Ok…so here we are going to talk crap. This blog is not for the meek….we are going to get personal in this post. We are talking about doing your business in the woods.
When talking with people who at the most, have camped in an RV or a campground, and not taken a multi-day trip completely self-supported, the primary question I get asked (usually in a very quiet tone) is where do we do the business of doo….its an honest question, because at some point in your travel, you have to download.
This can be problematic not just for those who have not had the experience of finding a special spot to squat. Add in weather, children, lack of flora and fauna, maybe a stomach bug. Having a place near your camp that is sanitary, convienent, and private is important.
This last year during the Idaho Overland we kicked off our test of the Luggable Loo by Reliance. We already had a history of using many of their products. They build great consumer grade products that ar reasonably affordable. Because Abby is now getting to the age where she needs a bit more privacy and she was the only girl on the trip, I wanted a solution that offered her a place to do what she needed to do. I also knew that our trip was going to take us through a few barren areas that did not offer concealment. We were also not using any kind of established camp grounds, we were totaly self-supported.
The Luggable Loo was one part of this equation (a privacy shelter that I will do in another blog was the other). The portable unit is a toilet seat with a locking lid to help control odors. It is designed to be attatched to the top of a 5-gallon pickle bucket. You can either by the unit alon or with a bucket. Since I have plenty of buckets like this, I opted to use my own.
For waste collection, I used two thick trash bags that I pre-lined with cedar shavings. I pre-set six of these double-bagged sets for the trip. As we pulled into camp each night, we would set up the privacy shelter and the Luggable Loo. Each morning, it was the last item to be packed and the waste bags were tied and secured with a zip tie, and placed into a third bag, which was desposed of when we came to a dumpster or collection site on the road. Opting to not carry the waste in the Jeep, they were held for transport in a Trassharoo, which is a trash container that hooks up to the spare tire on the back.
For backside cleaning, we kept a couple roles of TP stored in coffee cans along with baby-wipes. Be sure to store your TP role in a ziplock bag when not in use, even in dry seasons, the roll will absorb any moisture in the air. We also would “flush” the bucket after the bags were removed with a squirt of vinegar as a sanitary precaution.
We were very happy with the Luggable Loo. the only downside for us in a tightly packed Jeep is the space it takes. Unlike other prtables I have used, it sits high enough from the ground and places you in the proper “buisiness position”. in fact, its comfortable enough, youo can even take a book or the morning paper with you to read….
Reliance also has a collapsable toilet it sells that we are hoping to test soon.
Adventure IQ 