Where do you empty the toilet?

Kiwi Colin

Guest
Hi Everybody

Just back from six weeks in France where most towns have a motor-home aire with facilities for tipping out the cassette. At home in NZ things are fairly similar, and even most BP service stations there have a dump point (they sell lots of diesel to motor homes as a result).

What do you do in this country? I've seen plenty of campsites and CLs with facilities, but are there any public facilities? I've seen a guy tip his cassette into a canal, but I wouldn't want to add to the pollution. I've tipped into public toilets but had rude comments from other users.

cheers

Colin
 
empty toilet

this subject has been discussed a number of times even quiet recent.
they should have been reported for emptying it in a canal.
we do scotland for 2 weeks every year & always empty in public toilets without any hassle.we dont use any chemicles in it.
any one say anything just reply its better than emptying it on the side of the road,in the sea, the canal or such places.
dont leave any mess after you in the toilets.
dont let those people put you off & enjoy your wild camping.

tony
 
I must agree with Tony I use public toilets and have never had any issue, I do have a large bag to carry the cassette in and make sure the toilet is clean when I leave .

Rob
 
as above .or find a sewage manhole cover to lift . there are usually one near the toilets . be looking alot of the time for easy ones . but it becomes auto matic after awile . bit like seeing taps etc .after awhile you just know where taps are going to be .
even manhole covers get easier to find .
 
In the UK we had little choice but to use public toilets. However I always made sure there were no other occupants at the time or likely in the near future. Regardless of what one thinks of ones own, it DOES stink if no chemicals are used.
Never did find an official place to dump grey water.
Out in the country, I dig a hole and wait for the liquids to drain down into the soil and then replace the turf and tread it down so that there is no trace left.
As difficult as dumping was, getting water was more problematic.

Not sure why the UK should be so poorly serviced. Maybe there is no organisation of RVers to lobby government to provide facilities. Even here in Iceland, in 6 weeks we have always been able to find a proper free dump point - perhaps made easier because camp-grounds have dump points that seem to be publicly funded and are right at the front and easily accessible. In Australia there are a thousand public dump points (about a quarter of which were subsidised by the largest RVing Club) and as already said, NZ has a good system coupled with mandatory requirement that vehicles "freedom camping" as they call it, be self contained with certain capacities of black AND grey water tanks. Australia has a fledgling self-contained certification as well. USA has fantastically-engineered dump points everywhere including at major rest areas on main highways and there are more than enough free ones that I very rarely pay anything for water or disposal. France is legendary of course and the German system is pretty good as well.

No excuse for just dumping though as a shovel doesn't take up much space and has other uses.
 
Always a disabled toilet for me with my illegal radar key - easy and you get left alone in peace to do rinsing etc using hose etc.
 
Public toilets, canal moorings using a british waterways key (about £3) ferry terminals etc. There is always somewhere and yes I do carry a shovel, never used it but a mate has used his up in the wilds.
 
Hi,
We were travelling from Devon to High Wycombe yesterday and stopped to put bio in the van, terrible smell in lay by, someone had emptied their toilet.
Not too surprising motorhomes sometimes get a bad press, there really should be more places to empty grey and black water, or as the number of caravans and motorhomes increase it won’t be only rubbish and dog muck we need to look out for in lay bys.
 
Motorway Services have had the possibility in their regulation to install dump points including drinking water and EHU for motorhomes.

So far in the UK we have one Motorway Services Operator (MSA) who has made provision for the disposal of toilet waste on their service area.

That is the Cobham MSA on the M25 between J9 and J10 in Surrey. The operator EXTRA states, Coaches with more than 25 seats free disposal. Motor Caravans £5 No Drinking water or other waste disposal provision.

The department for Transport (DfT) has made it possible for MSAs to provide these facilities since 2008, together with a minimum provision of 2 parking spaces for disable motor caravan users close to the entrance of the services building.

Tebay on the M6 N&S services has drinking water available but the only dump point is in their nearby caravan site.

DfT Circular 01/2008
Department for Transport

POLICY ON SERVICE AREAS AND OTHER ROADSIDE FACILITIES ON MOTORWAYS AND ALL-PURPOSE TRUNK ROADS IN ENGLAND

81. Parking for caravans/motorhomes and other light vehicles towing trailers should not be
located within the HGV parking area. A safe walking route from the parking area to the
amenity building should be provided. Further, the parking area should not be situated
such that manoeuvres cause a safety issue for other customers (see paragraphs 45 and
46). Parking bays should be laid out in a drive-through pattern so that caravan,
motorhome and light vehicle trailer towing drivers are not required to reverse to exit.

82. A minimum of two parking bays suitable for caravans/motorhomes and other light
vehicles towing trailers should be situated close to the amenity building for the
convenience of disabled users of such vehicles (see Annex B.).

83. Operators may provide overnight parking facilities for caravans and motorhomes.
Facilities for the supply of fresh water, electrical hook-up and the disposal of foul and
grey water may also be provided. However, caravans and motorhomes should not be
permitted to stay on site for more than a maximum of twelve hours.

84. Operators are also expected to provide parking for vehicles towing all types of trailer
(including horseboxes and trailer tents).

It is now 2013 and these service areas are told they only need to provide facilities if there is a shown demand. The DfT will not become involves now.
 
