newbie question - cassette shower / toilet hookup & experiences?

[propellerhead]

Hi-
My wife and I are considering the purchase of a Popup. I think it is a matter of time before we get one. I am 90% ready, but, I view to make life a little easier and the convincing, having a shower and a potty would go a long way to doing this.

Anyhow, I have looked at the fleetwood niagara - beautiful, but too big to fit into the garage - so, I am looking at models with 18' lengths. This usually means that these models have cassette toilets and not a system that hooks up to the sewer / grey water dump at the camp site. So,

1) Can a cassette be adapted to connect to a camp site side grey water hookup? Like using those flexible pipings I sometimes see. Any experience with this?

2) If not and I get one of those grey water totes, won't that last for only a couple showers? And how do you dump it? Should I plan to get messy? (I want the blunt truth here, so I am going in eyes wide open - horror stories help! ;-)

3) A salesman told me (who sells jayco) that the rule of thumb is, you never do #2 in the popup, only #1...something about the plastic absorbs the odor (he said the same about cooking with garlic)....If that's the case, with my five year old and 2 yr old, a potty / shower, just might be a waste of cash and thus the whole pop up thing goes out the window.

I just need some good advice from people who have been there and know about balancing some of the comforts of home while enjoying camping.

Thanks.
PH

[MoJoCamping]

We use our cassette toilet just like we are at home.  After every trip we come home and I have a clean out to the city sewer that allows me to dump it, rinse it out and leave it empty until our next trip.  I dont put any chemicals in it until I get where I am going.  The trip home agitates it enough to break up all the (well you know what) and it cleans up easily.  You can run hoses off your shower and sink drains to any rv campground hookup.  Camping world has sewer adapters for those parks who like the hole to be sealed.  We mostly dry camp and use soaps for the environment.  but we do have a 12 gal tote just in case.  Hope this helps!   Oh, if you need to dump your toilet at the rv park, they are really easy with a handle and wheels to take it where you need to and just start all over again!

[saylfish]

I just purchased a williamsburg and the dealer gave me a sewer connection with a garden hose fitting for full hookup use.

[harleywolf]

I know of no way to hook the cassette up to sewer at full hook up sites. I have a 25 gal. tote for our grey water. We haven

[OC Campers]

When we bought our Westlake, the pottie/shower was a must.  Our kids were little and taking a shower at the bathhouse was torture for them.  The shower in the popup works perfect for little ones.  My husband has also used it when we were out boondocking.  We have 2 totes.  a 5 gallon one for the shower and a 15 gallon for the gray water.  The cassette is very easy to deal with.  We have owned our pup for 6 years and this year was the first year we did #2 in it and it worked really well.  There was no dump station available where we went, so dh dumped it in the sewer opening in our driveway.  No chunks and no mess.  Another nice thing about the cassette is you do not have to pop down to dump.  Also, sometimes when we are camping in remote state parks with no dump station we have dumped it in the pit toilet.  Again no mess,  I know it is a pit toilet but we would of put that same 6 gallons in it if we didn't have the cassette.:rolleyes:
 
Jacqui

[mettam]

If you have a little one, you will not regret getting a potty in your camper!

Labor Day weekend we took our new 2007 Williamsburg out for our first real camping trip (the one overnight the week previous we did little more than pop-up and figure out how to get the AC working).  We didn't plan to use the cassette potty that weekend since we were fairly close to a clean campground bathhouse, however...

Monday morning I was awoken by a 3-year-old dancing the dance that means I probably have about a minute before a puddle happens. Quick assessment - boy has no shoes on, is too big for me to carry, and Dad is no where to be seen... I threw the stuff on the shower compartment into the closest bunk, lifted the lid and sorted the boy out. At that moment, I was VERY thankful that I insisted on getting the potty/shower combo!

