My wife and I go with the simple shovel and roll of tp route. Away from camp and away from water sources, buried in a hole, our contribution isn’t going to bother anyone and will degrade. Plus we don’t have to deal with hauling more crap around(no pun intended)like buckets and bags and possibly spreading nasty stuff etc...
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We use a separett rescue camping 25 for emergency situations in the car and i'm very glad we have one. The Separett toilets are dry toilets, so no water or chemicals are needed, also the bags are biodegradable and because the urin gets seperated from the faeces it really doesn't smell that bad. In the wilderness we just take a shovel into the woods.
We also have a small shower/toilet tent like this for privacy but only used it for expos or gatherings.
We also have a small shower/toilet tent like this for privacy but only used it for expos or gatherings.
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Benefactor
One more vote for the Cleanwaste. I can't tell you if it's better or worse then others, because this is the only Field toilet we have used. Before this, we headed out to the tree line with a shovel and TP. This has really improved our experience with Overlanding, especially for my wife.
Enthusiast III
Same toilet I have been using for years. Easy cleanup, folds small, bring plenty of WAG bags. National Parks are requiring them for any backcountry trips now. Digging a hole is not cool nowadays...
atIOIYIOI
Rank IV
Off-Road Ranger I
- 937
- First Name
- Bruce
- Last Name
- Robertson
- Member #
-
4045
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- VA3BWR
- Service Branch
- Fire Rescue
Interesting stuff. Any thoughts on those who are on the road more "long term"? Looking at the cost of the bags/chemical packs, vs a composting system. (Portapotty cartridge is not an option for me - been there not going back). Yes, a composting system is way more expensive initially, but it looks like the break even point is less than a year of use (continuously).
I realize most people would take a long time to get to that amount of use... I'm lookin down the road, when I hope to be able to take some seriously long extended trips.
Thoughts on composters?
I realize most people would take a long time to get to that amount of use... I'm lookin down the road, when I hope to be able to take some seriously long extended trips.
Thoughts on composters?
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Off-Road Ranger I
Very interesting thread. I've certainly learned a lot. We have always opted for the "cat hole" method (from our backpacking days). I know that the environmental concerns have to be considered, especially in areas where packing it out is preferable. Besides, as I age, squatting over a hole is certainly getting more challenging.
Advocate III
Glad you asked - I was going through the thread from the beginning and wondered why it hadn't come up yet.
After many years of extended road trips with both back-country camping and urban exploration, depending on self-dug catholes, 5 gal buckets and bags, camp toilets and truck stops, I bought a US made Nature's Head for longer term road trips and base-camping. I'm setting it up so it can either stay mounted/vented in the van or be used in the Ozark Trail double room shower tent I got at Walmart (for around 80 bucks, I think, when I ordered mine). Or, just sitting around the other side of my trailer when base camping out in the willy-wacks and not worried about privacy as much.
The key to reducing or eliminating odor with whatever potty system you use--if not disposing of things immediately--is separating liquids from solids when you do your stuff. It's storing those two together that creates the offensive odors we associate with outhouses and port-a-potties. The Nature's Head, The Separett mentioned above in this thread, and a few others make separating liquid from solids easier and more convenient to dispose of than you might think. You'll need to empty the urine container (non-composted) a lot more frequently than the solids container, which mixes the solids with your choice of peat moss or cocoa fiber, usually. I know of couples who use a Nature's Head in their vehicle and only have to empty the solids once a month.
I wander in a long wheelbase van, so easier to use something like this. Would be harder and take up more otherwise valuable space if in a Taco or LC, I'm sure.
As mentioned a few times in this thread, cat-holes and dug latrines are less and less favored or even allowed. I've been to otherwise pristine back country campsites where the only thing marring the landscape is not trash and bottles and beer cans or shotgun shells but poorly dug holes (some places are just too hard and rocky) and way too much used toilet paper stuck to cactii or underbrush. Discouraging, really.
For me, just makes more sense to not contribute to that and make it easier to haul my own waste out in the most-efficient, least odorous way I can. The "well, just this once isn't gonna matter much in the bigger picture!" when leaving waste behind doesn't cut it, as it only takes less than 1% of people thinking that and you have a royal mess. An add'l advantage of a Nature's Head type system for me is that it can be easily transferred for use in a longer-term off-grid living situation or back-country cabin, too, without having to dig a deeper pit for outhouse.
