VAN LIFE | which toilet is right for my camper van?
With so many toilets on the market, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. Composting? Cassette? Incinerating? Urine diverting? Dry flush? I’ll break down the pros and cons of each of these, and I’ll weigh in on my personal favorite.
COMPOSTING
Composting toilets are a popular option for a lot of van-lifers. Nature’s Head and Airhead both make a great product, and composting toilets are often done as a DIY also.
PROs: self contained, no blackwater, easy to move
CONs: urine jug fills up quickly, compost can be hard to maintain
I don’t normally steer toward this option for best toilet. We have had lots of clients/friends that state emptying the urine jug becomes a full-time job since it fills quickly. Our shop is based in the southeast where it is nice and humid. Maintaining compost in a humid climate can be hard, and personally, I just don’t want to be worried about the status of my poo compost while traveling.
CASSETTE
Another popular option is the Cassette toilet. A lot of people love these toilets for the ease of use (they function just like a regular toilet - do your business, drop the toilet paper, and go on your way). They also have a small footprint and can be easily tucked away in a cabinet or shower.
PROs: ease of use, small footprint
CONs: emptying it
The biggest con to the Cassette toilet is emptying it. Again, personal preference, but I don’t want to handle poop + pee that have been accumulating in a jug area for days. Which is another point: it has to be emptied every few days (depending on use). It holds a very small capacity. I like having an option that allows me to go off-grid for a while without having to drive and find a dump station.
INCINERATING
We started installing incinerating toilets a couple of years ago, and they are an exciting development in the RV/van world. We are Cinderella distributors - Cinderella is the only incinerating toilet on the market that is UL and NSF certified in North America. Incinerating toilets are great because they create zero waste. You go to the restroom just as you would in your house, flush, and run a burn cycle that rids your waste. There are ashes that need to be emptied from time to time, but not often, and they can go into a trash bag.
PROs: zero waste management, ease of use
CONs: price $$, propane
Incinerating toilets are not easy on the wallet. They come with a hefty price tag and are easily the most expensive toilet on the market. Luxury ain’t cheap, y’all. The second con of the incinerating toilet is that is does run off of propane. If you aren’t comfortable with propane in your RV/van and the maintenance/checks that come with that, this isn’t the toilet for you.
*** There is a diesel incinerating toilet on the market in Europe. It is supposedly making its way to the states in the near future. That will be a game changer and might make this option our favorite if/when that happens. Check back with us for more updates on that!
URINE DIVERTING
Separett makes a urine diverting kit that we actually used in our very first van build. How does it work? It separates the urine from the poop. The urine drains down into a holding tank under the van, and the poop goes back into a bucket with a liner. Urine is considered gray water and can be dumped anywhere (within LNT guidelines).
PROs: inexpensive
CONs: smell, dumping, hands-on
The biggest con of this type of toilet is the smell. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s not ideal. The urine drains down into a holding tank that can sometimes cause the urine odor to come back up into the van. Even with p-traps and tank treatment, it is hard to completely eliminate. It’s also good to note that there is a divider wall between the two compartments so you have to be able to do one part of your business, move a little, and do the other part. You then manually bag up the solid waste to throw out.
DRY FLUSH
Dry flush toilets are (in my opinion) the best option on the market. Dry flush toilets are self-contained toilets that you use just as you would a normal toilet. There are two popular types of dry flush toilets: laveo and wrappon. We have used both in van builds. The Laveo is like a large diaper genie: you go to the restroom, press a button, and it wraps your business up and holds it in a large bag in the bottom. After 15 flushes, a large trash bag holding all the flushes bags them up for you to throw out. The Wrappon is similar, but it has a roll of bags, and it spits out an individual package for you to dispose of after every flush. We have the Wrappon in our show van.
PROs: ease of use, not hands-on, no smell, self contained
CONs: generating waste, throwing the bag out
The biggest con of a dry flush is just throwing the bag out when you’re finished - either after 15 flushes or one flush. To me, especially as someone with kids, this is no big deal and worth the trade-off. I also know that some people bring up the waste that these toilets generate with the bagging method can be a lot.
Hopefully you found this blog helpful if you are on a toilet journey! As with many aspects of vanlife, each toilet has a trade-off; there is no “perfect” option. However, they have come a long way, especially in the last several years. We are often spoiled by the thrones in our houses, and a lot of people let this hiccup hold them back from camping at all. Don’t be that person! Get outside and enjoy yourself.