Greetings!
I still have nightmares of all the disgusting public bathrooms and showers I was forced to use by not having my own, it addition to frantically searching for a public bathroom to avoid an accident. Having my own is heaven in comparison. Both my toilet and shower are portable, so I can move them outside if I choose.
My solar shower is a weed sprayer, so it doesn’t need to be hung, and provides great water pressure while requiring no power. With a free standing pop up shower tent, there is no need to “hang” anything other than to the shower tent.
Conversions can range from a hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. You can also buy a factory job that is ready to go. My current set up is in the couple hundred dollar range, and it has kept me comfortable and happy, even in extreme weather conditions, for over 10 years now. I still have everything I want or need, it’s just not picture perfect. I went for comfort, convenience, and reliability over looks. I no longer feel the need to impress others, it’s my home, so the only person I need to please is myself, and since my income isn’t related to vandwelling, I can also afford to tell it like it truly is.
Over the years, I have learned that the price tag does not accurately represent the results. Desirable results can be obtained even on the smallest budgets. Most “builds” become practically worthless when considering the resale value of the vehicle. My current van, and the conversion, cost no more than a couple of months rent, so it paid for itself very quickly, and has been paying dividends ever since. On a previous van, I lost over $30k in a little over a year, and that van was the most miserable living conditions of my life. Factory camper vans and motorhomes that I paid under $2k for were much better. You don’t always get what you’ve paid for. Failure can come with a huge price tag, and success can come cheap. Much of it comes down to the difference between good choices and bad. This is where experience and history can really make a difference.
Don’t listen to the promoters, look at the failures, and look towards the people with years of experience that have nothing to gain by telling it like it is. The majority of the advice available originated from promoters looking to profit from it, and it’s really terrible advice, but it keeps getting spread anyway. They promote expensive and unnecessary purchases. The most expensive thing in my set up is a $99 generator for comparison. Everything else was much cheaper.
Cheers!