VW Shower Tent

[JuanVecino2023]

Does anyone have the VW accessory tailgate shower tent?

Any idea on use ability and how easy it is to put up & stow away?

 

[scottk]

It stows inside a chair in the tailgate. You have Velcro to apply on the tailgate (which stays on) and then it goes up and down pretty quickly. There are a couple of hooks too but doesn’t take long.

 

[wildslammer22]

Does anyone have the VW accessory tailgate shower tent?

Any idea on use ability and how easy it is to put up & stow away?

Not the VW shower tent but I have fitted a shower/ privacy room on the non awning side rail using some brackets I found on Amazon. This can be set up in under about a minute and put away in two. It has the added benefit of not risking getting any water inside the van and they can be purchased for far less than the VW curtain. I got mine from 4x4Direct but I’ve seen them for similar price (£2-250) with a roof and integrated LED light. You can see from my van that they pack up quite neatly and its very sturdy, I’d guess it weighs no more than 5-7kg

 

[Wildcamper]

We use a one person pop up tent. Very quick to pop up and pop down and takes almost no storage space - hot shower as well. About £15 from Amazon. Obviously not a California.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Not the VW shower tent but I have fitted a shower/ privacy room on the non awning side rail using some brackets I found on Amazon. This can be set up in under about a minute and put away in two. It has the added benefit of not risking getting any water inside the van and they can be purchased for far less than the VW curtain. I got mine from 4x4Direct but I’ve seen them for similar price (£2-250) with a roof and integrated LED light. You can see from my van that they pack up quite neatly and its very sturdy, I’d guess it weighs no more than 5-7kg

View attachment 116212

I love the look of your van - black with black Rhino/Swamper wheels would be exactly what I would have if family were not part of the decision to have a 'holiday' van.

Is this what you have> https://direct4x4.co.uk/products/expedition-shower-privacy-tent-grey?_pos=1&_sid=9288d3d60&_ss=r

 

[wildslammer22]

I love the look of your van - black with black Rhino/Swamper wheels would be exactly what I would have if family were not part of the decision to have a 'holiday' van.

Is this what you have> https://direct4x4.co.uk/products/expedition-shower-privacy-tent-grey?_pos=1&_sid=9288d3d60&_ss=r

Yes that’s what I have


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ch1pbutty]

VW shower tent is a good design and works well. Comes with Vecro fixing pads that stick to the inside of the tailgate, tent is then hung from the pads (+ a few hooks). Very quick to install / remove as no poles to pack..just folds up; Great for sorting gear out in the boot when it's raining….or use as a changing tent if the rest of the van are still fast asleep!

Design allows use of factory VW bike rack.

Only downside is that it is quite expensive, but it’s very well made.

 

[The big K]

Not the VW shower tent but I have fitted a shower/ privacy room on the non awning side rail using some brackets I found on Amazon. This can be set up in under about a minute and put away in two. It has the added benefit of not risking getting any water inside the van and they can be purchased for far less than the VW curtain. I got mine from 4x4Direct but I’ve seen them for similar price (£2-250) with a roof and integrated LED light. You can see from my van that they pack up quite neatly and its very sturdy, I’d guess it weighs no more than 5-7kg

View attachment 116212

What clips did you use to attach it?

 

[a892374923874]

but I’ve seen them for similar price (£2-250) with a roof and integrated LED light

Can I please ask where you’ve seen them with a roof?

 

[wildslammer22]

Can I please ask where you’ve seen them with a roof?

ARB do one which also has a built in usb cable for lights etc. it’s more expensive though at around £300

 

[wildslammer22]

What clips did you use to attach it?

I used a some 2x4 barricade brackets which bolt to the privacy room with the provided hardware. I then bolted the brackets to the awning channel on the Cali using M8 bolts (might have been M6, I’ll have to check). Initially I used knurled hand nuts as I thought I might want to take it off easily but I decided it’s just easier to leave it on so I replaced with nyloc nuts. It’s rock solid even on high speed motorway journeys. I did add one more mod, I inserted a rubber wedge between the brackets and the channel to get the privacy room to open more parallel to the ground. The awning channel on the Cali is angled up slightly which in turn exaggerates the angle of the privacy room. Still perfectly useable but the wedges corrected the angle nicely.

 

[a892374923874]

Thanks. Looking at the ARB one now. It has a floor as well as a roof. How do you find yours in the wind? Would you leave it up in more wind than the wind out awning?

