Most Recommended Compost Toilets for RV – A Must-Have for Trailers!
The perfect eco-friendly RV staycation doesn’t happen by accident – even if the solo traveler pictures you bring back look like you’ve had an effortless time off-grid.
The secret to a successful RV vacation is all in the planning! Get the planning right and all the puzzle pieces fall neatly into place.
A major part of RV vacation planning is installing or setting up your traditional RV toilets. When on the road, the last thing we want is to stop at a dump station or to have uncomfortable family members in the back of the vehicle. If you’re eco-conscious, you’ll also need one with environmental treatment facilities.
You have to be careful with some RV compost toilets! I road-tested one that didn’t have separate tanks and solids mixed with liquids. Guess what happened? That’s right, liquid sewage and strong odor! This isn’t what you want on your enjoyable RV staycation. It isn’t pleasant and it isn’t much good for the environment either.
In this article, we’ll list some of the best eco-focused cassette toilet on the market and how it operates. You will discover the pros and cons of composting toilets like reduced odor, and the best fresh composting material process – using coco coir or peat moss – to dispose of waste on the road and when your holiday is over.
The Best Compost Toilets for RV
Best Overall – Nature’s Head Self Contained Composting Toilet
Summer is here – super! It’s time to load up the RV and head out on the open road or go off-grid for a while. Maybe you want to head to your favorite city or spectacular National Park like us!
Traveling on the open road is a dream for some, and for other staycationers who love to help the environment at the same time! If only we had an RV toilet that was low maintenance without any odors – meet the Nature’s Head Self Contained Composting Toilet.
This self-contained compost toilet is our top pick for a few reasons. It is not only the most sophisticated composting toilet on the market – it also benefits from some innovations that make your RV trip much easier and more relaxed.
Originally built for marine spaces by sailors with stainless steel hardware, Nature’s Head’s composting toilet works well in all confined areas where there is little plumbing or electricity. Unlike any other portable composting toilet, this one doesn’t have foul odors due to its well-designed black tank.
If we’re to pick one feature that sets this portable composting toilet apart from its competitors, it wouldn’t be its dimensions or its portability. Rather, it will be the low-volume air circulation fan that works in the background to dissipate foul-odors in small areas like boats and RVs.
This summer is the perfect time for a getaway in the RV with your family! It’s probably something you’ve been looking forward to after so long. Make your vacation lifestyle simpler and more enjoyable than ever with a composting material waste unit that doesn’t pong and only needs to be emptied every 2-4 weeks.
Best for Performance – Thetford Corp White Porta Potti Portable Toilet
When it comes to flushing toilets, performance levels are more important than anything else! After all, who sees you use a composting toilet? Sure, we’d like it to look modern and hygienic as it should, but would you rather pay for functionality over the aesthetic appeal?
The Thetford Corp White Porta Potti is exactly the type of toilet you want if functionality and performance are on top of your buying criteria. This toilet is small, portable, and super convenient. Yours truly used this one in both RV and garden house for a few weeks and had zero issues with it!
The Thetford Porta Potti is the best flushing toilet in its class when it comes to performance! Not only does it have an elegant and modern design that blends nicely with a contemporary RV aesthetic – it can be installed easily in most RVs and provides 4.0 gallons of fresh water capacity!
Whether you need a new toilet flush for your RV or you want to replace an existing one, consider getting Thetford’s Porta Potti since it’s easy to install, looks modern, and most importantly, hygienic. The high capacity unit means the toilet only needs cleaning out once every 4 weeks – depending on usage frequency AND the number of people who’ll use it.
The emptying process is made clean and easy with its rotating pour spout, detachable top, and carry handle.
You’ll be surprised to discover how simple, hygienic, and easy it was to use – peace of mind on those long road trips is guaranteed knowing that you have a reliable toilet that isn’t going to smell.
Forget about making stops at a dump station, or having complaining children in the back!
Best Budget – Reliance Luggable Loo
Not everyone has an RV and favors the open road. Sometimes we prefer to stay local and go camping, boating or hiking.
Still, there’s something special about the great outdoors in the summer months. The Reliance Luggable Loo is a brilliant way to make your outdoor staycation more comfortable.
We’ve all been in that awkward situation when we need to go but there aren’t any facilities around for miles. Sure, you could find a spot in the forest but it’s a better idea to come prepared. A bucket-style portable toilet bowl is perfect for this occasion and it won’t break the bank either.
Note that although it looks like a complete product, the Reliance Luggable Loo is only the hinged toilet seat and lid. At first, you might think this isn’t good value for money but the design is actually quite smart!
Having a snap-on lid means you can use any bucket or pail that fits. And don’t forget about adding toilet paper.
If you decide to spend your money on this convenient outdoor toilet remember to buy a compostable trash bag to go with it. The most efficient and eco way to use this toilet is to put a compostable bag in the pail and snap the lid on over it. Your solid and liquid waste can then be safely disposed of at an appropriate location.
The Reliance Luggable Loo is a light, convenient, and inexpensive way of making your time at the lake or the hillside more comfortable and easy. It fits neatly into your car or trailer and you’ll hardly know you have it with you. But you’ll be grateful you brought it along, and the toilet paper.
Best for Small Spaces – Air Head Composting Toilet
When you head out on the road for a family staycation you need a reliable composting toilet for your RV. Cross country journeys involve hours on the road – usually enjoyable ones with your dog wagging its tongue out the window and the kids playing console games in the back. Still, the necessities need taking care of to have a good time, so consider the Air Head Composting Toilet.
The Air Head Composting Toilet is second on the list but that doesn’t make it inferior in any way. Okay, it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as The Nature’s Head but it makes up for that in other ways. The Air Head is an established product and it has been tested in demanding environments.
