Do-it-yourself sauna on wheels: how to make it, ways to implement the project and expert advice

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.

Business

Expenses:

• purchase of KAMAZ – 2.5 million rubles;
• purchase of a mobile sauna – 1.5 million rubles.

Total: 4 million rubles.

If your budget is limited, you can purchase:

• GAZ-66 (used) – 1.7 million rubles;
• mobile sauna (used) – up to 1 million rubles.

Total: 2.7 million rubles. (prices are taken to the maximum).

Income:

• rental cost – 1000 rub./hour;
• ordering a bathhouse on weekdays (5 times for 2 hours) – 10,000 rubles;
• ordering a bathhouse on weekends (4 times for 2 hours) – 8,000 rubles;

Total: revenue for the week – 18,000 rubles.

Total: monthly revenue – 72,000 rubles.

Total: revenue for the year – 864,000 rubles.

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.

Staff

A business like this should be started as a family business. In this case, you will not have to resort to the services of strangers.

To operate a mobile bathhouse, you will need a driver and a bathhouse attendant. The role of the driver can be performed by an entrepreneur, and a steamer can be hired from outside. Such staff makes it possible to significantly reduce the costs of starting an enterprise.

You should be serious about hiring staff and eliminating people who drink. For the position of bathhouse attendant, you need to invite a person who can win over clients and cope with his duties perfectly.

As the business expands, the staff can include: a bartender, a massage therapist, and an auto mechanic.

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.

1. order items that are ideally sized for you from any company;
2. assemble a floor from them and secure them to the trailer using fasteners;
3. fix the support beam;
4. collect all the elements that are intended for finishing wall surfaces;
5. install roof support beams and rafters.

Installation of a trailer sauna at the location

If we are talking about the temporary installation of a trailer bathhouse, then the first step is to uncouple it from the vehicle. In order for the bathhouse to be stable, you need to strengthen it with a supporting leg. The platform will rest on it. For better stability of the structure, install 3 additional supports. Thus, to prevent the trailer sauna from swaying, you need to install it on 4 support legs.

After this, you can fold back the side of the trailer and lower the ladder. All this takes no more than a quarter of an hour.

View from the inside
This is where the actual recommendations for the construction and arrangement of the autobahn end. If you have experience in installing a mobile sauna, then share it with us and our readers. Your additional recommendations will be useful to us. Do you have any questions about building a mobile sauna? Ask them to a specialist working on the site.

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.

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.

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.

Converting a car booth into a bathhouse

Even old cars can be used as a basis for a car bath. The most popular are Soviet army vehicles with kung - GAZ 66 or ZIL 131, they have high cross-country ability, but high fuel consumption. Mobile saunas are also made on the basis of ordinary trailers for cars.

Sauna on a trailer for a car

The kung has a large area, so its capacity can reach up to 6 people. Additional insulation will allow it to be used all year round. The photo shows examples of a mobile bathhouse with a shower, steam room, dressing room, changing room, lounger, folding table and bench.

Conversion of GAZ 66 into an autobath

To heat the bathhouse, a conventional wood-burning stove is used. If you order this option from specialists, then turnkey conversion will cost you at least 140 thousand rubles.

In terms of performance, mobile bathhouses built on the basis of the GAZ 66 will not differ much from the classic types: on average, the transported volume of water is 700 liters, and the supply of firewood is enough for a whole day of heating. This is enough for 15-20 people to relax, so many people began to open a similar business.

Furnace installation

For convenience and space saving, the firebox goes outside.

The surface around the stove inside and outside must be finished with non-flammable, heat-resistant material.

Advice! To prevent stones from accidentally falling out of the sauna stove while riding, they can be sewn into beads with wire in advance. Since their weight can reach 300 kg, to reduce the load they can be completely removed while driving into another car.

Installation of a metal stove

Exterior decoration of the bath

• To get a beautiful appearance, the outside of the wall can be finished with a house block.
• It is better not to make windows, as a lot of heat will be lost through them. If you decide to make windows, try to reduce their area and use 3-layer double-glazed windows with glass at least 6 mm thick.
• The door should open outwards.
• To save space, the woodcutter and water containers are mounted externally in boxes under the bottom of the kung.

Interior decoration

Inside, the walls are insulated exactly the same as in a regular sauna.

