Surely you have come across so-called mobile steam rooms, which can be easily transported from one place to another and organize bathing procedures even right on the banks of a river or lake. You will be surprised, but making such a bathhouse on wheels with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. All you need is a strong desire to realize your dream of a perfect holiday with friends and family in the lap of nature and the appropriate materials. Oh, yes, of course, you will also need a clear algorithm of actions to follow. Read more about ways to implement a promising project with useful construction tips and visuals in this instructional article.
What about the cons?
Among the disadvantages of building such a bathhouse, perhaps, we can only remember the need to have a powerful truck capable of pulling a massive structure. But this is only if your plans are to build a large bathhouse.
If the plans have a capacity of no more than 2-3 people, then even an ordinary car with a trailer can handle the transportation of such a bathhouse.
Items required for organizing a car bath
In order for the bathhouse to be both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, you need to think through everything wisely.
⇒ Vehicle:
- a car;
- freight car.
⇒ Facing material:
- flooring;
- wall covering,
- ceiling covering.
⇒ Interior items:
- bake;
- boiler;
- shower cabin/box;
- shelves;
- table;
- chairs;
- sofas;
- fridge;
- TV;
- bar;
- board games - mines, chess, backgammon, lotto, dominoes;
- barbecue;
- skewers;
- air rifle/pistol;
- sheets;
- towels;
- hats;
- slippers, etc.
⇒ Consumables:
- brooms;
- forbs;
- essential oils;
- gels;
- shampoos;
- soap;
- targets for air guns;
- bullets for air guns;
- firewood;
- fuel for the car.
You can also invite an experienced bathhouse attendant, cosmetologist, massage therapist, specialist in preparing barbecue, cocktails, etc. Here the master is already the owner. Give free rein to your imagination...
What you will need for assembly
Of course, you can’t do without a project that you need to follow when assembling the structure. You can develop it yourself, in full accordance with your own vision of a dream mobile bathhouse. Or you can take a ready-made project and thoroughly tailor it to your needs and realities. You also cannot do without:
- finishing material;
- wooden beams for the frame;
- metal for stiffeners;
- Supplies;
- tools;
- car with trailer.
In general, no more than 1-2 people . And the project can be completed in just a few days. Unless, of course, you are lazy and distracted.
Safety precautions
“Maybe it will work out” - we have probably heard this original Russian phrase, which allows us to violate safety regulations with a clear conscience, many times already. However, the same cannot be said about the ability to steam while the autobahn is moving. This kind of “maybe it will cost” can cost you too much.
You can only take a steam bath in the bathhouse parking lot. This way, you will avoid unnecessary injuries and burns.
The movement of the autobath can only be combined with the heating of the stove under supervision. This will allow you to warm up the bathhouse to the required temperature by the time you arrive at the place of temporary deployment.
Project work
Both its safety and stability, both during movement and in static conditions, depend on how seriously you work on the plan diagram of the future mobile steam room. Therefore, include the following information in your project:
- total weight of the steam room;
- axle load;
- weight distribution to centers of gravity;
- distribution of functional zones;
- steam room parameters;
- fixed stove location;
- pipe outlet for the chimney, etc.
The easiest option is to order a project from contractors. But you set out to assemble a steam room on wheels with your own hands, right? We have prepared for you a whole selection of excellent solutions that you can use without any qualms. We present some of them below. And the rest is at the very end of the material.
Installation of a sauna on wheels at the location
The installation begins by uncoupling the bathhouse on wheels and the car. To ensure sufficient stability of the trailer sauna, a leg-support is fixed, as well as three additional supports. After this, the side is folded back and the ladder is lowered. To install a steam room on the base of a truck or bus, just find a relatively flat area and simply turn off the engine.
The installation location should be chosen carefully
Assembling the frame
There are two ways here. You can purchase a ready-made, assembled frame for a bathhouse on wheels. All you have to do is install it and move on to the next step. Or you can get confused and assemble it yourself.
- order items that are ideally sized for you from any company;
- assemble a floor from them and secure them to the trailer using fasteners;
- fix the support beam;
- collect all the elements that are intended for finishing wall surfaces;
- install roof support beams and rafters.
Features of using a sauna on wheels
A sauna on a trailer can be heated during transportation, i.e. when you arrive at the place, the steam room will already be ready for you to visit. Upon arrival, you need to secure the supports and move the car to the side. Lower the folding side, and the sauna is ready for use. Its preparation takes only 15-20 minutes.
After you have steamed, you need to dry the room. To do this, just leave the oven in working condition and open the door.
