Do you or don't you?

[tenhorsun]

We're looking into buying our first trailer. Friends of ours bought their first one a few years ago and love it.
But this is interesting. They say they NEVER use their toilet except for quick toilet breaks, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, they use the campground restrooms or park outhouses. They say that using a trailer toilet ruins it... that the smell is always there. !?!? Surely this cannot be true. One reason why we want a trailer is to have the comfort of our own home with us. We don't WANT to use a public restroom. Plus, we plan to camp on public forest land where there are no facilities. What do YOU do?

[TrailerTravele1]

He doesn't, I do... at least when we're in parks with "facilities". But when we camp outside of "facility" parks, both of us "do". 🙂 Not a big deal, but he prefers to use park facilities, but we don't let that limit our camp locations.

[toedtoes]

mosseater wrote:
I don't get why this is even a question. It's a trailer, with a bathroom....why wouldn't someone use it. I think there are larger issues here than just 'should one use the toilet in the trailer'. I just don't see it as an issue. I guess others do.

I agree that it's not an issue. People do what they're comfortable with. If Joe Blow doesn't want to use his RV toilet for whatever reason that's Joe Blow's choice. What people do or don't do in their own bathrooms and bedrooms is their business.

[mosseater]

I don't get why this is even a question. It's a trailer, with a bathroom....why wouldn't someone use it. I think there are larger issues here than just 'should one use the toilet in the trailer'. I just don't see it as an issue. I guess others do.

This is planet earth. Welcome! The wheel is still round. Nothing like the freedom of being able to pull over virtually anywhere and have a facilities at your disposal.

[B_O__Plenty]

ScottG wrote:
We generally use ours only for #1 and use the CG facilities for #2.
The reason is we only camp during weekends so the heavy stuff would not have enough time to break down in the tank and we could end up with problems.

It's a holding tank, not a septic tank. It isn't supposed to break down in there. We use ours like we use the one at home. No chemicals, no special paper, no stink. Just run lots of water in it...

B.O.

[RVcircus]

We use ours and make sure we use lots of water. We don't get much, if any, odor at all and don't use chemicals. I'm also very thorough each time I empty the tank and add warm water, detergent & calgon to the tank after flushing and let it soak & splash around while driving.

Water is your friend when it comes to the black tank.

[cubmaster252]

We use ours all the time. 2 kids and a wife that don't have to leave the unit in the middle of the night...makes it easier on everyone.

The only time we shower at the CG is if we are on a water/electric only site and don't want to move the camper to the dump station mid trip.

[BubbaChris]

Speaking of humor, I could see someone's autocorrect suggesting we us the GMO method (when they meant GEO). Now that could start another lively discussion!

[4X4Dodger]

Ron3rd wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:

tenhorsun wrote:
We're looking into buying our first trailer. Friends of ours bought their first one a few years ago and love it.
But this is interesting. They say they NEVER use their toilet except for quick toilet breaks, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, they use the campground restrooms or park outhouses. They say that using a trailer toilet ruins it... that the smell is always there. !?!? Surely this cannot be true. One reason why we want a trailer is to have the comfort of our own home with us. We don't WANT to use a public restroom. Plus, we plan to camp on public forest land where there are no facilities. What do YOU do?

Your friends don't know what they're talking about and must have some weird obsession with odor. Their comments are some of the most ridiculous I've heard in 20 years. Your trailer is an extension of your home; why would you use a public toilet when you have your "home" toilet with you? They must like Hotel beds. No thanks. Talk to real RV'ers and get some real advice. Good for a chuckle though.

I Beg Your Pardon! I am a REAL RV'er and I choose to use the public bathrooms when available except at night. I have no qualms about dumping, (the tank, no pun intended) it's easy and quick. And if you read my previous post on this subject (above) you would see I have dealt with some pretty awful bathrooms.

However there are other considerations beside dumping that go into peoples choice of what they do. Further your assertion that the TEST for a "REAL RV'er" is where they poo is full of more S!!* than has been discussed here.

You misinterpreted my post, I was addressing this comment by the OP which I find rediculous:
" They say they NEVER use their toilet except for quick toilet breaks, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, they use the campground restrooms or park outhouses. They say that using a trailer toilet ruins it... that the smell is always there"

You sound like your use the campground facilities maybe for conservation reasons? Many do. But from your post you appear to have no qualms about using your trailer's toilet. You're obviously a "Real RVer" IMO.

Well I agree with you on that statement about using the toilet ruins it...there's no reason to believe that. My posts (humour??) I think got lost in translation as so often happens in this media...thus the need for emoji 🙂

[2012Coleman]

tenhorsun wrote:

smkettner wrote:
We use ours same as at home. No real odor although there is the fan to clear the room if needed before the door is opened. We do use the camp facility also but mostly to save space in the holding tank.

BTW welcome to RV.net, this is a fairly common question but good luck with the clunky search function.

Original poster here. I searched "Poo," "Poop," "Poop or not," various things... lol! Lots of toilet discussions but I could not find one on the actual debate.
Boy, being newbies (who have not purchased one yet), we have a lot of questions, so we'll be on this site a lot, I think.

Your friends are weird. By all means, use the toilet in your RV. you don't need fancy stuff to cover up odors as there will be none if maintained properly. I'm not sure what is worse - the natural odor or a chemical that's supposed to smell like oranges.

Use plenty of water when you flush, otherwise the solids will pile up and become a clog.

Remember that you have a holding tank - not a septic tank. I use one packet of something called drop-ins. I don't smell perfume of anything worse.

And welcome to the forum - don't worry so much about the search. People can be cranky about that. Just ask away.

[Wishbone51]

Lantley wrote:
My DW would get a kick out of your post. She swears many campers just rinse off in the pool vs. taking a shower.

Haha.. I never really thought of it, but if I swim, I usually won't take a shower that night. Your DW might be right. 🙂

[ckwjl]

GaryWT wrote:
When we had a pop up we picked campgrounds by how clean the bathrooms were but even at that, what a pain when they were busy in the morning etc. now we pick campgrounds by full hook ups as we use our bathroom and don't care what the bathrooms are like. We do not have any issues with smells.

With my family, it's usually a shorter wait at the bathhouse than in our own RV. I prefer my own toilet, but if we are all trying to get ready at the same time, I won’t hesitate to use the bathhouse.

Just properly maintain your tanks and you won’t have any problems with smell.

[rbpru]

Prefer CG restroom but will use either, particularly in the middle of the night.

[jerem0621]

I have a pop up with a wet bath/Cassette toilet. We use the bathroom for what it was designed for. One of our stipulations with down sizing from a TT to a PUP was to keep a potty/shower combo.

Chemicals and water help keep to eliminate the order.

I'd love to have a cassette potty installed in my next TT if we ever upgrade again.

OP....as my friends across the pond in England said...(when I was learning how the cassette toilet works)...

It's a loo... Use it like you would any loo.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[glkids2]

All depends on the trip.short week end trips or cross country trek we tend to use the trailer facilities more cleaning at the end of the weekend or every other stop. But if we are staying put for awhile we use the campground facilities primarily to stretch the tanks.