Some people just don’t get it! A “Karen,” in a recent rant online blasting cassette toilets, said “I hate cassette toilets! They’re too small and cheap. Manufacturers just use them because they cost less and and they save money that way. They’re hard to empty and I have to pick it up to shake it! They’re impossible to get clean and always smell bad!”
It was on the Internet so it must be true, right?
Surprisingly, Thetford, which invented the Porta Potty in 1968, came up with the first cassette toilet in 1988. It was revolutionary back then and to this day remains a game-changer. The difference between the two types is that the cassette toilet features a removable cassette, which contains the black water. A Porta Potty is portable, meaning that it can be moved to use or store when not in use.
The Thetford cassette toilet has become increasingly popular in smaller trailers and truck campers because they’re compact and easy in empty. In addition, because they must be emptied more frequently than larger, fixed black water tanks, they don’t develop odors as quickly. And contrary to those who think they’re used by RV companies to save money, cassette systems are often more costly. It’s a matter of simplicity and choice.
Today, Thetford sells two styles of cassette toilets: three models featuring 180 degree rotating bowls (the C223S, C223CS, and C224CW) and two bench-style toilets with fixed bowls (the C402C and C403L). As either a standard offering or as an option, nearly all truck camper manufacturers use cassette toilets in their campers in one form or another.
Like many of you, my wife and I owned a few RVs before being bitten by the truck camper bug. I remember having to leave a US Forest Service campground in our 24 foot trailer to find a dump station before our stay was up. On that memorable day, we took our trailer to a dump station only to return to find another rig in our site. The guy had piled up our chairs, stove, lantern and other gear, claiming that he thought that we had forgotten them. Right! We got our site back, but it almost got ugly.
Anyhow, we’re now on our third truck camper—a BundutecUSA Roadrunner—and our second cassette toilet. We love the cassette toilet’s simplicity. We do a lot of camping in primitive locations or USFS campgrounds. With its wheels and retractable handle, it’s an easy matter to pull the cassette to a vault toilet for dumping. We’ve stayed in some high-end type campgrounds and have never hooked up one of those cumbersome, corrugated hoses to the site’s sewer connection. We don’t even own one of those hoses. No one has ever commented or complained about dumping the cassette at a site in this manner.
Also, the cassette can be used to dump gray water. We bought a plastic cap for the gray water outlet that has a threaded fitting that will accept a standard garden hose. We secure a 30-inch length of old hose to the fitting, position the cassette under the outlet, insert the hose in the dump nozzle of the cassette, and drain the gray water. This also has the added benefit of rinsing out the cassette at the same time, to a degree.
For those who have never experienced an unexpectedly, over-filled grey water tank, it’s really something special. If you’re stopped when it happens, you’ll hear a soft gurgling sound from the bathroom, only to find the grey water has entered your shower pan and you now have a minor, pungent mess to clean up. If you’re on the road, especially a rough road, the grey water may escape the shower pan and bathroom, slicking up the floor and saturating rugs. Have fun and remember to dump those tanks whenever you can!
In the lead to this piece, I mentioned Karen complaining about having to shake the cassette before emptying. Sounds to me like she has been using way too much toilet paper and probably the multiple layered stuff as well, instead of single ply, which breaks up more easily. I’ll admit, I don’t like single ply and question the logic, especially if you have to use twice as much, or more, to get the job done.
Actually, one way to keep down the bulk of matter in the cassette is to NOT put paper products of any kind in it. Yes, that’s what I said! The first time I heard this I was pretty much disgusted, but now, that’s what we do. Because the bathroom in our truck camper is very small, Marcia sewed a nylon bag with a hanging loop that we secure to a stick-on plastic hook in the corner. Inside this nylon bag is a tall kitchen garbage bag, into which we put “used paper products.” And I mean paper products, ANY type of paper products, even paper towels! We also have baby wipes in the head and these go into the bag, as well. Have a larger bathroom? How about a flip-top waste basket velcroed to the wall? Use your imagination!
