Cassette Toilets - Why Not?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Dave, you interpolating your thinking into my words, I dumped 2 cassettes and grey water tank the previous night in the state park dumping station with no waiting line.

No Dave, I am not one those environmentally irresponsible.

No interpolating. Your post implied and incited a flurry of responses of not having to wait at a dump station with a cassette.

[InterBlog]

Did I miss something on this thread?

No waiting at the dump station, supposing one is OK inflicting a full cassette on a small campground washroom toilet, and/or taking it back home. I got that part. But when and where does gray water get dumped if (a) not at the dump station and (b) not released into the environment? It has to go somewhere.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Did I miss something on this thread?

No waiting at the dump station, supposing one is OK inflicting a full cassette on a small campground washroom toilet, and/or taking it back home. I got that part. But when and where does gray water get dumped if (a) not at the dump station and (b) not released into the environment? It has to go somewhere.

Very often I will dump grey water into a vault toilet using a 5 gallon collapsible water container.

Not sure why you see an issue with dumping a cassette into a campground toilet?

If we were tent camping we would be “inflicting” just as much stuff into that toilet, just spread over a two day period. Never managed to spill anything or plugged one up yet dumping a cassette into a regular toilet at a campground, rest area, or at home.

[gregmchugh]

The following PSA is sponsored by NACOOA (North American Cassette Owners and Operators Association)

Based on reports from NACOOA members there appears to be widespread misunderstanding and mistrust on social media and RV forums with regard to cassette toilets, their operation, and their owners.

First, lets make it clear that a cassette is an inanimate object and if anyone has dreams of a cassette attacking them and dumping poop on their shoes this is just not something that can happen. If you are having these types of dreams see below for information on the NACOOA help line where you can find help for this...

Second, as with most RV equipment, there are owners who know how to use cassettes and those that don’t. This is also the case with black tank owners as we see every day at dump stations across America and notably in the movies. A little learning goes a long way to improve your dumping skills for both systems.

Third, just because you have a personal aversion to cassettes does not require you to respond to every mention of cassettes that you see with comments doubting the common sense of cassette owners. We do have feelings just like everyone and there is no reason to deride our choice of toilets. If you find that you cannot resist the urge to make negative comments regarding cassette toilets consider the possibility that you may have an underlying medical condition that is thankfully treatable, for example,

https://phobia.wikia.org/wiki/Coprophobia

—————————————

The NACOOA Help Line - 1-888-425-9700 (1-888-ICKYPOO) is available 24 hours a day to help those with an untreated phobia of cassette toilets.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

....
Not sure why you see an issue with dumping a cassette into a campground toilet?
.....

For the same reason others have - because of the smell. Not everyone agrees that there is an odor problem, but some of us have found it prohibitive. We've been through that already on this thread.

So, OK, 5-gallon bucket to transfer the gray water for proper disposal. Conventional Class Bs have gray water ports about 7 inches off the ground. Some device must therefore transfer from that low point into the 5-gallon bucket. Two corresponding questions:

(1) What is that device, and how does it overcome the gravitational limitations of such a transfer? (This might be easier for rigs that have macerators).

(2) Where is said 5-gallon bucket and its transfer device (which hopefully could be stored inside the bucket) carried in a van?

A 5-gallon bucket takes up almost as much room as some cassette toilet models themselves. I need a 5-gallon bucket for off-grid water purification purposes (first-stage filtration), but I have absolutely nowhere to put it during transit. Last summer during quarantine, I had to have one delivered to my property in advance of my arrival.

[MsNomer]

We have never used a dump station for anything. Just pass right on by and pity the poor schmucks waiting in line.

I’ve dumped my 5-qt pee bucket/bag at McDonald’s many times, as well as any other available toilet. Nobody has ever even raised an eyebrow. Shower water gets dumped from a 2-gallon SW bucket. There is no other gray water. If there's no toilet available, I put TP elsewhere and dump pee on the ground—ecologically equivalent to what guys do routinely. Poo is contained and disposed of separately.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

For the same reason others have - because of the smell. Not everyone agrees that there is an odor problem, but some of us have found it prohibitive. We've been through that already on this thread.

So, OK, 5-gallon bucket to transfer the gray water for proper disposal. Conventional Class Bs have gray water ports about 7 inches off the ground. Some device must therefore transfer from that low point into the 5-gallon bucket. Two corresponding questions:

(1) What is that device, and how does it overcome the gravitational limitations of such a transfer? (This might be easier for rigs that have macerators).

(2) Where is said 5-gallon bucket and its transfer device (which hopefully could be stored inside the bucket) carried in a van?

A 5-gallon bucket takes up almost as much room as some cassette toilet models themselves. I need a 5-gallon bucket for off-grid water purification purposes (first-stage filtration), but I have absolutely nowhere to put it during transit. Last summer during quarantine, I had to have one delivered to my property in advance of my arrival.

