What's the most creative solution you've seen for a porta potty on a difficult site?

Question

I've seen some wild setups over nine years driving a vacuum truck. Once, we had to crane a standard portable toilet onto a high-rise construction site, the crew needed it for six weeks, and the truck couldn't get closer than two blocks away. Another time, a festival in a muddy field wanted a restroom trailer for 500 people over a weekend, but the access road was a swamp. We laid down gravel just to get the trailer in place. Then there was the alley job downtown: a single ADA-compliant unit for a month, wedged between dumpsters with barely enough turning space for a wheelchair. What's the most creative solution you've seen for a porta potty on a difficult site? Any stories about cranes, tricky access, or last-minute fixes?

Sam O. · Answer

The most creative solution I saw was a standard portable toilet lifted by crane onto a rooftop renovation site. The crew needed it for eight weeks, and the truck access was blocked by narrow streets and overhead wires. The rental company used a crane to hoist the unit up six stories, then the crew secured it with tie-downs. They serviced it weekly by pumping from a lower floor with a long hose run from the vacuum truck.

Another tough one was a wedding on a steep hillside vineyard. They wanted a restroom trailer for 80 guests over a weekend, but the ground was uneven. The operator brought in a small tractor to level a spot, then used wooden blocks under the trailer's wheels to keep it stable. They ran a generator for power since there was no outlet nearby.

For my own home reno, I just have a standard unit on the driveway, but hearing these stories makes me appreciate the planning that goes into placement and service visits. It's not just dropping a toilet anywhere; it takes real problem-solving.

What's the most creative solution you've seen for a porta potty on a difficult site?

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