non-standard toilets

[meaningful_meanderings]

Doing some research and looking for ideas on non-standard (water-less) toilets. Goal is to eliminate need for blackwater tank. I've seen a few RVs offering this, my thought is there are good reasons they have not replaced standard toilets entirely. What are the pros/cons you guys have experienced?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There is a lot of info around, pro & con. They work, but for most RV owners, a waterless toilet is simply inconvenient and not worth the hassle. And for many of us, dumping waste tanks is not a big deal anyway. Your attitude may differ...

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Strictly cost and convenience. Holding tank solutions are simple to construct and operate, and not terribly expensive. "Composting", cassette and other non water based solutions are often more expensive, complex and less convenient to operate. All depends on your goals and if one of the water-less solutions works for you then that's what you go with.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Oldgator73]

We have a composting toilet for our cabin. It was about a thousand dollars (not sure why). We got it because we won’t have a septic system for a couple of years. It can be messy. I bought the coconut stuff to use it which ended up being a PITA. It comes in brick form and you have to wet it and let it sit for about 24 hours before you use it. I am going to start using peat moss. As far as emptying the toilet that is quite a pain too. There is a urine collector that you just slide out (it has a handle) and you just take it somewhere and dump it (I dug a small pit and filled with gravel). The canister is awkward to dump. The instruction say to put a big garbage bag over it and turn it upside down dumping the contents in the bag. But you shouldn’t put the plastic bag in the compost pile. Anyway, I’m not all that crazy about it.

 

[UTTransplant]

You shouldn’t be dumping gray water anyway, so if you need a dump for that, why not dump black at the same time? It is actually easy and not a dirty task. I have used composting toilets in wilderness areas, and I am not a fan.

 

[meaningful_meanderings]

OK, that confirms my suspicions.

We do not have a trailer yet and trying to get some ideas. Was hoping to save some weight and space with the black water tank but looks like it's more trouble than it's worth.

Thanks for the feed back.

 

[Alontheway]

I have removed the toilet on all 4 campers, and never installed on two.
Black water is gross, and dumping it and dealing with it is more gross.
I poop in a bucket with a 3 cent trash bag that I used the day before as a trash bag. As a man I can manage to simultaneously squirt the other side into a p-jug so the bag is not full of liquid. If it is full of liquid it has never been an issue and I have never had a leak.
The bag can be stored as trash.
Gas stations, I have found, have convenient trash cans at the pump.
I am not someone that needs a magazine and 20 minutes of my day to discard my waste... Im in and out in seconds, so I do not need comfort, a bucket is fine.
Not having that dedicated location for a toilet means more storage room. Not having a toilet means no splatter and no stink.

I have owned and used for years the portable flush toilets. They are easier than a black tank, but you still have to carry the little black tank and dump it, then rinse it. Ick. I just prefer the cleanliness of the bag.

The composting toilets are gimmicky as far as composting. I doubt anyone leaves that stuff in there long enough to make compost. At best they are managing the smell and maybe drying it out.

A crow taught me in the desert that if you leave the bag open during the hot dry desert day that the little log will dry out and not have any odor. Does not work on the East coast though.

If you have female company then they do make a real toilet seat that fits on the bucket.

Do not defacate in or near a stream. The forest wants you 200 feet from a stream even for tent camping. Be far enough away that your waste cannot find the stream during a rain event.

For families the bucket and bag might not work as well.
You can use a bucket still and just cover it with saw dust or whatever and move bucket outside when not using. Think outside the box..

The reason RV manufacturers are not using composting is because RVs are built to appeal to the wife, not the man. Cheaply built yet pretty campers sell bc the wife likes the curtains.

 

[Oldgator73]

I poop in a bucket with a 3 cent trash bag that I used the day before as a trash bag. As a man I can manage to simultaneously squirt the other side into a p-jug so the bag is not full of liquid. If it is full of liquid it has never been an issue and I have never had a leak

Our son lives in converted Uhaul moving truck. He uses a bucket/bag combo. The bag goes into a burn barrel. in warm weather he sits in a plastic chair and bathes in a stream. In the colder months he heats stream water and bathes out of a bucket (not the same bucket he poops in). He seems to like it this way. But when we go to town he points out the stores/restaurants that have the best restrooms.

 

[Pgh_AL]

Gross

 

[SeilerBird]

When I was camping in a tent twenty years ago I had a problem with my prostrate and had to get up and find a bathroom in the middle of the night several times. Eventually I bought a large bottle of Mountain Dew that I kept with me in the tent. I got a large bottle so I could fit into the opening. lol (to get a gator excited).

 

[Old_Crow]

When I was camping in a tent twenty years ago I had a problem with my prostrate and had to get up and find a bathroom in the middle of the night several times. Eventually I bought a large bottle of Mountain Dew that I kept with me in the tent. I got a large bottle so I could fit into the opening.

Hey, it's your story...make it a good one.

 

[Oldgator73]

Gross

When you aren’t able to work because of a combat related injury/illness and cannot afford $14,000 for a septic system, you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[Oldgator73]

When I was camping in a tent twenty years ago I had a problem with my prostrate and had to get up and find a bathroom in the middle of the night several times. Eventually I bought a large bottle of Mountain Dew that I kept with me in the tent. I got a large bottle so I could fit into the opening.

You forgot the “lol” after your post.

 

[UTTransplant]

On wilderness canoe trips, we started taking WAG bags. They have a strong desiccant in the bag that renders feces microbiologically “safe enough” to be legal for trash can disposal. Not for urine, but quite handy. They have a ziplock style top, then they are provided with an additional exterior ziplock bag. Both are very sturdy, and we could take them on a 6 day trip without issue.

 

[Alontheway]

What are the laws regarding feces in trash cans?

 

[Pgh_AL]

Well im sure that when ( like myself ) you do one you do the other as well . Where does the urine go ?

 

[Alontheway]

in the jug. sometimes both go in the bag, but it it cleaner to use a jug in case a bag leaks. solids do not tend to leak out of a small bag hole...

 

[Oldgator73]

What are the laws regarding feces in trash cans?

Trash can are too big around to sit on. You’ll fall in.

 

[Pgh_AL]

Okey dokey

 

[Gizmo]

We have a compost toilet and would never go back. From an ecological perspective, regular flush toilets are a huge waste of water considering not only flushing but especially when dumping the black tank which requires considerable amount of water to flush the tank properly to prevent smells. Operationally it has been easy and simple to use and maintain the toilet, very simple construction so little to go wrong. I was also thankful for the compost toilet when on two occasions while dumping my grey tanks, the sewer hose split - grey water is bad enough sure glad I did not have it happen with a black tank dump. To the OP another choice may be cassette toilets, but they may be difficult if not impossible to retrofit depending on the toilet and your RV.