Toilet Solution for LONG TERM Overlanding trips

I have been trying to find a toilet solution for long term overlanding.

My wife and I spent 17 months traveling through Mexico and Central America. During this trip we mostly dug holes or used provided toilets (despite whatever condition they were in) We also carried a Luggable Loo bucket/bag toilet. We weren't big fans of pooing in a plastic bag and leaving it in the local trash pile, so we didn't use it much. We did, however find ourselves in situations where we wanted to camp, but facilities were not offered and digging holes was not an option.

We tried a chemical toilet with a design similar to this http://www.nrs.com/product/73050.02/eco-safe-toilet-system during a 2 month Baja trip, but were not impressed with the detachable "bowel" design nor the difficulty of cleaning the separate parts when a dump-station and ample fresh water are not available.

I am currently thinking that a chemtoilet similar to the one mentioned above, but with a simpler design for use away from dump stations would be our best bet, but I haven't found one yet.

Any suggestions?
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
composting like so many of the tiny home movement use ?

no idea how they travel but see some put them in mobile setups and they say they fine with them but people say lots of stuff :) ahhaahhaha
 

thefishhawk

Adventurer
We used this on the grand canyon
https://www.proriver.com/shop

look in the accessories section, they have a riser and a seat. you don't need the riser, it just helps if you want to really fill it to the top.

So the riser (if used) and the seat are made to fit directly onto a 20mm ammo can or rocket box, just like the Eco safe above fits into. Essentially you are just taking the whole plastic liner with small openings out of the equation. So it can be dumped out a lot easier than the eco safe without hose fittings, since the top would just be open to dump without the seat on it. Ups the gross factor I suppose, but I think this way you could dump without really cleaning it out if a good water source wasn't available.

What they do is have a bottle of powdered bleach and you just sprinkle a teaspoon on each "deposit" to keep the smell and bugs away. Worked pretty darn well in 120 deg heat. But you could use regular portable potty chemicals as well. Thought that might fit your bill of a simpler version of the eco safe.

So what do you do in that situation when there's no dump station? Dig a hole several feet deep and dump it in there? I think the composting toilet idea is good too if there's a portable solution for that.
 

Joe917

Explorer
Composting toilet. "Natures Head" recommended.
We have been full time more than 3 yrs (right now we are taking a break before South America. With two people,full time use, the composting toilet needs the urine tank dumped every 2 days and the composting box Dumped every 3-5 weeks. The compost "dump" takes about 10 minutes, start to finish and is way cleaner than dumping a blackwater tank.
You can carry the dumped material in a kitchen bag until you find suitable disposal(usually a pit toilet). If you do bury it bury it shallow so the warmth of the sun will continue the composting process.
 
good recommendations guys.

I've heard some mixed reviews about the composting toilets, but I will look into the Natures Head. I've heard that they aren't well sealed for off-road situations and that bumpy off camber tracks can lead to spillage, but I imagine your experience must say otherwise Joe.

Thefishhawk, We just recently started trying out the toilet and only use it when we aren't remote enough to just dig a hole, but when we have used it, the answer is "yes", we just dig a deep hole away from town or busy camp areas and deposit it in there. We use biodegradable toilet chemicals, wait for the liquid to soak in, then back fill. It's not the most romantic part of travel, but it's the best solution we've come up with so far.

I like the ammo can idea. I was thinking something like that, but hadn't comeacrsoss the right container yet and thought that I would have to make my own, but I'm liking the simplicity of their seat too.

This is great guys. I like the idea of not using chemicals in the compost toilet, but concerned about spilling and the amount of space they take up.
I feel like I have 2 good options though. Thanks
 

Factoid

Three criminal heroes
So, I'll share my perspective, but thought his video by the fit RV team says it all on composting toilets. It is almost 30 minutes, but well worth the watch.

https://youtu.be/vM71d8wMuUU

Interestingly, I agree with all their negatives and would not own one, but we all have different priorities which is why so many different options exist. After trying everything imaginable over the years and not liking any of it (the whole dump station, stinky slinky, hazmat situation almost caused the wife to revolt even though it was one of my mandated jobs). I actually tried the Home Depot bucket with pipe insulation rim and two scented kitchen trash bags method for a while, but disposal and new carry out rules make that dangerous. We then moved to a cassette toilet (Thetford) which I love the flush and ease of disposal, but we both have a sensitive nose and the slight chemical smell is a bit much. I'm going to install the SOG ventilation and see it that helps. I never though I would like the cassette, but it is easy and the disposal options of hole, toilet or station is a huge plus. I'm starting on my next build in a couple of months (my wife calls it the Zombie bug out build) and the Thetford with SOG is our current plan.
 

DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
GRRRRRR!

I had a Nature's Head composting toilet on my previous vehicle and now have a Thetford cassette. Having used both long term I'm with Joe - I would replace the cassette in a heartbeat if my current camper had the room.

I find it annoying when people who have never used a composting toilet; specifically the Nature's Head, repeat misinformation. Herewith some random comments:

-- Unless you do it wrong, like the "Fit RV" folks, the composting toilet is odorless - especially when compared with a cassette. It is odorless in use and when dumping. Interestingly, the nastiest task is dumping the urine bottle as that will give you a song whiff of "retirement home" aroma. In contrast, the feces bucket smells like a garden shop. In the case of the Fit RV folks, either they are totally clueless or the Air Head is a significantly poorer product. Never used one, so I cannot comment more.

-- The only thing that you can really get wrong with a composting toilet is to flood it with large quantities of liquid - either by urinating directly into the feces chamber (see a ghastly video by the ditzy babe) or through leakage from your shower. Shower water is only an issue in a wet bath, as I have. The solution is to be sure that the seals are clean and in place and that the lid is closed. And if you get it wrong: A) Your nose will tell you and, B) the solution is an early dump. (And yes, I speak from experience here.)

-- One of the nice things about dumping a composting toilet is that you do not need to clean it, indeed, you want to leave some material behind as a starter. While it is correct that most folks don't leave material in a Nature's Head long enough for it to decompose all the way to compost, the volume of fecal matter reduces dramatically with the evaporation of moisture - you will be amazed at how much goes in and how little comes out. The problem is that people read the word "compost" and imagine that you don't have to dump the thing. Hold a composting system to the same standards as a black tank or a cassette and it comes out way ahead.

-- There really isn't anything to leak on rough roads unless your urine bucket is way too full. The feces bucket is basically dry. (People have a hard time understanding this.)

-- One of the reasons that a Nature's Head probably smells less than the toilet in your home is that it uses a small computer fan to keep the feces bucket under negative pressure.

-- You can use lots of interesting stuff in a Nature's Head - peat moss, coconut coir, shredded paper, pet litter, straw - it doesn't really matter. The goal is to lighten the feces and help them dry out as fast as possible.

Three Parthian shots:

-- I have never heard of anyone who has installed a composting toilet wanting to take it out, and,

-- While the Fit RV folks exaggerate a bit, I find dumping the cassette to be much less pleasant than dumping the Nature's Head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Z8DdrtuVo

-- The SOG attachment for the cassette looks very interesting: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...s-(eliminates-toilet-chemicals)?highlight=SOG We follow "air lock" rules to limit odor, that is, if the flap is open, the lid is closed, but the SOG might go a long way to making me happier with the cassette.

Oldie but goodie thread here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...s-full-time-usage?highlight=composting+toilet

As always, the choice is yours, but beware of misinformation.
 
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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Pretty interesting video. They are doing something wrong though to have to rest the toilet every two days. They exaggerate the difficulty in dumping the solids, I agree you would not want to do it in the middle of an rv park, but who wants to be in an rv park anyway?
http://www.livesmallridefree.com/blog/benefits-of-having-a-composting-toilet-in-an-rv

True, but we all spend more time in RV parks than we might like, especially in the eastern US. That said, I have dumped the Nature's Head in the middle of an RV park and no one had the least idea what I was doing. (I also did a 'timed' dump at the Tiger owner's rally so that people could see how easy, and odorless, it was. It was funny to watch people slowly inch closer once they realized that they were not going to get gassed!)

Interesting that your video is the much maligned Air Head.

Before the converted to boats, the Wynns published many videos on the Nature's Head: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/category/rvin/composting-toilet-rvin

And it appears that they have a Nature's Head on their boat.
 
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thefishhawk

Adventurer
I didn't think of that but a thetford style would work nicely too. would do a nicer job of containing the chemical part from the clean part and easy to dump. that's what we use in our basic pop up camper.

River folks call the rocket box solution a "groover" since before someone came up with a seat to put on it they'd just take the lid off and use the box. The edges of the box would leave "grooves" in the back of your legs after you used it, and the groover was born!
 

