Jump to content


Photo
- - - - -

Grandby Shell build, it takes a Village, a bit more install info, Zero Declination drop down shower curtain

Solar LiFePo4 12v system Storage Front Dinette Fan upgrade Rear camera Table Galley Bed

  • Please log in to reply
58 replies to this topic

#51 rando

rando

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 1,638 posts
  • LocationColorado

Posted 03 February 2020 - 02:02 AM

Thanks for the details on the mounting.   I slightly prefer the versions that come in an aluminium hard case, but I am not sure I prefer them an extra $200. 


  • 0

2016 Fleet Flatbed

2016 Toyota Tacoma


#52 Cayuse

Cayuse

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 771 posts
  • LocationMesa, AZ

Posted 18 April 2020 - 05:05 PM

Appreciate the extra installation instructions.  My old, cheap pop-up tent  has seen its final days and the new one from Zero declination arrived  with the kit but without instructions yesterday, just sent them a message but haven't heard back as I'm hoping to get it mounted this weekend.  I'll be using mine primarily for  luggable loo privacy but may use a solar shower off the roof on some longer trips.

 

Edit:  heard back from KP and he sent me instructions very shortly after I contacted him and started researching this.  What an awesome company!  Wish all companies were as dedicated to customer service!


Edited by Cayuse, 18 April 2020 - 05:16 PM.

  • 0
2002 Grandby, 2008 Tundra Double Cab
Off Road Utility Trailer
Not enough time to go exploring.

#53 Stokeme

Stokeme

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 373 posts
  • LocationNorCal

Posted 23 April 2020 - 05:35 PM

This Shelter at Home has halted everything. Used it in DVNP & Alabama Hills in February for the first time. It was great to take a shower. Though, my solar shower did not heat up sufficiently during the daytime with such cold nights, Alabama Hills was a pretty crisp shower. Yes, also a good outdoor loo #2 facility. Glad my install notes helped if even a little. Follow fold out/in instructions or the tent has a tendency to retract over itself. Then to open you will need to swing tent back over itself.
Nice product & KP always replied within 24 hrs. Happy to support a small Camper business.

Here is the Zero Declination FB site ... more visual pic & video posts
https://m.facebook.c...754318309/posts

Edited by Stokeme, 24 April 2020 - 03:38 PM.

  • 0

#54 Andy Douglass

Andy Douglass

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 207 posts

Posted 07 September 2020 - 06:14 PM

Our Zero Dec arrived Friday and I will be installing it on our 2018 Hawk side dinette today or tomorrow. Ours did not have the instructions with it either, but they are available on the website. I contacted the service department at FWC before ordering it and they seemed familiar with the product. I was hoping there would be documentation for safe install areas on various FWCs but there was not. My wife contacted the company and they quickly confirmed that we could safely drill where we are planning to put it (driver side, upper area of wall above the darker strip of siding). It looks like a well-made product.


  • 0

#55 PaulT

PaulT

    Need gumbo

  • Members
  • 2,603 posts
  • LocationHillsboro, Oregon

Posted 08 September 2020 - 05:19 AM

I wonder how Zero Declination compares to the Tuff Stuff Shower Tent. It’s in the same price ballpark.

 

https://tuffstuff4x4...ff®-shower-tent

Looks like the Tuff Stuff unit is not as mature a product. However, it is good to see some alternatives to the South African product coming on the market.

 

Paul

 


  • 0
I thought getting old would take longer.

#56 moveinon

moveinon

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 156 posts
  • LocationMilwaukie Oregon

Posted 08 September 2020 - 10:16 PM

Outside of the cost, one problem with stand alone shower/privacy tents is the wind.  Anyone in Oregon right now with 30-60 MPH winds knows that most stand alone tents will blow over.  The Zero Declination will not but is really expensive for a cover and two rods.  It is easy to make your own attached shower curtain.  Just attach two locking drawer pulls under the camper overhang and either use a bungie cord or wood or aluminum piece to connect the ends.  Unlock the pulls and pull them out and attach your cheap dollar store shower curtain hooks and the shower head to the pulls.  It works with the original FWC hose length.  It it easier and faster than any other system for sale for a lot more money.  I put the shower curtain into a dry bag and store it in front of the camper when traveling so it does not take up space inside the camper.  I hike and have now used this system a lot for over 5 years- have used the shower a lot and it works great.  I use the left over plastic leveling blocks, after parking and leveling for the shower floor.  I have not used this as a toilet enclosure but it would work just as well the same way for that.


  • 0

#57 Wildcat

Wildcat

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 96 posts
  • LocationCalifornia

Posted 09 September 2020 - 04:22 PM

[quote name="moveinon" post="239524" timestamp="1599603360"][size=4][color=#000000][font='Helvetica Neue'] It is easy to make your own attached shower curtain.  Just attach two locking drawer pulls under the camper overhang and either use a bungie cord or wood or aluminum piece to connect the ends.  Unlock the pulls and pull them out and attach your cheap dollar store shower curtain hooks and the shower head to the pulls.

