Van Life Portable Shower Stay Clean Off-Grid

The simplest way is a portable pressurised shower you fill from a tap and use outside the van or in a shower tent. The NewFlow 8 Litre Portable Shower is hand pumped, so it needs no plumbing, no pump wiring and no leisure battery power. Fill it, pump 10 to 15 times and you get 3 to 6 minutes of continuous spray depending on the mode, with a 3 metre coiled hose that reaches comfortably over your head while the tank sits on the ground. Most van lifers shower at the rear doors or under the awning, using a changing mat to stand on and the NewFlow Shower Holder stuck to the door or window for a hands free rinse. It's the shower setup most people use before, or instead of, fitting a full wet room. For the full walkthrough, read our guide to how to shower while living in a van.

A full wash including hair uses around 8 litres with a pressurised portable shower, and a quick rinse uses 2 to 4 litres. That's a fraction of the 30 to 50 litres a built in van shower can get through, which is why so many small van owners use a portable shower even when they have a water tank. Wet down, turn the spray off while you lather, then rinse. Filling the shower separately also keeps your drinking water tank for drinking and cooking.

Boil a kettle or a pan on the hob and mix it with cold water in the tank until it's comfortable on your hand. The NewFlow tank takes water up to 50°C and never boiling, and its 5mm neoprene sleeve keeps the water warm for a long time, so you can fill it after breakfast and shower after a walk. If you've got a campsite with hot taps, fill directly. On sunny days, leave the tank in the sun on the dashboard or roof and it'll take the chill off on its own. No diesel heater, calorifier or gas water heater required.

Boil a kettle or a pan on the hob and mix it with cold water in the tank until it's comfortable on your hand. The NewFlow tank takes water up to 50°C and never boiling, and its 5mm neoprene sleeve keeps the water warm for a long time, so you can fill it after breakfast and shower after a walk. If you've got a campsite with hot taps, fill directly. On sunny days, leave the tank in the sun on the dashboard or roof and it'll take the chill off on its own. No diesel heater, calorifier or gas water heater required.

You can do either, but most van lifers shower outside or in a pop up shower tent to avoid filling the van with moisture. If you do shower inside, stand in a collapsible tub or shower tray, open a window or roof vent, and use short bursts of spray so you're only using the water you need. The NewFlow head is fully controllable, so you can wash inside a small van without soaking the walls. Outside, the rear doors and an awning give you all the privacy you need, and you can rinse straight onto the ground.

Fill at campsite taps, motorhome service points, marinas, some petrol stations, and public taps in parks and at beaches. The NewFlow opens with a big loop handle so it fills quickly from any tap or from a water carrier. For grey water, use biodegradable soap, keep it away from streams, rivers and lakes, and empty onto ground where it can soak away or into a designated grey water point at a campsite. Because the shower uses so little water, you're never dealing with a big tank of grey water at the end of the day.

No. The NewFlow shower is pressurised by hand, so it never touches your leisure battery, and there's no pump to wire in or cable to snake through the van. Fill it, close the lid, pump 10 to 15 times and spray. If the pressure drops, pump a few more times. That means it works just as well parked wild in the Highlands as it does on a hook up pitch, and it's one less thing draining your power on a cloudy week.

Under the bed, in the garage space, behind a seat or in a rear door pocket. It weighs around 2 kg empty and stands upright, so it doesn't roll about, and the carry strap makes it easy to hook onto a bulkhead or cargo net. Many owners store it full so it's ready to go, which is fine as long as you empty and rinse it every few days. The NewFlow Shower Holder sticks to a window or the inside of the rear door so the head has a permanent home for hands free rinsing.

Yes, it makes a very useful van tap. Use a firm jet for rinsing plates and pans, a gentle spray for washing hands and vegetables, and a medium mode for rinsing muddy boots, bike tyres and the dog before they come inside. It also rinses the van step, the awning and the windscreen. Keep the tank water clean by applying washing up liquid to the sponge rather than the tank, and rinse the shower through with fresh water after use.

Yes. Fill it with warm water and the insulated 5mm neoprene sleeve keeps it warm for hours, so you can have a warm rinse on a cold evening without running any heating. Shower under the awning or in a shower tent to avoid condensation in the van, and dry off quickly with a changing robe. The only winter rule is not to leave the tank full in freezing temperatures: empty it, or bring it inside the van overnight, so the water can't freeze and expand.