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Old 10-17-2018, 08:17 PM   #1
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Name: Steve
Trailer: '87 13'scamp, 2006 Chevy1500
FL / MN
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Bathroom / NObathroom?

I like to keep things really simple and have never used any water in my Scamp other than jugs. I live in Minnesota and don't want "winterize" the scamp so i've just kept anything that freezes out. My 13' foot doesn't have a bathroom and that has been very ok with me. I am now consider a larger fgrv so I can 1) either have a dedicated sleeping space or 2) at least a larger sleeping space for two people who are big bodied. As I consider the new fgrv I am still not wanting a bath/shower space and would use that space for storage. If staying at a campground, state or national campground there seems always have at least pit toilets. My context of not using my scamp is many nights in a tent in wilderness camping situations. However, I want to hear the advantages of having a bathroom - this seems to be a major item to most people.
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:26 PM   #2
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How old are you?

You are going to get older.
Getting up in the middle of the night with an urgent need to pee, and then getting dressed and walking through a rain storm, in the dark, to the pit toilet is annoying.
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:28 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by stevebell View Post
However, I want to hear the advantages of having a bathroom
Having a pot to pee in in the middle of the night, during inclement weather, overnight stops at places like Walmart, or when boondocking. When there are facilities where we camp I mostly use them.

Showering for us is not that big of a deal. Nice to have, but we are good with sponge baths for the most part.
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:34 PM   #4
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
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I have a lot more use for a bathroom in my trailer especially at night then I do for a storage locker . My trailer is for eating , sleeping and living .
The back of my truck is for storage
I am almost 70 and age dictates my priorities
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:35 PM   #5
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Shower and sink in the bathroom I could do without. Toilet is one of those middle of the night deals as others have described. The smaller the trailer, the more precious the space.
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:53 PM   #6
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Are you gonna throw out the fridge and the stove? Just about everywhere you go there are fast food joints close by!

Eventually if you eat or drink your gonna need a toilet.

When I was a small kid we had an outhouse, and took a bath in a #9 washtub, (the well was nice though... it was on the back porch)

As I grew up it didn't take long to get used to hot water and indoor plumbing.


Seriously though, if you want a camping trailer you really just need a sheltered place to sleep.

If you need a travel trailer then you need the bathroom. When traveling we probably average fewer than half of our nights in campgrounds, and most of our travel is not simply for the purpose of camping. We have all the comforts of home when we travel for everything from sightseeing to roadracing, to bicycling.

The convenience is well worth the less than ten minutes a year and three bucks worth of antifreeze.
It is actually easier to maintain the onboard facilities than it is to pack up your shower kit and walk across the park to the shower house only to find that it is "closed for cleaning" or you have to wait in line for a dirty toilet fresh out of paper or a wet shower room with a wet bench to set your dry clothes on.


Still, it depends entirely on what you want and what you're willing to tolerate, as well as to what use you intend to put your trailer.
Ours is a substitute for a comfortable motel room as well as shelter at events and camping.


Think twice, order once, and enjoy the choice you make, without consideration for what others think you should have.
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:13 PM   #7
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Bathroom / NObathroom?

We're like you, no on-board facilities in our 13' Scamp, and we use campground bathrooms. I do not want to be bothered with a full plumbing system.

That said, the middle of the night bathroom runs are getting old. I have my eye on a Scamp layout 4 without the bath/shower package. All I want is an enclosed porta-potty and changing room, along with a decent sized galley so we can let go of the outside kitchen once the kids are gone.

After some experimentation we came to this arrangement about the small bed. We share the bed for couple time in the evening- watching TV or whatever. But when we're ready to sleep, I move to the front single bed. That way neither of us has to disturb the other to use the bathroom at night. Best of both worlds, in a way.
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:15 PM   #8
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On our recent trips, we spent a number of nights in the National Forest where there was nothing but a place to get off the main trail. Then we spent a number of nights at "picnic areas" where there was no facilities. Sometimes, in campgrounds, the pit toilets are not good very good or far away.

Part of the fun of traveling with a trailer is not having to rough-it. I don't mind being comfortable or having things easy.

I would not buy a trailer without at least a minimal bathroom.
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:16 PM   #9
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You can never miss what you've never had. I'm now on my second all-molded-towable and both have had full bathrooms. I'll never be without in any other trailer either!
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:29 PM   #10
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How old are you?
You're gonna get older.
A full porta-potti weighs more than 40 lbs.
Are you going to be able to lug that to a sani-dump?
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:42 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
How old are you?
You're gonna get older.
A full porta-potti weighs more than 40 lbs.
Are you going to be able to lug that to a sani-dump?
Good point Glenn. I try to empty ours sooner just to avoid the weight.
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Old 10-18-2018, 12:24 AM   #12
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A lot of you seem to consider age as a bath no bath option. Here I am 76 years old and never had a bathroom in my trailer. For the last 8 years we've camped over 100 night per year, and probably 30 nights a year the previous 5 years. Before that were avid backpackers with about 25 night a year in a backpacking tent.

We learned how to manage without a bath room or potty close by. Even now we can still use what we learned while backpacking, for both bathroom facilities and storage needs. The problem with more and more storage you end carrying more "what if" stuff that you never use.
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Old 10-18-2018, 12:28 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman View Post
We learned how to manage without a bath room or potty close by.