Before leaving, you need to raise the side, remove the supports, attach the trailer sauna to the car, and you are ready to go.
Every person who loves steam treatments would not want to deny themselves such pleasure while being far from home or cottage. Now you have a unique opportunity to take your sauna with you, just buy or make a sauna on a trailer with your own hands!
Installing the stove
Since you need to avoid excessive load on the trailer, it is best to choose a stove that is as light as possible. Any small iron stove will fit perfectly, but when placing it you need to move the firebox outside the steam room. By the way, you can make a stove for a bathhouse with your own hands. For example, from old car wheels. It will turn out quickly, cheaply and quite reliably. It is worth taking note that there are certain recommendations regarding temperature conditions: the upper threshold is no more than 60 degrees.
Autobath: design
Couple car models have been in production for a long time. The most important details of the layout - the design of the body or trailer, the optimal location of the sauna, shower and washing compartments, heating stove and heater - have long been successfully tested and honed in practice over many years of operation.
When planning car baths, the following rules are used:
- The paired compartment with the stove is located in the “tail” of the car booth or kung, away from the fuel tank;
- A water supply and a shower stall are installed in the center of the room;
- The wooden body of the bathhouse must be sheathed on the outside with sheet metal.
Wooden saunas burn frequently and quickly; a car sauna, regardless of whether the structure is built on a trailer or on the body of a car, is susceptible to fire much more often than stationary options.
For your information! Wood-burning stoves can only be used for a sauna assembled on a two-axle trailer with a steam room area of more than 3.5 m2. In all other cases, the autobath is heated with gas heaters.
Below is a layout option for a five-ton two-axle trailer or on a category “C” vehicle chassis
Interior decoration
If you are going to use a sauna on wheels during the cold season, we recommend that you first insulate it. This can be done with mineral wool - it always helps when you need to retain warm air in any room. For reliability, you can additionally use foil. Otherwise, no surprises:
- We trim the wall and ceiling with clapboard;
- the floor is regular tiles, but you need to screed first.
In general, the layout of a bathhouse on wheels inside should be as simple and convenient as possible. You should also think about ensuring that all elements are firmly fixed in place: there are different roads, but more often they are bad, do not forget about this. If you wish, you can decorate the walls with additional decor. Wood carving always fits perfectly into any bathhouse format. You can make a simple panel with a funny thematic design in just a couple of hours.
Staff
In order not to lose possible income, and I am sure that such an autobahn will be (and already is!) in demand, organize its operation around the clock. To do this, you will need three car drivers (eight-hour shifts), each of whom will perform the duties of a bathhouse attendant, a stoker, a barbecue maker, and, in general, a recreation organizer. Of course, there is a lot of work, but such a “jack-of-all-trades” specialist should have an appropriate salary. If a massage service is in demand among vacationers, you can enter into an agreement with a massage parlor to hire their employee.
Do you need a shower and rest room?
The answer to this question depends on how and when you plan to use the sauna. If it’s winter, then equipping a small shower would be very appropriate. However, if you plan to steam in the summer, next to a river or lake, then perhaps a shower will be unnecessary?
As for the relaxation room, it only makes sense to do it if your bathhouse is really spacious. However, a mobile steam room is mobile to be convenient for transportation and not be too expensive for the owners.
Documentation
All sorts of non-standard vehicles can arouse interest among traffic police officers, and quite justifiably so. The parameters and dimensions of any car/SUV/bus, even a converted one, must meet certain standards that ensure safe travel on the road. Therefore, before making a car bath, consider the height and side projections of the structure.
Another important point, which we already talked about a little above, is the maximum weight load of the car. If you make the bathhouse too heavy, it will immediately turn from mobile to sedentary. If you plan to use the autobath for business, then you need to register an individual enterprise (individual enterprise).
Useful materials: ready-made plan projects and video instructions
Video
Working diagrams and ready-made options
Turn up the heat: where and how to use a mobile sauna
The appearance of a bathhouse on wheels at the end of the last century was truly a breakthrough in the field of organizing outdoor recreation. It has become possible to combine active recreation and health procedures, without compromising each type of activity. Currently, mobile baths are in demand by the following categories of citizens:
- travelers and people leading an active lifestyle;
- fishermen and hunters;
- summer residents and owners of country real estate who do not have such permanent buildings;
- entrepreneurs who have mastered this type of activity as their own type of business.
A mobile bathhouse as a business is one of the areas of entrepreneurial activity for enterprising citizens
