What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?


The Englishman

New Member
What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

lve seen several boondocks with pit toilets which I thought were holes in the ground where you dump your toilet waste but on the same sites they equally provide dump stations where you well.... dump your toilet waste

Is this another Anglo/US misinterpretation?

In easy o understand language an someone tell me what I should expect?
 

LEN

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

Pit toilets are a hole in the ground. These maybe up to date, concrete block or fiberglass enclosures, clean and functional, some are even solar powered. You will find these in a lot of camp grounds in the western US in the more remote area's or area's with no water or the undeveloped camp ground area's. Where do the tent campers go(to do your daily duty)? And you will find that these camp grounds also have a dump station where there may or may not be potable water. Some of these same camp grounds may also have water but at just a few locations in the camp plus they may be hand pumped.

LEN
 

TexasClodhopper

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

A pit toilet is a modern outhouse without the Sears Roebuck catalog! :clown:
 

ironart

New Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

Usually, when I find one that's clean enough to use, the Sears Catalog is gone and so is the toilet paper......If there ever was any to start with....Just be prepared to bring your own wipes......
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

If everyone that had holding tanks dumped their waste into the pit it would fill pretty quick. They are there for folks that don't have bathrooms in their rvs IMO.
 

LEN

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

The tanks in the Us are anywhere from 30 to 45 gallons and a few even bigger. We fill our gray water long before the black water so we dump both at the same time. I use the chemical in warmer weather and not in the cold, some don't use any at all just more water with the flush. Some of the smaller RV's have the recirculating type of toilet and they are about 5 gallons.

LEN
 

H2H1

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

OK I have waited before saying anything. But here goes, If they are the same thing that I had in Viet Nam I would not use a pit toilet very unsanitary. What I had was a open ditch with 2 x 10 side by side with hole cut in them for sitting. But being a man doing #1 was easy ,if you know what I mean. I would never go anyplace to camp that was AAA rating for my wife. But we own a Class A so the bath room toilet is great and we only stay at full hook up sites. Anyway that my 2 cents. Merry Christmas to all
 

The Englishman

New Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

I have a real problem with grey water issues here in the US. I cant understand why you store grey water to discharge into a sewer.

Ok lets define grey water - Its the waste water from washing up, showers which is NOT human waste.

In Britain we were/are strongly encouraged to return grey water to the land. It does several things. Water the land, reduce load on the sewer and reduce the need to store it and risk becoming contaminated.

A small hole is dug (depending on the rate of discharge) is about a foot square by a foot deep and the discharge pipe for the grey water is sat in the hole. As the water is discharged it is soaked up by the land. At visit end the soil is returned and the sod patted down.

Green washing products can remove all elements of 'contamination' but the quantities are very small anyway even when using conventional products.

Is this practised here? :question:
 

SnowbirdInFlight

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?



The only place I've seen this done is when me and the DH stay at the base campground, Holbrook Pond, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Only you don't have to dig a hole to drain the gray water, you just run your hose out away from your trailer on the ground. The sites have plenty of room to do this and it never causes a problem.


The only reason this can be done at this campground is because the soil is mostly sand. The ground just soaks up the water like a sponge. But, this is the only place I know of that allows it.

I agree that the gray water should be allowed to drain out, but at some of the higher-end RV Parks this would be impossible as they have paved roads and paved campsites, very close together, and very little actual bare ground. The campground would soon be flooded, so it really wouldn't work.
 

H2H1

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

Well there is another RV park in GA. that will allow gray water to run freely on to the soil. It is Blanton Creek Park, this park is owned and maintained by Georgia Power Company and it is located on the Chattahoocee River. The park is very woody and makes you feel like you are in a forest dry camping, but of course you aren't they do have a laundry and bath house and 30 amp service and water, but nothing else. The park manager ask that if you have a water front site not to let your GW to run into the river.
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: What is a pit toilet when dump stations are available?

Most private RV parks and public RV parks DO NOT ALLOW the discharge of gray water. The RV holding tanks are so large and there are so many RV's the gray water would soon find it's way into all the surrounding creeks and lakes and contaminate them. Also, the gray tanks hold all the kitchen gray water which may contain some scraps and fat and other food that will soon attract flies if discharged on to the ground. The environmentalits would soon find a way to stop all camping if they had a good reason to do so. :( :eek:
 
Top