Normally we tend to avoid discussions of personal sanitation in polite company, but it can be a vital subject for campers, boaters, and RVers. For self contained RVs or campers in developed campgrounds, it is pretty well covered by standard on board features or facilities provided at the campground. But for remote camping, especially if you are not in a self-contained RV, or when on a small boat or tent camping you may need alternatives. Tent campers and backpackers are probably already familiar with how to dig and use latrines in the wilderness so we won't go over that here. Instead here we will focus on portable toilets known as porta-pottys that can add a great deal of comfort and convenience to your camping experience. in small RVs and boats. In fact, you might say porta-pottys try to give you the same kind of comfort you are used to at home. They are especially appreciated by the females in your party. However, the limited amount of water and limited holding tank capacity means you must exercise good rules of conservation to avoid over-filling them during a weekend outing. For longer stays you will need someplace to dump them every few days.
A Porta-potty is a handy addition for tent camping and boats and RVs that are not self-contained. They can also be useful if your RV toilet is broken or your holding tank is full. We have used a porta-potty in our Class A motorhome a few times when we wanted to avoid contaminating clean holding tanks during short uses. When I talk about porta-pottys I'm not talking about those big, smelly portable toilets you see at outdoor concerts and sporting events, although they are sometimes called that.. There are small individual portable toilets (Porta-pottys) made especially for camping. Porta-pottys will be particularly appreciated by the ladies in your group. They can be used inside a tent or you might set up a shower enclosure somewhere away from your tent to provide privacy. They vary in size but are typically about 18” square and a little shorter for comfort so they take up little room in your vehicle. They are designed to be self contained, having a built in water tank for flushing and a holding tank to capture the waste for subsequent disposal. They typically hold several gallons of fresh water and/or sewage. Since water weights 8 lbs per gallon, they can often weigh 40 lbs or so. They can usually be separated so you can carry the portion with the fresh water tank independently from the sewage tank, with each piece a bit easier to handle than the combined unit.
You will need to monitor the level of waste and empty it long before it gets completely full. In fact, you will probably want to empty it when it gets about half full so it won’t be so heavy to carry or to lift to empty. They can be emptied into an RV dump station or carefully emptied into a flush toilet. You may encounter restrictions against dumping them in some vault toilets in remote campgrounds. A word of caution: be careful how you carry the holding tank of your porta-potty. The flush handle can get caught on something and release the foul contents prematurely. If that "something" happens to be your leg you'll have a soaked pant leg and a shoe full of sewage. Keeping the flush valve on the outside avoids this problem, but you still need to be careful to avoid getting it caught on other obstacles or you'll have a nasty mess to clean up!
You need to use the same kind of chemicals in a porta-potty that you use in RV black water tanks, but because of the small size, you won’t need nearly as much per dose. Be sure to check the directions on the box, pouch, or bottle to make sure you are using the right amount. If you use too little, it won’t work well. You’ll likely have excess odors and the solids won’t break down. If you use too much you’re just wasting product — and money. Higher doses don’t work any better than proper doses and, in some cases, may actually interfere with the intended action. However, you may need to use more during hot weather. Most modern chemicals are reasonably environmentally friendly and shouldn’t harm septic systems. If you will be dumping yours into a septic system (or the vault toilets in a campground) try to use chemicals that say they are OK for septic systems. Some of the older chemical formulas included formaldehyde, which was definitely not environmentally nor septic friendly, but it worked very well.
Chemicals are available in liquid and powdered form. The powdered stuff may be in a foil pouch or configured as a drop in packet a little larger than a golf ball. The liquid is probably the easiest to measure if you need to used less than a full bottle per dose. You can probably measure out powdered chemicals as well, but if you use drop in packets about all you can do is control the number of packets you use. The chemicals are intended to serve two functions: odor control and liquification of solid wastes including toilet paper, which is one reason you should only use RV friendly toilet paper in porta-pottys and RV toilets. Want to now if your toilet paper is OK to use? Put a couple of sheets in a quart jar of water and shake it up. It if disintegrates quickly as you shake it, it is OK to use. If it doesn’t it probably won’t break down in your toilet or holding tank. Try doing the test with a facial tissue and you’ll see the way “bad” toilet paper will fail the test. Hint: don't put facial tissues in your RV toilet or porta-potty! For that matter, don't even use that super nice quilted toilet paper you use at home. Single ply tissue is best for use in portable and RV toilets.
Porta-pottys are self contained. They have a fresh water supply tank with a bellows type pump to dispense water into the bowl. The waste is collected in a separate bottom holding tank. The two tanks can be separated. You can carry just the top to a campground faucet to fill or just the bottom to a dump station or toilet to empty it so it isn’t so heavy. Remember, water weighs 8 lbs per gallon. A typical porta-potty can easily contain 5 gallons between the two tanks, making it around 40 lbs when full plus weight of the unit itself. When carrying the waste tank, be sure to hold it so the bottom of the tank, not the part with the flush valve, is next to your leg. This will avoid any dripping any left-over liquid from on top of the valve onto you or your clothing. It also keeps the valve away from your leg If it is toward your leg you run the risk of bumping it and perhaps releasing a flood of foul waste onto your foot! Believe me, it will make a big mess and you don’t want a shoe full of sewage!
You may need more than one porta-potty, depending on the size of your group, the length of your stay, and the room you have to transport them. My wife and I have found one unit sufficient for the two of us for a weekend on our boat or tent camping. It would have never been enough when we were camping with our six kids, even if we sent the 4 boys out into the bush most of the time! Since porta-pottys are somewhat bulky you may find it hard to carry them in small car trunks but they fit well in the beds of pickup trucks and in the cargo area in most SUVs.
Porta-pottys are a convenient and inexpensive solution to sanitation when camping, RVing, or boating and can provide a temporary solution at home during emergencies when the plumbing may be compromised. They can usually be emptied into any functioning ordinary toilet or can be dumped at RV dump stations. Always rinse the used holding tank thoroughly and add appropriate chemicals after each outing, or every few days as it fills up. To minimize your chances of running out of water, always refill the fresh water tank when you dump the holding tank. To reduce the weight you have to carry, dump it often and separate the fresh water holding tank from the waste holding tank for transport.
Now, that’s a relief!
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