 

[wildslammer22]

Thanks. Looking at the ARB one now. It has a floor as well as a roof. How do you find yours in the wind? Would you leave it up in more wind than the wind out awning?

Depends on if the ground will take a long peg. If so then I trust it in high winds far more than the wind out awning especially if you park with the sliding door side into the wind as the van provides a lot of shelter for the privacy room. If I had known about the ARB one before I would have definitely gone for that. I suspect the roof will result in more wind flapping but the extra usability would be worth it.

 

[a892374923874]

That’s great info thanks. I haven’t found a picture of the back of the unit yet. Do you happen to know if it needs the same brackets as yours? Otherwise I’ll contact them tomorrow to find out.

 

[wildslammer22]

That’s great info thanks. I haven’t found a picture of the back of the unit yet. Do you happen to know if it needs the same brackets as yours? Otherwise I’ll contact them tomorrow to find out.

I would imagine so, they are all designed to fit to a roof rack so will likely come with an L bracket and fixings that slide into two parallel slots on the back. The brackets I purchased have slots on one side so should marry up with virtually any configuration on the privacy room. I you do go ahead let me know how you get on, I don’t think I will upgrade but I am envious of the additional features on the ARB. I’ve used ARB kit before and always found it to be high quality.

 

[a892374923874]

Will do. We have a Joolca En Suite triple, and the hot tap, but it is too much faff and “camping behaviour” if we’re just doing a quick stopover in an Aire. This would be ideal to just put the Porta potti in overnight.

 

[wildslammer22]

Will do. We have a Joolca En Suite triple, and the hot tap, but it is too much faff and “camping behaviour” if we’re just doing a quick stopover in an Aire. This would be ideal to just put the Porta potti in overnight.

That’s how I use it mostly too, that and getting changed at the beach. I do have a Nemo shower which packs down to nothing and is pressurised with a built in foot pump. Works well on the rare occasion I shower on a wild camp.

 

[The big K]

I used a some 2x4 barricade brackets which bolt to the privacy room with the provided hardware. I then bolted the brackets to the awning channel on the Cali using M8 bolts (might have been M6, I’ll have to check). Initially I used knurled hand nuts as I thought I might want to take it off easily but I decided it’s just easier to leave it on so I replaced with nyloc nuts. It’s rock solid even on high speed motorway journeys. I did add one more mod, I inserted a rubber wedge between the brackets and the channel to get the privacy room to open more parallel to the ground. The awning channel on the Cali is angled up slightly which in turn exaggerates the angle of the privacy room. Still perfectly useable but the wedges corrected the angle nicely.

Thanks for this! Any chance is a close up photo of the wedges?

 

[wildslammer22]

Thanks for this! Any chance is a close up photo of the wedges?

Here you go, hope it helps. Got them from Amazon

 

[The big K]

Thanks again! Will post my solution when complete… I’m looking at fitting the Nudie Boss 2.0 which is available in Australia for £184 - goes up and down in seconds without the faffing

 

[wildslammer22]

Thanks again! Will post my solution when complete… I’m looking at fitting the Nudie Boss 2.0 which is available in Australia for £184 - goes up and down in seconds without the faffing

That looks great!

 

[The big K]

I used a some 2x4 barricade brackets which bolt to the privacy room with the provided hardware. I then bolted the brackets to the awning channel on the Cali using M8 bolts (might have been M6, I’ll have to check). Initially I used knurled hand nuts as I thought I might want to take it off easily but I decided it’s just easier to leave it on so I replaced with nyloc nuts. It’s rock solid even on high speed motorway journeys. I did add one more mod, I inserted a rubber wedge between the brackets and the channel to get the privacy room to open more parallel to the ground. The awning channel on the Cali is angled up slightly which in turn exaggerates the angle of the privacy room. Still perfectly useable but the wedges corrected the angle nicely.

Still working on my solution! Your advice has been invaluable… Do you have an Amazon link for the rubber wedges?

 

[wildslammer22]

Still working on my solution! Your advice has been invaluable… Do you have an Amazon link for the rubber wedges?

Here you go, they work well. I just drilled a hole for the bolt.

Amazon.co.uk

 

[The big K]

Excellent! Thanks heaps!

 

[Nick Stubbs]

That awning rail is only glued on, just saying, wouldn’t want to put anything too heavy on there, great idea though