Bathroom Trailer?

[quickfarms]

It’s an interesting idea and everyone has there own idea of roughing it.

The thing to think about is the toilet and sink do not use a lot of water but a shower can use large quantities of water and water weighs 8lbs a gallon.

My rig currently has a 30 gallon freshwater tank and that is more than adequate for the toilet and sinks but it goes real fast when showering. It also has 30 gallon black and 30 gallon grey tanks

 

[john61ct]

Ive got an inflatable kiddy pool already, just needa get me that LP water heater and I'm in business... seriously tho, its on a big concrete slab so even tho its in the sun all day long the water is still cold as hell, dunno how the kids tolerate it.

These days afaic colder the better, seems "permanent heat waves" settle in for weeks at a time now.

If you're in a cooler spot, stick a sheet of foam under it, paint it and the slab black

 

[vwhammer]

Just get a new wife. Much easier

HA! Is it?

So whats the logic behind getting in a rigid box thats well over ambient and 100% humidity in that case then? I'm failing to see your point here.. you gonna put an aircon on yer wagbox?

Yes that was pretty much the plan.

No matter where you shower when it's over 90 * and high humidity it's useless!

Not if my bathroom and van is air conditioned.

How much time do you spend on the can that you need that space to be heated and cooled?

Well I don't know about you but I don't have a button or anything that I can push to make the process go any faster than normal.

I suspect you have not done much camping anywhere east of Colorado.
Have you ever jumped in a tent when it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity and just sat in the middle doing nothing.
Now sit there for 5 to 7 minutes while you do your business and you will know what misery is.

Other than that, take a shower then jump out and dry off and try to get dressed in the same conditions.
It's not fun.

Serious question. There's "comfort while roughing it", then there's "ridiculous expenditure of resources for limited gain". For comfort, especially in the middle of the night, we carry a PortaPotti in our van, but with three people it get's maybe 30 minutes of usage per day, max. Probably closer to 15 minutes. Hard to justify any significant weight, expense, or hassle for something that literally consumes 1/3 of 1% of our day.

No one bats an eye when they find a bathroom in some of the $200k off road campers but the minute I want to pull one behind my $15k van it's a waste of time and money?
I also fail to see how it is any different than pulling a kitchen and roof top tent on a trailer behind anything else.
Just bring a camp stove and a tent and your good to go.

This would be fabulous for 3-4 Overlanders in a convoy. One guy tows the toilet.

Exactly.

I see this as a wife accommodation while still maintaining some travel freedom. Given how much people are willing to spend on RVs right now just to have a non public bathroom its not far off base.

I am in no way trying to use my wife as an excuse for such a thing.
I am as onboard for this as she is.
I don't do well in the heat and figured it wouldn't be too tough to make a small trailer that had all the things I needed to be comfortable anywhere.

I pretty much expected that I would get a lot of "input" on this simply because social media is not full of people pulling around a bush bathroom on wheels.
"What's this? Something new!? I don't need a thing like that so it's stupid".
To that all I can say is have fun diggin' a hole in the sand and making your deposit behind some rock in the desert when it it's 115F (46C).
I will be perched atop my throne in my 75 degree box playing on my phone thinking nearly as little about your plight as you are thinking of mine.

 

[vwhammer]

It’s an interesting idea and everyone has there own idea of roughing it.

The thing to think about is the toilet and sink do not use a lot of water but a shower can use large quantities of water and water weighs 8lbs a gallon.

My rig currently has a 30 gallon freshwater tank and that is more than adequate for the toilet and sinks but it goes real fast when showering. It also has 30 gallon black and 30 gallon grey tanks

Obviously we would not be taking hotel room style showers.
It would be a water on, water off, soap up, water on, rinse off, water off type of affair.

I would be building a composting toilet so no water for that and no black water tank.
I assumed at least 30 gallons of water or maybe 50 depending on where the trailer ended up as far as weight is concerned.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Not that unusual - Gypsy/Roma often used to have something similar; they rarely had a bathroom in the live van, so they'll have had a trailer with a bathroom (and sometimes a washing machine) in their overall group of vehicles. They aren't that common now as they've moved more to the "normal" trailers rather than their traditional trailers (Roma etc) which didn't have bathrooms.

 

[Wyuna]

I think its a great concept, i've been tempted to build my own, as it can be hard to find accessible bathrooms.

but we get by with the external shower tent that drops down from the tailgate, the shower hose is internal so it isn't too much of a problem.

I hear you about the heat and humidity, it sucks, we don't bother traveling in summer here as its just not enjoyable.

