Porta-potty users, sound off

[Mwilliamshs]

What potty do you carry in your van? Do you like it? Hate it? Why? I'm currently shopping what seem to be the top 2 or 3 current models on amazon, campingworld, etc but looking for some more educated/trusted opinions than the reviews I'm seeing there. Especially interested in models your women folks like, as mine's the real reason I'm considering one of these anyway. Especially interested in thoughts on how well it seals up, ease-of-emptying, comfort, overall impression of quality (don't want to blow $150 on something that feels like $15), etc.

 

[southpier]

ma wimin-folks is happy with a deadfall an' a box o' cobs

 

[Toolman]

spent $70 at sport chalet with a $50 gift card. couldn't go wrong and still wonder why it took so long to buy it. I only use for liquid, no solid waste. Figure if it gets funky I chuck it and buy another and I won't be too upset. so far its clean cuz I keep it like that.

http://www.sportchalet.com/product/...le+toilet.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=fn

 

[mdmead]

Might check this thread going on if you haven't already.
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http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/133770-Best-toilet-for-frequent-dumping

 

[philos]

I have a shovel and TP for me and for when it's nice outside. "Luggable Loo" with a home depot bucket for the rest of the time and for the kids. We double-bag with the bucket... Cheap and easy.

 

[350outrage]

Get home depo bucket: add $30.00 Bass pro toilet seat kit, (has a lid), double bag and put kitty litter in bottom of bucket (deoderizing and clumping is nice!), add more kitty litter for "bad loads"; when time to empty, zip tie top of bags and throw in unsuspecting dumpster. I"ve tried them all, and this method is best. Converting your waste into a noxious liquid makes NO sense to me!

 

[mhiscox]

Converting your waste into a noxious liquid makes NO sense to me!

I don't suppose it would, what with your current highly-sophisticated system and the wide availability of unsuspecting dumpsters.

Others, however, might want to give some thought to handling the waste correctly. You can encapsulate it using the gelling powder system, treat it to make it tolerable until it can be dumped into a suitable sewer, or bury it deep a long ways from water.

You don't throw crap into a dumpster for the same reason your sainted mother told you to wash your hands after a crap. Fecal coliform bacteria are to be avoided once outside your intestines. Pathogenic diseases that correlate with fecal coliform contamination include typhoid fever, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and a wide variety of infections, so it's not really ideal to be making up your own idiosyncratic waste disposal methods.

 

[dcguillory]

I don't suppose it would, what with your current highly-sophisticated system and the wide availability of unsuspecting dumpsters.

Others, however, might want to give some thought to handling the waste correctly. You can encapsulate it using the gelling powder system, treat it to make it tolerable until it can be dumped into a suitable sewer, or bury it deep a long ways from water.

You don't throw crap into a dumpster for the same reason your sainted mother told you to wash your hands after a crap. Fecal coliform bacteria are to be avoided once outside your intestines. Pathogenic diseases that correlate with fecal coliform contamination include typhoid fever, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and a wide variety of infections, so it's not really ideal to be making up your own idiosyncratic waste disposal methods.

I admit I had to look up more then one of those words.

 

[TripLeader]

I've got a Luggable Loo.


I originally bought it because some BLM lands in Utah require having a toilet. Now I mainly use it so the gals I camp with have a place to take care of their business. I use the Luggable Loo bags. They are heavy duty with a zip-lock feature and what must be some sort of NASA gel in them.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

This thread tho. In one page of posts I was reminded for the first time in a long time why I've blocked a certain member then Mike wrote the perfect explanation for why you can't simply crap into a trash can and set it on the curb and now I've gotta see these NASA-gel bags for myself! I like the luggable loo for simplicity and I've always heard good things about their bags but I doubt they're available for purchase in say, Argentina and packing a sufficient supply for a year or more abroad seems impractical to say the least...

