A canned ham in foam: Built

[GPW]

There has to be a better way ???

[NMMarauder]

I wouldn't want to wrestle the porta-potty and hose at the same time.

In theory, it should be connected at both ends, thus relieving the need to handle the hose. Once the hose is connected, then you can handle just the tank with out fear of spilling as the waste should have no where to go but down the hose. But I agree, that dumping in the toilette isn't hard. That's not the part that I really want the sewer hose for.

How are you cleaning out the tank after the initial dump? Do you just keep filling with with clean water and dumping until it is clean?

To me that is the advantage of the dump station. After the initial dump, then you open the flush valve and use the fresh water hose at the station to rinse the tank and sewer hose out. You can have one hand steadying the tank and the other hand using the hose to wash out the black water tank.

I'm planning to keep the black water tank as clean as the day it came out of the box. That way, there is never a smell. Maybe I'm missing some trick used by those dumping in the toilette?

[NMMarauder]

I love vintage travel posters and we needed a solution for window coverings in case we were in a campground. I also had lots of flexible magnetic strip left over from the window screens. So I combined ideas....



The poster acts as art while you don't need it as a window covering...



..and it acts as a window covering when you need one. Note the magnetic strips on each side of the window in the top picture. So far it works. I want to take it for a drive and see if they stay in place.

The poster is just poster board that I painted on with acrylic paint. I probably should spray some sort of clear coating on it to increase durability. It was great fun to make. I'm actually looking forward to making 6 more. I like that they curve to conform to the wall and they add some color to the all white interior.

[OP827]

I think that the poster idea is really good. If you allow me, I will steal it for my trailer too. If I make them translucent, it will look pretty good in both modes thanks for sharing! Sorry cannot help on porta-potty cleaning front, I am still to start using that brand new I have in the box .

[rowerwet]

I wouldn't want to wrestle the porta-potty and hose at the same time.

In theory, it should be connected at both ends, thus relieving the need to handle the hose. Once the hose is connected, then you can handle just the tank with out fear of spilling as the waste should have no where to go but down the hose. But I agree, that dumping in the toilette isn't hard. That's not the part that I really want the sewer hose for.

How are you cleaning out the tank after the initial dump? Do you just keep filling with with clean water and dumping until it is clean?

To me that is the advantage of the dump station. After the initial dump, then you open the flush valve and use the fresh water hose at the station to rinse the tank and sewer hose out. You can have one hand steadying the tank and the other hand using the hose to wash out the black water tank.

I'm planning to keep the black water tank as clean as the day it came out of the box. That way, there is never a smell. Maybe I'm missing some trick used by those dumping in the toilette?

Instead of using liquid to store the waste we use solids. Wood based cat liter in a plastic bag, in a bucket with a luggable loo lid. You start with a couple inches of liter in the bag, After each deposit you scoop in enough liter to cover it. In the morning take the bag out tie it and toss it in the trash.
The wood has natural odor fighters and absorbs the liquids and tends to dry any solids.
Cat liter with crystals in it might do a better job.
We find nobody questions a small trash bag, and there are no chances to spill or deal with stinky dump stations.

[GPW]

NM, you made your own poster ?

It would seem handling solids is less risky than liquids.. I was thinking for the porta potty in the Foam Stream , the policy would be “ no solids in the en' suite ” ... In our particular EVAC situation plans , normal bathrooms would be readily available ...

[dales133]

NM, you made your own poster ?

It would seem handling solids is less risky than liquids.. I was thinking for the porta potty in the Foam Stream , the policy would be “ no solids in the en' suite ” ... In our particular EVAC situation plans , normal bathrooms would be readily available ...

I to am a big believer in using toilets where possible rather than rv,portaloos.
Saves alot of unplesant hastle if you use public loos!

[GPW]

Oh Yeah .... make it as easy as possible ... (ooh!!! that didn’t sound right eh ???) ...

[NMMarauder]

NM, you made your own poster ? )

I did. I've been trying to teach myself to paint for a few years now but I'm no where near your league of artist. The poster was actually one of the easier 'paintings'. I just combined ideas from other posters and put them into one, then painted it with acrylic straight out of the tube. I'm looking forward to doing more.

Any ideas on what I could use to protect it once it is done? A spray polyurethane was one thought. I don't need them to last forever because they are pretty easy to remake but I would like to improve durability.

[NMMarauder]

Instead of using liquid to store the waste we use solids. Wood based cat liter in a plastic bag, in a bucket with a luggable loo lid....

If things don't work out well with the porta potty, I'm switching to your solution. Thanks for sharing it.

[GPW]

NM , I think it's SUPER !!!!! You can protect it with a simple picture frame and maybe some lightweight thin plexiglass over it ... You can make your own frames ... easy !!!