Grenadiers

Adventurer
I have a hard time visualizing a toilet in your rig due to space of course. We have a Thetford cassette toilet in our Saurer Swiss Army build, you saw us in San Juanico as we drove by. Think big yellow army truck! Anyway, prior to this rig we had a conventional toilet in a Winnebago diesel pusher. Biggest problem for us was not using it as we used our RV toilet. Water for flushing is limited, and the cassette capacity is limited. The remnants left over in the toilet bowl presented the biggest problem. There, it was not unusual to flush the toilet a few times. If you didn't, then there is that lingering smell~! Laying a piece of toilet paper in the bowl prior to usage pretty much solved the problem. Dumping the cassette is not fun, basically, finding a place to dump it is your challenge. In Baja, traditional toilets found on the beach with a barrel of water standing by to aid in flushing, sorta worked. If there was water. Vault toilets worked the best. We passed on the compost toilets due to the urine situation; didn't think that the composting of solids was that great of a gain.
 
Thanks for the input everyone.
Grenadiers, I remember you, and yes, we are limited on space and weight, but our time south of Baja has us convinced that a toilet is a must, even if it is only used occasionally.

I like the idea of the composting toilets, but the toilet plus the organic matter that you add to the "solids" seams like a lot to carry around. I'm also not loving the idea of needing electricity and a vent hole to make my toilet work, but I guess it's better than needing water. I've been looking more into them today, but haven't found a small/simple version yet.

The cassette toilets got mixed reviews in my research on their "leak proof" claims when used in off-road situations. I know there are many different ones out there, but They seem like they all require water for flushing/cleaning of bowl between uses and we don't really have the extra space/weight capacity to carry around extra water.

I will continue to look into the possibility of a compost or cassette toilet that will meet our limited space, but am currently thinking that a groover may be the best I can do. I've never had an ammo box before, so hadn't thought to use one. are the lids easy and reliable to seal?

I was thinking about getting a bucket like this amazon.com and seeing if my luggable loo seat/lid would fit on it during "use". But the ammo but may be sturdier and the square shape may be a better use of space.
 

thefishhawk

Adventurer
Ammo can lids have a rubber seal around the lid (one of the things to check if you are buying army surplus), and have a levered compression latch on both ends. Pretty much impossible to put on wrong. So exactly why rafters use them, if you flip the box can pretty much take any beating the rocks can dish out and keep a toxic spill from occurring lol You could also go for a smaller size if you don't need a lot of capacity too.

I've heard good things about those buckets also, much better lids than gamma that aren't really sealed all that well.
 

Joe917

Explorer
A few points on composters for those that have not used one.
In the video the guy shows a heaped plate of mashed potatoes as his 2000 calorie daily dump. Only cows dump that big. They don't like the Natures Head because you have to open the thunder box to remove the urine tank and they might see pooh. You only have to lift it about an inch, nothing to see here. Perhaps that contributes to the moisture problem they seem to have with the Air Head. You have to put the right amount of filler in the box, we use peat moss. Too little is more of an issue than too much. The "stuff" breaks down fairly quickly, the box does not fill or smell as long as the urine is separated properly. They like that the AirHead has an opaque urine tank so that they don't see the pee. The only problem with that is you can accidentally overfill (our friends have an AirHead and hate the opaque tank). Removing an overfilled tank is work for a bomb disposal unit! The toilet is best in a wet room.
The composter needs time to work. When it comes time to change the initial deposit will be well broken down but yesterdays will be fresh, So you have to dispose of it responsibly, shallow burial where appropriate, or best option in an pit toilet.
The Advantage of a composting toilet is not the compost. It is waste handling that is clean, does not smell, compacts the waste(as it breaks down) and uses no water. Only requires dumping every 3-5 weeks (2 people full time) if used correctly.
I sound like a composting toilet salesman! Changing from a flushing toilet to a composter is one of the best things we have done to our truck.
 
I'm definitely not going to anything that flushes. I see that as unnecessarily complicated and using water that I would rather have for drinking.

Joe, diplostrat, I'm pretty sure you've both traveled internationally with your rigs. I'm wondering how easy/difficult it was to shop for peat moss or coconut fiber or whatever it is that you use in the head while in other counties and staying out of major cities?

I like the idea of the composter and the separated pee collection, I'm just trying to come to terms with the size and understand just how much peat moss or whatever I would also need to be carrying around. We didn't use or previous toilets much, but if we found an easy, clean solution, I could see using it more often. These darn vehicle builds... always compromising;)
 

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