Play Pac

[Bonnie n Claude]

Originally Posted by Paul west

...There was a post about my porta potty that has a waste dump valve as well as the carry tank. I have not seen another like it. i don't think it would be to hard to put a valve in a portable toilet. Makes me want to experiment. My porta potty was made in the seventies by Thetford and marketed by Sears. They actually still have a very few parts for them on their web site.

Thank you, Paul. If my father were still alive I'd have him build one but guess for now I'd stick with the regular Thetford porta potty.

[Paul Chet]

Hey Paul,
The ceilings/roofs in both of my Play Pacs were both trayed - a raised ridge that ran front to back about the width of the dome window. this was from the factory and part of the glass mould. since both you and Camilla have asked about, that I am guessing that maybe there are others with just a flat roof/ceiling all the way across? if so, perhaps it was a later model trying to address the potential for roof sag? just a guess there.

as for the porta - i am very intrigued by that as i might have gone that route had known such a thing existed! would love to see pix if you get a chance. BTW - my cassette is also Thetford. they seem to know their stuff. good luck with that roof ... i'm telling you, once you get out there and actually camp in this thing, it will ALL have been worth it! they are blast when in 'camp' mode and not in 'reno' mode!

[Paul west]

Paul,
Here are some pix of the porta potty in all of its 1970's harvest gold.
You can see it was manufactured like this. I don't know why they don't still make it. The dump valve has the Thetford name and model number. I don't see that it would be hard to duplicate on a modern model. I worked on the tow vehicle today replacing the pickup coil, ignition coil, and the spark control module. Fun. The distributor had to be removed to replace the pickup coil. All Done. Old PP, old tug! Appropriate.

[Paul west]

The first pix is the original Hitch Hut logo just to the front of the door. The picture of the floor with the hole in it is the sad bathroom floor where the portapotty sits. Needs replacing. I had not moved the porta potty before.

[Paul Chet]

Suh-weet! With a porta potty like that and the swank woodwork (peel and stick i take it?!) - how could they call it anything other than a "The Hitch Hut?"

you wouldn't be single long at any campground with the set up in the 70s! thats actually pretty clever but i would think to keep a good seal and water out ... it wouldn't want to be moved much and periodic cleaning of the waste tank might be a little tough? or maybe it just pops right out and is (was) nicely pressure sealed?

still more proof that no two of these were built alike! great work on the house and car by the way!

[Paul west]

I guess I could have taken about 2 seconds more to take a couple of extra pix. This was mounted on a rubber seal visible in the bathroom ****. It just sits on the rubber ring. It has a handle for carrying and the screw off ports for dumping and cleaning like every other porta potti known to man. it does have a top mount port for adding flush water. Holds 7 gallons total both tanks. How much demand would you think there would be for modified porta potties. It would be so easy to do. To install would only entail using a hole cutter for about two minutes.

[Paul Chet]

Well that pretty much covers it - all the handiness of a regular porta but that extra feature of dumping in place. I really lie it and since it has a pressure fitted rubber flange/seal no concern with water leaking inward. Especially nice is the extra large capacity since most are at 5 gallons top/bottom combined.
If I hadn't gone the cassette route already I would be interested in something like this for sure!

[Bob Miller]

The U.K. made Bi-Pot (J.C. Whitney and other sources in the U.S.) has a 5 gallon top and a 5 gallon bottom container that are shaped like 5 gallon Jerry Cans on their sides. Large, easy to carry and even easier to empty than other porta-loos. We have used four for different applications in FG RV's, motorhomes and in-home/camping use.

[Paul Chet]

Getting quite the education here on porta potty technology! I had no idea they went up to 5 gallons for holding tanks. That's as much as the cassette toilet I just picked up. Impressive. Now that I think about it, I have read some good things here about Fiamma.

