6 Best Soap Dishes For RV Outdoor Shower That Nomads Swear By

There’s nothing quite like washing off the day’s adventure in an RV outdoor shower, with the sky as your ceiling. But that idyllic moment shatters the second your slick bar of soap slips and lands in the dirt, sand, or gravel. It’s a small frustration, but on the road, these little things add up, turning a simple convenience into a recurring annoyance.

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Why Your RV Outdoor Shower Needs a Good Soap Dish

An RV’s exterior is a battlefield for accessories. It’s exposed to relentless UV rays, fluctuating temperatures, rain, and wind. During travel, it endures constant vibration that can rattle even the most determinedly mounted items loose.

Your standard bathroom soap dish just isn’t built for this. Its suction cup will fail when the temperature drops overnight, and its plastic will become brittle under the sun. A good outdoor shower soap dish needs to be tough, drain exceptionally well to prevent a soupy mess, and most importantly, stay put whether you’re parked on a level slab or bouncing down a forest service road. This isn’t about luxury; it’s about practical, reliable function in a demanding environment.

OXO Good Grips StrongHold Suction Soap Dish

When you have a perfectly smooth, non-porous surface—like the gel-coated fiberglass on many newer rigs—the OXO StrongHold is a top contender. It’s not your average suction cup. It uses a lever-activated vacuum system that creates a significantly stronger bond than a simple press-on cup.

The real genius for RV life is its removability. You can pop it off before a long travel day to prevent it from getting knocked off by a low-hanging branch, then re-stick it in seconds upon arrival. The slatted design provides excellent drainage, which is critical for making a bar of soap last in humid conditions. The crucial tradeoff is its dependency on that perfect surface. It will fail on textured finishes, decals, or even slightly oxidized fiberglass.

Command Bath Soap Dish for Secure Mounting

For those of us with rigs that don’t have a pristine, smooth exterior, Command strips are the answer. Their water-resistant adhesive is designed for wet environments and creates a surprisingly tenacious bond on a variety of surfaces, including painted metal and some lightly textured fiberglass where suction cups instantly fail.

The Command Bath Soap Dish provides a semi-permanent solution that you can truly trust. Once it’s on, it’s on. You won’t have to worry about it vibrating loose on a washboard road. The downside is that it’s less flexible; moving it requires a new set of adhesive strips and a careful removal process to avoid damaging your rig’s finish. Think of it as a set-it-and-forget-it option for nomads who have found the perfect spot.

The Block Dock: A Vertical Magnetic Soap Holder

The Block Dock is a game-changer for soap preservation and space efficiency. This clever New Zealand invention mounts a small, vertical "dock" to your shower wall. You press a small, toothed metal cap into your soap bar, which then attaches to the dock with a powerful magnet.

This system is brilliant for a few reasons. By holding the soap vertically and away from any surface, it allows the entire bar to air dry rapidly. This drastically extends the life of your soap, which is a big deal when you’re trying to conserve resources. It also has a minimal footprint, perfect for the tight confines of an outdoor shower compartment. The main consideration is the initial setup—you have to mount the dock itself, usually with a durable outdoor adhesive or screws.

Sisool Soap Saver Pouch: The Hanging Solution

Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one. A sisal or mesh soap saver pouch requires no mounting whatsoever. You just drop your soap bar inside, pull the drawstring, and hang it from the shower head, a knob, or a hook.

This approach is unbeatable for its versatility and lack of commitment. There’s no adhesive to fail, no suction to lose, and no holes to drill. The pouch itself acts as a washcloth, provides gentle exfoliation, and handily corrals all the small, unusable slivers of old soap bars into one useful package. The only real drawback is that the soap stays damp inside the pouch, so you need to be diligent about hanging it somewhere with good airflow after your shower to let it dry out properly.

iDesign Everett Suction Holder for Durability

Think of the iDesign Everett line as a heavy-duty cousin to the OXO. Often constructed from stainless steel or coated metal, these holders are built to withstand the elements better than their all-plastic counterparts. The metal construction is far more resistant to UV degradation and won’t become brittle after a season in the desert sun.

Like other high-quality suction products, it uses a robust locking mechanism for a secure hold on smooth surfaces. It’s a great choice if you prefer the look and feel of metal and want maximum long-term durability. Just be aware that the metal can get quite hot in direct sunlight, and it shares the same critical weakness as all suction cups: it’s only as good as the surface you stick it to.

Simplehuman Caddy for All-in-One RV Storage

If your outdoor shower is your primary shower, a simple soap dish might not be enough. The Simplehuman Shower Caddy is a comprehensive solution that hangs over the shower head or the door of the utility compartment. It provides a dedicated spot not just for soap, but for shampoo, conditioner, and razors too.

This is the ultimate all-in-one organizer, turning a basic outdoor faucet into a fully functional shower stall. The best models have adjustable shelves and secure rubberized clamps to prevent swinging and sliding. The main tradeoff is size and security. You absolutely must find a way to secure it for travel, either by taking it down or using bungee cords, as a loose caddy can damage your rig’s exterior. It’s the right call for full-timers, but might be overkill for weekend warriors.

Choosing the Right Soap Dish Mount for Your Rig

The best soap dish isn’t about the brand; it’s about the mounting technology that works for your specific RV. Your rig’s exterior surface is the single most important factor in this decision. Don’t just buy the highest-rated product; buy the one that’s engineered for your reality.

Here’s a simple framework to guide your choice:

• For perfectly smooth, glossy fiberglass: High-quality suction cups (OXO, iDesign) offer the best blend of strength and flexibility.
• For textured surfaces, decals, or painted metal: Adhesive strips (Command) provide a reliable, semi-permanent hold where suction fails.
• For zero surface prep and ultimate portability: A hanging pouch (Sisal) is the most foolproof and versatile option.
• For maximizing soap life and a minimalist setup: A vertical holder (Block Dock) is an innovative solution, provided you’re willing to mount the base.

Before you commit, test your surface. See if a cheap suction cup will even hold for a minute. Feel the texture. Making the right choice upfront means you’ll have a reliable setup that solves a problem instead of creating a new one.

Ultimately, the perfect soap dish is one you don’t have to think about. It’s just there, holding your soap securely, day after day. By matching the right mounting system to your rig’s unique surface, you eliminate one more small point of friction from life on the road, freeing you up to focus on the adventure ahead.