Our dedicated grey tank is 26 gallons and has a garden hose connection for dumping. I carry a short hose to go from the dump outlet (about 18 inches off the ground) to the 5 gallon water container. I happen to have a larger RV so finding a spot to store this container is easy but I do use one like this that is collapsible and would be easy to store in a smaller RV.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...s%2C281&sr=8-8

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Davydd

No interpolating. Your post implied and incited a flurry of responses of not having to wait at a dump station with a cassette.

Not implied but I could have touched one of your sensitivity buttons such as waiting in line to dump station being one of them.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Very often I will dump grey water into a vault toilet using a 5 gallon collapsible water container.

Not sure why you see an issue with dumping a cassette into a campground toilet?

If we were tent camping we would be “inflicting” just as much stuff into that toilet, just spread over a two day period. Never managed to spill anything or plugged one up yet dumping a cassette into a regular toilet at a campground, rest area, or at home.

Since 2013 I needed to dump grey water during longer stay and used my spare cassette, painless.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Very often I will dump grey water into a vault toilet using a 5 gallon collapsible water container.

Hence, my comment about the German fellow in a Mann RV in post #130 in this thread. He made several trips over a considerable time period in dumping his grey water that way. That's just one more task other than every few days dumping a cassette one has to do. Is Europe really ahead of us 15 years or do they just not have the infrastructure in campgrounds, truck stops and rest stops to deal with easy disposal?

A lot of boondocking from Walmart to BLM dispersed camping sites to many Harvest Host sites have no accessible toilet rooms, not even vault toilets. It leads me to believe the trend of closing down boondocking rises with trend of more cassette RVs and maybe the abuse it can entail. When I got into Class B RVing 16 years ago, I don't recall any commercial upfitter offering cassette toilets.

I repeat. Disposal tasks for me black and grey tank together is a 5-10 minute operation for me on an average of every two weeks simply throwing a switch and two pulls of a lever never seeing or smelling what comes out. No rinsing. No carrying spare cassettes sacrificing valuable space for storage just to equal the smallest black tanks on the market.

The thread is "Cassette Toilets - Why Not?" Strong arguments for why not, especially in a B+ or C like the Winnebago Ekko. Poor design for such a big RV.

Yeah, why not, maybe if you plan to make a North America to South America trip to Patagonia.

[N147JK]

Originally Posted by michaelingp

it doesn't block any windows, or really take up any room at all. We love having windows all around the van. It allows a very airy, open floor plan that would be impossible with a conventional bathroom in a van this small.

Can't put a price on this. Blocking the views and clogging up the precious little interior space (for any reason) with cabinetry that isn't really necessary defeats the very purpose of being on the road.

Our van originally came with a flushing black water system. A previous owner had it uninstalled and sealed off. This was a huge selling point and INCREASED the value of the van, as it negated the need for me doing it myself.

Carrying the waste tank over to the dump? I call it "the walk of glory".

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Hence, my comment about the German fellow in a Mann RV in post #130 in this thread. He made several trips over a considerable time period in dumping his grey water that way. That's just one more task other than every few days dumping a cassette one has to do. Is Europe really ahead of us 15 years or do they just not have the infrastructure in campgrounds, truck stops and rest stops to deal with easy disposal?

A lot of boondocking from Walmart to BLM dispersed camping sites to many Harvest Host sites have no accessible toilet rooms, not even vault toilets. It leads me to believe the trend of closing down boondocking rises with trend of more cassette RVs and maybe the abuse it can entail. When I got into Class B RVing 16 years ago, I don't recall any commercial upfitter offering cassette toilets.

I repeat. Disposal tasks for me black and grey tank together is a 5-10 minute operation for me on an average of every two weeks simply throwing a switch and two pulls of a lever never seeing or smelling what comes out. No rinsing. No carrying spare cassettes sacrificing valuable space for storage just to equal the smallest black tanks on the market.

The thread is "Cassette Toilets - Why Not?" Strong arguments for why not, especially in a B+ or C like the Winnebago Ekko. Poor design for such a big RV.

Yeah, why not, maybe if you plan to make a North America to South America trip to Patagonia.

And strong arguments from cassette users to support their choice...

And to be picky, it is a MAN truck, a part of Volkswagen AG.

https://www.man.eu/uk/en/homepage.html

[GeorgeRa]

To fuel more interpolating, a few weeks ago we needed to fill our fresh water tank so we pulled over to this dump station heading south to California. This pictured fellow arrived just before us. It took him almost 30 min. to dump. He struggled with water hose connecting to the front tanks, cycled gray and black valves 3 times, disconnected the water hose, cycled black and gray valves 2 times, moved the hose to real tank, it was total 30 minutes of dumping.

In the hindsight I could have go around him but didn’t want to block him off fresh water.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

To fuel more interpolating, a few weeks ago we needed to fill our fresh water tank so we pulled over to this dump station heading south to California. This pictured fellow arrived just before us. It took him almost 30 min. to dump. He struggled with water hose connecting to the front tanks, cycled gray and black valves 3 times, disconnected the water hose, cycled black and gray valves 2 times, moved the hose to real tank, it was total 30 minutes of dumping.

