to/2Lq9gwp
On off shower head - amzn.to/2NXCmoj
Interior
Paper towel holder - amzn.to/2O1nJ3H
Greatest pillow ever - amzn.to/32x5kzy
Induction cooktop - amzn.to/32Ap3OK
Propane cooktop - amzn.to/2NVGEws
Coleman oven - amzn.to/2N94gy2
Coleman stove - amzn.to/2LVxCxd
Blackstone griddle - amzn.to/2NWBbWg
Matress - amzn.to/2Q2Ojfm
Matress Topper -amzn.to/2LHO9Vk
Seat Cushions - amzn.to/2N9Y5K8
Heated Seats - amzn.to/34CCcZC
A list of products we used, most are amazon affiliate links. Wont cost you more but it helps us out.
Finally someone showing me how to build it!!!
Dude im a bagkpacker and finding a video all about sleeping clean does not exist
Thank you!
This pandemic has changed a lot of peoples minds about the necessity of a shower and a bathroom in a van.this is a great how to video.
Always a thumbs up
Thanks for posting this. Building the shower is my only concern when I start my van build. Nice video
I usually find vid music just annoying and too loud and intrusive so I'll go to another site. BUT love the quiet cute background music, plus you don't play it while your talking! You hit it right on!!! A pleasure to watch your vid!
Great video. Very, very helpful. Thanks for sharing and for including the mess up on the base. Good to learn from other's mistakes and a good reminder that the palm to face moments happen to everyone.
Sara Bednarcik
😅😂
Yo. I like the music selection. Great job on the shower.
Greg vergo is the Top Dog
Thanks for the in-depth explanation, I'm not an expert but I think you are supposed to drill the holes with the pocket hole gig on the other side instead of screwing them in with the tips pointing toward the outside edge of the board’s end, as a con the holes will be visible (you can cover it with pocket hole plugs) but the joint will be definitely stronger
I'm in the process of building my own camper and this video helped alot! cheers
I'm building right now so this super useful cheers, 👍🚐
My first experiance with pocket screw too! The good news is you are usually so frustrated you triple check after that and it doesnt happen again! 🤣
Great vid thanks! 😀
It's February 2020 just getting to my shower part Finding your Video's a HUGE HELP .Thanks for the Amazon links and all the shower construction hints .. Great job :-):-):-):-)
Thanks for the post. Love the music.
Y’all are so awesome! Thank you for sharing these videos.
Woooo whooooo!!! It’s March 2019!!! So stoke
Woooo!!! It's March 2020!!! Hope your even more stoked
New sub! Love everything about this video, including the titles and backing track. Well done!
VERY excellent video...!
You should include items like frp and adhesive and small things like that so people know what materials you are actually working with
I love the music, man!!!
Great work. I am in the process of buying a sprinter van and doing some similar work.
They are a blast to build out!
Peace… Salam... Shalom... Namaste and Thank You so much for All that you are doing to Heal our Mother Earth 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ 🌷 ❤
Nice work
very helpful, thank you
It's a good thing you've done posting this video. My one concern is that you need to get better with the audio.
Awesome job and what’s the name of that song you play on your video 😎
That old timey music was hilarious! I thoroughly enjoyed that video! #WWR
Can you PLEASE do an in-depth tutorial (or at least an in-depth explanation) on how to install a solar system from scratch? I'm a complete noob with electrical, I don't understand any of the terminology or what components I would need.
Right? He made this make sense and seem relatively easy. If he can do that with solar/electric too that would be amazing.
Watch Will Prowse he is a master at solar anything lol
Would love that too.
Can you make a step-by-step as you build electronic system and plumbing.. beginner like me really need bad. No one is doing this on UA-cam.
The UA-camrs go to fast , show us when its already done and explain like we should understand everything off the bat...
