Truck Camper Build | DIY Nature's Head Composting Toilet Installation

[@melissateebarnes8826]

I never thought I would be excited to see a toilet install yet here I am.

[@OrionMcKay1]

When discarding on the road dig a big hole dump your load then plant tomatoe seeds on top come back in a few months. Wala 😂 Great camper build duder

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

😂 my plans stopped right before "plant tomato seeds," but I like it.

[@HogTide_Rising]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal Remember two things: 1) Bears shit in the woods; 2) Those wild berries that you pick and pop into your mouth while hiking are so delicious. LOL

[@paulsink2800]

Greatly enjoy your talent and your videos. But, in building out a couple of campers myself, I found that I needed at least 24 inches of toilet space width to successfully wipe my butt.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

This is a great consideration for anyone else designing a camper. Thanks for posting! It's definitely going to be tighter than ideal. I'm a pretty small guy. I'm hoping I can make it work.

[@bizpo1286]

Nice looking pooper you got there! Can't wait to drop by and take a giant crap!

[@HomesteadDIY]

As I plan my camper, the toilet needs to be a key feature of the build. My wife would not be able to coexist with me otherwise. Even at home, all I hear is "Spray! Spray!" In the close confines of a camper, she might die. I may have to forego other amenities to include an enclosed space with a high-powered vent fan. I saw a build with a flushing toilet that comes with its own pressurized water supply and a 5-gallon cartridge. They're surprisingly cheaper than what I had imagined. Another inspiring video though. Thanks!

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Everyone has their own needs. That's why there are so many different camper designs out there. Good luck with your build.

[@HogTide_Rising]

I’m a big fan of Natures Head having used one on a boat for many years. One tip to extend he capacity of the solid waste compartment is to use a Ziplock bag for your used toilet paper. Toilet paper takes up a lot of room in a composting toilet and doesn’t break down as fast as fecal matter. When I needed to,empty my Natures Head I just emptied into a large heavy duty garbage bag and threw it out with the garbage. How do you think folks dispose of disposable baby diapers.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

I also choose to dispose of my TP separately. Tossing the solids in a trash bag and into a dumpster is a good way to discard it in the USA. I didn't feel so good about that in latin america where the garbage tends to get picked through by street dogs before it's collected and then guys are sorting through it and burning it by hand.

[@HogTide_Rising]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal valid point about Latin America. I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m in Baja. Of course, in Baja there is plnenty of open desert to dispose of compost. Dig a hole and problem solved.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

@@HogTide_Rising My thoughts exactly 👍

[@1State2Another]

Enjoyed all of your traveling videos and the camper build is remarkable. Thanks.

[@dakotainthesky]

Great videos, very inspiring, thank you for posting

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Glad you like them!

[@OttoMatieque]

So far I have been getting by with a 5 gallon bucket and a snap on seat with a garbage bag. It is had to find space in my utility trailer conversion for an installed toilet. We thought about a portapotty, but so far don't like that idea.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

We tried a bucket with a snap on seat lid and a portapotty before getting this composting toilet. I feel like each one probably has camping conditions that it performs best in. I didn't like the portapotty at all. It combines your liquid and solid waste with water and chemicals to make stinky, difficult to dispose of soup. I liked the bucket better than the portapotty. As a male I could put my solids in the bucket and not my liquids. In the USA it's ok to dispose of the bag of solid waste in a trash bin just like a diaper, but I didn't want to do that outside of the USA where trash is often disposed of in a less reliable or contained way. I'm optimistic about the composting toilet. Since it divides the liquid and solid waste, we can empty the liquids bin more often(and easily) but the solids bin should only need to be emptied every 3 weeks with 2 fulltime users. If we are traveling in the USA and need to empty the toilet I can dump the solid waste into a trash bag and discard it like you would with your current setup. If we are in Baja and need to empty I can stop along a remote dirt road and dig a deep hole. The down sides of course are the space it takes up in your camper and the co$t.

[@limodrivermike]

are you planning on adding a fold-away counter space atop?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

No. That's a good idea, but I'm actually planning on adding a cushion and backrest to make it a comfortable chair.

[@limodrivermike]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal nice, that's another good option :)

[@FeedMeAQuarter]

Hey man, love the build so far. I really like how the walls turned out with the foam core and fiberglass. Did you consider using sliders for the toilet? It seems like that would've made it easier.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks I did consider putting the toilet on sliders. I think it can work well, but I'm pretty short(5'4") so I didn't want to make the toilet any taller. I also liked that the counter offers a touch of privacy if amie is still in bed. If I put it on sliders I would have needed to make it face the bed.

[@erichughes9098]

😎👍

[@maumad103]

I am always afraid how much does it smell or how disgusting is it to empty the discards?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

I don't feel like I have had enough experience yet to give the most valuable review, but I think the smell is equally strong as a chemical toilet, but smells more like garden soil. If you are using it every day on a longer trip then the fresh #2s will still be fresh when you dump the toilet. If you have the option to let the toilet compost for a couple days or longer between the last use and dumping it, then the #2s dry out, get less stinky, and seem a lot more like dirt.

[@maumad103]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal Thank you dude!

[@lbjackson5179]

I think putting the crapper on a slide out would have been smarter.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

I could do that, but why? Where would you want it to slide to? what direction would you have it face? just trying to understand your suggestion.

[@matteoranalli3372]

No shower?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

no, just the hose on the back of the camper kzbin.info/www/bejne/apW3p5t8hcqVrLcsi=bKefff4Dz9ohY97w&t=463

[@bobw9297]

I have never seen the point of those toilets . We have used port o potty , and have never had a problem ... Why spend the money ?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

I assume the port o potty is a chem toilet? If that works for you, then there is no reason for you to spend the money👍 We tried a chem toilet on a short trip, but I wasn't a fan. We got one that was designed with off roading in mind so we didn't have any leaks, but it had to be cleaned and disassembled each use so we could put the cap on the tank, otherwise it would attract insects. I know there are more convenient chem toilets, but i've known several people with them that won't drive with the tank more than half full because it leaks off road. With that being the case it needs to be dumped often. The chem toilets also require the use of water, which is heavy and it already tends to be the first thing we run out of. Lastly, I don't tend to camp places with black water disposal sites, so getting rid of the tank full of waste was a problem. I know some people will carry their tank into bathrooms at gas stations or restaurants and dump it into the toilet, but I also know that this behavior resulted in quite a few camping locations getting shut down. I haven't tested it out yet, but I think the natures head is going to work great for our Baja camping trips. It is supposed to have capacity for 2 people to use it for 3 weeks before it needs to be dumped. We can camp at surf spots and other popular locations without adding to the poo minefield in the bushes. If its a short trip, I can wait untill I get home to empty the waste bin. If it's a longer trip I can stop somewhere along a remote dirt road and dig a deep hole to dispose of it away from other people.