New Scamper Questions

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Actually Jon it may be more than peace of mind for that age child. I had an 12 year old fall out of the top bunk and slam his head into the edge of screen door & the corner of the tall fiberglass storage cabinet. Not good. He was tossing about in a sleeping bag made of nylon thus slippery and off he came.

Thanks for the warning! I pulled up your older post about the incident. Scary! I think I will reinforce the vertical posts as well.

[Borrego Dave]

Interesting post and I have a bit of expirence on the same thing with my girls. Years ago I bought a class C bunkhouse so my girls had an area to go to that could be their "own" room if they wanted to be alone for a while. I was concerned about the four and a half foot drop from the top bunk if she should roll over and out. The oldest was only about three at the time and had the top bunk. I made up a safety net I could lift up and attach to the opening, kind of like race cars have on the drivers side. Many nights when I checked on them they were off the bunk and hanging in a little ball in my safety net... totally off the bed. Wow, wish I'd taken a picture.
Anyway, guess what I'm getting at is that making something to keep little ones safe from falling off a bunk differs with what the original RV is, mine as a sticky was easy. I think if I had a full open top bunk like glass eggs have I would have made up something that slips under the bottom cushions and maybe halfway back to the wall and eight inches high on the outside edge out of wood. Not sure how that would work out with the limited space of an egg but I'm sure something like that could be made out of PVC also that would slip under the cushions and be lighter than something out of wood. Just my two cents worth.
They were really cute in the net though

[Carol H]

If you have some extra PVC around a bunk rail is pretty easy to make. Byron made one of PVC and its a pretty simple system to make and another poster did one out of copper pipe.
The thread with pictures of both is at Bunk Rails.

The problem on the Scamp as well as a few other brands of trailers is that you are unable to slip anything between the top bunk mattress and the wood base as the base is inside the cushions - assuming PO's haven't changed that. If you go the commercial route you will need to find one the rail systems that screws into the underside of the top bunk cushion fabric into the wood or take a look at the thread link for Escape Trailer Bunk Bed Rail - in that thread the party added fittings for the tubing that runs the width of the bed to slide into.

When dealing with children the age of the OP's you need to be mindful of the fact if you make it too high or so long they can't get in and out on their own you will have a problem of a different kind! The key is don't make it look to much like you are trying to keep a "baby" from falling out of bed & it doesn't really need to be full length or as high as you would for a very young child! Don't need to tell you how I learned those words of wisdom!

[Borrego Dave]

Good catch Carol on my idea of sliding a bed rail under the cushion. The "forest for the trees" thing got in the way

[JALEE]

Thanks for all of the great advice! We love our Scamp and this site is definitely useful and entertaining!

[kapers88]

I understand the point that Bob Miller is making about human waste but quite honestly, I don't think what Melissa doing is any worse than throwing disposable diapers into the trash. Disposable diapers have just as much or more capacity to leak wastes as the plastic bag that Melissa describes and yet our society finds disposable diapers perfectly acceptable. And just think about how often disposable diapers are tossed in the trash can without being wrapped in a plastic bag first. However, I think that anyone who has an issue with putting wastes into the trash like that could easily do a true composting toilet with sawdust (like they describe in the the Jenkins link). Pathogens would be killed in the composting process and the wastes would never go into the garbage/landfill cycle.

Just my 2 cents.

[Glenn Baglo]

Not any worse.
That's not much of a justification.

[Bob Miller]

Diapers are designed to be rolled up and retaped after use. The inner liner and the outer covers are designed to contain what is inside. When used correctly they will contain the contents when thrown into a dumpster.

Kitchen trash bags, and a bunch of cat letter, is not designed or intended to contain human waste...

And a composting toilet is something that you will have to carry to contents of with you for the entire trip. That's not likely, especially for some that have trouble when trying to empty a porta-potty tank.

Campgrounds provide different kinds of facilites for safe disposal of waste products, dumpsters are not one of them.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Campgrounds provide different kinds of facilites for safe disposal of waste products, dumpsters are not one of them.

If no waste disposal facility at the campground one is staying at and if the kitty litter was not added to a porta-pottie the waste could be simple be flushed down the campground or pit toilet each morning. Thats how most people I know with porta-potties deal with it as do those with cassette type toilets in their trailers. A much more public health friendly approach.

[Jon in AZ]

Help! I've been hijacked!

[Bob Miller]

Sorry, April 1st is long gone.

Most of the above refers to Item #11 in Post #1

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Help! I've been hijacked!

Actually you haven't! The original poster made the mistake of asked for input regarding a Porta potty

[Nancy]

Thetford 135 has a pour spout which makes dumping much easier. A 135 is the smallest, and is the only size that will fit under our bunk area. Be sure to measure the height before you buy one. The newer Scamp may have a bit more clearance to allow a taller model (one with the spout).

The model Carol mentioned I do not believe has the pour spout. Having used both types I much prefer the Thetford 135.

We have tried the Lugable Loo and quickly changed to the Thetford. Neither of us minds emptying the unit. We also do not fill the water container. We prefer to flush with a small squeeze bottle of water I fill each night. We do not carry much water with us.

We have never felt the need for a sway bar. Keep your speed down, distribute weight appropriately and have a safe trip.

Nancy

[Nancy]

My porta Potty throne (to get it up higher) consists of a couple of short 2x4s and a thick board. they are not even connected. I use the board in the car for a foot rest, or under the dinette for my short legs. At night it goes under the porta potty on the 2 inch 2x4's. Raises the unit about 4 inches and works great for us. If I had a newer, higher entry 16 foot trailer I would probably look for an entry step that could be brought in at night for the potty. Our little 13 is closer to the ground and does not require a step.

Nancy

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Nancy

The model Carol mentioned I do not believe has the pour spout. Having used both types I much prefer the Thetford 135.

differently not me who suggested it. I only like walking dogs in the morning not a porta potty! Would take emptying out a black water tank every few days over a porta potty anytime!

[Nancy]

Layout 7 is my favorite Scamp. We are thinking of moving up. Not so many of them around, glad you found one for your family.

[Nancy]

Sorry Carol, maybe it was Gilda with the potty. We only use at night and take the potty for a drive when we leave the campground. I have never taken it for a walk! Often we do not have to hit the dump station til the next campground. The only thing I learned is to beware of 100 degree weather and then crossing mountains. I now burp the pot before using it, and I empty more often in very hot weather. Nancy

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Sorry Carol, maybe it was Gilda with the potty. <cut> I have never taken it for a walk!

No problem Nancy. Have noticed in campgrounds a lot of people with a porta potty or cassette type toilet like to use small carts with wheels to take them to the bathroom or dump station for dumping, which is how I came up with the term taking the potty for a walk.

[blodn1]

I'm seriously considering this as an alternative to the Thetford:

Nature's Head Composting Toilets: Saving Our Water for Tomorrow

It has a small footprint, is environmentally sound. It doesn't need to be emptied as often as a porta-pottie - and all the reviews say it doesn't have an odor.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by blodn1

I'm seriously considering this as an alternative to the Thetford:

Nature's Head Composting Toilets: Saving Our Water for Tomorrow

It has a small footprint, is environmentally sound. It doesn't need to be emptied as often as a porta-pottie - and all the reviews say it doesn't have an odor.

Yes they are cool and I know someone else considered using one but the big question came as to where does one dispose of the waste if the toilet has been heavily used while dry camping & not enough time for it to have composted correctly. Also do you want the added weight of towing it around half full while waiting for enough time to elapse to compost correctly?