I've been behind that guy, too. Lots of folks seem to approach dumping as a religious ritual.

However, it is not fair to compare this to the experience of someone with a properly set up permanently-installed macerator setup. 10 minutes would be at the extreme outside of how long it takes me to dump tanks. Honestly, I am baffled by people who say that they actually prefer dumping a cassette vs such a system. I do understand that the ability to dump in a vault toilet or at home has utility for a some people, but IMO suggesting that it is in any way easier or less unpleasant is crazy talk. In this regard, when speaking of a "black tank" it is important to distinguish between a macerator setup and a stinky-slinky-based system. If the latter were the alternative, I would go with a cassette in a heartbeat. But except for dependence on dump stations, I believe that a sealed macerator setup is the lowest-hassle approach available.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by avanti

I've been behind that guy, too. Lots of folks seem to approach dumping as a religious ritual.

However, it is not fair to compare this to the experience of someone with a properly set up permanently-installed macerator setup. 10 minutes would be at the extreme outside of how long it takes me to dump tanks. Honestly, I am baffled by people who say that they actually prefer dumping a cassette vs such a system. I do understand that the ability to dump in a vault toilet or at home has utility for a some people, but IMO suggesting that it is in any way easier or less unpleasant is crazy talk. In this regard, when speaking of a "black tank" it is important to distinguish between a macerator setup and a stinky-slinky-based system. If the latter were the alternative, I would go with a cassette in a heartbeat. But except for dependence on dump stations, I believe that a sealed macerator setup is the lowest-hassle approach available.

For us, cassette, or possibly composting, toilets are the only feasible solution. On travels in the Yukon, Alaska, and the NWT we probably had access to a dump station maybe once or twice a month when we passed through a populated area. Vault toilets are easy to find and the only real option for dumping where we spend a lot of our time. We carry 125 gallons of fresh water so getting water is our limiting factor on staying out in the boondocks. We can purify water from lakes, rivers, or streams but we rarely need to extend our time beyond the tank capacity since we need to get groceries at about the same time we are running out of water.

I had a macerator in our Roadtrek and it is a great system just not right for every persons needs...

[avanti]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

For us, cassette, or possibly composting, toilets are the only feasible solution. On travels in the Yukon, Alaska, and the NWT we probably had access to a dump station maybe once or twice a month when we passed through a populated area. Vault toilets are easy to find and the only real option for dumping where we spend a lot of our time. We carry 125 gallons of fresh water so getting water is our limiting factor on staying out in the boondocks. We can purify water from lakes, rivers, or streams but we rarely need to extend our time beyond the tank capacity since we need to get groceries at about the same time we are running out of water.

I had a macerator in our Roadtrek and it is a great system just not right for every persons needs...

Well, yes. Your case is pretty convincing.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Did I miss something on this thread?

No waiting at the dump station, supposing one is OK inflicting a full cassette on a small campground washroom toilet, and/or taking it back home. I got that part. But when and where does gray water get dumped if (a) not at the dump station and (b) not released into the environment? It has to go somewhere.

Ask Humble Road, he explained it: What he was planning to do. Anyone recall if he has ever mentioned again?

[Bud]

What's different about this thread vs most imo?

More Emotion and Feelings than most. Hey if your need to understand or learn how to, there is emotion and feelings or you would not be here. When mr booster is assisting and supporting, he feels good.

But this is about dealing with Sh*T. Oh, I know it's complication as there is Urine too. Human Animal stuff although there is probably a dog, cat out there somewhere that may be involved too. Now I'm remembering some pictures.

There is not as many fun times with me laughing concerning what? a water pump? a compressor refer? an isolater? a storage cabinet? Tires? ..............

I'll say it again, there is an application (best choice) for each method of **** stuff and how to deal with it, quite a few too. Why the emotion? It can be entertaining with the right folks, and THAT is here.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

For us, cassette, or possibly composting, toilets are the only feasible solution. .....

We carry 125 gallons of fresh water so getting water is our limiting factor on staying out in the boondocks. .s...

I largely agree with Avanti. That travel scenario points to a cassette or a composting toilet or urine segregators coupled with a whole lotta wag bags or something along those lines.

125 gallons of fresh water? That's over a thousand pounds. What Class B build can carry that much and not exceed GVWR?

I'm not saying it cannot be done - it certainly could in a DIY build, but I'm unaware of any commercial models built like that.

[Davydd]

We went on an 11 week trip up the Alaska Highway, all over Alaska and back via Chicken, AK and the On Top of the World Highway in the Yukon and down the Cassiar Highway in BC which was much more remote than the Alaskan Highway. We never had problems with finding dump stations and that was with our GWVan with less capacity tanks.

They say when you go to Alaska you drive on the top half of your tank and always fill up when it gets halfway down. I didn't find that really necessary but practiced it anyway on the Alaskan Highway. You might want to extend that practice with F, G, and B tanks in more remote areas or take advantage of it when opportunity presents.