Porta Pottie

[mccrosti]

Hey Folks,

I am deep into the bowels of my rear end separation repair. I've started pondering the advantages of doing away with the black tank entirely and going with either a composting toilet or a very high end porta Pottie Thetfords curve comes to mind. We use a porta on our boat which requires dumping every summer. We use it for all facets of the job..,

My thoughts are two fold. 1 no tank, no stinky slinky I can dump the cassette virtually anywhere there is a toilet. 2 with either a porta or a composter I still have the dumping so why not save quite a bit of cash and go with a porta .

As always your thoughts would be appreciated.

Lucky Dave

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by mccrosti

My thoughts are two fold. 1 no tank, no stinky slinky I can dump the cassette virtually anywhere there is a toilet.

Won't you still need a slinky for your gray tank?

Or is your Airstream old enough to not have separate gray and black tanks? In which case, if you get rid of the black tank, where does your shower and sink water go when you replace your only tank with a cassette toilet?

[xrvr]

72s did not have gray tanks. We have a Porto potty in our Avion and it has never been a problem as long as you have access to a dump station or restrooms. Gray water has to be dumped properly anyway. When we get rid of the gray water, we dump the Porto at the same time. If we have sewer at the site, we dump the Porto down the on site hole, the gray water goes there anywhere. Our Porto holds 5 gallons. Jim

[lsbrodsky]

I applaud those who can live with a Porta. many years ago I had a boat with one and I got tired of having to cart the thing to a toilet. We also got tired of the perfumed smell in the boat from the chemical used to disinfect and mask the fecal odor. I did some extensive work to install a bladder holding tank, pumpout, and real marine toilet. I would never go back to a Porta.
Larry

[Joe Palmieri]

We have camped with both over the years. You don't mind hauling a porta to the dump station when you're younger but it gets to be a real drag as time goes on. The cassette is easier but you're still carrying five or so gallons to wherever you're going to dump. Maybe a small two wheeled cart of some type. My personal choice at age 69 is the permanent install but as with most amenities it depends on how much aggravation you are willing to put up with. Different strokes for different folks.

[sigv]

I would go with the porta potty the ability to dump at any restroom and not have to wait in line or get out the rubber gloves is a huge plus. If I were to do it again that is what I would do for sure.

Originally Posted by mccrosti

Hey Folks,

I am deep into the bowels of my rear end separation repair. I've started pondering the advantages of doing away with the black tank entirely and going with either a composting toilet or a very high end porta Pottie Thetfords curve comes to mind. We use a porta on our boat which requires dumping every summer. We use it for all facets of the job..,

My thoughts are two fold. 1 no tank, no stinky slinky I can dump the cassette virtually anywhere there is a toilet. 2 with either a porta or a composter I still have the dumping so why not save quite a bit of cash and go with a porta .

As always your thoughts would be appreciated.

Lucky Dave

[RickDavis]

We used a portapotti in our 54 and it worked out well. With a permanent tank we apply the same principal by dumping into a 5 gallon blue tank every two days that can be carried to a restroom or porta john when camped where there is no dump station.
If the tank weight is a problem just empty it more often.

[goshawks00]

Our our 54 FC we're going with a Natures Head composter. Benefits over porta-potti are they separate the liquid from the solids. The liquids can be then taken separately to be desposed of, and the solids are composted down in the toilet for easy disposal.
I plan on having the liquids drain into our 'grey tank' which is vented, so will only have to dump the solids once every couple months or so.
Barry & Karen in Mi.

[Cyquest]

We ditched our black tank use a Porta potti. Works great. We use a blue boy for our grey water and it works good for us as well. Most sites don't have full sewage hook ups so its either hook up the trailer, go dump , then return to the site. Whata pain! Not to mention no Black tank means less junk in the trunk ,less weight, less chance of floor rot around the toilet flange.
We use the Thetford 550e. Nice unit! We can get three days until dumping it. Two if its a beer night.