Rotating bowl-style cassette toilet found in a Four Wheel CamperI know that a question about odor is floating around in your head, but for us it has never been a problem. After depositing the paper in the plastic bag, just give it a twist. Problem solved. Oh, yeah, we toss the plastic bag every two to three days to avoid a problem. No, I wouldn’t wait until the bag is full!
I heard one guy mention that he uses a handheld urine bottle to keep urine from filling up the cassette. Bad idea! That liquid is necessary from keeping fecal matter from solidifying and aids in the breakdown of waste.
Another great advantage of the cassette system is that it’s easy to use in the winter. Most cassette toilets, like the Thetford C402C model, have an integral tank for flushing, instead of the Thetford C403L which relies to the on the camper’s main water supply. When it gets below freezing, we put straight, undiluted RV antifreeze in the flushing reservoir. Just to be safe, I’ll also pour some in the cassette as well.
On the topic of filling the flushing reservoir, we have found that it’s easy to forget that when filling the rig’s fresh water tank. Most fresh water reservoirs hold 4 gallons and that lasts quite a while, so it’s typically not a big deal. However, we have discovered that a plastic gallon jug works well to add water if it’s low. A gallon or two from the sink and you’re back in business.
One unbreakable rule of ours: when you have the opportunity to dump your cassette, DO IT! Don’t tell yourself that it’s “probably” half full. Imagine being in a Cracker Barrel at O-Dark Thirty doing your business only to pull the flapper to drop the contents into the abyss to discover that they’re not going anywhere because it’s full! Also, what’s going to happen when you drive 20 miles the next day in search of a place to empty it?
If we’re at a campground—and we are as I write this—we always drain black and gray water tanks and fill up our water tank before leaving. We’ve had the experience, as I’m sure many of you have, of having plans fall through and you have to wing it for the night, which can complicate things. Start fresh with yucky tanks empty and the good tanks full and you’ll be in better shape for your travels.
For a complete review of the Thetford Cassette toilet, click here.
We had a Thetford Cassette Toilet for 12 years in our old popup. On average, for the two of us, we had to empty about every three days. Not bad, but a lot easier than a conventional black water toilet that you have to find an RV dump station for. We dumped our cassette toilet at RV dumps (the hardest), conventional toilets a bit easier but had to be careful about splash back, and vault toilets (the easiest). But in our new camper we got an OGO composting toilet. Now we get 5-6 days between emptying and it is pretty easy since you can double bag the compost from the toilet and throw it in any trash dumpster. And the smell is a lot less with the compost than the sludge from a cassette toilet. We won’t go back.
Cassette Toilet is indispensable for boondocking. Had one problem early on with water pump but a youtube showed how to easily fix it. Wouldn’t want any other solution.
But you can only go around 3 days and then have to empty? I can’t imagine how far I’d have to drive to empty in the places I plan to hunt and fish.
We had a Chalet A-frame years ago that had a dry bath in a front dormer (after several years snowbirding in a big Class A). I never had a problem with the cassette either and found it convenient when boondocking. The toilet for the wife and BSA for me. At the time the toilet was imported for OEMs. I tried to get a spare cassette tank but could never find a source. I know you could take a trip to the dump and leave the camp occupied but having a spare seemed like a good idea regardless.
I use a pee bottle and my wife does not. There is plenty of fluid to break down solids and this has greatly lengthened the time between emptying and reduced the dreaded “splash back” It also has reduced bad odors
I’m a bit confused. I understand using vault toilets in primitive campgrounds. But where do you dump at a more “luxurious” campground? One that has a bathroom/shower combo building. And how long can you go before emptying? I don’t understand what you do when backroad camping for 5-7 days, assuming you need to empty before that. Driving 30 miles out of the woods to find someplace to dump seems very inconvenient. Thanks much.
Many campgrounds have either a dump station or a sewer outlet at each campsite. The length of time between dumping varies on use but we can usually go three days without dumping. Guys, of course, can increase this time by peeing outside.