Although, say 2 people deuce twice a day but can get one each into a public toilet most days while some days you're either in a hotel or walking around a village or town all day so no van dumps while some days you're at the beach or camped in the mountains so 100% van dumps...okay that gets complicated...say in a year abroad you average 1/3 of your dumps in the portable toilet/bucket/etc. That's 365 x 2 poops a day x 2 people = 1,460/3 = 487 anticipated bowel movements to be captured by whatever portable receptacle you choose plus say you both pee in the middle of the night at least once per night and again whiz in the bucket at least once per day (WAY less than that for me but she's a bit prissy and small-bladdered) so that's 365 x 2 pees a day x 2 people = 1,460 so you have 487 poops plus 1,460 pees that's 1,947 uses I'd expect my toilet/bucket/etc to see in a year abroad.

The best price I found in a very brief online search was about $2 each for the bags (Google Shopping shows $12 for a six pack) plus shipping but on a bulk order I'd expect free shipping anyway so $2 x 1,947 = $3,893! Maybe you can use the bags twice?! (online reviews say no) Geezus that's nearly $4k just in poop sacks. NASA indeed.

I realize for a weekend or even 2 week trip the cost is far more manageable (damn near negligible if they work as advertized) but GAWD ALMIGHTEE I ain't EVER gonna have so much dough that I drop 4 grand on dung bags all willynilly. An incinerating toilet gets much more affordable by that comparison...

So the search continues...

 

[Toolman]

I also provide my wife with Travel John while on the road and I have used these at night when it's way too cold to get out. Have saved me a few times in traffic as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Travel-John-6...TF8&qid=1414331221&sr=8-1&keywords=traveljohn

When there are no facilities available, we use The PET for solid waste and follow the provided directions.

 

[IdahoXJ]

The buckets n bags are undoubtedly good for folks with lots of space. I have limited space so I use a folding legs with seat gizmo and disposable bags. I'm not sure what brand it is. I've seen several folding types that look good and take up little space. A shovel (supposed to carry a shovel anyway) and a roll of TP is still, overall, the best although the ladies find that method rather primitive.

 

[AZJim1]

I have a built in Thetford cassette potty in my coleman popup and really like it. What I liked even more was my previous Thetford Electric (battery operated) porta potty. It was great. Had a pretty big holding tank, easy to empty, etc. Not sure if you use the chemical (or natural deodorizers) how much that would end up costing over a year as we only use ours for weekends and a week or two long trip a couple of times a year. But if you used it only a couple times a day you should be able to go maybe a week or so without emptying it.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk

 

[350outrage]

I don't suppose it would, what with your current highly-sophisticated system and the wide availability of unsuspecting dumpsters.

Others, however, might want to give some thought to handling the waste correctly. You can encapsulate it using the gelling powder system, treat it to make it tolerable until it can be dumped into a suitable sewer, or bury it deep a long ways from water.

You don't throw crap into a dumpster for the same reason your sainted mother told you to wash your hands after a crap. Fecal coliform bacteria are to be avoided once outside your intestines. Pathogenic diseases that correlate with fecal coliform contamination include typhoid fever, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and a wide variety of infections, so it's not really ideal to be making up your own idiosyncratic waste disposal methods.

Like most simple systems, its a little more "sophisticated" than it first seems. The kitty litter acts as a drying agent, which renders the waste almost inert. Disinfected? no. But neither is the waste that winds up in a "cat hole" that you dig and cover while backpacking through the wilderness or hunting. After you get an inch or 2 off the pavement, you will realize that there are lots of "correct" ways to dispose of waste. I feel better about the kitty litter treated bag in the dumpster, which winds up in a landfill, relatively dry, than I do about liquid slurry waste which, after flowing down a fancy porcelain bowl, begins making its way back towards someone's drinking water. Whether its a "waste treatment plant", a septic system, a landfill, a cathole, or an outhouse, mother earth winds up doing the cleaning. I realize this has not occurred to some people who have never had to go anywhere other than their own porcelain throne. Your provincialism is excused.

 

[hobietony]

I bought and made a space in my van for the smallest thetford cassette toilet available. I called it 'The Toilet of Last Resort' for when all other options failed, I didn't think I wanted to s#!t in my living room. Then, one morning in Silverton at 5am, 10 degrees outside, no place open and nowhere to dig a hole, and even less desire to go outside at all, I was frantically reading the instructions on my toilet, and found that it was friggin AWESOME to be able to s#!t in your living room. I hope this story helps