I was surprised by how little room the Air Head takes up! Although it is a substantial mobile bathroom toilet with a twin holding black tank – solids bin and liquid urine can be emptied separately – it occupied very little room in our RV. It can also be mounted to the wall to free up extra floor room and prevent unfortunate grey water spillages.
Air Head toilet composting toilets come second to The Nature’s Head loo mainly because it doesn’t have air circulation technology. But it hasn’t neglected the issue of foul-smelling toilets. Instead, it uses an efficient method for breaking down solids quickly and storing them using coco coir for coverage. This is effective at eliminating offensive odors.
Don’t leave your summer staycation plans to chance this year! It’s time to celebrate the long days of sunshine and great weather and invest in a high-quality composting process toilet like the AirHead. If your composting toilets stink, make your time on the road a little easier with Airhead.
Best Electric Option – Sun-Mar Compact Self Contained Composting Toilet
If you have a sophisticated RV that you take on the road every year, you probably have a pretty decent toilet already!
This electric composting toilet made by Sun-Mar offers something different.
The Sun-Mar Composting Toilet uses a special patented bio drum that sets it apart from other composting toilets. To compost organic material effectively and correctly, you need a combination of warmth, moisture, and oxygen.
The Sun-Mar bio drum creates these conditions artificially making it a better way to recycle human waste into sanitary compost toilet waste.
What makes this product so sophisticated is its system for providing oxygen and moisture to the waste which doesn’t allow anaerobic bacteria to take over. Unlike aerobic bacteria, that is the type that can cause a bad sewage smell.
However, the “even” moisture and oxygen distribution in this composting toilet does more than that! This is the organic medium used to break down waste.
If you were in any doubt about its ability to break down waste, make it odorless, and facilitate its easy disposal, then check out its NSF International rating! NSF is an international health and safety organization that checks over products like composting toilets and decides if they qualify. Not every toilet is certified – but this one is!
Best Premium Choice – Separett Villa 9215 AC/DC
The Separett Villa 9215 AC/DC is your best choice if you want a premium product that delivers in all the right places.
Whether you’re cruising on the highways or enjoying some me-time in your garden house, you don’t need to fret about toilet odors or composting.
Villa 9215 AC/DC is suitable for on-grid and off-grid living thanks to its adaptable power functions. This premium toilet can run on a standard household AC power source or various DC options for off-grid living such as battery and solar.
Like Nature’s Head toilet, the Separett AC/DC uses a low volume fan to vent toilet odors. It also comes with compostable bags and a child seat.
Not all dry toilets are as versatile as the Separett Villa AC/DC! Many of them are simply designed for RV installation but won’t work on-grid. The Separett Villa AC/DC connects to your on-grid power supply and gives you a premium toilet for your home or garden house.
It effectively vents odors using an electronic fan and benefits from a vent that dries the waste for the decomposition process.
The Separett Villa AC/DC is a premium choice composting toilet because it includes some of the best features of the central system models into a single unit. Many composting toilets don’t feature an air venting system but the Separett Villa does! This clears the air of odors and dries out the waste for effective composting.
What to Consider When Buying a Composting Toilet for RV
Budget
RV composting toilets range in price, and as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for! A very basic composting medium toilet cost gives you an RV toilet without any frills. It uses lightweight materials – such as the Reliance Luggable Loo.
Alternatively, you can invest in a central system premium composting toilet cost with fans and venting that runs to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Size
The size of composting toilets is all relatively similar! They have to fit snugly in a small area allowing for extra bathroom floor space in your RV. At the same time, a regular toilet needs to be large enough to sit on comfortably.
Regardless of the price and features, you can expect its dimensions to be around 38.25 x 25.25 x 25 and the weight to be around 48.25 Pounds.
Type of Compost Toilet
When choosing an environmentally friendly composting toilet for an RV, consider various models and reduce spam by shopping online.
A self-contained composting toilet is the most common! This contains separate chambers for liquid urine, solids, and organic matter – these chambers are removable for disposal. A traditional toilet won’t compost your waste in the unit.
Capacity
Since RV composting toilets are designed for vacation vehicles they have a typical size, weight, and composting toilet cost that is suitable for most onboard washrooms.
Whether you choose a feature-rich premium toilet or one with a budget price tag that is a standard toilet height, it will have between 41 gallons and 55-gallons capacity. That’s enough for weeks of usage for between 2 and 4 people.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do composting toilets work in RVs?
RV toilets are made with space-saving in mind! They tend to have the same dimensions and can be installed or mounted to the wall. Beneath the toilet seat, there is a black tank for water and solid waste.
These can be emptied separately. Some toilets have a handle to rotate the solid waste, and some have ventilation fans to reduce odors in your RV.
Do RV composting toilets smell?
Needless to say, use a space-saving composting toilet in a small location like your own RV washroom and it will stink! But not if you invest in one that uses odor-reducing technology like ventilation or coconut coir.
This can be in the form of a 12-volt ventilation fan or organic materials to break down odors. More advanced models have ventilation fans that dry the waste to prevent it from smelling.
How often do you need to empty an RV composting toilet?
The answer to this question depends on usage, but there are ways to calculate average figures that make a significant difference. A typical toilet for an RV will offer 60-80 uses before the solid human waste tank needs emptying.
That is equivalent to two people using it twice a day. The tank needs emptied every 4-6 weeks. The liquid urine tank can be emptied more frequently – perhaps once a week.
Can composting toilets be used for liquid and solid waste?
The best RV toilets have separate holding tanks. A liquid container and a solid waste container. This makes emptying the tanks easier, reduces smells, and improves the quality of the compost pile produced.
In the case of a toilet flush with a single holding tank – such as the Thetford Porta Potti – you need to use the correct chemicals in the holding tank to break down the solid waste for disposal.
Last update on 2024-04-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
