Looking for a Porta Potty recommendation

[hedgehopper]

We don't have a bathroom in our TC, only a Porta Potty. I don't know what the generic name is for "Porta Potty", but I am looking for a recommendation. The one we have is OK for liquid waste but has never flushed satisfactorily and is thus worthless for solid waste. Our space for stowing is limited so something about 14-inches high or less would be good.

[_DJ_1]

For those of you who poop in a bag WHERE do you put it???? :?

[hedgehopper]

To replace our old Thetford, which has never flushed properly, we bought a new Thetford 345. Unfortunately, it has the same problem as the older one: When you flush, water squirts out of the bowl and onto the top of the unit. If you are careful to flush very gently, the water stays within the bowl. Otherwise not.

The piston flush mechanism on the 345 I like better than the bellows on our old unit. But the waste tank of the 345 holds less. And the placement of the handle makes the 345 waste tank harder to carry. Otherwise, there's not much difference. So I would not recommend the Thetford 345. I don't understand how others get it to work satisfactorily.

[rottidawg]

http://www.traveljohn.com/1-1-5.php

Packs small and doubles as a chair or table.

[gerrym51]

thetford CURVE porta potti. newest style

[Wes_Tausend]

big whitey wrote:
you can buy a camode seat that fits perfectly on a five gallon bucket. this and a cheap plastic bag trash can liner works great.

True. Twenty-six bucks, free shipping.

A soiled plastic bag can be thrown in any trash recepticle, although the bag method didn't appeal to me because of occasional liquid leakage. But we do that with solid dog do-do all the time.

Wes
...

[big_whitey]

you can buy a camode seat that fits perfectly on a five gallon bucket. this and a cheap plastic bag trash can liner works great.

[Wes_Tausend]

...

I realise most folks will prefer commercially made potty, but there are some advantages to a homebrew unit in the area of simplicity.

Years ago, unwilling to remodel a storage spot and part with the cash for a portable (which were nearly the same price as now in the '70's), I converted a 5 gallon plastic paint bucket to sanitary waste use. We had two small boys and two adults. The bucket fit into a small closet on an 8 foot MapleLeaf TC, whereas a porta-potti was too wide to fit. A 3 gallon bucket would be even more compact, but a bit short for adult sitting.

The low cost assembly required one 5 gallon bucket and two covers. One cover was trimmed with a tin snips to snap on and off the bucket rim easily, and a customary oval hole was cut into the top. For comfort, I curved the sharp edges of the oval down by heating with a propane torch, which also melt-smoothed the slightly ragged cut to prevent any possible sort of debris accumulation. The second cover perimeter was trimmed away so that the full flat center would drop down into the top depression of the first cover and shield the hole as a lid. I left a bit of an upright tab on it to grasp and remove the lid for use.

The tapered bucket was exceptionally easy for little boys to stand close and tall enough for adults to sit. I first tried a plastic bag insert, but the best method was to allow all waste contents directly into the bucket and not have any bag to handle. We used blue stuff for odor control. The opened bucket, with it's handle still attached, was easy to gently dump into any standard toilet.

Once at home, I used the tub faucet to add soapy washwater and the always handy bowl brush to swirl it clean. After several rinses down the stool, the bucket went out on the backyard lawn upside down to dry. The dry bucket then had no odor or sign of ever having been used, and went back to the TC reassembled for next time. I imagine it was much cleaner during storage than the fermenting black tank insides left in most commercial units.

Except for the redneck appearance, it worked flawlessly, even partially frozen. Sanitary toilets don't have to be expensive nor rocket science. Sometimes simple is good.

Wes
...

[RWDIII]

hooksmee wrote:
we're new to truck camping...both over 65...we have a 2013 bronco 800 on a 2003 toyota tundra...would like to boondock rather than stay in campgrounds...clueless about bathroom options for this type of camping..any help will be appreciated..thanks

I have the small thetford,for emergencys only.There isnt much room
in the 800.I downsized last year and if you PM me,I will answer.
last year checked out part of Santa Fe trail,Ft Union .:)

[hooksmee]

we're new to truck camping...both over 65...we have a 2013 bronco 800 on a 2003 toyota tundra...would like to boondock rather than stay in campgrounds...clueless about bathroom options for this type of camping..any help will be appreciated..thanks

[RoyB]

My off-road POPUP came with the built-in CASSETTE/SHOWER combo and I am seriously thinking about removing the combo unit and get a just the cassette pottie insert. We never use the shower part of it and it just takes up room. Love our CASSETTE POTTIE... Works great and is very easy to remove the wheeled tank and tote off to the rest room and pour down the toilet.

This is what we currently have installed...


Thinking about replacing it with something like this model to save more floorspace...


Roy Ken

[whizbang]

We have the Thetford 345 porta potty. It is about 13-1/2 tall and work great. Best one we have had so far.

[ezcamping]

I have the thetford electric flush 465. Works great. Doesn't smell and has a pretty good size holding tank. Problem is it's 16.5 inches tall.

I would recommend the thetford 320p. 13.4 inches tall and still has 3.2 gallon waste tank. Says good for 33 flushes on their site.

Tip for flushing: Put a piece or two of toilet paper in the toilet before going #2 and flushing will use less water and be a lot cleaner.

[MKish]

Thetford is well-regarded. That's what we have and it's fine. Ours isn't quite the cheapest they offer but close. Seals up very well (enough to swell with pressure going over high passes) and since we have little kids, it gets used. There are tricks to getting a clean flush as well as avoiding the dreaded "potty blowback".

If you can sit on them before buying, it would probably be good. And you probably should not allow standing...

[ecoast]

x2 on CW...then you try it on:C