Bath vs NO Bath?

[Diane LM]

Am I crazy to considering looking for a Scamp 13 without bath. I would be traveling alone, and have a port-a-potty I can bring. I was hoping to shower at campgrounds and use the Good Sam Travel Guide to plan stops with decent bathrooms. I just don't want to mess with the grey and black tanks. I'm used to camping in a tent for many years, so this will be new to me.
Thanks for your thoughts....

[Borrego Dave]

Hi, a lot of folks here don't have a bathroom and find it works well for them. I've always had one and really don't mind emptying the tanks, just goes with an RV. YMMV

[honda03842]

A bathroom is not necessary but rather a convenience.

We have one but do not use the shower in our Scamp preferring campground showers. Sometimes the showers are as clean as a five star hotel, NL Provincial Parks as an example, though we've been to some not too pretty campgrounds where they had wonderful fully tiled ceramic showers. Universally the water is clean though not as hot as I like it sometimes.

As to emptying the black and grey tanks, it's really an easy job, not as onerous as people make it out to be. Each of us empty tanks every day and actually get closer to the dumping product than we do when we're dumping the Scamp.

Dumping my Scamp is about a 5-10 minute process, usually once or twice a week. It's just a bigger porti-potti.

My main reason for not having a bathroom in a Scamp !3 would be space, though many 13s have them.

[Donna D.]

You're not crazy Diane. Lots of folks camp the way you want. I'm also a solo camper, but I wouldn't be without a flushy. As Norm said, it's not hard to dump tanks. I actually do it less than you will with a port-a-potty. But, both my trailers are larger than the 13' you desire. I think space/storage is a premium in a trailer of that size.


You can never miss what you've never had! Now that I've "had" I won't be without!


Best of luck with your search.

[Bob Miller]

Diane, you didn't mention what you will be towing with. The Scamp 13' with bath is a lot heavier, both in total weight and hitch load than one without, and that can also be a consideration.


We had had both a 13' Scamp with a bath and a 13' Bigfoot without. We found that the space that the bathroom took up in the Scamp was a deal breaker for us and sold it to buy the Bigfoot.
BTW: Having a bathroom in a 13' Scamp does not automatically mean that you will have a shower. That was a separate option, and most of the ones I have seen didn't have both.


And, not to disagree with anyone, but I found the inconvenience of always having to find a dump station, wait in line and then have to clean up afterwards not worth the effort and we pulled the loo out of our Hunter, went to the Dometic SeaLand porta potty, and tripled our storage space all at the same time. In the smaller FGRV's storage is the #1 shortfall.

[Jon in AZ]

I agree with all that's been said. It is possible to travel without a full bath. We do. Having one allows more flexibility and spontaneity, but adds weight and takes up precious space in a 13'er.

[emij]

We also have a 13' without bath. Coming from a tent background like you, we don't mind not having the bath at all. In fact, without the bath, the camper feels incredibly spacious and we are totally fine using campground facilities!

[Timber Wolf]

If you are planning stops in places that have bathrooms you may not be using the potty in the trailer much anyway and a potable pot might work well for you. I would have one that contained all the odors well so you could go extended periods without messing with dumping it if it was not near full.

You might want to dump it more often though if weight is an issue. I have never used one of the portable units much less dumped one. I wonder though if for some the black tank and stinky slinky might be a much better option if you don't want to or can't wrestle the tank of the portable pot out of the trailer to the dump.

[Johnny M]

To save space and weight in a 13' model there is also the option of an outdoor shower head unit with a hatch door for when boon docking or when a shower is not available. Combined with a shower tent this works well for some. It is also good for when you need to rinse off muddy shoes, etc. You can always have one of these added relatively easy, but if you go this route I would consider whether the unit already has a hot water heater. Then there is the solar shower bag too for about $10 at Walmart and it holds 5 gallons.

[Johnny M]

One side note about a porta pottie vs a rv toilet, the rv toilet is typically vented through the roof where the porta pottie is not. The venting keeps odors down and doesn't allow pressure to build up like a porta pottie does especially in the hotter summer months. There is a thread on here somewhere where someone added a vent to their porta pottie, not sure how that worked out for them...

[David Tilston]

I mostly use my Trillium 4500 as a means of getting six people from Calgary to Ontario. Bathroom breaks are never done in the trailer. We carry a porta potty, but have never used it. Showers are done when we get a camp site.

[MRClaus]

the only thing you are missing is a shower . a pot is a pot . We use the campground shower more room

[stevebaz]

We love our Scamp 13 without a bathroom. Would not now consider a 13 foot with a bathroom. Want a bathroom move up to a larger size trailer where your not loosing 30% of your available space.

At night if it is just too onerous to go out to the rest room we use a porta potty. When we camp we like the open feeling of our Scamp 13 when all the drapes are open. We took the bunk bed out and the front bench is cut for a drop down table. We drop this table down and sleep on it when we want to. The rear bed stays down. We just don't need a big table inside for the 2 of us. I hate raising and lowering the back table. This could be made lighter and easier but we just don't need it.

