Toilet (and kitty litter!)
Photo of a black toilet tent, just large enough
for one person to stand up in.
After an experience our first summer when a campsite´s bathrooms were unusable for 18 hours, we now carry a portable toilet, and a toilet tent. We use pine kitty litter in the loo — which makes our ´outhouse´ smell like the deep woods; it´s much nicer to use than a campsite porta-potty.
First crucial toilet tip: DON´T USE LINERS MADE FOR PORTABLE TOILETS. DO NOT USE COMPOST-ABLE LINERS. (Ask me how I know.) Kitchen trash bags, doubled, will work fine and are trustworthy as long as you don´t snag one. Use three if you´re really worried.
I would LOVE to use compost-able liners. Don´t, just don´t. They´re designed to fall apart. You can figure out why it matters; one try was enough for us.
Using a plain, pine, kitty litter will eliminate all odors . In fact, it will make your toilet smell as fresh as the woods outside. (For the obvious reason.) Sprinkle enough on to cover what you´ve done.
Photo of the inside of a toilet tent. An old detergent bottle filled
with pine kitty litter is at the lower left. Behind that is a waterproof
storage bin with supplies (toilet paper, wipes, urine solidifier) inside.
The black plastic toilet unit is to the right of the storage bin.
Amusingly, it takes longer to set up the toilet tent than it does to set up the Aliner!
(Pro Tip for toilet tent set-up: Do not block the view from the Aliner with the loo tent!)
If you expect use your toilet over several days, you might want to use a urine solidifier, which theoretically makes wrapping the bag up and disposal easier, since the liquids become solids. But you might find that the pine litter works just as well, depending on volume and number of users. A table spoon or so at a time does the trick; you don’t sprinkle it like litter.
A toilet tent is a good idea, for so many reasons. Ours came with a separate floor, which means it´s easily washable. (Which won´t actually be necessary if everyone is tidy, except to remove mud once you´re home.) You need tent pegs, and not the ones which will come with the tent. Get actual tent pegs which can actually be put into earth.
Photo of a bunch of silver metal tent stakes set on asphalt.
Pack a hammer; you´ll need it.
As noted in a previous post, pay attention to where you set up your portable toilet. You probably don´t want to be looking at it, in general, and you probably don´t want it in full view of other campers, either.
Also, a light inside will make you very visible, if that concerns you. Set your flashlight on top of whatever you use for the supplies, and you´ll be able to see enough to make your way around the tent, but you won´t be exposed to the world at large.
There are fancier, better, portable toilets than the one we use, but they are questionably reliable, messier to deal with, and weigh a lot more. We went for simple and lightweight. No regrets so far.
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