Straight from the land down under, where I believe the term “Overland” originated, comes a portable on-demand hot shower kit. A kit with the ability to provide an endless hot shower while traveling remotely. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Here we’ll take a “first look” at the HOTTAP v2 from Joolca since it’s not quite available in the US yet.
A few years ago when my wife and I started taking my Toyota Tundra out on the local trails to explore, we quickly realized what our priorities for a good time camping were. Beautiful camp locations, good food and comfortable living conditions. So we mounted a Tepui rooftop tent, picked up a Dometic fridge and hit the road. At first it was just a couple overnights but then the trips started to lengthen. We pushed further out and stayed longer. And longer trips brought new challenges, like personal hygiene. Now that we switched to an FJ Cruiser for dedicated Overland travel, a viable solution would have to fit in this new space challenged platform. With the shower, water pump AND the kitchen sink, the Joolca HOTTAP Nomad Kit looks like the best option for our set-up.
HOTTAP v2:
The HOTTAP is a portable on-demand propane powered water heater. The compact unit requires only propane and a water source. With a Jerry-Can, a Roto-Pax, bucket, stream or lake, you’re only limited by the amount of water you can tap into. Plus, a standard 20lb propane tank can provide between 15-45 hours of hot water depending on your temperature settings. Fortunately, the engineers at Joolca recognize that setting this contraption up has to be as streamlined and simple as possible. Otherwise it’ll just be another piece of kit collecting dust in the garage. Quick connect water and gas fittings, simple pressure and temperature controls and an on-off switch located on the shower handle itself make set-up quick and fool-proof. Additionally, the Nomad Kit includes the kitchen sink. Which doubles as a storage bin for all the bits that make this kit operate.
Operation:
Simplicity is the key to taking a hot shower with the HOTTAP v2. Simply connect the water and gas lines via the quick-connect fittings, flip the switch on the hand-held shower and voila! A few seconds later, hot water is flowing from the shower head. If you don’t prefer the hand-held method of taking a shower, an included magnetic mount allows attachment directly to the vehicle. And if you need additional privacy, take a look at the Ensuite Pop-Up tent. With a 30 second set-up time and a host of convenient features inside, the Ensuite is on our short list of “must have” accessories.
After thorough research and a chat with Joolca’s Marketing department, The Gear Bunker will soon become an affiliate member. To insure our honest appraisal of the HOTTAP v2, we’ve decided to purchased a Nomad kit and Ensuite pop-up tent for future testing. Unfortunately, due to the current high demand for this unit, we’ll be waiting until June 2020 for our unit to arrive from Australia. But good kit is well worth the wait. So stay tuned.
The Joolca Story:
Joolca was founded by Melbourne engineer Maciek Slodyczka. Writing his thesis on energy efficiency, he paid for his university studies by refurbishing old gas heaters and hot water systems. Himself an avid camper, Maciek decided to create something that he and his fellow engineer graduates would use. The result was HOTTAP, the world’s smallest water heater of its type.
One idea led to another, and Maciek’s engineer brothers Bart and Jack soon joined the business. Today, what started with one student’s curiosity and innovative spirit has become a full-service engineering company with thousands of customers. You’ll find Joolca’s office and showroom in Melbourne and our products in some 200+ stores right across Australia.
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Well, I hope others have a better experience than my brother. He received his hot tap nomad, after repeated delays in shipping of close to three months, and when we set it up it functioned at first, but would only heat water when the flow control was set to minimum. If we turned the flow rate higher, it stopped heating. Then, it simply stopped heating at all. Their customer service is not available by phone; the 24/7 online chat support simply directs you to a FAQ page, and after waiting a day for an email response, it was the same generic troubleshooting steps that we had already thoroughly exhausted in the instruction manual.