[katobaggins]

Here is a picture of my porta-potty dump station. Dumping in the toilette isn't too bad but the potential for making a HUGE mess was enough that I wanted to find a better solution. I just shortened a regular RV sewer hose and the outlet from the porta-potty is slipped inside the sewer hose. In this pic it is being held in place by a couple of rubber bands.

In theory, it is supposed to work like this;

1. Take the black water tank out and set it on the box near the dump station.
2. Take the cap off the outlet to the porta-potty and slip the end inside the sewer hose and secure it (rubber bands at the moment)
3. Make sure the other end of the sewer hose is secure in the dump stations fitting.
4. Rotate the black water tank and outlet spout so that the waste pours down into the dump station (Position shown in picture below). Mine has a button to press to admit air so that the waste pours out easier.
5. Open the flush valve and use the hose to wash out the inside of the tank.

This should keep the mess to an absolute minimum while allowing me to get the tank clean. I haven't actually tried this yet so if anyone sees a problem with this set up, please speak up.

The thing about the hose is that you will not be able to get all the stink out of it without GREAT effort while on an outing. As I see it, you don't really have a place to store it outside of your camper. Having it inside will not be acceptable to the Mrs, unless it's in a very well sealed box or bag. I'd just dump in public restrooms, or go with the lowtec bucket with kitty litter solution.

BTW, fantastic build and workmanship! This is pretty much what I envision for what I want to build. I will be borrowing many of your ideas. I'm a NM native that is now in California. I've spent my far share of time camping in the Jaimez Mts. Love that place! Question: did you regret not putting in a roof vent during the heat of the day? (Or is there one there that I'm just not seeing in any of the photos?)

[aggie79]

I wouldn't want to wrestle the porta-potty and hose at the same time.

In theory, it should be connected at both ends, thus relieving the need to handle the hose. Once the hose is connected, then you can handle just the tank with out fear of spilling as the waste should have no where to go but down the hose. But I agree, that dumping in the toilette isn't hard. That's not the part that I really want the sewer hose for.

How are you cleaning out the tank after the initial dump? Do you just keep filling with with clean water and dumping until it is clean?

To me that is the advantage of the dump station. After the initial dump, then you open the flush valve and use the fresh water hose at the station to rinse the tank and sewer hose out. You can have one hand steadying the tank and the other hand using the hose to wash out the black water tank.

I'm planning to keep the black water tank as clean as the day it came out of the box. That way, there is never a smell. Maybe I'm missing some trick used by those dumping in the toilette?

As GPW said earlier, our rule for the porta-potty is #1 only. Here's the process we use to service the porta-potty at the end of a camping trip:

1. "Split" the porta-potty and dump the unused flushing water into a camp restroom.
2. Re-assemble porta-potty (with waste) and haul it home.
3. Dis-assemble the porta-potty and dump the waste into the toilet.
4. Rinse out the waste tank in the backyard.
5. Fill the waste tank with soapy water about 1/4 full, close the valve, agitate the tank, and then pour out soapy water.
6. Rinse again.
7. Re-assemble and store porta-potty.

Again, you have built a beautiful foamie standie.

Take care,
Tom

[NMMarauder]

Question: did you regret not putting in a roof vent during the heat of the day? (Or is there one there that I'm just not seeing in any of the photos?)

I left space for a vent. I think the standard hole for the Fan-Tastic fans is 14 inches square. I don't remember but I looked it up at the time and sized the space between 2 of the roof cross-members so that I could put a vent in if I wanted to. So far with 7 windows there hasn't been a need for one. The inside temperature is whatever the outside temperature is. I know this because I spent many hours working on the interior while it was 90+ degrees here in Albuquerque.

Good point about the sewer hose. I'm sure that is why most RV sewer hoses are kept in the bumper or a tube that is outside of the RV. I haven't actually figured out where I want to put the tube but that was my plan too. I'm not familiar with dumping in dump stations as I have never owned an RV. But all of the stations I have seen around here have a fresh water hose for clean out. I guess I could just run a hose into the bathroom, but then I would still have to hold the tank and make sure it was pouring into the toilette while trying to rinse with a hose.

My thought was that with all the RVs on the road, if there was a better way to dump waste, they would be doing that. I was just trying to emulate their procedure but since a porta-potty is not the same as a fixed blackwater tank there is some modification.

[NMMarauder]

As GPW said earlier, our rule for the porta-potty is #1 only. Here's the process we use to service the porta-potty at the end of a camping trip:

1. "Split" the porta-potty and dump the unused flushing water into a camp restroom.
2. Re-assemble porta-potty (with waste) and haul it home.
3. Dis-assemble the porta-potty and dump the waste into the toilet.
4. Rinse out the waste tank in the backyard.
5. Fill the waste tank with soapy water about 1/4 full, close the valve, agitate the tank, and then pour out soapy water.
6. Rinse again.
7. Re-assemble and store porta-potty.

Again, you have built a beautiful foamie standie.

Take care,
Tom

Thanks for the clarification and the kind remarks. I'll let you know how the dump station works out.