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Fence crew that changes job sites every few days: can we haul one porta potty around on our own trailer?

Carl D.asked 0 viewsConstruction & Job SitesStandard unitConstructionService visitTruck accessLong term rentalTransport

We're a four guy fence and drainage crew, and most of our residential jobs only last two to four days before we pack up and head to the next address. Right now we just hit gas stations, which kills time and the customers notice.

I've been thinking about renting one standard portable toilet for the season and strapping it to our equipment trailer so it moves with us. A few questions before I call around:

  1. Do rental companies usually allow a customer to move the unit themselves, or does that void something?
  2. How do you keep the tank from sloshing out on the road? Does it need to be pumped before every move?
  3. With us changing addresses all week, how would weekly service even work?

Curious if anyone has run it this way.

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Hector V.Phoenix, AZ

A rental company will not allow you to move their standard portable toilet yourself. Moving the unit yourself voids the rental agreement and any damage waiver. The rental company must deliver and retrieve the unit for liability and safety reasons.

You must pump the holding tank before moving the unit. A 50 to 70 gallon tank that is even partly full will slosh and shift the 200-pound unit, making it a serious road hazard. The deodorizer and waste will leak out, creating a health violation.

The weekly service schedule is the main problem. A service truck cannot follow your crew to a new address every few days. The rental company bills for each service visit, so moving daily would make the service costs very high. For a four-person crew, OSHA 1926.51 requires only one toilet, but the standard solution is a short-term rental delivered to each job site. You order a unit for the duration of that specific job. The delivery fee is a cost, but it is less than the cost and violation risk of moving a full unit.

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