Thanks 😊
If you put in the wall boards for the side walls of the van first, it wouldn't have been such a struggle to get the template. Just a tip. (now that you are done lol )
hi from ireland ,thanks for the vid i now know hoy to do pocket screws and scribe a template , just the info i need , love the music ,maybe a personal microphone would be good for the next ones , love your retriever
Thank you, we have just added a personal mic system in the last month or so! way better audio
What music album did you use? Love it
You’ve done a great job building out your fan. But I was wondering where did you get the shower drain
It’s a bar sink drain. You can get them on Amazon and now Lowe’s and Home Depot
Thanks for sharing this. I have a 2015 170 WB Sprinter and about to install a shower! A couple of questions: 1.) what did you use for your sub-floor? I am guessing 1/2" plywood, but I would like to confirm. 2.) I looked through all of your links and I don't see any link for the shower drain? Thank you.
Smoky Mountains Insider 1/2” plywood for the floor. And the drain portion was pieces together from our local home improvement store.
@@RoamOverlandVehicles thank you.
I do have a question, I've seen other builders, put some redish liquid material to make it mold/water resistant ? what do you think ? and thank you
We wanted to do that. But I called the company that makes the red waterproofing roll on stuff and they said no. Adding that to the substrate of the walls the FRP glue will not stick long term. I called the FRP glue company and spoke to their engineers and they said the same thing. I believe it was liquid nails. They did say they have a special type of glue that might work. But we did not want to risk a wall falling off. One question we did ask was using pressure treated marine grade plywood to avoid water damage, they also said no on that. The pressure treated portion of the wood will not allow the glue to cure properly.
I hope that helps!
Any reason you didn't use Kreg jig to screw the base to the plywood floor?
I could’ve, but I built up that pretty solid base and it was just as good going into that.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'm building a shower with the same pan in the same van as it turns out. I'd like to drill the hole for the drain correctly the first time. Any chance you can share how far the center of the drain is from the wall on the driver side under the van? Thanks for any info you can share.
Eric Sherouse I do not remember. But placing the pan where it will sit I just used the hole for the drain as the template.
Is there a reason you didn't use foam backer board? Currently trying to puzzle out our shower (Your video has been THE MOST helpful) We saw it used in another video and wanted to know if it was on your radar?
At the time no, if I was to do it again I would’ve done foam. And maybe even added a layer of waterproof membrane the kind you paint on. When I was researching the shower build I never found that as an option. But so far it’s two years old and on to its second owner and it’s been doing great. I updated the caulking after a year.
Thanks for the nice videos you post i was wandering what the shower drain you used was with that 90 connection
Christina Campbell we went to homedepot or Lowe’s and grabbed connections for under sink plumbing. That way it’s easily replaceable
@@RoamOverlandVehicles thanks your the man stay safe out there!
One question - why didn't you just put the shower base on top of the vinyl flooring?
We felt better having everything secured directly to the subfloor. We have also started adding flooring later in the build process after all of the heavier objects are installed since the floor is floating and needs room to expand and contract.
Hi luv the build. Looks like you put allot of effort into this! Good job! What is the material in your van cavities?
green shoots TV 3m thinsulate we get it from diy van out of hood river Oregon
Okay thanks. I'm gona into it. I see allot of van mods where people use the foil backed stuff. As long as it keeps you guys warm!
green shoots TV we did add reflectix to the walls right before adding the shiplap. We picked that up at Lowe’s
Great video! We'll definitely refer to this when we're ready to build our shower. Do you feel that the shower is a bit small? I'm asking because we're just starting our build and originally thought we'd be able to have a shower with internal dimension of 24x36. However, we've realized with our current design, we'll have to build a shower closer to your dimensions - using a 24x32 shower pan. We're concerned this will feel too small, especially with a Nature's Head toilet in the wet bath as well. Would love to hear your thoughts since you've used yours.
Wander Libre it was tight but totally doable! At this size it’s not taking up to much of the van and we were taking super quick showers in it so it was fine. You could always pull the natureshead out while you shower. We found that our natureshead took on water in the compost part when we showered. Not a lot everyday but it did eventually add up. Now we only use it not in a shower so we don’t have to worry about it. Hope that helps!
@@RoamOverlandVehicles Thanks for the super quick response! Good to hear about your experience. Also good to know the issues you had with the Nature's Head. We're debating between NH and Airhead - will definitely consider this in our decision. Happy travels!
