Building a toilet trailer

[Elvis Green Wood]

I did some research on the net about mobile porterloos. And there seams to be a lot of hire companies hiring them out for things like weddings. My business partner Allan who dose photography as well as other media used to do about 26 wedding a year. But since all of this he has had no wedding what so ever! So I take it at present the wedding job is dead and hence one would think there must be a lot of these trailers about for hire and cheap too; but it would appear not! With one company quoting me 350 quid a week for the luxurious model I soon told them where to park there trailer!



Looking for one for sale on the net they seam to be wanting between 12-15K for them and I can not see how they can be worth that much. I did a price comparison on wicks to see how much toilets sinks tap and pipe fitting are and we are no where near a grand never mind 12-15!



So is it worth building your own I ask? Buy an old box trailer and cut some doors on it and plumb it up. Obviously there is the waste disposal to consider as there will need to be a black and grey waste tank installed and how big they need to be and mounted under the chassis of the trailer or mounted inside and raising the flooring



I looked on youtube and there dose not seam to be any videos what so ever of “how to build a toilet trailer” Anyone ever built such a thing with any knowledge please?



Thanks

EGW

 

[snowhead]

The reason for lack of availability is Covid.
Look at all the temporary testing and vaccination centres to start.

Then there's companies like the one my Son works for where they have a lot of continental drivers coming it.
They bought portakabin toilets very early last year for visitors to keep them out the main building and for all the goods in / out staff to stop them going into the main building.
Othe companies will have done the same.

I doubt hire companies want to buy too many new units, if they're even available, as at any moment they may get hundreds returned off hire.

I've never built one but like anything else in business there will be far more costs than first seems and £350 per week for a fully cleaned out ready to go won't seem too expensive after all.
Try for a quote for the effluent disposal and see how expensive that is.

 

[rpm]

Sure there is red tape and hoops to jump through with such a project.

 

[gmartine]

So is it worth building your own I ask?

Thanks

EGW

Probably not, you could always buy a caravan and stick four of these inside.

Re-circulating Chemical Portable Toilet

This high-quality Re-circulating Chemical Portable Toilet is made from best materials only. Delivery UK and abroad.

www.toiletsforsale.com

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

Probably not, you could always buy a caravan and stick four of these inside.

Re-circulating Chemical Portable Toilet

This high-quality Re-circulating Chemical Portable Toilet is made from best materials only. Delivery UK and abroad.

www.toiletsforsale.com

alternatively you could bolt 4 of them to the floor of a flat bedded trailer. But they are not very appealing to the dirtiest of ground workers never mind the paying public

And they have no septic black tank where you can easily just drain waste. You have to stick a blower down the cubical to suck out

 

[gmartine]

Errr it wasn't a completely serious proposal but if you're looking on YouTube for a how to build guide I reckon it may have been appropriate but if you think groundworkers care about where they go on site I'd do a bit more market research.

There's a good reason single site/festival toilets are made from bombproof polyprop and can be hired for peanuts and if you want something more appropriate to the event/clientele then I'm certain better spec'ed static single and multi-bog (mobile) units can also be hired short term.

It seems bogs on trailers can be found for hire usually as part of a larger mobile bog business but they tend to cater to the luxury end and hence I suspect the cost of hire is relatively high and they are relatively scarce from what I can tell.

Why bother with a truly mobile portable multi-bog facility unless you have accessibility issues when a van/lorry can drop off more than one unit or a multi bog unit in an instant as part of a delivery route. I reckon that most folks/events won't.

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

well actully they where not cheap!
The best quote I could get was (min 1 month) 22 per toilet per week plus vat and 15 delivery and 15 collection
So 3 of them 66 a week rent

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

I have done a little research online about how to plumb a toilet and a sink up and I found the following flow chart; please see the attachment

But if my waste tank is directly under the toilet and the sink then can I get away with out having any of this? and run a direct a short stright picece of pipe direct form the toilet and sink pipe into the tank and have a hole and a pipe in the corner of the tank that goes though the roof for ventilation small and tank pressure?
Thanks

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

Im looking at the speck from a toilet for sale from Wicks

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat | Wickes.co.uk

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat

www.wickes.co.uk

But they dont tell you how much water it uses per flush!

