Questions for a series of one night stops

[rubydoodle]

What can be done to lessen the time for set up and take down? Do you have to fully charge the toilet each night and dump the next morning? We'd probably use the toilet once or twice each (4 times total). We don't want to tow with a fully charged toilet each day. We are traveling from East Tennessee to the West. We think we will be doing four or five one night stops before we stop for a "spell." We have a 3023 and tow with a Honda Ridgeline truck. Any other short cuts that any of you have found for those one night stops?

[B_and_D]

You don't have to fully charge the toilet, you can put a little water in it and a bit of chemical, and then use a bottle of water to "flush" sparingly.

When we have a one-night stop, we don't even unhitch. We don't hook up the water or sewer (unless we don't have any water) and use the facilities at the campground for showers.

We keep all of our "stuff" that doesn't fit somewhere else in plastic baskets that go on a shelf we built that sits over the sink and the refrigerator. It's easy to just put the baskets on the floor for travel and then set them back up on the shelf when you set up.

[Wavery]

For those of you with "Potty issues" stop reading now.........

I carry a 5L solid white plastic container with a 3" screw lid. I put a small amount of toilet chemical in it and I use it as a urinal. it's the same as having a porta-potty...... It saves more than 50% for the Thetford toilet. I can empty it in any gas station or CG toilet without issue.

I use this anytime that we are on long trips or at a CG for more than 3 days. That leaves the Thetford for my wife.......and she deserves it.....:).....

Like mentioned previously, put a qt of water and 4oz of chemical in the toilet. This is the same proceedure used for charging amost other porta-potties. Use a cup of fresh water to wash the inside of the bowl after use. Once there is enough liquid in the toilet tank for the pump to circulate, use the pump and stop adding fresh water.

[P and B]

Not unhitching is the best timer saver I've read here ;-)

Phil

[ShrimpBurrito]

Like mentioned previously, put a qt of water and 4oz of chemical in the toilet. This is the same proceedure used for charging amost other porta-potties. Use a cup of fresh water to wash the inside of the bowl after use. Once there is enough liquid in the toilet tank for the pump to circulate, use the pump and stop adding fresh water.

I've seen this process quoted several times, but I don't understand its advantage. Either you put water in cup by cup after each use, until the toilet is fully charged, or you fully charge it to begin with and don't add any more water after each use. Either way, you end up with the same amount of waste in the toilet.

The latter way sounds way less hassle, so what's the advantage of your suggested method?

Dave

[Wavery]

I've seen this process quoted several times, but I don't understand its advantage. Either you put water in cup by cup after each use, until the toilet is fully charged, or you fully charge it to begin with and don't add any more water after each use. Either way, you end up with the same amount of waste in the toilet.

The latter way sounds way less hassle, so what's the advantage of your suggested method?

Dave

My concern would be, towing the trailer with a charged toilet. More chance of spillage. I've never towed with anything in the toilet so I just don't know.

I know that I would not feel comfortable towing with a charged toilet. One trip down I-5 in Los Angeles with a charged toilet and I'd bet you'd have a mess on your hands. It's one of those concrete highways that bounce your guts out when towing down it @ 60MPH.

If we were making a long trip, with over-nighters like that, I would do as I posted, before the 1st use of the toilet. I don't think that I would be concerned about a gallon or 2 in there. I would be concerned with more though and I would not want to dump every day........ just like the OP.

Either way, you end up with the same amount of waste in the toilet.

The latter way sounds way less hassle, so what's the advantage of your suggested method?

Dave
The part that you left out of the equation is the "Waste" that is added to the toilet. 2g charge plus waste is a lot more than a 1qt charge plus waste and added water (1 cup at a time). One could use the toilet 5 or 6 times before ever reaching the 2g mark. By that time, you could dump it and start over.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Ah, I see. You're just trying to limit the total amount of volume in the toilet, and plan on dumping long before the toilet is full.

When we leave the house, we ALWAYS leave with a full toilet. You know the section on 405-North from LAX up to US 101? The highway makes us porpoise like crazy, like a Johnny Jump Up. It's not so bad with just a car, but toss in a trailer with some good tongue weight, and it makes for a fun ride.

I've also driven up I-5 through the Grapevine, and even I-110, where I've then driven through downtown LA on surface streets. With a charged toilet. :D

Lots of back country poorly maintained forest roads, never had a problem, and we return on these roads with a FULL toilet.

The ONLY time I've ever had a problem with leakage was on a 10-mile VERY rough dirt road in Utah. I should have disconnected the WDH. And the leak was my fault. The last time I had taken the toilet apart, I was not careful and did not seat the seal between the "bucket" part of the toilet and the top, so there was some leakage from a FULL (not just charged) toilet. Nothing ever came up out of the bowl.

These toilets are also intended for marine installations, where they'd get jostled around way more than on the road. So far, so good.

Dave
....living on the wild side. :D

[Wavery]

Ah, I see. You're just trying to limit the total amount of volume in the toilet, and plan on dumping long before the toilet is full.

