LTVA

[Perseverance]

Anyone staying long term in Quartsite? I'm looking for community! I just viewed videos reg and would like to know the most popular and safest place to be. I'm a Van dweller!

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[MrNoodly]

Since you don't have a self-contained toilet/holding tank, they will probably direct you to La Posa South.

 

[Perseverance]

Since you don't have a self-contained toilet/holding tank, they will probably direct you to La Posa South.

Thank you

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[Cammalu]

P, we will be heading in that direction soon. We hope to leave KY in a couple of weeks and will be staying (mostly) at La Posa South.

I can give you coordinates to our camp when we get there if you’d like to stop by or join us. We park a couple miles in from the main gate.

 

[Dennis]

If not self contained isn't there a maximum distance that a camper is allowed to camp from the toilets?

 

[Tomcor]

With a van the rule is 500’ from restrooms. But last year I just parked close to a friend with an Class C and never got hassled. There are restrooms at La Posa north, south, Tyson wash ltva areas. I just got ahold of a pass today for the ltva.

 

[Dennis]

Thanks, Tomcor. I thought I had read about a distance limitation from restrooms on non self contained units. How many are in the La Posa areas? Those get overwhelmed sometimes. Whee...

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Can anyone tell me what it's like parking within 500' of a toilet all the time? Does it get crowded there? Is it stinky? More noisy? Lots of distractions?

 

[Dennis]

Not sure about the LTVA areas when it gets busy. Usually in developed campgrounds I am most often 500' or less from the restrooms and it's more of a convenience than any of the other things. Most of them have less camping spots available though, so.... That was why I wondered how many restroom they have there.
Of course the cleaner they are kept, the better.

 

[PattySprinter]

Does anyone know if the same rule of 500' apply to vans with nature's head toilets?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Must be an attached 10 gallon waste water holding tank, portable tanks don't meet requirement:

• b. Self-contained camping units must have a permanent, affixed waste water holding tank of 10-gallon minimum capacity. BLM does not consider port-a-potty systems, systems that utilize portable holding tanks, or permanent holding tanks of less than 10-gallon capacity, to be self-contained.

https://www.rv-camping.org/blmcampgrounds/[/SIZE]

500 feet is about the length of a football field plus the end zones.

 

[hugemoth]

I go through LA Posa S LTVA often and have never see it crowded near the out houses. There is always room within 500' but the best camp spots are farther away.

 

[Tomcor]

You probably get by with a composting toilet. Actually the restroom are kept super clean. And no smell. There is thousands of acres in the LTVA. Even a nudist camping area that is away by itself.

 

[Matildas mate]

500 feet is about the length of a football field plus the end zones.

That is very helpful. Thank you.

 

[Almost There]

Does anyone know if the same rule of 500' apply to vans with nature's head toilets?

I asked that specific question of a BLM ranger 3 years ago.

Actually what I asked was whether there were any plans to change to rules to accommodate separating toilets

His response was that there were no plans to change but that personally, he would use his discretion and allow me to ignore the 500' rule.

Sooo, short answer, it's up to the individual ranger.

Worst case scenario if you park further away is that some ranger comes by and tells you you need to move. At that point, explain what you've got and see what happens.

 

[maki2]

I have a holding tank for grey water that is 5 gallons and also a black water holding tank that is 5.5 gallons. The toilet is a "marine" version of a portable toilet. You can empty it with a pour spout or you can change out the spout so it can be emptied with a macerator pump. I have a macerator pump for it. The grey water tank for the sink does empty by gravity.

I am hoping that the 10 minimum gallon rules applies to the volume of the combination of holding tanks rather than each tank needing to hold more than 10 gallons. The rules are not clearly written to cover the very common situation of persons having a two tank waste disposal system. Guess I will just have to go to one of their LTVA inspection stations where they issue stickers to put on your RV stating that it complies. My toilet tank is fixed into the RV, it rolls out of the cabinet on a platform that is constrained and I have to remove brackets to remove the toilet tank. But will they see that as permanent since it is not typical? I wonder how they are addressing the Cassette toilet installations that have become much more common in high end RVs?

 

[blars]

This is one of the rules that is most likely to be enforced when the purpouse of rule is being violated. As long as you are not dumping waste on the land I doubt they will ask to check your tank capacity.

 

[QinReno]

This is from the official website. It also shows where all the LTVAs are in the area.

- https://www.blm.gov/visit/midland-ltva
"17. Self-Contained Vehicles
a. In Pilot Knob, Midland, Tamarisk, and Hot Springs LTVAs, you may camp only in self-contained camping units. 
The La Posa, Imperial Dam, and Mule Mountain LTVAs are restricted to self-contained camping units, except within 500 feet of a vault or rest room.
b. Self-contained camping units must have a permanent, affixed waste water holding tank of 10-gallon minimum capacity. BLM does not consider port-a-potty systems, systems that utilize portable holding tanks, or permanent holding tanks of less than 10-gallon capacity, to be self-contained".

Not to worry. When I was at La Posa South last February (being high season), the vast majority of people in there were regular RVs and self-contained. There were a few tents and a number vans. And lots of open places to camp. I camped less than a mile in to the east of the main road, and could see 3 different toilets from my campsite, although they were a ways apart.

 

[Ms Linda]

How do obtain a pass for La Posa? Also, is the pass good for any LTVA? And finally, do you get a reserved area or can you pick your own campsite?

 

[highdesertranger]

you get the permit at the entrance station or the BLM regional office in Yuma. I believe the permit is good at any of the winter LTVA's but I would ask the BLM to be sure. there are no designated campsites, camp wherever you want.

as long as the waste tank is permanently mounted I would tell them it's 10 gallon. I don't think the ranger is going to crawl under with a tape measure and do the math. highdesertranger