I've gathered that.
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Old 10-18-2018, 03:10 AM   #14
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The 30 minutes it take me to winterize my Casita well worth the effort compared to how many nights or cold days walking to take showers in a 4X4 shower room with a wet, muddy cement floor and no heat.
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Old 10-18-2018, 04:11 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevebell View Post
I like to keep things really simple and have never used any water in my Scamp other than jugs. I live in Minnesota and don't want "winterize" the scamp so i've just kept anything that freezes out. My 13' foot doesn't have a bathroom and that has been very ok with me. I am now consider a larger fgrv so I can 1) either have a dedicated sleeping space or 2) at least a larger sleeping space for two people who are big bodied. As I consider the new fgrv I am still not wanting a bath/shower space and would use that space for storage. If staying at a campground, state or national campground there seems always have at least pit toilets. My context of not using my scamp is many nights in a tent in wilderness camping situations. However, I want to hear the advantages of having a bathroom - this seems to be a major item to most people.
Well Steve, you've received a number of responses, for and against a full bath. Many members are former tent campers and most are in favor of a port a pottie as a minimum for the late night runs as we get older. I don't live in an area where I need to winterize but from posts of members that do, it sure doesn't seem like it's a big enough problem to do to keep from having a bathroom with tanks for summer camping. If you winter camp a portapot and the jugs you use would work fine. The last time I tent camped was in the service. The handful of times in over 30 years that I've had hookups, I only used the electric, the head was only a few feet away the extra storage be danged, that's what the TV is for . There's my 2 cents, good luck with your choice.
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Old 10-18-2018, 05:02 AM   #16
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It really does not matter what others prefer as far as a bathroom setup goes, it is what works best for you and your preferred camping style. As well, wants and desires, as well as the way of doing things camping, change over time. MY idea of camping is nothing like it was years ago. This is why there are options available.

I could have some great camping experiences without a bathroom in a trailer. If it was a choice between camping without a bathroom in my trailer or no camping at all, it would be a simple choice not to have the bath.

I have spent near a thousand nights in the backcountry in a tent, owned a tent trailer without a bath for 10 years, and then a 24' Terry bunk trailer with a bath that saw almost no use as we did not boondock with it except on our rec land where we have an outhouse.

When I decided to make the move to a fibreglass trailer, my wife gave me free range to make the choice in a trailer, and do to it what I wanted. She only insisted on two things. A permanent bed, and a pot to pee in during the night. So regardless of what I would be willing to get away with, meeting my wife's two requests left me no choice, and it is a good thing to keep the wife happy.
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Old 10-18-2018, 05:36 AM   #17
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Name: Steve
Trailer: '87 13'scamp, 2006 Chevy1500
FL / MN
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I really appreciate the input. Thank you. As for the storage I mention, it would be my fishing stuff & extra cold weather gear. I don’t stop being outside in wet cold or snowy weather. There is no bad weather, just illprepared clothing. I do get the point of not having to walk to a bathroom in the night. I guess most are saying they you the bathroom for #1. Thanks again.
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Old 10-18-2018, 05:59 AM   #18
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Steve,

I will describe my trailer. I have a '99 13 foot Scamp with a privacy room. It is just like the bathroom models, but no shower liner and no plumbing.

I have a composting toilet (C-Head) that I place in the privacy room. There is also plenty of room in there for additional storage. Mine has the smaller bed, but you could get this configuration with the big bed. You do loose some closet and counter space with the larger bed.

I have a water tank that I use, with the hand operated pump. No black or grey tanks to mess with. It works really well, and only minor concerns about freezing, you do still have to use some precautions, but much easier than dealing with full on board systems.

Mine is unofficially for sale, let me know (Private Message) if you might be interested. I am picking up a new Scamp in Backus sometime soon and could deliver mine to you in their parking lot. As said, though, mine is the smaller bed, so doesn't fill that need for you. (I am going with a shower, still no toilet or black tank in the new trailer).

This post isn't meant as a sales pitch, but thought you would be interested in hearing about a no plumbing option, new or used.
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Old 10-18-2018, 07:29 AM   #19
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At 72 and 65 respectively my husband and I are just pups, but I suppose when we get old we may change perspective on this issue
But for the moment we agree that dedicating up to 25% of the space in a trailer as small as ours to such limited purposes is a waste of valuable space. The trailer itself serves all purposes including bathroom, it just needs organization and cooperation. Per nighttime needs, anybody getting up is met at the door by the porta potty sitting right in front of it. (Hubs cheats lol, his plumbing allows for the use of a pee bottle without even getting out of bed) The pot's emptied daily in the nearest suitable place, a far more convenient and cleaner operation IMO than rassling a nasty sewer hose. Also avoids that constant nagging question in the back of every black tank owner's mind: how full IS that thing and where's the nearest dump station?
Sponge bathing is an effective way to keep clean, we sometimes combine that with the use of a solar shower. Privacy (when needed) for all purposes is achieved by everybody else just stepping outside if they're not already there. And of course we take advantage of our occasional access to public showers though since we boondock almost exclusively those are "special events" lol
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Old 10-18-2018, 07:49 AM   #20
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Not that resale value should drive your decision, but since you are talking about moving up from a 13 footer, a larger trailer without a bathroom is going to be resale challenged.

People that are looking for super light weight, will migrate to a basic 13 footer with no water, no toilet, no tanks, etc. Keeps trailer weight to a minimum, and beats the heck out of a tent! As people move up size wise, they are looking for more conveniences such as toilet, refrigerator, A/C, furnace, and so on.

Again, I would not buy based on resale value, but it does give you an insight into what others are looking for.

As the trailers get smaller (think 13 footer in particular), the space for a toilet comes out of bed size, counter space, a separate place to sit, etc. In the Trillium 1300 I picked up, I can't imagine squeezing in a bathroom. Its going to be a solo camper, with the Escape 19 for longer trips.
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