[Paul west]

As I was further examining my PP I noticed that in addition to the "The Hitch Hut" logo there were two additional names, Sierra, On the back in large print and Leisure in smaller print on the front. I was wondering if Winner boats " pirated " and manufactured a few under this name. It would have been simple to hold back a few of the PP's for management types and their families. I may be all wet on this, but I know Winner went through several entities after 1973. My title does not say PlayPac or hitch hut. It may be a bogus title. When titles are lost strange things happen. My serial number is under the taillight as normal but someone has put a screw through some of it making it impossible to read. Does anyone else have similar logos on their Pp's if I did it right there should be pix

[Paul Chet]

Still more evidence to prove my hypothesis that no two Paly Pacs were made alike! wow ... now this is a real treat. The idea of them experimenting with doing something a little different at each successive build is one thing, but your idea of a possible boot-leg egg?! This is getting interesting. I dont thing it's hard however, to add decals and things like that, but what you said about it not having Play Pac or Hitch Hut anywhere on the Title adds some credence to the possibility of a little action on the side for the folks at Winner. Would be a fun question to post to the creator of The Play Pac (Steve Whysel). Either way - very neat stuff, thanks for sharing Paul.

[srhodd5446]

Squeeeee! So excited to find this HUGE thread. Although it's a couple years old, I thought I'd try to revitalize it! We'll be working on our new "Pearl" every chance we get. Thanks for all the tips and tricks. Keep 'em comin'!

[Paul Chet]

Congratulations Stephanie! Looks like a beauty of a Play Pac. I am no longer with mine (got an RV buts it's fiberglass!) but I still miss it and love each and every egg I see on the raid. Maybe one day in the future I will go back to eggs. I can say that the Play Pac is one of the roomiest inside and with that bumper box it looks like you will have quite a bit of extra space under your bench cushions. Looks also like you have some kind of awning on the roof? Thats very cool (no pun intended).Those stabilizer jacks look like they could hold a tank - must be very sturdy once parked. How's the inside? Does it have the full bath or the closet with porta? Post more photos if you get a chance. If I can help with any questions just let me know. I still have a folder on my computer full of all the Play Pac info i have accumulated. Let me know if you would like me to send it.

[srhodd5446]

Thanks, Paul! I would love any and every piece of information you have. There is a bathroom with flushing toilet and shower. We made big progress, this weekend, by adding a new ceiling and bumper box. The last one was too big! "Pearl" liked to twerk down the highways. Haha! She has a new, smaller behind, now. Next task is re-gluing the ensolite and trim. And then floor and windows. The renovations are becoming quite addicting. It's all we think about, anymore.

[srhodd5446]

Oh! And some pics! I forgot to take "after" pictures of the new ceiling...I'll post those with the next update!

[Meghan]

Hey! Just wanted to say we are still here! Haven't done much besides buy a new port a potty and got a new propane line so now I can use the stove. We literally made it legal Friday morning to leave Friday evening. Camped the weekend in the Adirondacks. Windows leaked and made my pillow wet I was still a happy camper. Someday we will be brave enough to figure out how to fix her up. The camper store locally quoted us $900 to re do the window sealant. Did I mention the camper cost us something like $300. Lol! Anytime I'm in her I want to do so much. Then I come back to the real world and have bills lol! Ahhhhh someday

[Debrat]

New to the site. Just got a 73 Playpac. YEAH! Needs a bit of work... Got the propane checked out and it is all working except the furnace only goes ON or OFF. Too expensive to find a new thermostat. The roof had collapsed because the previous owner removed the dome and replaced with plexiglass and did a very poor job of it. Popped up the roof and installed 2 support beams. Discovered it is leaking last rainfall so I am going to have to investigate that asap. Perhaps a pinhole or cracked when lifting the roof. Will be posting with a billion questions. So much to do, but so exciting!

[Borrego Dave]

Welcome to FGRV and pics, pics we love pics

[srhodd5446]

WELCOME!! We can all do this together! Our roof is, also, in less than desirable condition. We have two supports beans in the middle and will be working on 2 for the door sag. We just got all the windows taken out, today. Ready for a beer! Haha!

[Paul Chet]

nice to see this activity and effort going into keeping these cool little trailers on the road! one thing that made huge difference in my play pac's dreaded door sag was putting at least one support beam (on that side of the trailer). i installed one that went up along side where the "pantry/spice rack" cabinet is. it essentially eliminated the sag. good luck with all of your renovations and keep posting those photos! they are a huge help for others think of dong similar things. great to see you still have your Play Pac Meghan! still looks much better than it did the day you got it - and i am sure that one day you will be able to do all you want to it.