The bonus of the shower trailer is that you can go to town on battery space with extra solar to feed back into the van when needed plus extra fresh water and grey water storage.

 

[vwhammer]

Seems a sound idea. Especially if group traveling.
I would build as a pop-up like an Alaskan camper maybe Aliner. Thats not so handy on the road, its trade off a smaller towed package.

I suppose I should clarify that I have no intentions of carrying enough water to supply a large group (or small group for that matter) with showers for a week.
I might be inclined to let them use the restroom occasionally but overall this trailer would be considered more of a private arrangement.
I suppose if it was just my wife and I and maybe 2 more people it could work but more than that and I would need a lot more water.

As far as implementation goes I sort of thought that the van and trailer would be semi-codependent upon each other.
As Wyuna Mentioned I would probably put an extra solar panel aboard the trailer that can supplement the solar on the van and charge the van batteries.
The water on the trailer might be heated by the heat exchanger that would already be mounted on the van for hot water in the van.
The van has its own water storage for drinking and dishes so the trailer's water storage would be strictly for showers and maybe the occasional tooth brushing or hand washing.

Perhaps the trailer carries the backup generator used in the event that the solar and batteries are not enough for everything.

I would imagine the van could function and be used for camping without the trailer but the trailer would need the vans power and climate control to function as intended.

As for the pop up the Alaskan pop up is exactly the style that I was thinking about.

Nothing is set in stone as I have only just come up with the idea and have not really looked at any specifics for any component.
I need to actually get the van on the road before I go worrying too much about a bathroom trailer.

 

[Choff]

I like the idea also !!!, Bathrooms at campgrounds and traveling have gotten worse, and with the covid ******** also, not going to get better.
I do like having a private bathroom too.
Keep it simple.
I would build a small trailer with bathroom on board and have space for bikes and camping gear.

 

[old_CWO]

View attachment 602212

I was wondering what took so long for someone to post a photo like this...

 

[JEEP/MOJO]

To answer the question and a lot cheaper is sears i think they prob still make these i bought mine back in the 90s small campers or portable toilet you just buy & add chemical bottles to it to break things down quick and keep it odor free they are small light and portable and im sure they still make them just went up on prices over the years maybe but maybe not

 

[JEEP/MOJO]

https://www.sears.com/palm-springs-palm-springs-5-gallon-portable-toilet/p-A084263230 can get them through walmart .com too

 

[BritKLR]

............has anyone else thought about the chaos and confusion this will cause at the DMV when getting it registered and licensed? "DMV Clerk: Its a portable toilet/shower/sink trailer what?? and you want to register it as an RV?" Or, the confusion with the Officer taking the report or your insurance company when someone rear ends your sh#$&er?

I'm over thinking this.....carry-on.

 

[Tudor Tanase]

Found here while looking for images of self-contained RVs for work: http://www.tworvgypsies.us/!USA-2009-after-Alaska-Canada/34a-fairmontRV-hotsprings-MT.html

 

[Choff]

With some small wood working skills, it is easy to do.
I built a full bathroom in a box van I had.
For a small space, I would use a combo bath and shower set up. They use these in horse trailers.

 

[LanceMagnum]

Hey vwhammer,

I have put some thought into exactly this - I think it will be the key to enjoying long-term adventures with the SO.

My plan is to have the tow vehicle fully outfitted for stand-alone trips (cooking, RTT, etc.), and to use the 'comfort wagon' to setup a base of operations. From my attempts at sketching out a floor plan a normal sized overland trailer should be enough room. At one point I had a design using a flush/macerating RV toilet but that's not really needed and currently have a cassette toilet in my design. The real key for me is to build a recirculating shower (check the vanlife folks, there is some talk on this topic). That along with like 30 gallons of water is enough for daily showers for 2 people for a week. It will have a battery bank and solar to power pumps and lights, and could be also be charged via the tow harness.

I'm thinking a pop-up trailer like roof lift system:



There's a couple of systems out there to consider that could do the job, I'm looking for one that will not interfere with ground clearance and room for tanks. I expect to incorporate a gray water tank though it would have a diverter valve for use in areas where gray water discharge is allowed.

Here's some details on the recirculating shower system, all of the pumps and valves would be commanded by a microcontroller with a very simple rotary control knob or something.




Not shown in this design is a filtration & UV stage to use for filling the tank, could allow for more water use if you're close to a source while in the wilderness.

This project is still a ways off for me, I've got a lot more to do on the main vehicle, but it's not a crazy idea by any stretch (or it's that I'm just as crazy as you).