Toilets for caravans: We’ve done the numbers…er research for you

We all have to go at some point so regardless of whether you like talking about it or not, toilets for caravans is an important topic. However, how you go is up to you. Thankfully, we’ve done the numbers …er research for you.

But first, for those of you travelling light without toilets in your caravan, let’s talk about how to do it the old-fashioned way properly.

As nature intended?

In the evolution of camping loos and toilets for caravans, we’ve come a long way. Well, most of us have. There are still people who leave the white bush streamers, as opposed to steamers (and if yours are white, see a GP), to indicate that the intrepid who follow should watch for more than a king brown. Look, we’ve all been caught short but surface dumping should never be a first-choice.

In the absence of public or caravan toilets, the original method is a bush poo. We won’t worry about the number ones because as long as you’re not pouring directly into someone’s drinking supply, most plant life in Australia will welcome a drink. Still, use common sense around watercourses, eh? Just because it’s liquid doesn’t mean you’re helping by boosting the volume a little.

If you have no toilet facilities with you then follow these steps as a rough guide:

• Grab a shovel
• Take a brisk walk 15-20 metres from any watercourse
• Dig the hole a good 20cm deep
• Do what you need to do and add your paper to the hole’s contents
• Burn the paper with a lighter so if an animal digs up your doings, the paper won’t decorate the landscape
• Finally, backfill with soil (the hole)

There are some great ways to ease the squatting process with homemade bush dunny seats, dedicated stools (sorry) and even the towbar-mounted seat over a short-drop into a bag-lined bucket. Do what you need to do, but don’t leave anything behind.

Top tip: Download the National Public Toilet Map App. so you don’t get caught out!

Portability in toilets for caravans

The porta potti, a generic term bestowed upon a portable toilet whether it’s of the Thetford brand or not, is easy to transport and has been a mainstay of the caravan and campervan world for ages. Porta potti style toilets for caravans are easy to store in a locker out of sight. However, unless you have a dedicated toilet tent outside, it’s close proximity indoors can be less than, let’s say, dignified.

Portable toilets for caravans are easy to clean but given their low height, are not so easy to use if your mobility is limited. If you like to mix it up and tent camp sometimes, or hop into a camper-trailer or van sans ensuite, then a portable toilet may be a huge benefit. Pop-up tents to house them are readily available and the portable unit is always a good backup for kids sleeping outside the caravan in swags or an annexe.

The advantages of this style of toilets for caravans are that they use less water and emptying it is simpler than many fixed installations. Although on the downside, it will require emptying more often and that’s usually not a pretty exercise.

If you’re a regular camper, then you will likely look at the most common installation of all RV toilets, the cassette toilet.

The cassette – a popular choice for caravan toilets

When perusing shiny new RVs for the next chapter of your camping lifestyle, it’s easy to see the white expanses of bathroom surfaces, the shower, the taps, the ceramic bowl and visually clock the caravan toilet bowl. It looks familiar, you have one at home, but then comes the realisation that you have to empty it yourself!

This realisation may happen on the dealership floor or it may happen on your third or fourth night away. The salesperson showing you through the caravan may not wish to break from the dream-selling and assume that you know how the toileting routine works. But you know what happens when you assume something, don’t you?

Hidden underneath is where the magic happens…

A cassette toilet can have several guises inside the RV. It may be a modular unit or built onto the wall, with just a lid/seat and a lever or button to flush it. It may even resemble a freestanding domestic toilet or have a fixed or swivel bowl to make it easier to use in a smaller space. However, hidden beneath the toilet in your caravan is where the magic happens.

Caravans with cassette toilets will have an external hatch that reveals the cassette and this is what you have to prime for use and to empty when it’s full. Although it’s preferable to empty it when it’s near or half full. You’ll know which is best for you the first time you pull a full cassette out of the chamber in terms of weight and manageability.

Once out of the vehicle though, the caravan toilet cassette should have wheels and an extendable handle to wheel it to the dump point so you don’t have to carry it like a reluctant toddler as the contents swish from side to side. The dump point is a whole new world, as witnessed by many pictures of unfamiliar campers using them to wash up, make coffee and fill water bottles. Gah!

… a bit of advice

How about a kindly word of advice to those less informed than you instead of framing their faux pas for social media? Or you could do both.

Your cassette needs priming with water and some form of chemical treatment added. It will have a flush supply separate from the main chamber. Now, the caravanning internet rages about what works and what doesn’t. You can use the dedicated products supplied by the caravan toilet manufacturer, you can use nappy treatments or some people will even offer their own chemical recipes. What’s paramount though, is where it goes. Wherever possible, use a dedicated RV dump point because it’s what they’re for!

There’s no getting around the fact that tipping your own liquid waste into a hole the size of a saucer is not a spectator sport but you will get used to it. I learnt something while writing this story. The green button atop a caravan toilet cassette is a breather that helps reduce splatter if you push it while pouring out. You’re welcome. Oh, and if an experienced camper tells you they’re ‘doing the honey run’, now you know what they mean.

For more than I can write to explain it, here’s a great video from Bryan Foster, at Fozzie’s Views on YouTube.

Pros and cons of cassette toilets for caravans

The downsides to using a caravan toilet cassette is that they can smell if you’re not up to scratch on chemical additives or maintenance. However, at least part of this can be remedied by adding a SOG system to remove odours. You can read how to install one here

A caravan cassette system is not that easy to replace with another toilet set-up and it does require you to be on top of the upkeep. The upsides are that they still have low water use, you can carry a spare cassette, they’re easy to clean and are available in right or left-hand configurations depending on your caravan style. For a fancy cassette system with power supplied you can look at an installation like the Switch-Mode bathroom from Trakka Motorhomes. Watch a video here

Gravity toilets for caravans and RVs

Gravity. Old-school thinking but still current! The inbuilt, gravity toilet system for caravans and RVs means that your toilet takes the waste down into a holding tank. In turn, the tank needs emptying but is fixed in the RV. So, you need to move the whole rig to the dump point, meaning you kinda need to plan ahead.

A large vehicle will limit access, and you have to hope that the dump point is positioned in such a way that you can manoeuvre your rig or the outflow pipe to a spot where gravity can actually do its job on your jobs effectively. Still, the waste is out of sight. This system is common and it’s not expensive.

Apart from the aforementioned negatives, the toilet must be positioned over the tanks and can smell if you’re not on top of your treatments. It also uses your water supply which could be an issue for long-term free camping. Oh, and the system can block. Watch a hilarious video here

Last but not least, worthy mentions

There are three more types of toilets for caravans and RVs that also use a holding tank but these set-ups don’t have to be positioned over the tank. This means that designs can be changed to suit if they’re on the drawing board. The macerator is kind of like a Nutribullet for your waste. Under electrical power, blades macerate the material before it enters a tank meaning easier, liquid-like disposal.

A vacuum flush toilet acts like an aeroplane loo taking the waste through a macerator again to do the above task and add to the black water tank for disposal. 

A composting toilet for caravans is another option. Watch the video here to find out how they work.

Conclusion

Now that you have the numbers on toilets for caravans, you know what your options are. I leave you with the video below. It’s the main reason I chose to write this story – to include this video. Camping toilets – Tuxman has the numbers.

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