Now the older boy decided he needed to go. Since I was going to have to dump the cassette anyways (and Dad still hadn't shown up), I told him he could use the potty in the camper. While he was doing his thing, I noticed a smell that made me think one of our neighbors was burning some particularly nasty bit of garbage, but when my son got up, I realized the smell was actually coming from inside the camper. :yikes:  (Note to self - no #2 in the camper if we are using the inside dinette!)

Since we were leaving that morning, I had to dump the cassette within a couple hours of it being used (part of the deal with my husband - I got the potty, but I had to care for it). Pulled it out of the camper, pulled up the handle, and wheeled it down to the dump station. Put up the spout, take off the cap, and tip it into the hole provided.  That chemical stuff must work pretty fast (I'm guessing that it got well shook up while wheeling it across the campground) because all that came out was liquid. Used the hose provided there to rinse it out a bit, then top on and back to the camper. All of about 15 minutes to do, and will probably take less time next time since I won't have to read the instructions as I do it!

Frankly, remembering trips in a Class A RV my grandparents had when I was a kid and my Dad having to do the dump station thing, I think this was actually easier and cleaner to take care of than that was. Never had the thought that I wished I was wearing rubber gloves when I did it (and I normally clean house wearing gloves). While I don't think that we will use it in preference to a clean CG bathhouse, I am very happy I have it available if we need it. Alot easier to clean than a puddle in the middle of the camper!

At that age, they can't go to the bathhouse by themselves and they can't always give you enough warning. Even if you only use it for emergencies, it will be money well spent.

Besides, if you get one with a built-in potty, for tax purposes it counts as a second home!

Lisa

[PattieAM]

I have the Niagara and have the residential style toilet and love it.  It gets used just like at home, but primarily for night time use.   The chemical deoderizer does quite well at it's job, plus the bowl has water in it after flushing, so no odor seeps up from the tank.   The 9 gal. holding tank goes several days before needing to be emptied, and it's not a bad job to empty/dump.  I've got the 25 gal. towable tote and it's pretty easy to manouver, hook to the tow vehicle hitch ball and off to the dump station.   Of course I prefer the sites with sewer hookup.

The shower might not be large, but one wets down,(turns off water)  lathers up and rinses off - quite refreshing.

I've read somewhere about adapting a cassette potty to the campground sewer, but don't remember what I've read.  Back in the tent camping days I had a Passport potty, and just disconnected the tank and took it to the dump station and let-r-rip, rinsed out and added about 1 inch water to it and the deoderizer and it was good to go again.

[propellerhead]

All-
Thankyou for your advice and sharing your experiences!

I now feel much more comfortable with getting a PU with a cassette. And what to expect.

PH

[fritz_monroe]

We use our cassette all the time.  It is rarely used for #2, but only because I have to dump it and I don't want to deal with that.  In emergencies, it's allowed, but I don't want that becoming the norm.

We were originally looking at nothing but shower models, but took a look at how we would use it and we ALWAYS camp where they have showers.  So we looked for floor plans whe liked.  We love the Bayside.

If you end up with a model without a shower, you can always add one in a dinnette seat.  Go to the camping pics link in my sig and go up a level.  Find Oz & Us and he's got pics of his dinnette seat shower mod.  This is one of the great things about a pup, you can make it what you want it to be.

[ronerjones]

This topic should be a permanent fixture on the first page. I remember posting a similar question not too long ago and there was a huge responce to it, I only wish I could find that link for you. Here is what I have found. We bought our new to us PUP at the beginning of the summer. All intentions were to get one that had a cassette potty and shower. REMEMBER EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN DIFFERING OPINIONS, add up all of the plusses and minuses and see where you fit in.

1) where do you plan to camp? We do not do the rustic thing Fort Wilderness, KOA, and a few state parks. Fort Wilderness has bathrooms that are nicer than at home, I have no intentions of sitting on a coffee can with a shower curtain around it.

2) Space? I got a couch that converts into a bed. I have 2 kids that will come in handy when they want to start inviting friends.

