This is a topic I've thought way too much about over the years. Anytime this topic comes up in some other groups I'm in, you instantly get the tough-guys saying "be a man, just dig a hole." And sure, that works in some cases, but why not make life easier and nicer? We all have things that aren't necessities in our rigs, if we wanted to just tough it out we'd bring nothing but a tarp and caribou hide, hunt/fish for our sustenance, and we'd be on foot or horseback not in vehicles. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's funny to me that some Overland/wheelers will act like wanting a comfortable place to sit for a sh!t is somehow weak, but having a RTT with a diesel heater is totally normal.
Besides that, there are many areas where the "dig a hole" solution either isn't legal or isn't practical/acceptable IMHO. Wherever possible, I try to Overland far from "popular" spots and people. But that's not always possible, and sometimes it's worth going to a highly-used spot (like Alabama Hills) for the views, proximity, and weather (I'm in Vegas so getting to elevation is key in the summer); that, or it's what my buddies want to do. I really don't think it's cool to do your business in a highly utilized area like that and leave TP everywhere (unfortunately, we see it all the time).
Thus far, my solution has been a
Cleanwaste Portable Toilet and their bags. It's simple, clean (I've never had any "mistakes" or "blowouts"), and cheap. I have a drop-down privacy tent on the side of my FWC, but if I'm being totally honest, 99% of the time I just set it up inside the FWC when I need it. Sorry if that sounds gross; obviously, I wouldn't use it with anyone else in the camper, but it's just easy, and it means I have the sink with hot water to wash my hands right there. Also, I have heat and AC on the FWC. It's awfully nice to not have to do my business outside when it's in the teens, or 100+.
That said, on long trips far from any garbage receptacles, the trash bag on my spare tire starts to fill up with that waste. My rig tends to be the center of camp/kitchen for the group, which means ppl tend to use the trash on my rig. I worry someday somebody is going to stuff something in there when it's pretty full and have a bad, bad day. Plus, not having the waste bags go in there would give me more capacity for regular trash. So I've been considering some type of cassette/compost/chemical toilet. When I'm out on long trips, I almost always come across vault toilets here and there; with a cassette-type toilet, I'd be able to empty it out, whereas there aren't dumpsters anywhere so I can't ditch my bagged waste (no, I'm never going to throw the bags in a vault toilet; I can't believe people do that).
The problem is every time I start researching what toilet to get, I get analysis paralysis, don't order anything, and just keep using the bag solution. What I want is something with good capacity (if my wife comes along, it'd be nice if she can use it for #1 at times too; she's fine with squatting in the woods, but in the middle of the night, if it's super cold, etc. it'd be a good option) that stays clean (I worry about cleanup of the bowl itself after use), doesn't release *ANY* odor, and is easy to empty. I've RV'ed my entire adult life in addition to traditional camping and Overlanding, so I'm used to dealing with dumping and all but I still want the easiest/cleanest solution possible.
There are some great suggestions in this thread already, which I'm looking into, but I would love other suggestions y'all have used and are very happy with.
-TJ
EDIT: this is one I'm currently considering:
GottaGo does anyone in the group have experience with it?
www.cleanwaste.com
so no oder. My Wife is a big coffee drinker, we would never get anywhere with pee stops! Great in the middle of the night when nature calls.