Good work John but ur states the word may. So not mandatory. It's like saying I may watch the news on bbc at 10 . If it will cost them money n they carnt make money service stations won't bother . We need to remember number 1 priority is not to make your journey as effortless as possible as pee their posters . It's to make money full stop .
 
Kiwi Colin said:
Hi Everybody

Just back from six weeks in France where most towns have a motor-home aire with facilities for tipping out the cassette. At home in NZ things are fairly similar, and even most BP service stations there have a dump point (they sell lots of diesel to motor homes as a result).

What do you do in this country? I've seen plenty of campsites and CLs with facilities, but are there any public facilities? I've seen a guy tip his cassette into a canal, but I wouldn't want to add to the pollution. I've tipped into public toilets but had rude comments from other users.

cheers

Colin
Click to expand...

Sorry Colin, but you are now in England and I think we are the most anti social country for M/Hing in all of Europe.
 
landyrubbertramp said:
Good work John but ur states the word may. So not mandatory. It's like saying I may watch the news on bbc at 10 . If it will cost them money n they carnt make money service stations won't bother . We need to remember number 1 priority is not to make your journey as effortless as possible as pee their posters . It's to make money full stop .
Click to expand...

That is why we need to ask them if they have any provision.

Current Operators
•Moto (42 services) Moto say their services are old and do not have provision, but will consider it on any revamps.
•Welcome Break (26 services) Did not reply
•Roadchef (20 services) Did not reply
•Extra (8 services) Extra have 1 at Cobham on the M25.
•Euro Garages (3 services) Not yet contacted
•Westmorland (3 services) Water but no dump on both north and south services. They have a camping/caravan site at Tebay. They are opening the new services at Gloucester and have shown interest in provision.

It is unreasonable to expect the old design services to provide these provisions. The old Bolton West now revamped Rivington (Euro Garages) services has greatly improved parking for caravans and Motorhomes beside and sharing the same access as coaches. Euro Garages has a lot of A road services they are revamping.

The cost of provision is minimal in the cost of rebuilding or revamping service areas. It just needs to be incorporated in the planning. An extra tap and a drain.

This is the work we are doing at The Motorhome Tourism Organisation http://www.tmcto.org
 
Where does one empty the toilet in this country?

Hi Everybody
Thanks for your comments. Perhaps the POI register should include a section for easy to get at public toilets.

Today I was in Chichester and followed the signs to the bus and lorry park - there was a public toilet adjacent, so I did a quick empty of the cassette - the park was GBP3.20 for two hours, so we went next door to the rather cramped Waitrose park which is free for up to two hours. I still have to drain the grey water tank.

In NZ, the NZ Motor Caravan Assn is a vigorous advocate for mo'vanners and has been very active in lobbying the government for the right to "freedom camp" - they even took one local authority to court for not having a fair policy - turned out that one influential councilor owned a motor camp! I think the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club have a conflict of interests here - they both own motor camps which they want to fill and profit from. Who else is there to push for mo'vanners' rights? In NZ the Motor Caravan Assn has about 40,000 members (mostly couples) - that must be over 2% of the voters - enough to change a government. Surely the figures here are comparable.

From what I've seen in NZ, BP are doing well from attracting campervans to their service stations where most have a dump point. One would think some oil company here could copy their example and profit from it.
You may be interested to know that the is an official standard that vans have to meet to be certified as "self contained" - see http://www.nzmca.org.nz/data/conten...ainment Standard Summary_booklet Jan 2013.pdf
Vans that are imported from the UK to NZ generally need a lot of work to meet the standard - eg water-traps on all sink/basin/shower drains and vents on all tanks. A lot of vans in NZ dont have cassette toilets, but have separate grey and black water tanks, with the grey water being used to flush the toilet. The vans have to have a hose at least 10 feet long for draining into the dump-points - my van in NZ has a macerator pump to assist.

cheers

Colin
 
On a site.

Our toilet capacity roughly matches the amount of water we use in four days, so we find a reasonably priced site to empty and fill up at the same time. On a C and C site last year I watched caravanners emptying the loo in the right place, then emptying grey water with veg peelings etc. in the hedge next to the manhole cover. I usually flush the grey water tank with Milton before heading off on a trip, then the water coming out smells less, so is less noticeable if I leave the tap slightly open when I'm driving. Like everyone else on here who has been to other countries I find it strange that even sites with disposal facilities don't have a grey water drain in the UK
 
Bushtrekker said:
Our toilet capacity roughly matches the amount of water we use in four days, so we find a reasonably priced site to empty and fill up at the same time. On a C and C site last year I watched caravanners emptying the loo in the right place, then emptying grey water with veg peelings etc. in the hedge next to the manhole cover. I usually flush the grey water tank with Milton before heading off on a trip, then the water coming out smells less, so is less noticeable if I leave the tap slightly open when I'm driving. Like everyone else on here who has been to other countries I find it strange that even sites with disposal facilities don't have a grey water drain in the UK
Click to expand...

In our experience, on asking where to dump grey water on CLs, we have been directed to the hedge! We do not allow any veg peelings etc down the drain by using a plug hole strainer.
 
MATS said:
Always a disabled toilet for me with my illegal radar key - easy and you get left alone in peace to do rinsing etc using hose etc.
Click to expand...

That's a brilliant way to get the respect and support from the local community!
 
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