Orton DIY - Toilet/Shower/Storage

d_bertko

Active member
I have the impression that portapotty seals work best when they are new and that there is some deterioration with age. We used ours for about five years in pretty temperate weather and I thought it was slowly degrading. Any others experience the same?

The real challenge to a portapotty is hot weather. I am not sure it is possible to have zero odor---chemical or otherwise---after a day in a hot parking lot.

Like many others we used ours mostly for liquids since otherwise a cleaning would be recommended fairly soon after.

We switched to a pee bottles and a mostly dry wagbag type toilet a couple of years ago and the lack of odor and lack of cleaning is much preferred since I usually did that job.

I know some of you don't like it if it doesn't have a programmable interface and a backup camera...

Dan
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
I have the impression that portapotty seals work best when they are new and that there is some deterioration with age. We used ours for about five years in pretty temperate weather and I thought it was slowly degrading. Any others experience the same?

The real challenge to a portapotty is hot weather. I am not sure it is possible to have zero odor---chemical or otherwise---after a day in a hot parking lot.

Like many others we used ours mostly for liquids since otherwise a cleaning would be recommended fairly soon after.

We switched to a pee bottles and a mostly dry wagbag type toilet a couple of years ago and the lack of odor and lack of cleaning is much preferred since I usually did that job.

I know some of you don't like it if it doesn't have a programmable interface and a backup camera...

Dan
Seals will wear, and leak gases... thetford will sell replacement seals.

I only relieve liquids in the portra, while in conjunction with a #2. Trips to 'dump' are less frequent.

on very hot days.... good practice to 'burb' the tank...slowly... and prior to full sit & fast flush... cleaning the 'boys' of the nasties..is just nasty!
 

sparkie

Active member
The real challenge to a portapotty is hot weather. I am not sure it is possible to have zero odor---chemical or otherwise---after a day in a hot parking lot.

Dan
Using the generic sodium percarbonate cleaner has left me very pleasantly surprised. We have had many day on our travels where the temperature has been >100F (upto 45C which I think is getting on for 120F). Ones and twos. Zero smell. None. I was expecting something, even if it was the chemical smell, but we were put onto the diaper stuff and have never looked back.

I refuse to empty it though. That's another kettle of fish altogether. I traded cooking all the meals for toilet emptying duties with 'er indoors'.
 

smcphc

Member
In planning our conversion this was a real hot button topic between the wife and I. I had originally planned for a cassette toilet, but my wife has an almost pathological aversion to carrying around human waste. We're going to try the luggable loo type toilet. Her idea is to use kitty litter in the bag and dispose of it immeadiately. At least this system requires minimal investment if we find it doesn't work for us. I understand this would be impractical for boondocking, but in our three years of prior RV ownership we've hardly ever stayed anywhere where we didn't have access to either a toilet or a trash can. Our RV toilet was mainly used for the late night urges, and we discovered its really nice not to have to leave the warm confines of the vehicle to conduct your business. We might be in for a reality check when we put this to the test and discover we need to do something with the bag. Maybe an airtight container for the waste is the answer, I guess we'll find out soon enough.
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
This is good book about controlling head odor in similar to ours marine environment. http://www.amazon.com/Get-Rid-Boat-Odors-Aggravation/dp/1892399156
The author is known as an expert "The HeadMistress" and very active on some marine forums. She is a strong advocate for venting black tanks. I did not read the book but read quite bit of her writings.

Whatever chemicals you plan to use make sure they have been tested with plastics and seals used in toilets. Seals can easily be damage by heavy oxidizing agents such concentrated hydrogen peroxide or others.
http://www.calarvc.com/pdf/Holding_Tank_Products_as_of_Aug_2010.pdf
Most seals don’t do well in H2O2. http://www.ozonelab.com/articles/004.htm

My plan is to run the vent from the cassette toilette through the passenger seat base below the floor. It is not the ideal ventilation system so I could add either venturi or 12V power vent to increase air exchange if necessary.

In our previous RVs all black tanks had roof vents and in conjunction with Odorlos eliminated head odor. Odorlos and Thetford EcoSmart, the none enzyme formula, are chemically identical - Ammonium Calcium Nitrate double salt. The Thetford enzyme formula could help to brake-down #2 organics. If price is better I could switch to Thetford EcoSmart with or without enzymes.

George.
 

d_bertko

Active member
In planning our conversion this was a real hot button topic between the wife and I. I had originally planned for a cassette toilet, but my wife has an almost pathological aversion to carrying around human waste. We're going to try the luggable loo type toilet. Her idea is to use kitty litter in the bag and dispose of it immeadiately. At least this system requires minimal investment if we find it doesn't work for us. I understand this would be impractical for boondocking, but in our three years of prior RV ownership we've hardly ever stayed anywhere where we didn't have access to either a toilet or a trash can. Our RV toilet was mainly used for the late night urges, and we discovered its really nice not to have to leave the warm confines of the vehicle to conduct your business. We might be in for a reality check when we put this to the test and discover we need to do something with the bag. Maybe an airtight container for the waste is the answer, I guess we'll find out soon enough.
We use a Luggable Loo. Nice that it is a better height than the old potty.

I think the official WagBag product is mostly overkill and unnecessarily costly for rv use. So Instead we use a trash compactor bag as a "safety" outer liner (many mils thick). The actual inner waste bag is a cheap 13 gal trash can bag. A small container of kitty litter is on hand if there are liquids that need absorbing. The inner waste bag is then knotted and placed in a smallish airtight container.

