Another Porta Potty Solution

[Conestoga]

In our Hawk, the porta potty lives in a space to the right of the door. Being rectangular, the storage was always 90 degrees to the use direction to allow the head to clear the door threshold extrusion when sitting solidly on the floor. Moving it in & out was a lifting & twisting exercise with a heavy unwieldly object.

We have seen some really nice solutions where people included it in a cabinet with a drawer slide, however, we wanted to keep it simple. We solved the problem by building a roller platform which allowed the head to be turned to the use position & provided clearance over the threshold extrusion when stored. The rollers are PVC pipe with plastic bearings in the ends mounted to aluminum angle with full length axles. The platform is black marine lumber (Starboard) for cleanliness and strength. The lock is engaged or disengaged with a quick release pin to keep the roller platform in place when traveling. Could be made simply from plywood or whatever you may have at your disposal with hand tools.

 

[Vic Harder]

Very tidy looking. Does it roll when occupied?

 

[Conestoga]

Doesn't seem to be an issue if you're fairly level. No guarantees if you're parked on the side of a hill, however, but at least the rollers are configured side to side so you won't fly out the back door.

 

[larryqp]

As a complete alternative to the porta potty, we eliminated ours and switched to the Go Anywhere toilet system. Formerly it was called Wag bag. The toilet has 3 legs, a toilet seat and a net to hold the bag. It doesn't require water and it is environmentally safe and proper to dispose of the used bag in any dumpster as long as you use the "Poo Powder". You can buy the bags as a kit with the poo powder already in them or buy the bags and poo powder separately and save a few bucks. The whole thing folds up to a briefcase size container, which we strap to the wall where the porta potty previously sat. If there isn't a dumpster immediately available, we place the used, sealed wag bag into 1 gallon ziplock bag and then place that in our trash bag, which is an airtight, water proof vinyl bag. Its our alternative to a Trasharoo bag.

We made the switch after we spent 9 days in the backcountry of Big Bend Ranch State Park. After 3 days our porta potty was full and so we went to the ranger station and were told there wasn't a dump station in the park, and we couldn't dump it in the restroom. They sold us the Go Anywhere system. We were stuck with a full port a potty for the rest of our trip, which wasn't that pleasant. The nearest dump station was back in town about 50 miles one way.

The Go anywhere system is very lightweight, odor free, compact and can also serve as a extra chair. No more lifting and carrying a heavy potty to the dump station. Or carrying it from our portable outdoor pop up bathroom back to the camper when its time to brake camp.

Also, since we leave our Eagle permanently mounted, it's always with us. If we are fly fishing and "nature calls" we use it and I don't have to deal with dumping the potty after only one use. Buying the bags and "poo powder" on amazon separately, will cost you about a $1 a day, assuming 2 people are using it and you are using 1 bag a day.

Anyway, thought I'd throw this out there.

Check it out at the link below.


http://www.cleanwaste.com/go-anywhere-toilet-kit

 

[adrian]

What about liquid waste (wife)?

 

[larryqp]

Good question.
The Poo Powder absorbs the liquid waste and creates a gel. So if my wife is using it for that function, then we end up using 2 bags a day. I can't remember exactly, but I think it will absorb 3 lites of liquid waste. We've been thinking that we could probably add more poo powder if needed for the liquid waste, thereby decreasing the # of bags per day if more than 3 liters of liquid waste was excreted.

LOL Let's be real, it is designed for pee and well as crap. Where else but a camping website can you discuss this stuff.

 

[RicoV]

GoAnywhere is nearly identical to our secondary PETT system (primary in the camper is a Thetford), and we generally set up the PETT for our longer stays in outlying dispersed sites. Recently I've begun eliminating wagbags from the equation and utilizing a simple dirt trench system, dug 4-6" deep along the contour in a protected site well away from the main camp, and burying each 'gift' with the displaced topsoil and grading to ground level. Subsequent uses just traverse along the trench, with the PETT placed perpendicular to the trench for stabiliity. It worked well during our 3 weeks in the Bryce Cyn UT area earlier this month, but probably wouldn't work well in rocky soils or in high use areas. Worth considering because there's no costs with restocking wagbags, and to the best of my knowledge is a satisfactory way of addressing waste management in the backwoods (if this isn't so, please, let me know!).
Rico.

 

[Ronin]

One thing I'm aware of is when in the backcountry "Leave No Trace" guidelines say one should be 200 feet from water sources for not only when answering the call of nature but also when washing dishes or yourself. I'm primarily a backpacker but these guidelines seem appropriate for dispersed camping too.



LNT 7 Principles

https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles

Please support the great work that LNT does!!

 

[larryqp]

The trench system is appropriate in some areas and not in others. Big Bend Ranch State Park is high desert and does not allow burying human waste. Some other desert areas have gone the same route. But Rico is correct stating that if you are use a trench system the Go anyway toilet would fit nicely over a trench.

 

[buckland]

We have an Thetford 260P Marine Porta Potti which is great...fits into the space by the door in our Eagle. Built a hinged cover so it is not noticeable. We went to Alaska and the Yukon last year ... 12000 miles in 10 weeks and as we were going to be boon docking we decided to take the Separett Rescue Camping Toilet. It is a fold up unit, very sturdy, and the good thing is it separates the liquid from solid by way of the specially designed seat. We found that we did not use the hose but a gallon (windshield wash fluid) plastic jug fit beneath perfectly and then could be sealed after use. The bags are as in other similar units but no need for the mixing of the wastes. It folds up and into a zip bag. Nice to have for the outback trips when one doesn't want to think about the more 'convenient' flushable units due to the time limitation to empty.
We used zip lock bags to seal and stored in the wheel well area through the turnbuckle door.

 

[larryqp]

That's pretty cool that it has a separation system for solid and liquid waste.

 

[Lighthawk]

We use the Klean-waste tripod commode for our needs. It folds up and fits under the dog platform in our back area where I removed the AC Tundra rear seat. While dispersed camping, we'll find a spot a ways out of camp to set up the unit. Sometimes, there's even a nice view to admire!

In some USFS campgrounds where the outhouses are pretty rank, we'll pop up our shower tent as a private place to use the commode.
Used WAG bags go into an old drybag, which I bungie onto our hi-lift jack for when we're driving. If we're lucky, there's a dumpster available on the way home to legally dispose of the wastebags.

Sixty+ year old knees just don't do the squatting thing so well anymore. I would rather save them for the trail!
It was actually my wife's knee surgery that got us into this system some years ago. (Never teach your wife how to ski )