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[Jammer]

Originally Posted by mccrosti

He
I've started pondering the advantages of doing away with the black tank entirely and going with either a composting toilet or a very high end porta Pottie Thetfords curve comes to mind. We use a porta on our boat which requires dumping every summer. We use it for all facets of the job..,

My thoughts are two fold. 1 no tank, no stinky slinky I can dump the cassette virtually anywhere there is a toilet. 2 with either a porta or a composter I still have the dumping so why not save quite a bit of cash and go with a porta .

As with so many things RV-related, much depends on your use case.

We travel as a family of 5 and often stay in state parks where the public toilet facilities are substandard (distance/cleanliness). Hence the toilet in the trailer serves all needs. A porta-potty would fill up quickly. We have to stop at dump stations to dump greywater, anyway, so having to dump a porta-potty as well would just be an extra step. The few times I've used them I've found them to be difficult to keep clean and sealed.

I know that the b-van crowd swears by porta-potties. For some camping styles I can see how they would work well.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I know that the b-van crowd swears by porta-potties. For some camping styles I can see how they would work well.

But I'm ever so glad that my Airstream Interstate B-van has a wet bath and black tank instead. Especially since it has also got a macerator pump so I don't have to mess about with a slinky.

[TouringDan]

I installed a Thetford Curve in our 66 Tradewind and it works well for us. The black tank now acts as the gray tank for sink and shower water. See Dan's 66 Tradewind Improvements (post 23-30) for details.

We only pea in it. We can go 5 days normally. It is cheap, lightweight, easy and clean. Whats not to like?

Dan

[mccrosti]

Thanks all for your repkies! Here is what I will do: Fix and reainstall the Galvanized pan for the black tank. Install the plumbing, basically have it ready to go should I ever decide I need a black tank. I looked hard at composters and they are very nice but out of budget. The Thetford Curve on the other fits nicely into my budget and I can spend the money elsewhere. Thank you all!

Lucky Dave

[Cyquest]

Fyi.There's a hold down plate for the Thetford Curve so it stays in place during transit.

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[mtbguy]

I did the same as Dan:

I installed a Thetford Curve in ours and it works well for us.
We only pea in it. We can go 5 days normally. It is cheap, lightweight, easy and clean. Whats not to like?

I looked at (and could always still change) the natures head. But most of the places we camp at have facilities and the cost of the composter was 8 times more than the Curve.

I like the way it looks and works so far. Can always go back to a black tank system if I want, or composter. Everyone's needs are different so just go with works for you!

As previous post indicated, spend the extra ten bucks and get a hold down bracket. It doesn't come with the bracket, and you don't want it falling over in transit!

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by mccrosti

Thanks all for your repkies! Here is what I will do: Fix and reainstall the Galvanized pan for the black tank. Install the plumbing, basically have it ready to go should I ever decide I need a black tank. I looked hard at composters and they are very nice but out of budget. The Thetford Curve on the other fits nicely into my budget and I can spend the money elsewhere. Thank you all!

Lucky Dave

I'm betting that after you've experienced the joy of dumping a porta potti in a public restroom a few times, you will install your black tank. I have done it and there are all kinds of things that can go badly and be very embarrassing. Also consider whether you will ever want to sell the trailer at a later date.

Ken

[mccrosti]

Ken,

I own a boat with a porta potti now. It works fine. I get the dump detail. Its a matter of preparation. Frankly I don't like messing with black tank dumping , and who knows I may install the tank down the road. I would rather spend money in other ways this go around. Again preparation is key, plumbing installed. Galvanized pan prepared , etc. Then if the porta doesn't work out. I spend the extra$500.00 or so and install the black tank with toilet.

Dave

[xrvr]

We dump our Porto at the campsite where you would run your slinky. Our gray water goes there also. If there is no on site hole we dump the Porto into the portable gray water tank and haul it to the dump station.. Never had to dump into a regular toilet yet. Depends on wher you camp I guess. This is not a joke. Just sayin. Jim