When it comes to RVs, people's most significant sticking points often involve the bathroom; specifically, the toilet. If that's true for you, then you want to know you have the best RV toilet possible.
How do you know, though? Fortunately, we've put together a list of the best RV toilets on the market today.
Many RV toilets are similar to the toilets in your house, but they're not quite the same. Others are quite different from your standard home toilet.
What you want depends on what kind of RV you have, what type of traveling and camping you do, and what you want when it comes to ease of use, waste disposal, use of space, odors, and even how environmentally conscious you are.
What are the different types of RV toilets, and how do you know what you want?
Flushable toilets are the ones you find in larger RVs with bathrooms and are the closest to the toilets you have at home. You flush them, and gravity does the rest.
Cassette toilets are also similar to regular toilets and fixed in place in your RV. The primary difference between these toilets and standard flushing toilets is that they have a small, removable holding tank instead of connections to regular tanks.
Portable toilets may work well for small RVs and camper vans. Their portability means you can use them anywhere, even outside of an RV.
Composting toilets are the most environmentally friendly RV toilets there are. They don't use water, but they do separate solids from liquids and turn the solids into compost. You do have to find authorized facilities at which to dump urine and other fluids, but you can use them in a variety of RVs.
RVs with plumbing systems have three water tanks: Fresh, gray, and black. Your freshwater tank is the one that supplies water to your kitchen and bathroom. Your gray water tank holds used water from washing dishes and showering. Your black tank holds the sewage from your toilet.
Not every RV toilet requires these tanks. Portable toilets and composting toilets don't need tanks. Flushable and cassette toilets, however, do. Keep that in mind when deciding which toilet you want in your RV.
Also, you need to empty your gray and black water tanks at designated facilities every few days. If that's something you'd rather not worry about, then a portable composting toilet might work better for you.
If you're looking for quality and price doesn't matter, then you're probably looking for the best RV toilet you can imagine. Dometic makes several high-quality, gravity-flushing RV toilets that come with many of the comforts of your house toilet.
I've found that Dometic's toilets are the most similar RV toilets to the ones I have at home. It even has a wood-textured seat like the wooden seat I have in my upstairs bathroom, which adds to the comfort and familiar feelings of home.
I also like the fact that it fits all sizes of RVs that can handle fixed, flushable toilets. For me, that means I can put it in whatever size RV I have, even if I decide to upgrade or downgrade.
Pros:
Cons:
Perhaps you want an alternative to a standard flushing toilet. Maybe you’re environmentally conscious and you neither want to waste a lot of water, nor dump your waste into a sewage system. Or perhaps you need something that attaches to your RV but doesn’t need its own plumbing system. These toilets might work well for you.
A growing number of people are environmentally conscious enough to want such a toilet in their RV. Composting toilets, like Nature's Head's composting toilet, fit that bill.
I don't like dumping black-water tanks, so despite my personal preferences, I'm intrigued by the idea of a composting toilet. If I ever got into the RV life, I'd want to grow some of my own food, and a composting toilet would help me with that.
I also like the idea of not having smelly tubes and lines with which to deal. This toilet helps to eliminate that problem.
Pros:
Cons:
Cassette toilets are a combination of a fixed, flushable toilet and a portable toilet. They're a compromise that makes them suitable for everything from a camper van to a standard trailer or motorhome. You might decide they're the best solution for an RV without any kind of a bathroom.
For me, cassette toilets represent the best of all worlds, and Thetford's design means I can have a fixed-in-place toilet in an RV without a bathroom but with a decent-sized holding tank. I also don't have to worry about how to store it when I'm on the go. I like the removable black-water tanks as well, so I can empty this kind of a toilet whenever I need to.
Pros:
Cons:
You shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality just because you’re on a budget. You can find some excellent RV toilets even if your wallet is a little thin.
Most people who travel in RVs have one with a bathroom, so they have a flushable toilet unless they've got a custom design to accommodate something else. Thetford's Aqua Magic V toilet is a gravity-flushing toilet that's easy to install and maintain. This toilet might be right for you if you're unhappy with your current RV toilet.
What I like most about this toilet, aside from the fact that it doesn't break the bank, is that you can press the flushing lever halfway down if you just want to add some water to the bowl without actually flushing it.
However, when you press it all the way down, you get a full flush that covers the entire bowl, very similar to a house toilet. I very much prefer a clean toilet bowl, so I like this feature, too.
Pros:
Cons:
People with smaller RVs, including those tiny teardrop trailers, probably don't have the room or equipment necessary for a flushing toilet. If you still want a toilet, a portable toilet like Camco's may solve your problem.
While I don't prefer portable toilets over fixed-place flushing toilets, I have used them before, and this one is by far my favorite. It's simple to use and fits in most RVs and camper vans. I like the removable tank, too, since most small RVs and camper vans don't have their own holding tanks.
Its portability also means you don't have to install anything.
Pros:
Cons:
There are so many RV toilets out there that you might find making the right decision impossible. You might discover that any one of the toilets we've listed work well for you regardless of your RV type.
We like flushable toilets the most, but we know they don't work for everyone. Remember to carefully think about what you already have and what you want before you decide which of these toilets is the best RV toilet for you. When you make your decision, though, have a good time RVing!