How Jayco Baja Toilets Work

How the Porta Potti Works

• The Porta Potti is a compact portable toilet with a fresh-water tank at the top for flushing and a holding tank at the bottom for the waste. The unit is a 15-inch cube with a toilet seat and bowl on top that’s surrounded by the fresh-water tank. Flushing involves opening a holding tank valve and using a bellows pump, piston pump or battery-powered electric pump to send water from the fresh-water tank around the bowl to take waste into the waste-holding tank. Deodorizing and digesting chemicals added to the holding tank each time it is emptied keep odors to a minimum.

Dump Station

• When the holding tank is full, you take the top half of the toilet off and carry the holding tank to an RV sanitary dump station or a regular permanent toilet to dump the waste contents into a sewer. You rinse the tank clean, add fresh deodorant, reassemble the toilet and refill the fresh water tank. The tanks of the basic model each hold around three gallons, good for at least a dozen uses. Larger models are available. Most portable RV toilets from other manufacturers work in a similar fashion. In addition to RVs, these portable toilets are sold for use on boats, in the sleeper cabs of long-haul trucks and for disaster preparedness.

Cassette Toilet

• The deluxe version of the Jayco Baja includes a permanently mounted Thetford cassette toilet installed into a compact bath/shower enclosure. The cassette toilet works in a fashion similar to the Porta Potti. It consists of a seat, bowl and fresh-water tank in a single unit that is bolted to an outside wall. The seat is 19.5 inches from floor level, and the whole toilet unit is 20 inches deep with a base 14 inches wide. Flushing is either by a manual piston pump or 12-volt electric pump, depending on model. Each flush takes about a quart of water. The bowl is supported by a base that holds a removable waste-holding tank called a cassette, which is accessed from the outside through a door installed in the RV’s wall. The bowl can be swiveled to the left or right or kept straight ahead.

Disposal Process

• To dispose of waste, you open the access door, disconnect the waste cassette from the toilet, pull it out, and take it to a sanitary dump station or permanent toilet for waste disposal. The waste cassette holds 4.5 gallons, good for at least 18 uses. You rinse the cassette, add chemicals that deodorize and break down solid waste, and reinstall the empty unit into the toilet. The permanently mounted fresh-water tank can be filled either from the RV’s onboard water supply or from an outside spigot.