Mobile Shower Unit Build

THE DRIP Mobile Shower Unit is a combination trailer and truck destined to serve our neighbors who are sheltering in our city's parks. We believe that access to clean water is a human right. 


This fall, Christian Clements had the idea of helping people warm up and get clean after delivering a meal to our neighbors at a local unhoused community. Clean water is always needed and usually requires a network of volunteer support from the neighbors surrounding the site. After researching mobile shower units, Christian couldn’t find any with a single entry or a sanitization system to keep the bathers and the volunteers safe during a  pandemic. 


So he hollered at Marx Barry, who can build anything under the sun, and ran this idea for a safe, sanitary mobile shower unit by him. Marx officially joined the team as Build Manager.  As we continued to build our team, we found the talent and commitment of Levi Wolterstorff  on THE DRIP’s doorstep. In addition to co-designing, building and racing two solar cars across the Australian Outback, Levi has experience in fluid dynamics and controls through his coursework required to obtain his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering through the University of Minnesota.  


To continue our mission to bring hot showers and safe, sanitary hygiene support to our neighbors we endeavored to build a working prototype of THE DRIP.  We will utilize a 24-foot hydraulic ice fishing trailer as its base so that we can lower the entire unit for increased accessibility. The unit will have six normal-to-compact shower stalls, in addition to one ADA-compliant stall for families and those who are differently abled. Initial plans feature a system that allows for 8 minute showers, and each shower will operate on a 30 minute cycle, allowing for up to 14 showers each hour. At that rate, THE DRIP will run for six hours before needing to empty its bladder or restock its water supply. 


We’ve designed THE DRIP to provide 100 community members with hot, clean showers during the span of your average workday. We believe that supporting some of our most vulnerable neighbors with at least one hot shower a week is more than a basic human right— this is a harm reduction tool that also fosters connections within our community. 


By pooling our resources, Christian and Marx were already able to source a truck, trailer builder, welder, graphic designer, copywriter, videographer, shampoo and conditioner and extra hands to help us bring THE DRIP to life. We also know we’ll need your help to fund this. 


Our known expenses are as follows:

$4,500 3/4 ton truck

$8,000-$12,000 24-foot Ice Fishing Trailer w/ Hydraulics

$5,000 for 2 Propane Fueled Tankless Water Heaters

$2,000 2 500 Gallon Water Storage Tanks and 2 500 Gallon Grey Water Bladders

$3,000 Building Materials

…We’re also still looking for donated (or very inexpensive) warehouse space to build this thing in!


This is your chance to show up for humanity’s frontlines, in a city whose name means “Water City”, (‘Minne’ meaning water in the  Dakota language and ‘polis’ meaning city in ancient Greek), located in a state the Dakota Sioux People called  “Sky Tinted Water.” We’re striving for this now because the need to humanize daily life for our most vulnerable neighbors is undeniable, and especially so during a pandemic. 


This is the perfect opportunity for our community of families, individuals, business owners, non-profits and philanthropists  to contribute to a grassroots cause whose effects are tangible; in return, you’ll receive the deep satisfaction of knowing that you aided in improving a fellow human’s quality of life. 



THE DRIP'S non-profit paperwork is coming together along side our community trailer. We want to ensure that we can serve our unhoused brothers and sisters ASAP and in doing so, our commitment to you is total financial transparency. We will present our financials upon request as well as on all media sources for THE DRIP. We'll do that if we build a second DRIP Unit. Our tentative goal is to have all our boxes checked and get the mobile shower legally on the road by February 1, 2021. 


We are a smart group of people that are using our privilege to empower others, join us.

 

 

Thank you for your time, 

Christian Clements & THE DRIP Team