Hey guys, how have you found the shower has held up over time? Did you feel like 12mm ply was strong enough for the walls without a frame? Debating how to build ours! Thanks for one of the most helpful videos out there :)
Hey guys! Shower worked great. We used it daily for over a year and had no issues. An on off shower head is key to saving water! The walls were plenty sturdy enough. Good compromise of weight versus strength. If I was to do it again I would add a layer of some sort of waterproof membrane onto the all the wood. We didn’t have any issues but for long term peace of mind.
Water heater link isn’t working, which did you use?
Bosch 2.5 gallon we usually order it off of Amazon
Can you link the shower drain bottom that you used? Thanks, great video series!
Ken Coppens of course. It’s in the description under the bathroom section. Shower pan.
@@RoamOverlandVehicles I meant the actual drain piece you used. I already own the pan and build the frame for it with your help.
Also, I used 1x5s for the frame but the foam piece sits off the ground just barely. Did you have that issue and if so how did you fix it?
Ken Coppens ah oh. The drain piece itself I got at our hardware store probably a Lowe’s or Homedepot. It was in the plumbing section for the parts under the sinks. I had to connect it with a rubber connector I also got from there. The foam sitting up off the bottom. That will have to be resting on the floor. If need be can you cut a piece of wood that would be the size of the foam and attach that to the floor?
@@RoamOverlandVehicles Cool thanks. Maybe I could pick your brain a tad more. In our van we already put up the walls and ceiling shiplap planks. Would you still recommend a 1/2" piece on the backside of the shower with RFP on top or could I just put RFP onto our walls (which are 1/4" plywood drilled into wooden studs)? Just trying to figure out how this is going to work since we already have the ceiling up.
@@kenc8472 Regarding the ceiling, will that allow you enough headroom in the shower? That's a bit of a bummer the materials are already there, but every inch counts.
Love it!
what size wood did you use to frame the pan?
2x4s I believe. I may have cut them down just a little bit. Set the pan on the ground and measure up from the ground to the underside of the upper rim of the pan. That way the whole top of the pan is supported.
Hey nice build. What are the floors that you used? Color/type/name?
In this van we used flooring from floor and decor I don’t remember what it was called. We’re now using life proof from Home Depot.
Looks good. I know you're done.
Check out Sara & Alex James. He shows how to build a van and the shower.
He has a book too.
277kne we did watch a lot of their UA-cam videos and Instagram stories about it they have great stuff!
What size wood do you use for a shower pan frame? I have 1x4s but there a half inch to short from going from the floor to pan? Are those custom cuts?
If I recall we did 2x4s. Can you measure from the floor to the underside of the lip around the edge of the shower pan?
Can you provide a link to your portable grey tank and where/how you store it? TIA
resfeber from United States I don’t have a link. I used a 6”pvc pipe that I put caps on. Installed vent pipes, and a drain as well. It was an afterthought but it’s working great! It holds enough water for two showers.
Pocket holes sounds so dirty.. but love the video...
Do you have any problems with the drain freezing in winter?
Joe Schmidt no. We are not in freezing temperatures for very long usually and we do not hold any water on the outside of the van.
Song name?
What is the song you use in your video?
What type of wood did you use to frame the pan?
2x4
Ha Ha sorry for laughing at the wrong measure, i did the same thing but got as far as the cabinet
Hi, nice videos. How much did you spend on the conversion in total? Thanks 😊
Paul Smith between $23,000-25,000
@@RoamOverlandVehicles Thanks for the reply. I have $3000 budget :(
Don’t let our budget deter you! We know people who put an air mattress in the back, a couple camping chairs and a cooler and are loving it!
@@RoamOverlandVehicles great, thanks! do you think i could insulate and put electric in for that price?
Depends on what insulation you use. We spend about $530 for 3m thinsulate which is the insulation we love using! That covers the entire 144 sprinter minus the floor. When it comes to electrical it depends on what you want to do.
On our first van we did 3 100AH AGM batteries with 2 100 watt solar panels and that worked great for what we were running (lights, fridge, max air fan). Batteries ran us a little under $500 total and panels were roughly $100 a piece. Then you need to factor in wiring, charge controller, fuse box, cut off switch and fuses which could run you another couple hundred dollars.
