Cassette toilet Retrofit

MikeJinCO wrote:
We are beginning to plan a trip to South America. From the small amount of information I have so far it appears that dump stations appear to be few and far between.

Does it really matter in S America? (half-joking)

I can verify that the dump stations in South America are, at best, few and far between, and that a cassette toilet is the only way to go. I can't give you much help on the re-build as our TC has a cassette toilet from the get go. More information on our trip to S America - we spent 12 months there - can be found on our blog. Btw, we live in Denver and would be happy to answer any questions.
Cheers, Henrik

My TC does not have room for a cassette so I am using a porta-potti. In terms of difficulty, both types seem to involve removing a container to dump into a toilet or other spot. Would like a cassette but satisfied with my PP (no pun intended) so far.

A portapotty is only slightly less convenient than a cassette and much easier to install. You might want to check out the higher end Thetford portapotty models before undertaking the cassette retrofit. I'm pretty cowardly about cutting holes in camper skin, though!

What is your camper?

I considered doing it in my previous NorthStar Arrow that had the factory fresh water toilet. This camper has the cassette option available so a retrofit as I investigated it was not going to be all the difficult from what I could see. It does deem kinda pricey to buy the necessary hardware though which was a big deterrent.

If your camper has a cassette option from the factory then I feel that it is more than half the battle... if not you are on your own as to determine its feasibility.

I do not feel it is impossible... a big factor to overcome will be the feasibility of cutting the exterior for the black tank door.

I think that a cassette toilet is a great way to go and I hope to be retrofitting one into my TC at some point in the future... but they are pricey and the install is fairly extensive.
You might also consider getting a Thetford Curve porta-potty. These are inexpensive, as easy to empty as a cassette, have a 5.5 gal holding tank and are similar to an RV toilet in terms of size & comfort. There is also a hold-down kit available to make it more secure in your TC.
Cheers
-Mark

I hate to tell you oldman, but when I was working in Santiago, Chile back in 1996 that section of town made the fancier parts of Denver(Cherry Creek) look rather shoddy. After a earthquake probably in the 5-5.5 range, the engineers I worked with asked why California kept falling down. They were also building about 10, 25 story high rise apartment buildings(all steel frame built to similar standards the CA uses) within walking distance of where I was living. When was the last time that happened in this country.


Sorry about the rant, but people I this country need to figure out that the rest of the world is catching up fast and we are standing still at best. We happen to much prefer the rural areas with native lifestyles than the cities. We expect to really prefer Colombia, Peru and Ecuador to the more developed countries of Chile and Argentina, and not sure about going to Brazil at all. By the way we have wintered in Mexico for the past 6 years, and will be leaving again in about a month.

have you considered using the existing toilet and a small portable tote for dumping? the end result would be the same and much cheaper.

I didn't realize that cassette means that you have an outside door. I think we would have to use a porta potty as the camper would only be used for this trip, then resold. I think I would have to pick up a camper and then get a porta potty with the best height to adapt to the existing bathroom.

I'm quite leery of using a wood framed camper as we had a couple of problems with our old Hallmark on the rough roads in Mexico and SA is by most reports no better. We would be picking up both a truck and camper just for this trip. Truck either pre 2007 diesel(no 6.0 Ford) or gas and camper fairly small, our duramax dually and large, heavy Bigfoot aren't going down there, as we want more "back country" capability . Back country means off the major highways.

Portable tote is a good possibility, the question as with anything TC is where to carry it? Probably solvable with a rack under any overhang. Thanks for the suggestion.