Any pictures? I might copy your construction.
  • 0
2001 FWC Eagle on 1998 Taco 4x4

#58 Andy Douglass

Andy Douglass

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • 207 posts

Posted 15 September 2020 - 05:18 AM

We are pretty happy with our Zero Declination shower. It was a little harder to install than I anticipated. I know I measured where I would put it before I ordered, but the tent is a little wider than I thought. We have a 2018 Hawk side dinette with water heater and furnace, so the exterior driver side wall is pretty crowded. We also have LED lights, so there is an LED fixture towards the front of the upper area of the wall. The water heater vent is at the front of the driver side, and the furnace vent is just forward of the refrigerator vents (at the rear of the driver side). Between the two hot vents and the LED fixture, there was no where for me to mount the shower without having some part of the deployed tent being right in front of a hot vent.

 

I came up with a plan and did what I have learned to do with problem-solving like this: sleep on it. In this case, I thought about the problem for a few days and ended up going with my solution. The reason I hesitated is because it involved the rear end of the shower unit needing to be over a small part of the upper fridge vent in order to place the tent in a safe spot with respect to the hot vents. I ended up pulling the fridge vent cover off and carefully flattening the upper two louvers on the left side of the cover. While this will restrict the ventilation for the shower slightly, it should be fairly inconsequential as we have the computer fan in there and the two closed louvers are only about 1/12 of the total vent space when you include the lower vent. Two of the mounting screws for the vent cover interfered with the shower install, so I added some exterior silicon that I had to the flattened weatherstripping that was already on the cover. I installed the cover with all of the screws until the silicon dried, then removed the two problem screws. I knew that when the shower was completely installed, it would be holding that corner of the vent tight to the camper. After screwing down the shower, everything is very tight.

 

My Zero Dec installation tips:

 

After triple checking that your drilling locations will "land" appropriately on the interior of the wall, drill a pilot hole (1/8") in the safest of the three locations. You will be drilling through the metal siding and aluminum framing, so use a decent bit. Once your first pilot is drilled, go inside the camper and use it as a reference to check that all three holes will be in a good spot. Once you finalize the locations for the three holes, drill pilot holes in all of them.

 

Prevent chip out: Use the final bit size for the holes (5/16 I think, check instructions), and go to the inside of the camper and drill from inside out on the pilot holes just to get through the composite paneling on the inside. This will help preventing a big chip out on your interior when you punch through from the outside with the bigger bit. 

 

Counter sink the pilot holes on the outside. After I drilled my three pilot holes, I tried finishing one of them with the 5/16 right off the bat. As the big bit cut through the siding, it got off center and began drilling through the aluminum framing in a slightly different location than my pilot hole. I knew going from 1/8 to 5/16 was not a good idea, but I tried it anyway. After that failed, I decided that countersinking through the siding would solve the problem. I have a high quality countersink made for hardened steel which I used, but a regular countersink shouldn't have any issue with the thin aluminum siding. The point of the counter sink indexes in the pilot hole in the framing, which allows the hole through the siding to be perfectly centered on the pilot hole. You want this because the larger bits will "walk" easily on the siding, as I found out. I recommend countersinking slightly into the framing as well.

 

Use an intermediate drill bit size. At this point I realized the 5/16 might not follow the pilot hole as nicely as I wanted, so I picked a bit  just in the middle of 1/8 and 5/16. The countersinking made this intermediate step a breeze. Once the intermediate drilling was done, I had not trouble with the 5/16 and all of my holes ended up where they should be on the interior wall.

 

Butyl tape. Per the instructions, Butyl tape is required for the install. You are to apply it all along the top and bottom of the rear plate of the shower, and around the bolts. The back plate of the shower is a dual T-track, with two bolts in the top track and one in the bottom track. I marked the bolt locations with sharpie before applying the tape. After applying the tape along both edges of the plate, with breaks in the tape where the bolts were. I then made sure my bolts were lined up with my sharpie marks. I made a small "worm" of tape by rolling it up, then formed it into a donut around the base of each bolt. I then formed the donut into a conical shape so that when the shower was bolted up tight, I was sure that there was plenty of butyl tape sealing around the bolt and slightly into the hole in the siding. The same principal as the conical nylon washers that seal each joint on a p-trap under the sinks in your house.


Edited by Andy Douglass, 15 September 2020 - 05:23 AM.

  • 0

#59 BigRanchInSky

BigRanchInSky

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 45 posts
  • LocationUtah

Posted 15 September 2020 - 04:46 PM

Shower Curtain? My ears popped up!. Let's see it! Thanks!!


  • 0

______________________________
2019 Hawk / Ford F250






Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: Solar, LiFePo4, 12v system, Storage, Front Dinette, Fan upgrade, Rear camera, Table, Galley, Bed

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users