Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

A buffy campout thread had lots of info about these some time ago... but I am asking again. Time to invest in our carry along toilet. What is out there and what works and what could I take out west... if/when I get to go?

Depends:

if going on a river, pay the money and get a eco-safe set up that fits into a rocket box. and, you could use this one for car camping. This unit is probably the cheapest most durable unit that meets all the current river regulations.

if traveling in a vehicle, lots of those RV type plastic sit on deals that are much cheaper but not as durable. I have seen them in WalMart or just google them.

I am seeing more and more of the forest service "primitive" camp areas requiring the car camper to have some sort of self contained toilet system. I bet more and more of us that look for these low priced camp sites will have to have a toilet system just in case we run into a ranger doing their check rides.

$200...tha's a lotta poop!

Clif wrote:Time to invest in our carry along toilet.

okieboater wrote:Depends.

C'mon - THAT's funny!!!!!

H had a sideline writing for Conan O'Brien.

see how that worked

Here's an eight-pager, from a while back, that has everything you could possibly want to know about taking care of your business while on the water or in the woods:
http://ns13.webmasters.com/*arkansascan ... php?t=7128

Later
Jon Ellwood

Cliff, like Dave said the Eco-safe are really good toilets and are approved by the FS, and BLM. But they require clean out at the end of the trip, not a big deal but something that has to be done. There is also a PETT toilet that uses a double plastic bag system that works well for 2 or 3 people for 2 or 3 days. The major draw back is you keep using bags and about the best you can buy them for is $3.25 each. So that can get expensive. I have both toilets here at the house if you want to stop by sometime when your down around Conway. Just drop me a PM or Email! Bolder Outdoor Center has the best price I could find on the Eco-Safe. Get the rocket box down at Bennet's in LR I think there like $20. The Eco-Safe is Bullet Proof!!

the board has gone to Sh1T

Cliff, Check with Jeremy Macky about the ones they built out of PVC pipe for their 12-day Grand Canyon trip not long ago... I think there's a link to his trip report somewhere on the Gen. Discussions page...

as an advocate of kayak self support where rocket boxes are hard to get down river,

Be very very carefull when using the PVC pipe units.

Depending on the diameter of the PVC pipe, the firmness of the poop and the user's accuracy - doing number 2 can turn into an adventure. IE bring along a scoop and latex gloves to clean up any bullets that miss the target.

Now that's a fun thing to watch !!!

A trip to O3 is in the works, so I will ask the Mackman about that.

When discussing with my financial advisor, she did not recoil as bad as would have figured. The seat with bags @ $3+ each would soon add up to close to the eco safe price. The sturdiness required of the cheaper systems would be a question.

The Pett bag set up is convenient in a lot of respects.

I have used the Pett setup and it works.

Two problems that I saw was one, you really wanted to close up the bag (even if not full) after one camp use (that is evening and morning) then you have to transport the bag of poop to the take out. During hot weather, I just feel safer with a gas producing bomb device locked up tight in a good ole US Army rocket box than a plastic bag.

Issue two was the plastic seat device the Pett uses is a bit wobbly on sandy river camp sites for us 200 pound types, probably works ok for the less weight challenged boaters.

Then you have the recurring price of the bag.

Cliff, on the Eco Safe units clean out / disposal can be cheap or not so cheap. There are a lot of state RV dumps along the interstates that offer free clean outs, also a lot of federal / state camp grounds offer the same free clean out. This is what you want to look for. Commercial campgrounds typically charge 5 bucks to use their clean outs. However, I went into a upscale RV camp ground in Taos NM (big time RV units and extremely nice park slots with individual land scape setups) and the guy running the front desk allowed he had never had just a rocket box of poop to clean out and he charged me 15 bucks plus tax for one eco safe clean up. I suspect this is the standard charge for the big RV units. So depending on your luck at finding free RV clean out dumps - there can be a charge. You want to use the RV setups for clean out.

Congratulations on your decision, Clif!

I just can’t get my head around not using a groover in today’s world. I know it’s been hashed over several times on here, and the majority seem to be in agreement that one should be used. Seems especially poignant in light of all the discussion of the Marble Falls sewage problem.

An interesting point two of my brothers made to me. A few years back I turned them on to my Pett system groover. They loved it. Beats digging cat holes because you don’t have to dig every time and dig in the tick infested field behind the gravel bar or dig at night. Not to mention the environmental advantages of “carrying it out”.

But here’s the real point. They both not only liked using it better than cat-holing, as did their kids, they immediately saw the benefits of getting one to set an example for their kids. If kids are brought up “carrying it out”, then it will be no big deal for them to do it for the rest of their lives. It is just something that will be done, and that is that. No discussion on whether or not cat-holing is preferable, or even acceptable. It will just be taken out of the river corridor and there is absolutely no question whatever that that beats any alternative.

But to answer the question? I use the Pett toilet/Wag Bag system. Some advantages over the Eco Safe, and some disadvantages as well. Some people I know use the bags in conjunction with a 5 gal. bucket and a toilet seat. That takes care of the legs in the sand issue. And yes, I know that some (and fewer than you might think) Western Runs do not recognize them totally as of yet, but they are becoming more and more acceptable all the time. The bags are even accepted in the Grand Canyon with a hard-sided container. You can google to get prices, but the seat unit is about half the price of the big Eco and a little easier to manage on ‘nighters. Even cheaper still if you go for the bucket/seat/wag bag route. Plus no clean out. I haven’t bought any bags lately because I have a big supply, but I see they are getting kind of pricey. Used to be about a buck or less a bag. But even when I am using a tank-type, I will still carry some wags. One thing about it, if you underestimate your uses of a tanker, it’s done and the group may not be. Its easier to take extra wags than it is to take another tanker/rocket box setup.

For the record? I am not saying that one groover system is better than another (Dave!!). I am only saying that particular system is what I prefer. Any groover system that gives the ability to “carry it out” is a good one in my opinion even if it is a pickle jar (plastic, of course!).

It looks like we will be using the Petts/Buckets/Wags on the Green and/or the Colorado this year and I have already contacted both management offices to confirm that the Petts are acceptable.

And Dave? I hadn’t heard that about the primitive sites, but I look forward to the day that we all are required to have a groover at those, too.

I am in complete agree with GutIt on this topic.

It does not matter what kind of container the poop is carried out in,
the
real issue is to carry it out and dispose of in a proper manner.

I have seen the "you must have an approved etc etc" before camping here sign in a couple spots in Colorado. Spots where there is not a pit toilet in the area.

It is amazing what can happen when every one cleans up after themselves on a river trip.

I know some camp sites on the Middle Fork probably get used every day in the season, yet they look clean as can be when you land your boat.

I got some "not too favorable" comments when I brought this up on a hiking forum....CARRY IT OUT....EEEWWWW!