porta toilets

[Chorky]

I'm sure theres already been a comparison somewhere, didn't see one so...trying to compare a couple options. Inside toilet options for me are highly desirable due to, well, issues. Especially when it's below 0 outside. These are the only real options I can think of for the back of a truck (canopy) and future teardrop and/or truck camper. A full bathroom/tanks just take up too much space, and seem to have complications in sub freezing temps. Apologies if it seems tmi or too blunt, but we all do it, no sense in hiding that fact.

Comparing the pro/con of 2 styles of porta toilets

Tank style

Pro

• easy to dump anywhere (could even dig a hole, no different than just pooping in the woods really)
• more comfortable?
• waste is consolidated
• no 'set-up' for each use
• easier for #1 than other options
• cheaper long term?

Con

• fills up fast (how many #2 visits?)
• waste sloshes around - spillable during transit on rough roads?
• not complicated, but not as simple as other options
• potential for spilling waste during emptying - gross
• more expensive short term

Tankless style




Pro

• simple
• light
• small footprint
• cheap (short term)
• low risk of mess

Con

• expensive? (long term) - bags
• bags could rip?
• where to store bags when unable to throw away for several days
• not so stable
• not really feasible for nightly/daily #1's
• is bag big enough for #2?

I appreciate any thoughts

 

[KENPERK]

we use a luggable loo and double duty bags, when full wrap bags in a diaper pale liner and store in a tall ammo can

 

[CSG]

I own both styles. A Porta-Potti 135 (very small) was included with my van camper. Works OK, no issues and if you treat the waste tank properly with chemicals, there should be no odors. If I had room in the van, I'd carry the larger size in your picture which has about a five gallon tank - that should last more than two uses, even if a person has "issues". Prices for them have gone through the roof since I last looked but they are very residential in size and comfort. I also have the Cleanwaste but it's a nuisance to use and you have to carry the bags until you can dump them. I've debated removing the net that holds the bag and using it over a hole in the ground instead. This one only travels in the LX.

 

[mep1811]

I've been using a PETT toilet and WAG bags for many years. I only use it for BMs. I pee outside or in a bottle if the weather is bad. This is the system used by the military.

The bags are durable and will be good for a couple of uses if you are in one place.

I'll put the used bags in a separate garbage bag in my spare tire trash bag.

 

[Laps]

Up until last year I always used either cat holes, or the tankless (bag) style, or hunted a structured pit toilet common to most campgrounds when I wasn't boon docking. That changed for the most part, while truck camping, I now always bring the Thetford 565E. Its only con that I have found is that it takes up more room than a collapsible tankless version. But the Pros outweigh that con. It never smells, and I empty it before leaving each camp site (by digging a sizable hole far away from the camp site and dumping there). Very easy to empty with no fear of accidental spillage. Durable too.

 

[Herbie]

Con

• fills up fast (how many #2 visits?)
• waste sloshes around - spillable during transit on rough roads?
• not complicated, but not as simple as other options
• potential for spilling waste during emptying - gross
• more expensive short term

"Fast" is relative. A Thetford 135 (2.2gal) was good for our family of three for two days, but it got close at three. We upgraded to a Dometic 976 (5.5gal) and have never filled it on long weekends and several much longer trips with mixed-toilet access. I figure if we're remote enough that we need more than 4+ days of waste storage, then we're remote enough that we can skip using the in-van toilet at least during the day time. If we're on the road (a week+), we empty it whenever convenient.

Slosh and Spilling is a non-issue. The waste tank is divided from everything else and seals well. I've never spilled, let alone smelled anything over dozens of weekends of trail and off-road usage, with our toilet mounted directly behind driver's seat.

Avoiding spilling during emptying is a matter of correct usage. All the different manufacturers include some type of anti-"glug" valve so that they let in air while you're pouring to prevent a disrupted flow. It's literally a matter of pointing the nozzle and just tipping the end down into the toilet - the end of the nozzle doesn't need to be anywhere but down in the bowl, so the chances of spilling are slim.

It's literally this:

1. Separate waste tank from top portion of toilet (seat, flush water tank)
2. Remove cap, open anti-glug valve
3. Angle nozzle into toilet bowl and pour out waste
4. Flush toilet
5. Refit cap, close anti-glug valve
6. Open waste tank main valve (pull handle), add rinse water
7. Close main valve
8. "Swish" the tank to rinse
9. Remove cap, open anti-glug valve
10. Angle nozzle and pour out rinse water and any remaining waste
11. Flush toilet
12. Refit cap, close anti-glug valve
13. Add new tank treatment liquid (deodorizer and enzyme break-down enhancer), swish.
14. Reconnect waste tank to top of toilet. Refill flush water tank if needed

This is one of the first things I do at the end of any trip. Whole process takes about 5 minutes.

Price: Street price on the Dometic is usually ~$130, and I've seen it for less than $100 a few times. That's in the ballpark of a Pett Toilet and one or two dozen WAG bags. The truly frugal will use garbage bags and kitty litter, but if you're here debating pros/cons on toilets, ask yourself if that's a viable option for you.

