Porta Potti - Cassette Toilet

The porta potti/cassette toilet are two names for similar devices which provide toilet facilities where none are available.. The porta potti, just as the name implies is portable and can be placed anywhere. The cassette toilet is an option on many pop up campers and when purchased is attached to the pop up in a fixed location. Both of them use a similar system where a holding tank is removed for transport to a dump station (or into the sewer connection on site if available).

As most of our camping takes place in remote areas of National Forest land, bath/shower houses are not available and we have to bring our own facilities.  As our first pop up did not have it's own facilities, we had to make other arrangements.

When the nature called, we needed a place for this purpose.  We saw a tent and potti at the campsite of Nancy Rappa, of Pop-Up-Times fame and decided this was the way we would go.

Camping World had a sale on the Thetford Porta Potti 135, (2.6 gal fresh water 2.6 gal waste) for only $58, what a deal!

For a little privacy, we wanted a tent, but the tent Nancy used was around $200.  I found a tent at Campmor, which is actually made for a Pett Portable Toilet by Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.  It is sold as both a system with the toilet, or alone to be used with a toilet from any manufacturer.  It is Campmor Item Number: 11149.

The tent has a large pocket in the rear which will hold both a roll of toilet paper as well as "reading material" for those that need it.  Additionally it has very large screened windows for ventilation. 

Here are a couple of shots taken at our campsite.  

All photos are thumbnails, click to see a larger view

To the left you see the tent set up at the end of our pop-up.

A close up of the inside

The photo to the left shows how we normally set up the potti tent behind the back bunk.  This photo was taken at Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World.

Here is the potti tent with the stand explained below.

My Potti Stand

The one thing I did not like about the porta potti was that is is several inches shorter than the "normal" facilities found in your home.  With less than $10 in wood, I built this light stand for the porta potti to sit on, bringing it up to a comfortable height.  Yet to be completed in this project is a couple of coats of paint that will endure the use it will see.  Yes, this is what campers do during the winter when camping is not an option.

Here is the stand in it's "raw" form.

Here is the stand after painting. The color is "Dusty Canyon".

Here is the completed project.  Now the potti "sits" at a more normal height.

After the trip, emptying was a breeze.  We just stopped by a Forest Service campground and dumped into a pit toilet.

Operation of a Porta Potti

The porta potti is a simple device to use and complete instructions can be found on the Service Information for Portable Toilets page of the Thetford web page.

Cassette Toilet

In our 2005 Niagara, we have a nice cassette toilet.  No more need to set up the tent and carry the stand with us.  When the time comes to empty it just open a door on the side of the pop up and pull out the cassette.  

Carry it to the dump station and empty the contents.

You can find a full description on the Thetford web site 

Chemicals & "Stuff"

Chemicals and toilet tissue are available for your potti/cassette toilet.    These chemicals assist in breaking down the contents of the potti which aids in an easy and clean disposal.  Specially designed toilet tissue is available which breaks down quickly and does not clog the unit.  Use of "home made" solutions may damage the seals or plastic parts of the unit so their use is not recommended.  Read the owners manual of your potti as some manufactures have you add the chemicals to the fresh water holding tank while others have you add them to the waste holding tank.

   Revised: May 08, 2007