Hope all this helps!
Very nicely documented with clear photography and explanations. I'm grateful for the excellent in depth demo and the tools shown! Something as simple as a scribe often leads to puzzlement on how to use it. Additional tip I want to add here: Schluter Kerdi board and waterproofing membrane are pricey but a great addition to an RV bathroom where leaks can destroy a lot. The board is super light weight and covered with the same membrane you can buy separately. I wish there was a cheaper alternative membrane. This is what should be used under the pan or before you mount any time, right up against the plywood base.
someone should sell van wall templates lol
Is that called a bathtub on amazon?
Joyce Youngblood On Amazon it’s called an rv shower tray
1x6 or 1x4? I think my 1x4 is too low
Michael Ender are you referring to the board under the edge of the shower basin? I’m pretty sure it was a 1x4.
This is the issue I’m having too. The 1x4 you buy from Lowe’s are Home Depot are not actually 1x4 there 1x 3.75 so the pan doesn’t rest on the top of the frame..
Where did you get that shower base ??
Castillo Central Automotriz Ovi_G Amazon! Just search every shower pan
amzn.to/2WHAWzl
Look for "RV shower pan 24 x 40"
I see no reason to remove the flooring.
Front Line Media the flooring needed room to expand. If there is stuff on top of the flooring it would restrict that movement. We’ve noticed with the temperature fluctuations the floor expanding and contracting
@@RoamOverlandVehicles well, everything moves with temp. and you have nothing to worry about leaving the floor there. I plan on using vinyl just b/c of water issues. It's also easy to cut. Did you see the person that made their shower in the middle? They put 2 sliding doors on each side, and used the aisle. I'm still doing body work and painting and feels like I'll never be done. These sprinters are such rust buckets. 7 metal patches just on the driver's side.
Why aren’t you drinking a beer in the intro?
One or two may have been edited out.
That song is really annoying, bit great build instructions
Don't build a shower.
Just do shower.
Woooo whooooo!!! It’s March 2019!!! So stoke
Great
I know this is older but at 1:38 you say using a biodegradable soap and draining out where you can. Could you elaborate on where you can drain out grey water? We just went across country with an outdoor shower that we never used because any site with water hookups had bans (as far as we understood) against letting any grey water out on to the ground.
We mostly did boondocking and stayed away from anywhere with hook ups. It’s really 50/50 on opinions of dumping grey water or not and how you are suppose to do it.
@@RoamOverlandVehicles Thanks for the reply! We didn't have an access to water without hookups, that's what'll have to change. I don't see how animals can shit in the woods but my biodegradable soapy grey water is going to ruin the world.
@@DrivingMissLazy we did have a grey tank we installed after traveling for a couple months so it made it easier to dump in areas where it may not be so critical.
@@RoamOverlandVehicles Hi! This was my question also. Before you had the grey tank installed where did the water drain to? Just out on land? Or did you have a bucket or something underneath that you then dumped somewhere? Thanks for sharing this series!
@@liberatingleash we were draining in to a bucket and now we have the @nwvanconversion tanks under the van
Great vid! Thanks!
I have a crazy (or genius) idea so I’d be grateful for any tips. 😊
I’m thinking of installing an RV shower pan inside a 36”Wx24”D Base Cabinet with a motion censor faucet (somehow) in my laundry/mud room for small pet food & water (&/or pet shower area?) .
Of course I’d Red Stop the entire interior, plus install rubber flashing under pan & maybe backer board with tile or some waterproof covering on inside cabinet (maybe corrugated steel?).
I’d completely remove the front cabinet doors of course.
Unfinished basement underneath so that should be helpful.
There’s some pet food/water area in cabinets in Pinterest, but none that I’ve seen with a drain.
WonderWoman0313 I don’t see why that wouldn’t work as long as you have proper drainage and waterproofing.
Would it have been easier to use an old bedsheet or something to mark off the angle to the side of the van? Magnet it to the side until taut, marker it off, then trace the sheet onto the wood?
Maybe, we have found working with rigid material usually makes everything easier
Good content info, great music!