Bathroom or no bathroom, that is the question..

[KevinWA]

wish we had a bathroom....

[john warren]

Originally Posted by melissab

Hmmmmmm, now that is interesting. Having only camped at maybe a dozen campgrounds total we have never ran into a nasty bathroom. Even Florida's rest stops are sparkling clean. Would love to see a poll as to how often folks run across icky bathrooms? Rarely, Occasionally, never? And in which Regions were you traveling through? And were they Public or Private Camgrounds? State, Forest etc?

Just curios,

Melissa

i agree, we always use the facilities and have never had a problem. it might depend on where you camp though. we stay in national or state campgrounds.

[Alf S.]

Hi: Warren Shumway...The older we get the more important it seem a bathroom is!!! Close only counts in "Horse shoes" as they say. Our 5.0 has the largest wet bath that Escape builds and that's a bonus!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Donna D.]

It's different strokes for different folks kinda of thing. As with most, I started as a tenter and backpacker... no bathroom available except in nature and made facilities. As I've aged, I'm glad I no longer have to dress in the middle of the night to go to search out a bathroom and the weather has no bearing in my decision to wait it out! I've never found dumping the black tank to be problematic. I wear gloves and use chemicals in the tank. For those of us that are parents and changed dirty diapers... trust me, a black tank is not nearly as nasty!

But, the decision is personal. What someone else needs or what someone else's kids handle may be totally different than your own. Good luck on your decision, it's one you'll live with the entire time you own a particular trailer.

[steve dunham]

We have a 16 ft Scamp with bath . We use the campground's bathroom during the day and the campground's shower if it's clean . We basically use the bathroom at night when it is a real convenience especially when raining or cold. I have not found there to be a lack of storage space due to the bath I still have a cupboard above the bed that's totally empty . Our longest trip in the Scamp has been 9 days so that may change but we like the bath

[LarryTheresa]

We have a 13' SCAMP and use only a porta-potty. Since we camp at RV parks and state campgrounds (Oregon) we only use it at night-time. We value our storage area; it holds a lot.

[Warren Shumway]

Thanks again to all the positive suggestions. Since I will be using this around New England for business too, I have put a deposit down for the 13' scamp with the bathroom. It will cut down on the space (which the dogs will miss if it's raining outside) but I sure love the thought of bathroom if i have to park in kmart or walmart parking lot late one night.

Best wishes,

Warren

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Warren Shumway

Thanks again to all the positive suggestions. Since I will be using this around New England for business too, I have put a deposit down for the 13' scamp with the bathroom.
Best wishes,

Warren

Best wishes to you too Warren. Be sure to post pictures when your new egg is in your possession!

[stanintn]

I have a 13' Scamp with a bath room.After useing it a couple times...I took the comode out and started using a porta potty.Theres no way that a person my size can bend over and connect a sewer hose to the holding tank on a scamp without having to get down on their knees.I have to disagree about a sewer hose not being smelly or nasty...(you probally ain't the one having to empty it).
Also if theres no dumping station you are going to have to find one or dump it on the ground.New style porta pottys are made to flush and are sealed just like the tolets in campers.I find using our porta potty mush easier and more sanitary than the tolet it came with...Just me

[Newfang]

Where do folks with 13" scamps store the porta potty? We hope to pick up a 13" this weekend and we figured we would be going the portable route with the "facilities" if needed.

[melissab]

Sandy, there is a cubby for the porta potty under the front bunk area sized specifically for this. Good Luck on your purchase!

Melissa

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Newfang

Where do folks with 13" scamps store the porta potty? We hope to pick up a 13" this weekend and we figured we would be going the portable route with the "facilities" if needed.

measure the storage spot before purchase. The Thetford 135 is a shorter porta-potti than most, and should fit easily in most "potti-garages".

[Raz]

The Thetford 135 that Floyd suggests can be found at WalMart at a good price however it is quite small. We found the Thetford 555 (13 7/8h x 15 1/8w x 17 1/4L) to be a little more "comfortable". We keep ours under the bed. Raz

[LarryTheresa]

We keep ours in the cabinet under the bunk. My husband made a secure landing for it so our knees weren't at our chins! Works really well. Just have to scoot it out a nite.

[Karalyn]

I found the porta potty to smell much worse than the Scamp bathroom. If #2 is done in either one it will smell, but those porta potties are worse. I never want to go back to the porta potty. I found that to be messier than the bathroom by far.
Also I want to stay IN my camper at night. I don't want to be a target for animals or serial killers.
Just my opinion

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Karalyn

Also I want to stay IN my camper at night. I don't want to be a target for animals or serial killers.
Just my opinion

Nope not just your opinion

[casey67]

A flushing toilet was important to us, we were able to take out the front bench and shelf, add a small room with toilet and a closet and a lower space for the converter. Took a little while to build/engineer to keep the contour of the camper, but it worked out pretty good, it has about a 5-6 gal tank, part above the floor and part under the camper in the frame, we can drop the hose into the sewer if there is sewer facilities. There is no bad smell, added a vent pipe that goes from the black/grey tank to above the roof. A lot of campgrounds have septic systems on their bathrooms and they get full fast on holidays. Also didn't want to get out in the middle of the night in the rain or with critters. Good Luck with your decision!

[Raz]

After cleaning, a little water and a cap full of deodorizer/ liquifier seems to take care of any odor issues on our porta potti. Just make sure the seal on the black water tank is good and you don't let it get too full. Raz

[Maggie R.]

Raz and I are content with the porta potty in the 13' Trillium. Our camping trips have ranged from a couple of nights to 4 weeks ... and with proper attention, the pp has been absolutely right for us. It stores under the bed and the Golden Retriever graciously moves out of the way when we need to pull it at night.

In our travels over the past 8 years we've hit only one really baaaaad restroom ... at the one and only private campground we ever stayed at! It was last summer in Maine. YIKES! Beautiful site, scary facilities.

Since we've never had an on-board shower, we don't miss it!

Happy travelin', Warren!
Maggie

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Karalyn

...Also I want to stay IN my camper at night. I don't want to be a target for animals or serial killers.
Just my opinion

Actually, the CG bathroom at 2 am is a great place to meet people our own age...

Being a guy, I don't worry much about being a target for killers. I guess big cats, bears, and such could be worrisome. Not to mention foraging skunks... difficult to see in low light! But my big reason always was that if I had to get dressed, walk in the cold night air to a bathroom, walk back and get undressed, I would not be able to fall back to sleep.