This blog provides some light bathroom reading about what a groover is and how to use it.
What is a Groover?
Privy, Loo, Bano, Toilet, Throne. Same words for the same thing. On the river, the sh*t box is called a groover, and it demands your respect and care.
It's a Rocket Box with a tank placed inside it. Deposits are made within that tank, and then the groover is transported down river in a dedicated boat called the "Groover Boat."
Rocket Box |
Eco Safe Groover Tank |
The Rules of the Groover
Rule 1: Never pee in the groover
Peeing in the groover toilet system will make it smell for the rest of the trip. It can also create some less than ideal gasses that have the potential to wreak havoc under intense pressure and temperatures.
Solution? Either pee in the river or use a sunshine bucket, which you can make out of a regular bucket.
Rule 2: Close the lid
Use the Groover, put your toilet paper in with your waste and close the lid.
Rule 3: Keep it clean
Wash your hands after leaving the groover. Scrub those digits and palms for at least 20 seconds at the designated handwash station.
Rule 4: Stay out of the kitchen
Whomever set the groover, must not step foot in the kitchen. Seriously, it's gross. If you're on groover duty, get your sh*t done and relax on the beach.
Pro Tips:
Always set your groover up with a great view: There's nothing like a morning kerplunk with a sunrise over the water in a canyon.
Use an Ammo Can to store fresh TP, hand sanitizer, and other items you might need to keep close by. Keep your essentials separate from the toilet seat and any risers in there with garbage bags.
Get a 2" thick piece of wood, and paint opposite sides red and green. Place this piece of wood at the “bathroom door” to mark if the groover is FULL (Red) or OPEN (Green). This piece of wood can easily be flipped with your foot, preventing dirty groover hands from touching them.
When setting your groover, put it on land that is high and dry. We've heard stories of water rising and stranding the poo box.
Solve Shitty Problems
“One time I was emptying my groover tank into the RV Dump and the hose that comes with the groover that you set up to drain the contents of the tank into an RV dump fell off, down the pipe and into the RV dump, never to be seen again. I now use a 3″ elbow PVC pipe and a 3″ threaded PVC pipe link in place of the hose thing. It’s rigid, so you can use it as a kickstand for the tank to sit on its side and drain into the RV dump without you having to hold onto it."
Jake Castle, Groover King
Originally posted March 3, 2020.