Best toilet for boondocking?

[Timber Wolf]

Other than a really big on-board black water tank or an external caddy are there other better options for long term waste management?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

Other than a really big on-board black water tank or an external caddy are there other better options for long term waste management?

Depends on what you mean by Boondocking. Campgrounds without electricity and sewer hookups or dispersed camping.
In the first case most if not all will have facilities.

In the second case check with agency responsible for land management. Most have standard methods of human waste disposal. Solid waste is usually handled by digging a cat hole at least 6" deep then covering, burning the toilet paper in the fire pit. All have minimum distances from roads, trails, streams, and lakes. Some are 100' some 200'. Many places also ask for urination on a rock, this prevents animals that wish to dig and get at the salt from digging up the vegetation. The distances are the same as above.

NOTE: these are general National Forest rules and rules in you area might be different.

[blodn1]

I'm going with a composting toilet. No water used, no slinky, and a natural by-product is left. According to everything I've read, the solids unit doesn't have to be emptied very often (~ 6 months), and the liquids unit can be emptied almost anywhere.

Here's a video about it:
Composting Toilet - What it is and Why You Need One - YouTube

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by blodn1

I'm going with a composting toilet. No water used, no slinky, and a natural by-product is left. According to everything I've read, the solids unit doesn't have to be emptied very often (~ 6 months), and the liquids unit can be emptied almost anywhere.

Here's a video about it:
Composting Toilet - What it is and Why You Need One - YouTube

OMG.... Over $900 for a loo. We use Dometic Sea-Land Porta-potties and they work just fine for less than $150.
Heres a link to the unit demo'ed in the video:
Nature's Head Self Contained Composting Toilet with Close Quarters Spider Handle Design - Incinerating Toilet - Amazon.com

Not to mention, every one has to SIT every time...yuk....

I can't see any ecological reason for a composting toilet on such a small scale as in an RV.

[Timber Wolf]

I am looking for advice on an actual device, not "Walmart" or "go in the woods like a bear" stories.

[Bob Miller]

OK, actual device it is....

The two I recommend, and have installed in a number of FGRV's, as well as use myself are:
The Fiamma BiPot. It is uber simple in design and is available with up to a 20 liter holding tank. Here is a link:
Bi-Pot - Fiamma

And the Dometic Sea/Land Model 975 that also has a 5 gallon holding tank.
In fact, I removed the existing Monarch toilet and holding tank from my Hunter Compact-II and replaced it with a Dometic Sea/Land 975 on a pull out track and gained a ton of extra storage space and it is easier to use than the original tiny bathroom. Here's a link top that item:
Amazon.com: New-DOMETIC 975 PORTABLE TOILET 5.0 GAL TAN W/ BRACKETS - 37726: Automotive

[The Minimalist]

We are just two and have a Dometic 972 2.5 Gal toilet. I like the pressure flush on this one.

Basically, lacking black water tank, buy the biggest capacity porta potti that will fit in the space you have to carry it.

[Scott H]

I'm a boater as well as a FGRV'er. On the river we use Eco-safe's. I want to keep my mobile crapper ownership to a minimum. The Eco-safe lives in the back of the truck in a 20mm ammo can, most trips it isn't used but, if we're boondocking in one place for a while i'll set it up in a discreet place in the surrounding woods/rocks. Seals up nice and tight (not smelly) and flushes out at any RV dump station. It does require a walk. I've got a grand plan for a welded, swing-away, curtained, bumper mount version but haven't gotten it on line yet.

[Bob Miller]

Here's a link to the mentioned Eco-Safe Toilet System. At over $200 it might take a bit of thinkin'

[kirkman]

A composting toilet for long term use. I think this is the best one on the market it is designed for use on boats.
Nature's Head Composting Toilets: Saving Our Water for Tomorrow

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Scott H

I'm a boater as well as a FGRV'er. On the river we use Eco-safe's. The Eco-safe lives in the back of the truck in a 20mm ammo can.

This looks interesting. The Nature's Head is a great unit (and more permanent solution) but also very expensive, the Eco is a couple hundred bucks. I can not tell from my little internet searching but does the Eco-safe have any "valve" or way of sealing off the tank between uses (besides breaking it down and putting caps on)? Also, how stable and strong is it for "larger" folks to use? Thanks!