My wife volunteered to try a "feminine funnel" and thus we both get by on pee bottles most of the time. The Loo gets used maybe twice a month on long road trips. Its availability is always appreciated.

The integration of women into the military has meant much wider use of the feminine funnel. Most of my female paddling friends prefer to use one when clad in a cold weather drysuit.

Dan
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Completed the new portapotti lid/shelf. Removed the original lid and made a large wood lid that allows space above toilet to be used for storage. New lid is hinged to fold up against the wall to use toilet. Wood lid is hinged at the wall and rests on a 3/4" closed cell pad between wood and front edge of toilet seat. There is a latch at the top to hold lid in a vertical position. Put a bath towel over lid/shelf to hide toilet. Decided not to have a shower curtain. Will put the bath towel on the floor in front of the shower to catch water. The shower is not a normal shower with lots of water. It has a hose with a on/off garden nozzle so think I can keep the water aimed toward back wall of shower. Have not used the shower yet so I will find out how well that works soon.
 

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Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Just used it for the first time. Takes a couple of minutes to remove the suitcase, food bin, towels, towel rods and put a towel down on floor. Took 1 hour of driving to get the 90 degree water heated by the Calrod element powered by the "vehicle" inverter. Washed my head while kneeling down in front of shower to keep water in the shower pan. Then stood in shower to do the rest. Used a combination of the nozzle on/off switch and the 12 volt pump on/off switch to reduce water used. Worked great. Very little water out of shower onto towel. Definitly no need for a shower curtain. Sure is nice to be able to shower without much set up. Used about half of the 5 gallons of warm water. Maybe I should market these!
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
For those with a porta potti arrangement that don't like the chemical smell, try a nappy precleaner. A generic brand of something like Napisan is $2 and lasts us a month or two. Use it in both tanks. We use our potti for 'everything' on a daily basis and can honestly say it has never smelled of bad odours, or of the nappy stuff.
(If you have already used the chemicals, you need to clean it the portapotti thoroughly as the two chemicals don't like each other)
I use a tablespoon of "Oxi-Clean" in the pee bottle. It works. Controls the odor. So it probably works in the portapotty. Thanks for the tip.
 

68protour

07 D 144 high rebadged MB
Thought I would repost here our toilet solution...

We thought that McD's and such and then camp facilities at night would do for pit stops. However, we found that these WagBags are a luxury, paired with a short, squatty (as in squat), plastic bucket with a lid (I am guessing 2 gal, same basic shape as the typical 5 gal with the snap-on lid, but smaller and more convenient to store and not risk tipping over.) Open the large wagbag, drape it over the rim and sides, and wallah. When done, put the lid on. Two-three uses per bag is good for a night, then tie up, zip up in the separate bag that comes with it, and dispose. Oh, take your own TP. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006TIXOT6/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Another progress report on the shower. Used it again on last trip. Instead of setting the garden nozzle to a spray pattern I set it to flood. Much less wasted water and spray on walls and out of shower onto towel placed on floor in front of shower. Easy to disassemble the stuff stored in the shower enclosure before showering. Having a permanent shower pan and shower enclosure inside the van is much better for us than carrying separate parts to assemble outside the van. The biggest advantage is being able to shower anywhere. This time it was at a tourist shoreline. Since it is inside people do not know. The trick is to use the shower space for other purposes to avoid the wasted space when not used as a shower. In my case it houses the portapotty, a suitcase, a food bin and has a towel rack. The towel rack ends up being very useful. It is nice to be able to hang up a wet towel to dry. In winter the towel rack can be used to hang up wet jackets. On my next conversion I can improve the utilization of the space. The next iteration will have two removable shelves instead of one. One just over the portapotti to hold the food bin and a second one at counter height over the food bin. Currently I have limited counter space on the sink cabinet. An additional counter opposite the sink in the shower enclosure would be a big improvement. Simply need more counter space when making a meal. Particularly when using the two burner gas stove on the sink counter. One other observation is the two burner portable stove. Definitely would never want a built in stove top. Prefer to have the counter space and be able to move the cooking out to a picnic table or to the fold down table that goes out the sliding door opening. Want to keep the cooking outside the van as much as possible.
 

businessgypsy

Curiosity fed the dog
I often thought about keeping a spray bottle of light veg. oils for bowl lube... Any more insight on this?
Been keeping a 50% solution of dollar-store hair conditioner in a bottle to spray the bowl prior to any above-average call of duty. Completely soluble, smells nice and keeps the surfaces slick, FWIW. Our go-to choice of a convenience cabinet is the Sanitation Equipment Visa. Relatively cheap, easy to clean, simple and consistently well-reviewed. The height is right, and a ratchet strap on the two rear driver's side tiedown rings holds it in place beautifully. Just put through a trial by fire on a backroads SW Florida to Portland, OR run, I recommend with relief and appreciation.
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
That looks like a better design than the one I have. Does it have any provision to permanently attach it to the floor? The one I have has attachment clips so it can be fixed to the floor.
 

businessgypsy

Curiosity fed the dog
...Does it have any provision to permanently attach it to the floor?...
No, but the seam on the bottom unit is a great hold for that ratchet strap. A battery-hold down type arrangement could be easily crafted for a more permanent installation, but we've had no movement issues (insert toilet humor here).
 

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