So Alyssa is always right. Even when she is wrong, she is right. But this time she was right right.
When the idea of tearing out a toilet that every motorhome since 1952 had pre-installed came about, I said, "woman, you mus be trippin" She showed me all kinds of videos on these composting toilets that would eliminate the need to reenact this famous scene from Christmas Vacation.
But for some reason the idea of shitting on top soil and stirring the pot after, just didn't sound like a viable option to me. I fought it all the way up to my first glorious poo.
The concept behind the toilet is simple. It keeps poo and pee separate using a trap door that kinda makes you feel like a magician every time you take a dump (that part I was actually looking forward to). The crap falls into a bed of rehydrated composting soil and is stirred by a hand crank on the side of the toilet. A spray bottle of soap, vinegar and water is used to rinse the bowl. There is a fan on one side that is hooked up to 12v power and uses very little battery draw to push any odor out of the coach.
The install was probably a bit out of our wheelhouse but we took it on anyway. Uninstalling the previous toilet was simple enough. Turn off the water, unscrew the SOB and pull-er-out. Done and done. We got a 3" drain plug to patch the hole in the ground and got a 1/2 inch cap and some bonding glue to seal up the water pipe that led to the old toilet. We needed some wood to elevate the toilet above the cap that was being used to plug the drain. So we went to Home Depot and got a piece cut to size only to realize that it wasn't tall enough to make the clearance, so back to Home Depot we went. Since our tool kit consists of two rulers, a protractor and a screwdriver we headed to our old employer @amihoexperience to borrow some heavy hitters. Using a terrifying tool called a jigsaw we hacked up holes into the middle of our two pieces of wood. When that was finished, we spray painted the wood to make it appear less hideous.
After using temporary sealant, to help the wood adhere to the floor, we screwed the toilet into place onto the wood. We then hacked into a ceiling vent to access the wires needed to power the fan. After I was shocked 3 or 4 times I called the technician who installed our vent fans and he wired it in for us for 20 bucks!
So we have been whaling on this thing for a few weeks now and I have to admit it's a pretty legit little add on. Dumping the urine tank is not as bad as you would imagine and I shit you not (no pun intended) there is no odor whatsoever. Emptying the other compartment is easy and odorless. Refilling the compost takes 10 minutes tops and since neither of us have a job it kinda gives us some self-worth. Not having to dump our black tank, or pay to do it, is the gift that keeps on giving. I'll tell you something about my old lady, when she's right, she's right.