ADA Shower and Restroom Trailers: Reading the 2010 Standards' 5 Percent Rule

Festival producers, shelter managers, and site superintendents ask the same thing: how many of the portable units have to be accessible? The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design answer it for clusters.

The rule

Section 213.2, Exception 3 applies “where multiple single user portable toilet or bathing units are clustered at a single location.” In that case no more than 5 percent of the units in each cluster must comply with Section 603, and the accessible units must be identified by the International Symbol of Accessibility.

What it means for a trailer order

• Count each cluster separately. Two groups of units at opposite ends of a venue are two clusters, each with its own accessible unit.
• Round up: a cluster of 12 single-user units still needs at least one accessible unit.
• Our Luxury Shower-Restroom Combination Trailer (3 Individual Stalls + 1 ADA) and Luxury Shower-Restroom Combination Trailer (8 Individual Stalls + 1 ADA) put an accessible shower-restroom stall beside 3 or 8 standard stalls.
• The accessible stall is only useful with an accessible route to it, so the ramp is part of the plan, not an add-on afterthought.

The standards are federal; your building official or event permit office applies them to your site. See all ADA combo trailers or ask us to include an ADA unit in your quote.