When we leave the house, we ALWAYS leave with a full toilet. You know the section on 405-North from LAX up to US 101? The highway makes us porpoise like crazy, like a Johnny Jump Up. It's not so bad with just a car, but toss in a trailer with some good tongue weight, and it makes for a fun ride.

I've also driven up I-5 through the Grapevine, and even I-110, where I've then driven through downtown LA on surface streets. With a charged toilet. :D

Lots of back country poorly maintained forest roads, never had a problem, and we return on these roads with a FULL toilet.

The ONLY time I've ever had a problem with leakage was on a 10-mile VERY rough dirt road in Utah. I should have disconnected the WDH. And the leak was my fault. The last time I had taken the toilet apart, I was not careful and did not seat the seal between the "bucket" part of the toilet and the top, so there was some leakage from a FULL (not just charged) toilet. Nothing ever came up out of the bowl.

These toilets are also intended for marine installations, where they'd get jostled around way more than on the road. So far, so good.

Dave
....living on the wild side. :D

That's good to know.....but, you're a braver man than I am Magee.....:p

That's one mess that I would sooner avoid if I can......and I can....:p

[Bluegrass]

We regularly tow with the head charged and haven't had a problem. If it gets to 1/2 full or more, then we dump and start over. Worst case was on the last trip when the sloshing on a rough road kicked the gauge up to full and it stuck there. A bit of banging "unstuck" it. I've never had that happen before.

I had a Thetford head on my powerboat and always kept it charged. Also never had a problem even in rough water. But again, when under way I never let it get more than half full before dumping into the holding tank.

Keith

[Digger]

We do a lot of one-night stops when we’re making a long haul and not unhitching saves the most time. Just try to find a level spot, crank the tongue jack down some so there’s some weight on it and put down the rear stabilizers, especially if you are sleeping in the rear bed. It saves a lot of stress on the frame. Don’t forget to unplug the power cord from the TV or you could end up with a dead battery in the morning. We do mostly boon docking and the deciding factor of when we leave is when the toilet is full. Someone a while back suggested covering the bowl with saran wrap to keep anything from splashing out when the Thedford is full. We’ve done this and it has worked quite well, no clean ups yet, even over some pretty rough roads until we could get to a dump station. Harveyrv’s idea of a P bucket is a good one too. I do that also and it doubles the time before you have to empty the toilet.

[Bill]

What can be done to lessen the time for set up and take down? Do you have to fully charge the toilet each night and dump the next morning?My wife and I travel from Maine to Arizona and back each year - about 3000 miles and at least six nights each way. We stay in full hookup campgrounds each night, since we want to arrive whenever is convenient for us (cell phone reservation three hours earlier), leave without hassles in the morning, and maximize the stretch-and-relax time in between. As P&B noted, the only important thing, timewise and hasslewise, seems to be not unhitching and not lowering the stabilizers, and we work very hard at achieving this. Nothing else really changes the schedule. It takes only about 2 minutes in the evening to hook up the water hose and sewer hose, and only a few minutes more in the morning to dump and unhook those hoses. In the face of a long day of driving, the convenience and the cleanliness, and the lack of worry, is worth far more than those five minutes.

I'll admit, there is a secret ingredient at work here. My wife's job is to set up and take down the inside of the TM - my job is the outside. If I take an extra two minutes, it gives her time to have a cold martini waiting for me in the evening. And she does!

Bill

[P and B]

I'm totally with Bill on this one. We have the exact same division of labor so while I'm goofing around outside buttoning things up, she's doing the inside. She stops long enough to pull the handle on the toilet. What we've found is that, if you want to get out of some place fast, don't pull a lot of stuff out. One thing we all do is take our "toys" with us- including kitchen gear. The more you yank out the day before, the more you have to put away. There is a fixed time that it takes to get the inside tucked away so a certain amount of stuff being hauled out probably won't make a difference but I haven't quite figured out what that is yet. I kind of think being able to cook our own meals is worth getting the grill out and some kitchen stuff out but I leave the guitar and chairs where they are and just use the picnic table for sitting and find some other way to entertain myself on those nights.

I have found that if we don't unhitch and we just have a few things to put away, we can get out of a campground in about 30 minutes- faster if we're in the middle of a Nor'easter ;-)

Phil

[Wavery]

Here's another tip for quicky stops.

Who wants to fold down with the shower curtains wet???

http://www.amazon.com/Readybath-Rinse-Bath-Moistened-Wipes/dp/B000W317HK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1269013716&sr=8-3-spell

These work much better than "Baby wipes". You feel like you actually had a shower with these.

[rubydoodle]

Thank you all for the replies!!! It gives us hope and knowledge! I hope we can stay hitched on those one-nighters! I'll keep checking for any more responses. I'll read them all!

[mtnguy]

Towing down mountain roads after a 6 nite stay in the Trailmanor, with the toilet dial on "full", and then several hundred miles of different kinds of highways, our toilet never splashed out. As a precaution, I did wrap the bowl with Saran Wrap, with no indication that the toilet splashed.