Insulation of bath walls

Instructions for interior wall decoration:

• A sheathing of antiseptic-impregnated bars is attached to the walls every 60 cm. In kungs they are attached directly to the walls, and in trailers a metal welded frame is first made and sheathed with wood.
• The first layer of waterproofing is attached. To do this, you can use a vapor barrier membrane, for example Izospan. On the one hand, it will not allow moisture to pass through, and on the other, it will remove steam, preventing it from accumulating inside.
• Then, mineral wool insulation is placed tightly together in the cells of the frame. Additionally, it is recommended to attach it to the walls using umbrella dowels.
• The top of the insulation is covered with the same vapor barrier. Heat-reflecting aluminum foil can also be used instead. The insulation joints must be taped with aluminum tape.
• To maintain a ventilation gap under the sheathing, an additional counter-lattice 2-3 cm thick is screwed onto the bars.
• Then the frame is covered with clapboard or block house.
• Particular attention should be paid to securing furniture and the stove so that they are securely fixed while moving.
• To save space, you can use folding shelves, folding tables and benches.
• Lighting is done from a 12-volt car battery, or a separate 220-volt generator is used.

Converted GAZ 66 kung into a sauna with a TV

Note! For lighting, you need to use moisture-proof and heat-proof lamps, and the wiring must be heat-resistant. Ordinary wires cannot withstand temperatures above 50 degrees, but in a bath it can exceed 150 degrees in some areas.

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

Story

Many people think that the autobath is a modern invention. However, it is not. The first steam room on wheels was invented in 1982. Such an extravagant idea came to the minds of two smart guys - students of the Finnish Technical University - Kalle and Juha. When the guys shared their thoughts about the bathhouse on wheels, they were ridiculed.

But they, despite the contemptuous glances of their fellow students, puffed at making their dreams come true. After some time, the autobath was born. Finnish students carried their invention around like a bag, traveling around different countries. And for good reason. The extravagant bathhouse appealed to many people. The Russians especially appreciated it.

35 years have passed since then. The mobile steam room has undergone a number of changes, thanks to which it has become simply indispensable for avid tourists.

Peculiarities

Previously, where large numbers of people relax in nature, there was no opportunity to wash themselves properly. A wonderful idea could be to organize the work of transportable (mobile) steam rooms.

If, for example, you work too far from the city, then a mobile bathhouse will give you the opportunity to wash and steam without any problems at a time that suits you.

The Russian mobile bathhouse consists of a steam compartment and an oversized room for relaxing and changing clothes. The stove can be wood, gas or electric. The interior lining is natural wood. This bathhouse can accommodate up to 5-6 people.

This type of device cannot be used while driving. On sharp turns or bumps, when starting to move or while braking, a person washing may fall, hit, or get burned. The firebox of a mobile sauna stove is usually located outside for greater safety.

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

Kinds

A Russian bathhouse or a Finnish sauna on a wheeled vehicle is made from all kinds of cars, vans, and boat trailers. A towing vehicle is additionally purchased for the trailed structure. The shape of the bathhouse is ordinary, rectangular, the barrel bathhouse is in the form of a cylinder, the design with one beveled edge, in the shape of a hut.

Steam rooms made from converted buses and trucks

A spacious bathhouse is placed in a bus, which must first be remodeled - insulated, covered with foil, wooden panels, and it already has a staircase. The room is divided into a dressing room, a steam room, and other utility rooms - the amount of space allows. A ready-made purchased barrel is installed in the back of a truck or a trailer is built - the structure must be carefully secured using special fastening slings. For climbing, a folding ladder is made, usually wooden.

Steam rooms on platforms with wheels

A full-fledged wooden trailer or barrel is built on a platform frame or in a trailer. A boat trailer has a special trailer - if, according to documents, it can transport other cargo, such as a barrel bath, then a special permit from the traffic police is not required.

To build such a steam room, the barrel is made independently of any desired size or to order. It is mounted on embedded beams, then walls are made - at least three (of which two are external), the building is sheathed with boards, tightened with hoops, and insulated. The timber frame must be impregnated with protective compounds.

Interior arrangement

The final stage is the creation of a comfortable, attractive interior. The ceilings are wide, or optionally folding. You definitely need at least one bench, barrels with cold and hot water. For the convenience of vacationers, it is advisable to organize a shower and toilet. The rest of the furniture, TV, refrigerator, bar are done if there is room for them. Benches and shelves are mounted along the walls.

You don’t need a lot of decor - it will clutter up the space, especially if there is not enough of it. Carved elements and artificial plants are suitable. The lighting is adjustable - during the day, street light from the windows is enough; in the evening and at night, you will have to turn on the electric light. Here it is important to take care of sufficient moisture insulation of all electrical appliances, switches, sockets, wires, and lamps.

Decorative LED lighting on the ceiling and walls will create a romantic atmosphere.

Care

The main concerns about the autobahn come down to regular drying and ventilation of the room. Periodically, once a month, it is necessary to check the operation of the chimney, the condition of the stove parts, and check the fastening of the box to the carriage.

Before the start of the season, the autobahn is inspected, the wooden cladding parts are necessarily impregnated with fire-retardant and antiseptic compounds.