[Ian G.]

I use the Pett toilet, small, compact, light weight, and no water or liquids.
This is a dry toilet system that packs away yet unfolds to a comfortable regular size.
GO anywhere portable toilet®/the PETT® | Cleanwaste Products

[Mike Magee]

If there is a trash bin available, one could use a pail lined with a bag, and some kitty litter. The 'seat' can be created by slitting a pool noodle lengthwise and fitting it over the pail's rim; the noodle will also hold the bag in place.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

If there is a trash bin available, one could use a pail lined with a bag, and some kitty litter. The 'seat' can be created by slitting a pool noodle lengthwise and fitting it over the pail's rim; the noodle will also hold the bag in place.

Please, lets not go down this road again. The dumping of "Plastic Bags" of human waste into dumpsters and trash cans is just not acceptable to anyone with even minimal background in sanitation. One wouldn't want to be stepping in liquid leaking from someone's human waste collection, nor would any one want children to be doing that either. Not to mention what odors are emitted when said bags are broken open by subsequent trash deposits.

And yes, I know about diapers, but they are designed specifically to be wrapped up, retaped and disposed of. A plastic bag with some kitty litter isn't.

And, if one should ask any campground ranger/host/manager about that practice, you should get the same answer, "No Way Jose" even if your name isn't Jose.....

831040

[Timber Wolf]

Lots of great ideas, and I especially like the fact that they vary widely in cost from next to nothing (bucket and swim noodle) to Cadillac (Nature's Head). I really liked the Cleanwaste website. They had stuff called "Poo Powder" and a device called a "Pee Wee". Who knew that toilet shopping could be so entertaining and would bring a smile to my face!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

If there is a trash bin available, one could use a pail lined with a bag, and some kitty litter. The 'seat' can be created by slitting a pool noodle lengthwise and fitting it over the pail's rim; the noodle will also hold the bag in place.

Mike .Where does one dispose of the contaminated kitty litter . I can't imagine they would want you to dispose of it in the same manner as dumping your holding tanks . Can you safely dispose of it in the same way as normal household trash

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Mike .Where does one dispose of the contaminated kitty litter . I can't imagine they would want you to dispose of it in the same manner as dumping your holding tanks . Can you safely dispose of it in the same way as normal household trash

Yes human waste can be disposed of in your regular garbage as long as it is in a bag or container. Think diapers or adult Depends, etc, totally legal to through in the garbage.

[Mike Magee]

My cat poo goes in the city trash all the time, where it gets picked up and hauled to the landfill. Human poo can certainly go in the campground dumpster and get hauled to the landfill, too.

[Timber Wolf]

I am thinking a phased or graduated approach to long term waste storage/disposal is indicated. It may depend on what type of “primary” facility your trailer has. If it has a traditional onboard black tank system than perhaps that could be supplemented with either an external caddy or an Eco-safe which also eventually dumps in the traditional manner. I like the Eco-safe over a caddy simply because it allows one to have a separate system either inside or outside in a small tent. Careful management of “liquid” waste and intermittent disposal thereof could led to an impressive ability to store a lot of “dry” (#2) waste. One might need to be careful that their black tank did not become “constipated” with mostly dry waste though.

If your primary is dry system, then a lot of bags and a secure method to store them are indicated. It is probably technically legal but I am not really comfortable disposing of human waste as ordinary trash. Yes I get the diaper argument but honestly think that is a separate issue. I know this is not a gentle topic of discussion but it is a real issue for long-term boondocking in an egg. We simply do not have the huge tanks of a motorhome or 5er.

[honda03842]

There are two parts to long term boondocking, water and dumping. Every one handles the water issue with a 'n' gallon portable tank to refill their water tank.

In Newfoundland in the provincial park you would see seasonal people in unserviced sites come for the weekend with really big water tanks in the back of their truck. They could fill them when they got to the park or bring them filled. For dumping they all had those towable blue tanks. A 20 gallon blue tank is probably sufficient for about a week of usage in a Scamp for two if you're careful.