3)Privacy A lot of people say they only use theirs for #1 It has been no issue so far to use the provided facilities

4)one more thing to set up and clean up

5)Water is a real enimy of the trailers I did not want the hassle of folding up something that was wet inside

6)We do long weekends 3 or 4 days is tollarable even if the facilities are not first class

7)I was never in a PUP that had a potty that did not have some sort of aroma that I did not want in mine. The blue water used to flush them has an odor.

My wife really wanted the shower and cassett potty, however, when she saw what she was actually getting it didnt seem to be such a priority. We opted for the additional square footage. Don't nix the whole idea just because of a potty. We naturally went fron tent to PUP and intend to get a hybrid someday. One of the fun things about camping is that you get away from home relax and enjoy the fact that you are getting away from your daily routine. Again this is such a huge issue take your time deciding on it.

[tlhdoc]

7)I was never in a PUP that had a potty that did not have some sort of aroma that I did not want in mine. The blue water used to flush them has an odor.

You don't flush them with blue water.  The blue chemical goes in the waste holding tank and you flush with fresh water.  If someone was flushing with blue water there would be a chemical oder.

[tlhdoc]

1) Can a cassette be adapted to connect to a camp site side grey water hookup? Like using those flexible pipings I sometimes see. Any experience with this?

Someone did make a mod so that they could hook their cassette up to the sewer (black water) connection, but I don't remember who it was.  It is easy enough to dump the cassette into a sewer connection, I don't think you would really need to do this mod.
 

2) If not and I get one of those grey water totes, won't that last for only a couple showers? And how do you dump it? Should I plan to get messy? (I want the blunt truth here, so I am going in eyes wide open - horror stories help! ;-)

The grey water totes are for grey (sink/shower) and not black (toilet) water storage.  You can connect your sink and shower hoses to a campground sewer.  If not the grey water totes are used.  The larger totes are towed behind the TV to the dumpstation to properly dispose of the water.  I use 5 gallon totes and can dump them in the dumpstation, sewer connection on site or down a toilet in the bath house.
 

3) A salesman told me (who sells jayco) that the rule of thumb is, you never do #2 in the popup, only #1...something about the plastic absorbs the odor (he said the same about cooking with garlic)....If that's the case, with my five year old and 2 yr old, a potty / shower, just might be a waste of cash and thus the whole pop up thing goes out the window.

We have used our cassette toilet for 9 camping seasons and there isn't any odor in the clean tank.  Ask the salesman how often he camps with a cassette potty.  My guess is he never has.  I would not have a camper without my own bathroom facilities.  I use the campground facilities if they are clean, but my own when they are not.  Good luck on finding a camper that fits your needs.

[RLD]

The wife an I just got a Jay Series 1206 with slide out dinette and shower/toilet combo.
My time with the cassette toilet has been a moving experience.

These things work great!
There is no odor.
Practically silent.
Simple to dump and clean.

People...Do not be afraid to use it.
It was designed for a purpose and it works great.

[CajunCamper]

I am with ronerjones on this one. My gut feeling when I purchased my Santa Fe back in 97 was that the shower for one would cause a moisture and mildew issue in the camper and the toilet would be a stinky issue to be dealt with.

We have always used bath houses at the campgrounds that we stayed at and have a portable potty that we set up in the add-a-room for my wife's middle of the night potty trips.

I just recently purchased a free standing privacy tent that will double as a shower and potty room for our dry camping trips.

We have never missed not having a toilet or shower in our camper. I also have to believe that the less equipment we have in our pop up the less we have to maintain and the fewer problems we will have down the road.

I'm not trying to talk you out of a shower and toilet, just trying to give the perspective from someone that doesn't have them.

Happy Camping

CajunCamper

[mettam]

I am with ronerjones on this one. My gut feeling when I purchased my Santa Fe back in 97 was that the shower for one would cause a moisture and mildew issue in the camper and the toilet would be a stinky issue to be dealt with.

Last Labor Day I was going to have 'moisture' in my camper either with or without a potty! I prefered having a handy container to...um... contain it.