Shower location?

[JeanM]

Hello all,

What are your thoughts on the floorplan with the shower in the back using the two rear doors as a bathroom wall? Do you find that water gets into the doors, adjacent cabinets, etc?

And floorplans where the toilet hangs out into the aisle and your meant to take a shower right in the middle of the aisle because you can't fit in the bathroom... That, to me, seems like a recipe for mold.

I would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

[hepcat]

The rear bath/shower in a '94 Airstream B-van seemed awesome when I bought it... and then realized that it was too small to actually use, and too fragile and oddly shaped to store anything in. The aisle toilet was also wonderful until I realized that the van may as well not even have back doors as you can't use them for anything.

My current B-van has an outside shower and a side toilet with a useful rear-dinette area. I've removed the cushions and made it into a platform for tools, the dog crate, and it's where my hanging clothes go. Inside showers in a B-van are of limited use anyway because of the size of the freshwater and gray water holding tanks. You can always find an available shower. Room in the van is a little harder to come by.

[Davydd]

Class Bs are space starved as it is and putting a bath in the rear kills the best storage potential and makes the two rear doors useless. If a dry bath is important to someone and the slide outs that make it work with two manufacturers they are better off with a small Class C.

[rjf7g]

I love the floor plan for my 1999 American Cruiser - rear entry is the only way to go in my opinion. I don't have a side entry at all. AmericanCruiserfloorplan.jpg Photo by classb4 | Photobucket

[JeanM]

Originally Posted by rjf7g

I love the floor plan for my 1999 American Cruiser - rear entry is the only way to go in my opinion. I don't have a side entry at all. AmericanCruiserfloorplan.jpg Photo by classb4 | Photobucket

Nice! It's overall a bit longer than what I'd like but I can see how this would work well.

[gk&hc]

We have the rear shower in our Travato 59K. Putting the shower in the back makes it slightly roomier than other locations.
We have not had any problems with water getting into cabinets, or under the rear doors.
As others have pointed out, it makes the rear doors somewhat useless while camping. However, it's very easy to clean the bathroom by opening the rear doors and standing outside.
While traveling, my wife and I use the shower on a regular basis.
Howard

[JeanM]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Class Bs are space starved as it is and putting a bath in the rear kills the best storage potential and makes the two rear doors useless. If a dry bath is important to someone and the slide outs that make it work with two manufacturers they are better off with a small Class C.

Thanks for your input. Yes I've seen some vans where the bathroom completely blocks the doors. The Coachmen ones are like this, right? For the purpose of my question I was thinking about the Travato 59k, or (even) the Sunlight (yes, I know). Ideally the van I purchase has an open center aisle accessible via the back doors because that's where my 9' kayak or SUP goes. I can't lift these on top of my car anymore.

In the U.S., how long is the smallest class C? At least 23, 24' long? That doesn't work for me because I'm looking for something that I can camp in, but also occasionally take to a far off trailhead for a long run. The bathroom means I don't have to depend on local "facil-i-trees"...

I'd also want to be able to park the van at a kayak put-in, typically a really small patch of dirt on the side of the road, without hogging all the spaces there.

I sure would appreciate having a shower after, being able to not only get out of wet clothes but also move on to the rest of my day without smelling like goose poop, low tide, etc.

[JeanM]

Originally Posted by hepcat

The rear bath/shower in a '94 Airstream B-van seemed awesome when I bought it... and then realized that it was too small to actually use, and too fragile and oddly shaped to store anything in. The aisle toilet was also wonderful until I realized that the van may as well not even have back doors as you can't use them for anything.

My current B-van has an outside shower and a side toilet with a useful rear-dinette area. I've removed the cushions and made it into a platform for tools, the dog crate, and it's where my hanging clothes go. Inside showers in a B-van are of limited use anyway because of the size of the freshwater and gray water holding tanks. You can always find an available shower. Room in the van is a little harder to come by.

I'm having trouble picturing your floorplan but it sounds great to customize your rig for what you need and want.

