Boondocking Tips??

[accrete]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

What???

I presume you're not suggesting that local regulations anywhere permit the dumping of black tanks on the ground...right?..

You are most likely correct. And i agree with not dumping "Blank" yuck from any tank to anywhere other than a proper dump station.

BUT, and this was my point (that i apparently didn't word correctly) :

Lets say you have a sparkling clean black tank (like ours every week after it is dumped and then pressure cleaned by the built in cleaning system after each dump...and NO yuck or poo-pucks remain... NOW, use that tank ONLY for liquid pee. THAT can be dumped into BLM and Forestry land within park regulations (at least in Washington/Oregon state where we camp).

Hope that _cleans_ up any misunderstanding

If a ranger, or even a police officer asks you what you were doing behind that tree and you say going pee or even poop...there are no regulations stopping such action. What they will give a person a ticket for is indecent exposure IF you were seen naked while doing the act. (True story. Hood To Coast Relay participants stop to do their thing even in downtown warrenton and seaside. As long as their body is not seen it is ok to _dump_)

[rabbit]

Thom, that bag 'o poo sure beats the [your word here] out of, say, a composting toilet. However, in time an assault from the "if everyone did that" position will make it go the way of the straddle trench.

jack

[accrete]

Originally Posted by rabbit

...in time an assault from the "if everyone did that" position will make it go the way of the straddle trench.

I'm in full agreement with that Jack. Nice thing about this method, is there is no way in our society that "everyone" or even ~~20% ?? would do it. It is to archaic and _yucky_ much easier to fill a black tank and then wait in line with a dozen other rigs on a Sunday afternoon at a rest stop heading out of the boon-dock area to dump said yuck (there was sarcasm in my typing.)

And THAT is the very reason my wife put on her thinking cap and came up with our current system. I WAS NOT going to even suggest it! BUT since it came from her mouth i said "Sure honey, sounds like a solution" AH 30 years of happy marriage.

On composting toilets...
I did some research and the closest thing to perfection i found was the separating toilets such as the Air Head.

[David Tilston]

OK, clearly, I am not understanding the bag of poo. To me, a composting toilet makes sense. As said before, basically a dehydrator. I understand that dumping the composter can be done fairly infrequently. Though, a second, finishing composter is prudent. The end result is supposedly, dirt. The fact that a vented 5 gallon pail, with a lid is all that is required, also makes this a practical idea. I have even seen a ceramic covered steel, vented container, with a seat, for a 5 gal pail. I just can't find them online. Lots of seats for a 5 gal pail, just nothing with a vent. I just refuse to pay $800 for a pail replacement.
The bag idea makes less sense to me, Does this not result in a large amount / volume of solid waste? How many bags, of each type do you bring? Is the final destination the garbage?
Why do I find myself discussing poo so much?

[Francesca Knowles]

I'm not a fan of bulking up solids, either...I can't see making a small mess into a bigger one just to get rid of it!

That having been said:

I'm glad your system works for you, Thom- though I remain skeptical re. blanket permissions from any public lands custodians allowing the dumping of any tanks of human waste of either kind upon the ground! I s'pose there's some logic to assuming that since one can "go" outside provided one doesn't leave nasty toilet paper behind and if possible covers up "solids", I can see where some might think larger quantities must be O.K., too. I think a problem arises when quantities are involved, though.

The preceding having been said, I would suggest that it's simpler to just "go" outside to begin with as much as possible. Since most human beings generate no more than a gallon a day TOPS of "combined output", most of what winds up in a black tank is flushwater anyway, and cutting visits-per-day by half will greatly extend the time between dumps.

Not to mention preserve supplies of fresh water!

Francesca

[accrete]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

OK, clearly, I am not understanding the bag of poo. . .
Why do I find myself discussing poo so much?

Sure is a pain in the butt topic ! Fact of this 4d life in these silly bodies. I wish all those loonie-toon peeps that said EARTH was going to transform into the 5th dimension after 12/21/12 would have been right!

Yes on the expensive bucket replacement!

You might enjoy the read over at the Ecovita website. They have kits for making one's own separating toilet (like the air head or natures head units).

Here is a picture of their "Privy Kit" :


And they have a fancier plastic seat for the DIY crowd:



I will probably get one of these and incorporate it into our rig(s).

[David Tilston]

So, all that is missing from the above setup is a vent to the outside.

[accrete]

I agree with the _to much_ dump thingy.

That is why when we camp where we camp, we _water_ the plants daily with a ~4:1 mixture of human liquids to grey water. And one or two pooh bags each a day is nothing in the scope of garbage to pack out, OR as the ranger told us, to properly bury since we were using 100% biodegradable items.

Our kitchen sink water is only used to fill shower sprayer and to wet the paper towels to clean our ceramic cookware. NO food stuffs go into grey tank. EVER. The ranger (in Oregon & Washington over 7 seasons of camping) stated that grey shower tank and pee is fine to water the plants. BUT he would cite any camper they found dumping kitchen sink waste with any food particles on the ground.

