Review of the Caboose Travel Potty
Written by valmg on January 13, 2008 – 6:29 pm
I became aware of a fairly new product called the Caboose Travel Potty a couple of weeks ago when participating in a contest. Suzy Smithson is a Mom who lives in Virginia, USA, and she created the Caboose with the belief there is a market for a product permitting children learning to use the potty to have some dignity and familiarity while pottying during travel. I thought it was a neat idea and wanted to see how it would work for a child such as my younger son, who is eight and has Down Syndrome and is still potty training, so I emailed asking if I might review one. I received my Caboose in Friday’s mail and I am thrilled that the Smithsons were gracious enough to send me a potty to review.
The Caboose is a travel potty that was designed to use a diaper as its liner. It’s design is patent pending. The Caboose is made right here in the USA, something that should reassure buyers because the manufacturing standards and product specifications are held to a higher standard here than in China where it is less expensive to manufacture plastics. As you can see from the top left picture it is very small and lightweight, and comes in a clear plastic zippered case making it easy to bring with you in the car and keep clean.
The Caboose is portable and easy to use. It consists of two pieces that fit inside each other when stored and interlock to form a seat when put together. The top right picture is of the two pieces nested. The middle left picture is of the two pieces assembled forming the seat. Once assembled, just place any size diaper inside as the liner. When the child is finished, just fold up the diaper and dispose of properly.
Now my son is eight and no longer in diapers, but he does wear PullUps at night, when traveling and when in the car. When I originally saw the product I’d wondered how relevant it would be for a child such as my son. I found that PullUps also fit perfectly into the Caboose, making it the perfect travel item for my son. The middle right picture is of a size 4T-5T PullUp fitted into the Caboose.
The picture on the lower left is of my son sitting on the Caboose. He weights about 45 pounds and is quite small. He’s at the higher end of the recommended weight for the Caboose, but since he doesn’t gain much weight it would work for him until he masters pottying. The Caboose is about 4 inches high when together, so no worried about using something too tall.
I can see the Caboose being used by any parent that has a child learning to potty who’s on the go. All you need to do is just put a diaper or PullUp into the carrying case and be on your way. The bottom right picture is of the Caboose and a PullUp inside the zippered case.
After reviewing the Caboose I can say that it does exactly what it promises to do and what it is intended to do. I can think of numerous different situations that occur during family travel where this product would be useful. The Caboose is currently being sold direct online for $18.95, as well as in select retail locations. For more information or to buy directly, visit www.bonacoproducts.com.
