# Honeywagon

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/honeywagon
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> A honeywagon is a trailer, usually towed by a tractor or built on a truck, that has a row of restrooms plus several small single-person dressing rooms. It parks at base camp and serves the crew's bathroom needs and gives day players and smaller cast roles a room to change and wait.

## What's inside

Walk down the side of a typical honeywagon and you'll see a string of doors. A few are restrooms (often split men's and women's at one end), and the rest open into narrow rooms with a bench or small couch, a mirror, a clothes rack, and an outlet. People describe them by the number of rooms: a "six-room honeywagon" or an "eight-room." Some units add a small office room the ADs or the production office can use.

It sits at [base camp](https://storiara.com/glossary/base-camp) next to the cast trailers and hair and makeup.

## How rooms get assigned

The 2nd 2nd AD, or the 2nd AD on smaller shows, works out room assignments from the day's call sheet and tapes name cards to the doors before cast arrive. On a day with six speaking roles and two stunt performers, the list might look like this:

| Room | Occupant | Call |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Restroom | |
| 2 | Restroom | |
| 3 | #7 Dr. Ruiz | 9:30A |
| 4 | #9 Officer Tate | 9:30A |
| 5 | #11 Waitress | 12:00P |
| 6 | Stunt coordinator | 7:00A |
| 7 | #12 Stunt double (Tate) | 10:00A |

When a day player wraps, the [2nd 2nd AD](https://storiara.com/roles/second-second-assistant-director) flips the card so wardrobe knows the room can be cleared for the next arrival.

## Budget and scheduling notes

The honeywagon sits in the transportation section of the [budget](https://storiara.com/templates/film-budget), billed as a rental by the day or week plus the driver's labor, fuel, and pumping. It moves with the company, so a [company move](https://storiara.com/glossary/company-move) means breaking down base camp and rebuilding it at the next site. On shoots with a lot of background, one honeywagon's restrooms won't be enough, and the production adds portable restroom units near holding.

## Common mistakes

Indie productions sometimes skip the honeywagon to save money and rely on a location's bathrooms. That works until you have forty crew and one toilet in a private house, and the homeowner who signed the location agreement starts regretting it. Another mistake is assigning a principal performer a honeywagon room when their contract promises something more. Check the deal memo before posting room cards. The [transportation coordinator](https://storiara.com/roles/transportation-coordinator) should also confirm the trailer's length against the base camp lot before booking, since some honeywagons need a semi tractor to move.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is it called a honeywagon?

The name comes from older slang for vehicles that haul waste, like septic trucks. Film crews kept the word for the restroom trailer, even though modern honeywagons also hold dressing rooms.

### Who gets a honeywagon room?

Usually day players, smaller recurring roles, stand-ins on some shows, and sometimes the stunt coordinator or studio teacher. Series regulars and leads normally get space in a separate cast trailer. Deal memos and union agreements decide who gets what.

### Who takes care of the honeywagon?

A driver assigned to it, often called the honeywagon driver, moves it, pumps and refills it, and keeps it stocked and clean. On union shows in Los Angeles that driver is a Teamster.