 

[F350joe]

My experience.... porta potties are great if you have a truck bed, trailer or outside place to store it. Wag bags and a seat, i have the one you posted and it works well, if you have an SUV. Both need to be used correctly or else they stink. Wag bags will smell if filled with TP and seals fail on porta potties from household TP.

 

[Grassland]

I've currently been using the Reliance portable toilet with "double duty" bags. #1 only for the wife when not subzero (she won't camp when below freezing anyways)
I've used them for #2 when hunting/fall camping and winter camping, odour hasn't been much issue in those situations, but the price of the bags adds up fast.
It beats squatting, is light and portable, but I'd lean towards the tank style for longer term use.

 

[JaSAn]

K.I.S.S.
5 gallon bucket with gamma-seal lid, regular toilet seat mounts on top, lined with 3 mil industrial plastic bag. Use regular 1.5 mil hardware store bags for individual dumps, tied off and stored inside bucket. You can add cat litter, pine/cedar shavings, etc. for added odor control but I have never had odors when the gamma-seal lid is on; only minor odor when lid is off. Stores multiple days.

Urine is separated - easy for guys, needs a little more thought for women.

Bucket can be as stable as you want to make it.

 

[PlacidWaters]

COVID-19 forced me to find a bathroom alternative. After reading a lot about various possibilities, I concluded that this problem is simpler than it seems. My solution: 5-gal. bucket, plastic toilet seat (Luggable Loo), 2 plastic grocery store bags, MAYBE cat litter. Standard grocery store bags with handles fit perfectly on a 5-gal bucket, nice and tight. After researching disposal quite a bit, I concluded that human waste can safely and legally be placed in a campground (or other) dumpster, same as dog or cat waste. If you happen to be near a dumpster, rapid disposal makes the kitty litter unnecessary. I would use kitty litter or leaves etc. if I had to drive any distance with the bag in the vehicle, although having a tight bucket lid in addition to a toilet seat would solve that problem. A 5-gal bucket is tall enough for older folks with joint problems to get up "somewhat" easily. I was surprised at how well this system works, and the cost was only $20, for the seat. I don't think fancy bags are necessary.

If you're avoiding all public bathrooms, as I am, one challenge is what to do if you're on the road and there's no privacy option (trees, bushes). Something to think through in advance and try to avoid.

It seems clear now from scientific studies that COIVD-19 does remain in the air, especially in bathrooms. Not something I want to have to worry about.

 

[FlipperFla]

We have been using a PP for over ten years. Never had an issue with it sloshing around,leaking, smell or any other negative problem. IMO the 5gal is the way to go. The Wife is a big coffee drinker so we don’t have to stop for pee stops every 50 miles, especially with covid. We never have to use public restrooms. One of the best investments besides pressurized water that I installed. I do all the maintenance, I call it “pottie patrol”, which she loves. When I dump it I open the holding tank in front of the toilet, flush and dump at same time and done, rinse out the tank, dump the pottie juice in with a 1/2 qt of water, wipe of with Lysol and put it back in the van. Her: #1+2, Me: #2. I do not use the fresh water holding tank and pump, more weight and blowback when you open the flusher. We have a medium sized water bottle with a squirt top. So when we go we open the flusher, do your business down the open hole, rinse bowl with with the bottle, then close flusher. Spray and wipe pottie with Lysol with paper towel. Last thing I want is my truck smelling like a bathroom.

 

[Herbie]

I do not use the fresh water holding tank and pump, more weight and blowback when you open the flusher. We have a medium sized water bottle with a squirt top.

Clever idea. I've taken to only 1/2 filling the flush tank on ours, for similar reasons. That said, your method eliminates the sound of my kid re-pumping the flush bellows at 3am... might be worth looking into.

 

[tacomabill]

After researching disposal quite a bit, I concluded that human waste can safely and legally be placed in a campground (or other) dumpster, same as dog or cat waste. ...

I have been under the opposite impression, but really do not know, so do you have a reference to point to? I also have a luggable loo but what I do is treat #2 with "Poo Powder" from http://www.cleanwaste.com which the company claims quickly neutralizes it and has received EPA approval for putting it in a dumpster. But they don't say if it is illegal to dump it untreated. Anyway, the treated poop has to be more environmentally friendly so I will stick with that -which reminds me I need to reorder.

 

[FlipperFla]

Clever idea. I've taken to only 1/2 filling the flush tank on ours, for similar reasons. That said, your method eliminates the sound of my kid re-pumping the flush bellows at 3am... might be worth looking into.

The bottle works great, east to fill, just like a mini hydro spray for skid marks,lol. Another trick, I found a square car floormat at Wmart with high edges that fits perfectly under the PP for stray squirts.

 

[Herbie]

Ours slides out on smooth plastic which is, coincidentally, very easy to clean.