 

[Ben-gee]

What is your aim here?

Is it for your own private event or are you looking at setting up your own hire company?

 

[SimonG]

The picture of pipe layout is a North American spec.
The picture of the toilet is basically a bog in a box, it wont last 2 minutes in a commercial situation.

 

[Chuck]

What is your aim here?

I think he's doing research in advance of pitching his high-profit Bog-in-a-Box on Dragon's Den.

 

[Ric2013]

Im looking at the speck from a toilet for sale from Wicks

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat | Wickes.co.uk

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat

www.wickes.co.uk

But they dont tell you how much water it uses per flush!

Almost certainly 6 litres per flush on a full flush.

As others have said, what do you intend to do with this trailer once you've made it? Because you seem to want a low-cost workaround, which may or may not be an option, depending on the intended use.

 

[gmartine]

How about a fleet of these contracted to Uber? Need a quick dump...no problem, I'll be there in 10 mins.

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

What is your aim here?

Is it for your own private event or are you looking at setting up your own hire company?

For own private event

The picture of pipe layout is a North American spec.
The picture of the toilet is basically a bog in a box, it wont last 2 minutes in a commercial situation.

how do you mean bog in a box. its a picture of how to install a bathroom

Almost certainly 6 litres per flush on a full flush.

As others have said, what do you intend to do with this trailer once you've made it? Because you seem to want a low-cost workaround, which may or may not be an option, depending on the intended use.

6 litres per flush. So a standard toilet out of say wicks or Travis Perkins would this be right?
Its for my own customers use

But I really do feel now that I am wasting my time on this thread now

 

[Ben-gee]

For your own private event.

How long does this event last, because it’s going to be way cheaper to hire unless the event if several months long?

If you set out exactly what you are intending to do; numbers, duration etc then you’ll get better answers.

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

Its a mobile catering unit set out on the side of the road. Food and drink

 

[Ben-gee]

Selling to the public?

I don’t see why you call that for your own private event but hey ho.

The point is, you are now into following all sorts of health and safety and public liability issues - which would not apply if it was for private use .

However assuming you only require a single lavatory and basin then I don’t see why you couldn’t build your own functional trailer.

Consider footfall and bear in mind 6litres per flush and say 4 for washing hands. You could need a lot of water!
Do you require hot water?
Do you have electricity available.

I personally would go down the fit it out to a high spec route on g to he hope that customers would respect it - this often works. And the opposite - if it looks rubbish they’ll treat it badly, always works.

Is there water available?
If not you will need to transport it with full tanks...,will need baffles to be safe- that’s a lot of weight sloshing around. You could be looking at a ton of water.

 

[WC1]

Im looking at the speck from a toilet for sale from Wicks

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat | Wickes.co.uk

Wickes Portland Close Coupled Toilet Pan, Cistern & Seat

www.wickes.co.uk

But they dont tell you how much water it uses per flush!

6 litres usually, so after just 10 flushes you have over half a tonne of waste to store and then transport and then dispose of.
I have considered such plans myself when I was younger and used to go to festivals (long ago).
There is no better alternative to the chemically operated, blow moulded "turdis" imo.

 

[Ric2013]

6 litres usually, so after just 10 flushes you have over half a tonne of waste to store and then transport and then dispose of.
I have considered such plans myself when I was younger and used to go to festivals (long ago).
There is no better alternative to the chemically operated, blow moulded "turdis" imo.

100 flushes, you mean?

You can get 4 litre full flush/2.6 litres half-flush toilets (Ideal Standard Alto eco, for example), which may help, though they might need more regular cleaning.

We're reliant on the customers understanding how to use the facilities correctly to minimise water usage, which may be a bit much to expect.

It would be interesting to know the regulations for non-water based systems. You can certainly get waterless urinals. My concern here, is that if you deem a roadside cafe to be a private event, I'm not sure you are going to be able to design your own system to a standard that will satisfy any of the relevant regulations.

 

[WC1]

100 flushes, you mean?

You can get 4 litre full flush/2.6 litres half-flush toilets (Ideal Standard Alto eco, for example), which may help, though they might need more regular cleaning.

