RV Shower-to-Closet Mod

This is an odd little post about how and why we use our travel trailer’s shower as a closet. I figured it might be useful to someone out there…and it would explain why I’m so particular about campground bathhouses. There are plenty of people who question why in the world I use public showers when I have one in my trailer. To shower or not to shower, that is the question.

Our Jayco 184BH is a great little trailer for us. It was affordable, and it’s easy to tow. However, there are several things about this trailer that made us decide not to use the shower for showering.

First, our camper has very small water tanks. The gray tank fills up after short shower or two, so we can’t rely on it unless we have full hookups or want to move the trailer to dump fairly often.

Second, even when we can easily dump the grey water, I’m not sure about the speed of heating water for showers, and I haven’t really wanted to mess with figuring that out.

Third, our shower doesn’t have fiberglass sides; instead it has the same wall covering as the rest of the trailer. I am nervous about getting it wet repeatedly because I am afraid water would eventually break down the covering. Admittedly, I might be overly cautious about this and would love to hear from anyone who has a similar situation.

Finally, even though our trailer has lots of storage, it really doesn’t have quite enough for a long trip, like our 25-day Birdy Goes West trip. We have a skinny cabinet with a bar for hanging clothes, but it also has adjustable shelving that I need for storing toiletries, towels, our folded clothes and more. This made me think about putting a clothes rod somewhere else in the trailer.

Since we didn’t plan on using the shower for showering, I decided it would be a great place for a closet. I envisioned putting the hampers for dirty clothes in the tub and hanging clean clothes above. I bought a big tension rod (the kind used for shower curtains), thinking I could hang clothes on it. Unfortunately, the rod was a bit too long and couldn’t get enough tension to stay put. I also considered installing a rod, but this would have required more skills than I had and would have been more permanent, which might have affected our future resale.

After doing some research, I found the Arrow Hanger Instahanger Clothes Hanging System on Amazon. I thought it looked perfect for our purposes since it could easily be folded up when/if someone actually wanted to shower in the shower. I was a little dubious about whether or not it would be rugged enough to hold up to a load of clothes as we rocked and rolled down the highway, but at $15, it was cheap enough to make it worth a shot. Plus, it had really great reviews.

After the Instahanger arrived, my husband and I found it to be quick and easy to install. We first knocked around on the shower wall to find a good wood stud. It took just a few minutes to screw in with the help of our electric drill. Be very, very careful…you don’t want to accidentally screw through your trailer wall. Neither my husband nor I is very handy, so if we can do it, you can do it, too!

When we left for our big trip last summer, I loaded the rack with clothes. It held 10-15 hangers, which was plenty. After our first long day of driving, I was nervous as I checked to see if it held up and was glad to find it was still firmly attached to the wall.

Even if you don’t need to turn your shower into a closet like I did, the Arrow Hanger Instahanger would be handy if you wanted extra clothes storage and had a good spot for installation. It would also be handy in your home. I would have loved one of these in my last laundry room.

Hopefully, this post clears up why I’m always trotting off with my flip flops and tub of toiletries anxiously inspecting the showers in campgrounds across the nation. Also, I hope it gives you some inspiration if you want to tackle a similar project. It’s almost like something from Pinterest–except not quite.