If you’re heading out on a camping trip, you need to consider the availability of toilet facilities. Naturally, you won’t be provided with proper toilets at most campsites. There are some camps that actually go as far as providing comfortable toilet facilities, but what if they don’t? You may need to make your own DIY portable toilet for camping.
Some people have well-equipped RVs that they use to car camp which come with a great toilet. They can set out on a camping trip without having to worry about whether the camp provides toilets for its guests. You might be a pro at digging up poop holes but what would you do when you’re tired of that?
There’s a way for you to make a portable toilet for yourself that won’t negatively affect the environment and cause bad smells so keep that in mind when you’re planning out your camping trip. Keep reading to learn how to make a portable toilet for camping.
How to Make a Camping Toilet
So how to build a portable toilet? There’s a due process to follow and a couple of materials that you need to make your portable toilet a reality.
This is a list of the materials:
- One bucket
- One heavy-duty trash bag
- One pool noodle
- One toilet paper
- One pair of pliers
- One drill
- Comfortable summer camping clothes
Once you’ve gotten these materials, you can begin assembling the toilet following these steps:
1. Make a Toilet Roll Handle
This is the first step in making a portable toilet for camping. Using one side of the bucket’s handle, you need to make an extension that you can hang your tissue paper on.
The next step is to make a bent handle tip using a plier. Doing this will ensure that you don’t have any trouble while fixing the toilet roll handle. You need to put in a new hole on the side of the camping poop bucket directly underneath where the former connector-hole was. This new hole should be spaced from the former one.
You need a hand-drill to accomplish this. Be careful not to damage the bucket while drilling the new connector-hole. Finally, you need to fix the toilet paper on the toilet handle and fit the handle through the drilled connector hole.
2. Use Trash Bags
You can’t poop directly into the bucket if you’re dry camping so you need to get a trash bag. The trash bag will be home to all the waste you’ll be dropping. The trash bags you get should be heavy-duty bags. This will ensure that it can support the weight of your waste without breaking.
The next thing you should do is to properly keep the trash bag in place so that it doesn’t slip off the bucket’s edge when you’re pooping. To do this, you need to wrap the trash bag properly around the bucket’s rim in a way that it stays tightly fit around the bucket.
3. Apply Foam Padding
Think about sitting on the sharp edge of the bucket. It would press painfully against your thighs. To avoid this, it’s better if you pad the rim of the bucket with foam.
Buy a pool noodle from a nearby store, cut its sides open, and fit it properly around the bucket’s edge. This will serve as nice padding to prevent any unnecessary pain.
This is the last step to completing the portable toilet. When you’re done pooping, you need to carefully remove the trash bag from the bucket and dispose of it appropriately so that it doesn’t pollute the environment and endanger the health of other campers. Clean up after disposing of the trash bag.
How to Get Rid of the Odor
Even though building your own DIY camping toilet is a great camping activity, one major problem that’s associated with them is that they tend to release bad odors.
This is usually because the only form of odor-prevention is the trash bags and trash bags aren’t good enough to completely seal off odor.
Smudge Stick
If you can lay your hands on some smudge sticks, it would be a great addition in your effort to eliminate odors. Smudging has proved to be efficient for this purpose. Just in case you’re not able to buy some from the store, you can alternatively make some by yourself.
You will need cedar, sagebrush, sweetgrass, thyme, and non-toxic twine. Place the tied herbs in a tray and light them on fire. Allow the smoke to blow over the bucket.
Baking Soda
There are some certain products that can be used to stop bad odor from the toilet-bucket. These products are made in either powder or spray form that you can apply after you’re done taking a dump.
There’s also the baking soda option which is a natural solution to the odor problem. Baking soda is actually a key element in several deodorizing formulas.
If you want to effectively use the baking soda, it’s advised that you also make use of some essential oils (in a spray bottle) alongside the baking soda. When you’ve poured some of the baking soda into the bucket, throw in the essential oils too for full effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s necessary to get rid of your waste when you’re done taking a dump. There are some camping sites that have designated areas for dumping toilet waste and trash.
It’s very possible that you find yourself in a situation where you can’t access your portable toilet. This can happen if you’re doing a long walking exercise and carrying your portable toilet isn’t practicable.
In situations like this, you need to find some private space far away from where people frequent or camp. When you’ve gotten that nice and private space, you can proceed to some alternative pooping method such as this poop while camping guide.
Final Thoughts
When you’re out camping, it’s important to have a proper way to do your toilet business.
To achieve this, you might have to build your own portable toilet if the campsite won’t be providing DIY camp toilet facilities or if you don’t own a toilet-equipped RV during stealth camping. Purchase the necessary materials to make the portable toilet and follow the steps given to successfully implement it.
Remember to get a deodorizer or some baking soda to help eliminate odors. It’s also important for you to properly dump the trash bag after you’re done. If you can follow all these guides on how to make a portable toilet for camping, it will save you from some huge discomfort at camp.