Desert Rest Stop

[Oakman]

This photo of a pit toilet was taken at a rest stop in Utah.

[acadianbob]

Nice vent!

[dwaynerz]

meets code. has to be at least 3' above highest part of the roofline.

[Crusader]

Looks like a wire spool turned on its side ...........

[awwall]

From being ignorant on a "pit" toilet, I can only guess it it similiar to our southern "out houses"? If I am right, did you or Joyce make a trip in there to have the experience of saying, "I did it"

[B47]

Originally Posted by Crusader

Looks like a wire spool turned on its side ...........

You know - on second look it does look like that.

Very good.

[youroo]

This design Won Architecture Awards in Utah! Youroo!!

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by awwall

From being ignorant on a "pit" toilet, I can only guess it it similiar to our southern "out houses"? If I am right, did you or Joyce make a trip in there to have the experience of saying, "I did it"

Yes, an outhouse. No, we didn't use it because I was towing a fifth wheel with my own bathroom. Places like that are usually pretty nasty. Just another reason to always travel with 10 or 15 gallons of water in the fresh water tank.

[comfun1]

In 1976 at Elk City Lake in Montgomery County, Kansas there were pit toilets just like that one in your picture but made of corrugated tin. They were located at the now closed Oak Ridge Campground. There was a his and hers. The interesting thing about them was that the tin was cut about a foot to a foot and a half above the ground to allow lots of ventilation. Whenever someone was in one you could see their legs from the calves down. The campground was closed long ago due to frequent flooding. After one of our more recent floods the Corps of Engineers removed the boat dock, ramp and the pit toilets.

[PineForestCamper]

I hate to break the news but that is most likely NOT a pit toilet. Rather......its a "vault" toilet! Annoying I know. I have been corrected by my brother in law EVERY time I say pit.

So where exactly is this bad boy? I might just put this on my must see list. I'm something of a vault toilet connoisseur as I do most of my camping in National Forest campgrounds.

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by WarMovies

I might just put this on my must see list. I'm something of a vault toilet connoisseur as I do most of my camping in National Forest campgrounds.

Vault toilet connoisseur??

[PineForestCamper]

I apologize for the length of this...

I have popup camped for the past 11 years and tented 13 years before that. No TT biffy. Much of camping experience is at the mercy of the campground host and condition/design of the vault toilet. I state parked it for many of those years and avoided the look down and see the pile because state parks generally have flush toilets in a bldg.

My desire to go more wild meant a trade off. No flush toilets. No buildings. The co-pilot has adapted well but she always prefers a clean biffy. Over the years I've learned that all camp hosts are not created equal. Some keep their toilets cleaner than I do at home. Some change paper (if that) and throw chemicals down there periodically.

I've did some amateur observation in regards to design and have wondered why some work better than others. The latest National Forest VT's are amazing. They work well and I can only imagine what they cost to build. They would seem to be able withstand hurricane force winds as they are made out of fabricated concrete.

Anyways...we know who keeps the cleanest VT's and that enters into the equation when we determine where we are going to camp! Many hosts come back to the same campground year after year. Some of this will most likely change as we are changing campers this year.

[WEMig]

I've seen one like this north of Amarillo, TX on US 287.

[wmtire]

WarMovies, if not for the water... the portable toilets in RV's and many travel trailers are a small form of vault toilets. They both hold the waste in a container until pumped/dumped out.

We are holding our annual local geocaching event this April at a new park here in Louisiana, that they say has the first composting toilets in the state.

I'm interested to see how this goes, as there may be 75 people at this thing.

http://gatewaytogreenliving.wordpress.com/

Do you have any experience with these kind of composting toilets?

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by dwaynerz

meets code. has to be at least 3' above highest part of the roofline.

Just so the highest part below the toilet seat is 3' !!

[PineForestCamper]

wmtire
Excellent point. Portable vault toilet. Never thought of it that way before.

I would be super interested in hearing more about that composting toilet and seeing pictures.

You can take away my microwave and iPod/iPad but I cant live w/o toilet paper and modern plumbing!

[PineForestCamper]

Originally Posted by Oakman

This photo of a pit toilet was taken at a rest stop in Utah.

Oakman
Nice picture btw. Glad you took and shared. I wonder how many others have snapped the same pic.

[dwaynerz]

biggest ball of yarn, giant jack rabbits, caddillac ranch and now a vault toilet tour. where will the fun ever stop

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by wmtire

WarMovies, if not for the water... the portable toilets in RV's and many travel trailers are a small form of vault toilets. They both hold the waste in a container until pumped/dumped out.

We are holding our annual local geocaching event this April at a new park here in Louisiana, that they say has the first composting toilets in the state.

I'm interested to see how this goes, as there may be 75 people at this thing.

Bryan Park: Gateway to Green Living

Do you have any experience with these kind of composting toilets?

OK, I find the subject of composting toilets and geocaching in the same post a little unsettling.

[PineForestCamper]

Originally Posted by Oakman

OK, I find the subject of composting toilets and geocaching in the same post a little unsettling.

Now I havent laughed that hard in a long while. Hmmm. Oakman are you wondering where the medallion is going to be hidden? Oh...just to make things clear I'm not out looking for **** with a GPS. In my life it just sort of happens.