The most challenging time we will have with our setup is when we visit with the EggFamily during a gathering...We don't camp with hookups! And it will be strange to have a grey tank emptying in real time down a drain (of course our 5'ver is always hooked up but that's _home_)...Not to mention we will have POWER from a cord! What to do

[accrete]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

So, all that is missing from the above setup is a vent to the outside.

Yup. And for that you could get all the parts at Home Depot or Lowes. Pick up a Sunforce solar vent and appropriate flexible hose and you are in business. No batteries required.

I've been on this track for a while. and have the bookmarks to prove it!

[deryk]

i am so happy that Harry ordered the bachelor special from chandler with the porta pottie. i try to pee outside and save the pp for pooping. if im lucky enough to be away boondocking for a week and the pottie is getting full, then grab it and take a ride to a gas station or rest stop and dump it in the toilet and its all done!


deryk

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by deryk

i am so happy that Harry ordered the bachelor special from chandler with the porta pottie. i try to pee outside and save the pp for pooping. if im lucky enough to be away boondocking for a week and the pottie is getting full, then grab it and take a ride to a gas station or rest stop and dump it in the toilet and its all done!


deryk

Times ten...and here's a tip:

While surface disposition is prohibited, privy holes being still allowed at least in the National Forests in my region, a properly dug and backfilled hole can be used to empty a porta-potti in.

Francesca

[accrete]

Originally Posted by deryk

i am so happy that Harry ordered the bachelor special from chandler with the porta pottie...

Spot on deryk. Precisely why we did also. In our prior A-Liner we had the Thetford Cassette built into the bathroom. It was handy in the same way the porta-potie is. U R fortunate in this area that you are a bachelor...as our 5 gallon cassette filled up in ~2.5 days and had to be dumped. BUT because it needed the chemicals to not be stinky the rangers would not let us dig a pit and dump it ,(

PS...it was not that it had "Chemicals" in it, for there are biodegradable porta potie chemicals one can use...the issue was they added an unatural scent that would attract animals/wildlife. And that was a no no, just like dumping a grey tank with any food stuffs from the kitchen sink.

PPS...OH, we did try our thetford without the chemicals once after we found out about the above issue from a ranger, but because it only had the poop/urine/flush-water is was to smelly for us to use. That was the beginning of Cari's & my quest to find another pooh-solution

[hotfishtacos]

What an amazing bunch of well-appreciated tips!

Dave - the faucet looks interesting and Steve L,the spray bottle has to be an amazing way to save water...Nancy, I am going to camp about 15 miles South of the S2/78 junction on the East side of S2, about 5 miles off-road...isolated area...Carol, I have all LEDS installed...Jim-3 days & my wife suggested all paper products as well...we won't bring any wood but ordered a Camp Chef Propane Fire so we will try that...Francesca...I also really like Presto-Logs...Thon (accrete), you are truly the loo engineer on this site!

[Francesca Knowles]

Spot on about no chemicals if pit-disposing!

A few scoops of fine wood ash from the firepit works pretty well, though, or natural borax if one camps in an area where there's any around.

Francesca

[accrete]

Originally Posted by hotfishtacos

...Thom (accrete), you are truly the loo engineer on this site!

LOL. Way funny. I'll take that as a complement!

Though if i'm the Loo Engineer...
Francesca and her LooTips is the Queen

[hotfishtacos]

These are the exact coordinates were are going to remote camp.

GPS: N 33 00.496 W 116 22.984

There are Indian petroglyphs and morteros in the area because the Indians used to come down from the Laguna Mountains during the winter and spend that time in Anza-Borrego.





We saw these when we were scouting our site...about 1 mile away..

[hotfishtacos]

Originally Posted by accrete

LOL. Way funny. I'll take that as a complement!

Though if I'm the Loo Engineer...
Francesca and her Loo Tips is the Queen

Yes, I believe either you or Francesca could be left alone in the wilderness with half a wine cork and could build a heated shelter with running water and ....of course a first class loo!

[deryk]

Yeah, Im not a campgrounds kinda person... most regular folks kinda bore me. Almost all of my camping as been with groups of friends getting together to celebrate and usually degenerates to kill the keg! I do want to hit a music festival or 2 this summer.... someplace in the boonies (can dump my porta pottie in outhouses and in a "johny o the spot" too) Swiming drinking and music makes a great weekend... that and a buncha 20-30yo's!

deryk

[accrete]

Cari & I met when we both lived in Reno. She lived in a small township called Red Rock on the edge of the Red Rock Desert... made famous by the Burning Man events...Now THAT is a trip worth making sometime deryk! Talk about a party.

Used to sail my landsailor nearby too...crazy fun going 50+ with only wind in your sails and no brakes.

[deryk]

Thom oneof these years I would love to drive out and do Burning man, its just a real long ride from NJ lol... But Im sure I would enjoy it even though it will be a bit warm lol


deryk