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atIOIYIOI
Rank IV
Off-Road Ranger I
- 937
- First Name
- Bruce
- Last Name
- Robertson
- Member #
-
4045
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- VA3BWR
- Service Branch
- Fire Rescue
Funny, that's exactly the one I was looking at... Watched a bunch of videos. and it looks good. Have yet to figure out what part of it is so expensive to manufacture though! (Sometimes I guess you are paying for the good idea!)
Advocate III
Yeah, paying for the R&D, a facility that can consistently manufacture a large number of units, work force, workmen's comp, other insurance, shipping, and on and on and on. Having owned my own small businesses, I would actually not enjoy trying to make a living owning and running a manufacturing business.
The other one you might want to consider, and evidently the more original of the marine style composting commode, is the Air Head. I think it may actually have a tad smaller footprint, if that matters.
I fall asleep most nights lately going over in my mind how I'm going to do my new layout for the van to incorporate being able to move a Nature's Head in and out when and if I want to. I doubt it will be very often. But everything I do in the van now I want to be secure for trails, but removable without a great deal of trouble. That way I can still use the van for helping people move, haul stuff 'cross country, etc.
I'll probably put the Nature's Head right inside the back doors inside a cabinet with a sliding or flip top. Having that done, along with my fridge/freezer, sleeping quarters, and portable cooking/cleaning, I'll have a much more long-range off-grid vehicle.
Member I
The Ironman Bush Toilet w\ Ozark Trail 2 room privacy shelter. We store our TP in this fashion.http://www.ironman4x4.com/products/ironman-bush-toilet
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TrippinStfflr
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
I've researched this pretty well. We full time RV and dealing with the black tank is not ideal. I'm about at the point of rippin out my toilet and building a composting toilet for the trailer. It took me awhile to be sold on it but after seeing and using it in real life, I was very impressed. From what I understand the biggest issue is the medium you use to cover the waste. You have to be careful what you put on it or it can smell. The other issue is air flow. You have to be able to keep the air moving to allow it to dehydrate. And thirdly segregating the liquid from the solid. There's a couple good books on this subject. Humanure Handbook is one.
I know we have an aversion against leaving our waste in a hole in the wild but the alternative of wasting fresh clean water to wash it down a toilet doesnt seem to be a good alternative either.
We used the mentioned separett rescue camping 25 on our last 6 month trip and we will use the same system on our upcoming 1 1/2 year journey too. It's possible to "reuse" the bags multiple times, with a bit of saw dust on top of every usage it's not so disgusting and the saw dust also helps against the odour too (which is non existent compared to a portapotty anway).
As road already mentioned, it's a space thing and space is very precious in our small hilux. So in my opionion the rescue camping is by far the best way to handle our waste in a odour free and small package, but if you have more space check the other separett systems, it's a great product.
We adhere to the 'pack it in pack it OUT' motto (5gal bucket/pool noodle n tp)
generally gross but my excusions beings that I'm a working sap is 2 weeks at best & with fuel needs how often do you really go without disposal opportunities to purge your 'stock'..
generally gross but my excusions beings that I'm a working sap is 2 weeks at best & with fuel needs how often do you really go without disposal opportunities to purge your 'stock'..
Enthusiast III
For all of you with kids, how is your method working out for you? Being a divorced dad with 2 girls, I think this is my biggest obstacle.
Influencer II
We have no issues here now. My girls have been squatting outside for as long as they can remember, lol. We've been camping in the woods since they were 5 or 6 I think....?
It was a big improvement when we got the privacy tent. A bit of privacy and (more importantly for us since we are in the woods on our own) protection from the bugs.
For us we really needed a good sturdy privacy tent... one that has multiple guy wire options to keep it in one place when the wind kicks up. We went with the Browning privacy tent. So far we've found out the hard way any fibreglass poles will break in the wind... and slice up the tent. In our case it was the 2 top cross-members that are fibreglass and it ripped the top rain fly. We replaced the poles and fly and tuck it into the bush a bit more to protect it from the wind. (The upright poles are steel).
Start them young. Just like everything else it's about expectations. If you expect them to have an issue then they will have an issue.
(Luggable Loo and Browning privacy tent)
Good luck, have fun!
Outfit and explore ;)
A pop-up tent for all ablutions and a Luggable Loo. I use 8-gallon trash bags as liners and pack it out in a Trashroo. It's hard to sink pegs in that ground, so I also bought a multi-pack of bandanas, which I tied at each corner, allowing me to use rocks to secure the tent.
