Long Hauls and Restroom Breaks

[PNW_Wood]

Hi,

When I hit the road in my car, it seems I spend a lot of time pulling over to use a gas station restroom

Seems in an RV this would really slow down progress if you are trying to make tracks, plus it's not as easy to get off and on with a bigger rig

I read a comment somewhere about a guy that swaps the driver seat with his wife while going down the road. Is this common? Seems dangerous to me.

How do you guys deal with having to take a leak and not having to stop every 50/75 miles?

[GaryWT]

GaryWT wrote:
Simple rule when we travel with or without the trailer, when we need gas, you can go to the bathroom. In the car that is about 400 miles...

I should add when I was on heavy chemo and drinking lots of fluids, I sometimes had to stop twice on a 1-2 hours trip.

[ramgunner]

Ah yes, the range extender, AKA the trucker bomb.

My wife and I were very accustomed to driving between St. George and Salt Lake without any stops - except for the occasional stop at the cheese factory in Beaver.

Then we had a baby.

The baby is great in her car seat for a couple of hours. Then she cries until we stop and take her out. It usually seems to happen just north of Beaver (she won't wait until the Cheese Factory) or at Fillmore or Nephi. Trips take a lot longer with a lot more stops.

We just roll with it.

With the trailer, potty stops are easy. Pull off at an exit, use it, then pull back on.

[2012Coleman]

PNW Wood wrote:
lol, i like how this has turned into me having a health issue.

If I drink a lot of fluid, I go to the bathroom. Isn't that the case for everyone?

So simple answer is to stop drinking so much while driving - or get what I call a range extender:

[spoon059]

Well this turned into an interesting thread...

OP, I travel with a wife, 3 dogs, a potty trained toddler and a 22 month old in diapers. We tend to stop every 3 hours whether we need to or not. Empty the kiddo's and wife, let the pups and daddy stretch their legs. It makes the trip a lot more tolerable.

We generally try to use rest stops or gas stations and the wife and kids go inside the camper and use our own toilet. Easier with a toddler and its always there. Unless we have winterized the trailer, we usually keep a couple gallons of water in the black tank and we ALWAYS carry a couple gallons of water in jugs... just in case.

If you carry "emergency water" with you as well, you can literally pull to the side of the road (try to find a WIDE shoulder or level grassy area) and use your own toilet. Pull over, pee, safely merge back in. It saves time finding a suitable exit, pulling off the highway, into an establishment, finding parking, walking to the building, using the restroom, etc.

Happy camping! Only 3 months until we camp again... I'm sad that we are done for the season, but looking forward to Florida in February!!!

[GaryWT]

Simple rule when we travel with or without the trailer, when we need gas, you can go to the bathroom. In the car that is about 400 miles...

[Walaby]

jarata1 wrote:

Walaby wrote:

PNW Wood wrote:
lol, i like how this has turned into me having a health issue.

If I drink a lot of fluid, I go to the bathroom. Isn't that the case for everyone?

Having to pull over every 50-75 miles is quite extreme which is why everyone is thinking medical issue.

Even if I drink a lot of fluid, every 50-75 miles is ridiculous and if I had to go that much, I would get checked out. That's roughly every hour.

Mike

You need to get a life yr not a doctor

You sure about that?

[toedtoes]

Most people don't drink enough proper fluids (i.e., water). If you drink at least 64 Oz per day, you'll pee a lot more than you think is normal. If you've had a kidney stone, you will drink a lot more water than you ever did before (and water will go through you much faster than other drinks, including coffee).

[Sam_Spade]

jarata1 wrote:

You need to get a life yr not a doctor

And YOU need to stop trying to pick fights.

1) You don't KNOW if he is a doctor or not.

2) One doesn't have to have medical training to recognize something that is abnormal.

[jarata1]

Walaby wrote:

PNW Wood wrote:
lol, i like how this has turned into me having a health issue.

If I drink a lot of fluid, I go to the bathroom. Isn't that the case for everyone?

Having to pull over every 50-75 miles is quite extreme which is why everyone is thinking medical issue.

Even if I drink a lot of fluid, every 50-75 miles is ridiculous and if I had to go that much, I would get checked out. That's roughly every hour.

Mike

You need to get a life yr not a doctor

[mabynack]

Gonzo42 wrote:
We get to go maybe 200 mi between stops, and we take the opportunity to walk around a bit, which makes getting back into the driver's seat easier.

My dad was a trucker and he recommended doing the same thing. He said that just walking around helped him as much as a cup of coffee.

I usually plan on taking a short break every two hours. A mid morning potty break. A midday break for lunch. A break between two and three and then knock off between 4 and 5.

[KansasRV]

that's a very dangerous practice! The pee cup is a good idea.

[Johno02]

I'm driving, not interstate, but good four-lane highway. Needed to pee really bad, so found a nice wide shoulder, pulled as far as I could off on shoulder of road, put gearshift in park, set handbrake, and walked back, leaving DW in passenger seat. Nice LEO thought we might have trouble, so he pulled up behind MH on driver side, turns on lights, which could not be seen in DWs mirror, walks up and taps on her window. Just as I started back to front, DW screams and wet herself. Leo panics, draws gun and hollers if everyones OK. Dw let him know that she was OK except for wet pants, I was OK, so I thanked him and went on our way while DW goes to back and changes clothes. Have tried to make it to exits or rest areas ever since.

[2oldman]

Grit dog wrote:

5 pages on swapping drivers to take a leak in a bottle or how often do you peeeee..????
Pure awesomeness!

probably wouldn't hurt to discuss taking a dump also.

[gbopp]

Johno02 wrote:
So its either pee in the seat, or in a bottle. I think the need a funnel with a hose through the floorboard.

There's a business opportunity for someone. Develop a 'relief tube' similar to the type used by some military aircraft. It could be directed to exit on the muffler or exhaust where it would evaporate. 🙂