We couldn't have any of this with a front bathroom.
The joy of these little trailers is you can set them up any way you want. There is no right and wrong.

We got very lucky in finding this trailer as we were looking for any 13 foot trailer at the time when we found this one. Luckily we got one without a bathroom.

Draining a porta potty or using the dump station are one and the same its a nasty job and someone has to do it. My gal says its far easier than dealing with stinky baby diapers so whats the big deal.

[Bob Miller]

Emptying a porta-pottys tank varies widely between brands. Some are poorly designed and just separating the units can result in a mess. The mentioned Dometic is exceptionally easy to empty with far less "Yuk" factor than dealing with the stinky slinky.
http://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Sanita.../dp/B00MI994FS

[Kai in Seattle]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

We love our Scamp 13 without a bathroom. Would not now consider a 13 foot with a bathroom. Want a bathroom move up to a larger size trailer where your not loosing 30% of your available space.

At night if it is just too onerous to go out to the rest room we use a porta potty. When we camp we like the open feeling of our Scamp 13 when all the drapes are open. We took the bunk bed out and the front bench is cut for a drop down table. We drop this table down and sleep on it when we want to. The rear bed stays down. We just don't need a big table inside for the 2 of us. I hate raising and lowering the back table. This could be made lighter and easier but we just don't need it.

We couldn't have any of this with a front bathroom.
The joy of these little trailers is you can set them up any way you want. There is no right and wrong.

We got very lucky in finding this trailer as we were looking for any 13 foot trailer at the time when we found this one. Luckily we got one without a bathroom.

Draining a porta potty or using the dump station are one and the same its a nasty job and someone has to do it. My gal says its far easier than dealing with stinky baby diapers so whats the big deal.

Hi! We're looking for a trailer, but hadn't considered the 13' Scamp/boler/trilliums really because of the lack of a permanent bed and dinette...never considered doing what you did, and now, it's like a huge light bulb went off, thank you! Perfect idea! Makes all those lightweight little roundy-eggs possible again! Kai in Seattle

[themcd1998]

Originally Posted by Diane LM

Am I crazy to considering looking for a Scamp 13 without bath. I would be traveling alone, and have a port-a-potty I can bring. I was hoping to shower at campgrounds and use the Good Sam Travel Guide to plan stops with decent bathrooms. I just don't want to mess with the grey and black tanks. I'm used to camping in a tent for many years, so this will be new to me.
Thanks for your thoughts....

Unless you're never going to be washing dishes or brush your teeth in the trailer, you'll still need to deal with the grey water tank. So since you'd likely have to stop and deal with that, having a black water tank isn't much more of a hassle.

We used to tent camp, then got an RV (which we've since sold) and will eventually buy a molded FGTT. For me personally, I love the convenience and cleanliness of my own bathroom. If we ever want to boondock, we'd still be able to shower.

Once while driving through Kansas we were outrunning multiple tornadoes and didn't feel safe stopping until all of the storms had died down (around 2 am). We ended up in a parking lot somewhere in the middle of nowhere. After that stressful night drive, a shower first thing in the morning was great.

I don't think I would want to be without a full bathroom, but we do tend to go on long, multi-week trips and travel with small dogs who may need baths during the trip.

[floyd]

If you are traveling alone, you would find a front bath Scamp13 to be ideal. With one simple mod you can have a permanent bed, a two person dinette with lounging room, a kitchen and a bath with a shower, all set up at once. Plus you get a BUNCH more storage space and a big front closet.
Using a dumpstation is easy with a quick learning curve (about on the level of pumping gas if done right, less smelly and usually less frequent.
It is so much more convenient from shower to bed or from shower to closet than it is taking luggage to a public shower in all weather conditions and dressing in a wet stall.

All that and the ability to boondock or overnight at WalMart or CrackerBarrel in route and save money and time while having all the comforts of home ,not mention the security.

[Bob Miller]

Quote: "Unless you're never going to be washing dishes or brush your teeth in the trailer, you'll still need to deal with the grey water tank."


Actually, many 13' FGRVs don't have a gray water tank and depend on a simple bucket or a rolling tote to capture sink drainage.


That said, more and more campgrounds, both public and private, are requiring a closed drain system, meaning a fitting to fitting hose between the RV and an external holding tank.

[dkas]

Campgrounds showers ARE sufficiently available. Wet wipes or a sponge is sufficient in between times when a shower may not be available.

For other necessities, an old empty instant coffee jar works; then empty that into a larger empty old anti-freeze bottle, then carry that to the campground lavatory and dump it as needed. --- For "emergency" other necessities, a portapotty, or other receptacle with kitty litter, works well.

We have a 16' Scamp and, like you, prefer to not fool with black & gray tanks, and cleaning a bathroom, and having a bathroom occupy precious little space, etc.

[stevebaz]

We use a small 7 gallon tote for our grey water from the sink. Much bigger than that you cant carry it to dump it. It can hook to the drain and can also be hooked up to a stinky slinky if you want to. Previous owner paid some big bucks for it.