For me, yes to the outside shower when the situation and location are right for it, but I wouldn't want it to be the only option.

[JeanM]

Originally Posted by gk&hc

We have the rear shower in our Travato 59K. Putting the shower in the back makes it slightly roomier than other locations.
We have not had any problems with water getting into cabinets, or under the rear doors.
As others have pointed out, it makes the rear doors somewhat useless while camping. However, it's very easy to clean the bathroom by opening the rear doors and standing outside.
While traveling, my wife and I use the shower on a regular basis.
Howard

Thanks, this is really helpful! With the 59K, I like that there's an inner door separating the bathroom from the rest of the cabin, so you can "air out" the bathroom without inviting bugs/animals in to the rest of the living area.

>>As others have pointed out, it makes the rear doors somewhat useless while camping.

I'm having trouble understanding why this is? Is it because people are frequently using the bathroom when you'd like to be able to pass through the back doors? Or is it that your storage spaces are less accessible from the outside?

[gk&hc]

Originally Posted by JeanM

Thanks, this is really helpful! With the 59K, I like that there's an inner door separating the bathroom from the rest of the cabin, so you can "air out" the bathroom without inviting bugs/animals in to the rest of the living area.

>>As others have pointed out, it makes the rear doors somewhat useless while camping.

I'm having trouble understanding why this is? Is it because people are frequently using the bathroom when you'd like to be able to pass through the back doors? Or is it that your storage spaces are less accessible from the outside?

Useless isn't the correct word. I usually load the camper for our trips using the rear doors after backing the camper up to the garage. There is also some storage space in the 59K only accessible through the read door.

What I meant is that when we pull up to a camp site or rest stop, we don't usually leave the rear door open since it gives a great view of the bathroom, which to me seems odd. This isn't a problem, as the side door is more convenient. However, after cleaning the bathroom, I will usually leave the doors open to make sure the bathroom dries out properly. Note that the factory bike rack on the Travato also makes a great place to hang your towels (after you remove your bikes).

[JeanM]

>Useless isn't the correct word. I usually load the camper for our trips using the rear doors after backing the camper up to the garage.

Ah, that makes sense now. Thanks for explaining. We don't have a garage but we do have a driveway right next to the side house entrance, so, that side door will be the loading door.

Good to know about the towel thing, too.

Not to drift too far off track, but how are you finding that factory Travato bike rack for bikes? Is it worth what they charge for it? Is it lock-able?

Thanks again.

[gk&hc]

Originally Posted by JeanM

>

Not to drift too far off track, but how are you finding that factory Travato bike rack for bikes? Is it worth what they charge for it? Is it lock-able?

Thanks again.

The bike rack is expensive, but it's convenient in that you can open the rear doors with the rack in place (even if you are carrying bikes). I didn't do any comparison shopping, so I don't know what else you could find.

The rack is a bit of a puzzle the first time you try and load up two bikes, as you have to figure out where to place the support arms, etc. (This will depend upon your bikes, but it took me 30 minutes the first time.) However, now I can load the bikes quickly.

You can lock the bikes to the rack and to the camper by running a cable through the bikes and rack, and then attaching it to the Travato hitch (where you would attach trailer chains if you were towing a trailer). The rack itself is bolted to the camper, so you can't just pick it up and walk off with it anyway.

Howard

[JeanM]

Originally Posted by gk&hc

The bike rack is expensive, but it's convenient in that you can open the rear doors with the rack in place (even if you are carrying bikes). I didn't do any comparison shopping, so I don't know what else you could find.

The rack is a bit of a puzzle the first time you try and load up two bikes, as you have to figure out where to place the support arms, etc. (This will depend upon your bikes, but it took me 30 minutes the first time.) However, now I can load the bikes quickly.

You can lock the bikes to the rack and to the camper by running a cable through the bikes and rack, and then attaching it to the Travato hitch (where you would attach trailer chains if you were towing a trailer). The rack itself is bolted to the camper, so you can't just pick it up and walk off with it anyway.

Howard

Thanks Howard, that's really helpful.