We're reliant on the customers understanding how to use the facilities correctly to minimise water usage, which may be a bit much to expect.

It would be interesting to know the regulations for non-water based systems. You can certainly get waterless urinals. My concern here, is that if you deem a roadside cafe to be a private event, I'm not sure you are going to be able to design your own system to a standard that will satisfy any of the relevant regulations.

Sorry, you are correct, I meant 100 flushes.
What would you have to charge to make it viable even at say a 4 litre flush?
Dealing with that amount of waste economically doesn't add up.
Imo you would have a lot of problems with blockages at 2.6 litres on a "festival diet".

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

Do you require hot water?
Do you have electricity available.


Is there water available?

No hot water just cold and only lighting for electric. So water available so it would all be stored in a header tank

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

There is no better alternative to the chemically operated, blow moulded "turdis" imo.

What do you think these are then

Secondhand Toilet Units | 1+1 Toilet Trailers | Brand New Luxury Toilet Trailers - Kent

| Secondhand Toilet Units | 1+1 Toilet Trailers | Brand new luxury toilets trailers for sale: 1+1's 2+1's and 3+1's Luxurious SGL internal cubicles. LED lighting of your choice. Doors in both sides of the toilet trailer for easy delivery. Gravity flow taps including hot water. Galvanised...

secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk

Secondhand Toilet Units | 404 not found

| Secondhand Toilet Units | 404 not found

secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk

https://secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk/listing/70345/3x-mobile-washroom-units-recycling-type-hampshire

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

Sorry, you are correct, I meant 100 flushes.
What would you have to charge to make it viable even at say a 4 litre flush?
Dealing with that amount of waste economically doesn't add up.
Imo you would have a lot of problems with blockages at 2.6 litres on a "festival diet".

A 1000litre tone would be a good ball park figure I suppose
If the toilets where plumbed straight into the tank which would be directly under the toilet then no bends in the pipe

 

[Ric2013]

What do you think these are then

Secondhand Toilet Units | 1+1 Toilet Trailers | Brand New Luxury Toilet Trailers - Kent

| Secondhand Toilet Units | 1+1 Toilet Trailers | Brand new luxury toilets trailers for sale: 1+1's 2+1's and 3+1's Luxurious SGL internal cubicles. LED lighting of your choice. Doors in both sides of the toilet trailer for easy delivery. Gravity flow taps including hot water. Galvanised...

secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk

Secondhand Toilet Units | 404 not found

| Secondhand Toilet Units | 404 not found

secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk

https://secondhand-toilet-units.co.uk/listing/70345/3x-mobile-washroom-units-recycling-type-hampshire

An alternative that isn't better, in his opinion, presumably.

 

[gmartine]

A header tank in a lightweight vehicle? That should be fun...

 

[Elvis Green Wood]

I'm going to leave this forum now

 

[gmartine]

A header tank in a lightweight vehicle? That should be fun...

That was actually a legitimate question, toilet trailers carrying their own water supply will be using pumps to supply cisterns and taps. No header tank, imagine 100's of kilos sloshing about and what it would do to the centre of mass of the vehicle...the DVSA would have a field day.

 

[SimonG]

Oh come on, nobody else going to do it?

Ok.


Elvis has left the building!

 

[Ric2013]

That was actually a legitimate question, toilet trailers carrying their own water supply will be using pumps to supply cisterns and taps. No header tank, imagine 100's of kilos sloshing about and what it would do to the centre of mass of the vehicle...the DVSA would have a field day.

He needs a second header tank low down and then a pump to bring it to a higher tank when he's parked up. It's starting to look expensive.

 

[gmartine]

I don't see why you would do that, besides the space taken up as well as the cost you'd then have to empty or pump back the water to the main supply tank before you set off again. We are not talking about trimming fuel loads on aircraft here, a pump based system to feed cisterns and taps would probably do.

 

[gmartine]

He doesn't know or will accept it but we've saved the OP a ton of ball ache and money. Elvis if you still want to pursue this this have a look at the water system and controls on a decent caravan and how it's done.

Running water taps, flushing toilet, pumps, water storage, grey water and sceptic tanks...not all of it will be available at Wickes.