VanLife toilet Separett Tiny
Disclaimer: We are an official dealer for Separett Canada and Compo Closet Canada. We have formerly sold most brands, and believe these are the best choices for small spaces like vans, boats or RVs.
There are a wide variety of waterless and/or composting toilets suitable for vanlife. The most popular brands are the Separett Tiny, Compost Closet Cuddy, and Nature’s Head. Installing a vanlife toilet in a van, RV or boat has numerous advantages over traditional flush toilets or porta pottys. You get rid of a holding tank, and smelly hoses. You free up space for other uses. There is very little maintenance so you will never have to rebuild them as you will a flush toilet. And in a boat you might be able to eliminate one or two through hulls.
However, there are several considerations in choosing the right toilet. Composting toilets for vans, RV and boats have very specific requirements.
Vanlife toilets must be odour-free
This is especially important in the tiny confines of an RV or boat, where any smell is more noticeable. Unfortunately, some toilets are advertised as odour free when they in fact are not (We’ve tested them).
The most important thing is to have a powered vent. This means your toilet should have a fan running all the time, and a pipe or hose leading outside. Think about it – there is VERY stinky air inside a toilet. It might be okay when the toilet is closed, but once you open it for use you will definitely smell something – no matter what anyone tells you. There is no miracle toilet that renders human waste odorless.
Lately there have been numerous very small waterless and composting vanlife toilets appearing on the market. We have tested most of them, and are sad to say we are unimpressed. A small box with a lid, no fan, and no exhaust vent is going to stink. It might be okay when closed, but as soon as you open the toilet to use it, the smell will obviously escape. Using a stinky toilet is unacceptable to me. Ugh.
Many people are concerned about the electrical draw. However, these fans typically use under 1 watt. It’s very, very little electricity. You will not regret figuring out how to supply your vanlife toilet with this meagre amount of electricity. And your partner will thank you!
The better toilets don’t even smell when you are using them, because ventilation air is being drawn down into the bowl from the bathroom area. Stinky air cannot escape.
So – get a toilet with a fan and vent.
RV toilets have to be small
Happily, this is not as difficult as it used to be. The Separett Tiny is, well, tiny. The Cuddy is absolutely miniscule and perfect for a little van. There are others as well.
The Cuddy toilet is small!
View screens are vital
Some of these RV and marine toilets don’t even have view screens to conceal the solid waste. That means as soon as you open the toilet lid to pee, you are staring at the last person’s poop! Honestly, it’s astounding some of these toilets made it to the market.
Others are simply a box with a seat, promoted on a fancy website. No.
For a little more money, you can purchase an excellent composting or waterless toilet for your RV or boat that has a view screen. We only recommend high quality toilets that have view screens.
Urine Diversion is the Way to Go
Almost all waterless and composting toilets for RVs or boats are now urine diverting toilets. This was a huge step forward. Diverting the urine results in far, far less odor inside the toilet. It’s the combination of urine and feces that produces that absolutely horrible smell we have all experienced in outhouses and Porta Johns. Don’t even consider a toilet that is not urine diverting.
Urine Bottle or Drain Urine to a Tank?
Many toilets come with a small urine bottle. Pee is collected in the bottle, which is dumped in a campground bathroom, outhouse, or anywhere convenient and legal. Most people will place the bottle in a cloth bag, to be discreet. The positive aspect of this is that it makes installation of the toilet very easy, as you do not need a urine drain line. Some toilets have battery operated sensors that turn on a little light when it’s time to empty the toilet. This prevents people from forgetting, and having the pee bottle overflow.
A urine bottle allows you to eliminate a tank for storing urine. This frees up valuable space for a fresh water tank, or storage.
Separett Tiny 1270 Vanlife Toilet with urine bottle
All in all, it’s very handy!
On the negative side, it means someone has to empty the pee bottle every day or two.
If you drain into a tank, you never have to empty a bottle. You might be able to combine the urine with grey water and use the same tank. Or a separate arete tank might be needed. Regardless, since there is no flush water, any tank will hold a lot of pee before it needs to be emptied. You would empty it at a sani-dump if in an RV, or a pump out station if on a boat (unless you were the requisite distance offshore in salt water).
Do I Need to Add an Organic Medium?
Vanlife toilets like the Separett Tiny contain the waste (and paper) in a compostable bag. The urine is diverted so the container has fairly large capacity. Other toilets like the Nature’s Head and OGO require you to add peat moss or some other organic medium, moisten it, and turn a handle to mix the waste with the organic medium after every use. The downside is it is work to set it up and a LOT messier to empty. Composting takes months, so I have my doubts as to how much composting is actually going on inside the toilet. My recommendation is to use a toilet that simply contains the solid waste in a bag like the Separett Tiny or Cuddy Lite. It’s easier and cleaner.
Size (Capacity) Matters in a Vanlife Toilet
You don’t want to have to dump your toilet any more often than necessary. Some of the smaller vanlife toilets only hold 5 or 10 poops. That’s ridiculous, and will be very inconvenient. Get one with decent capacity.
The Chute Must Be Large
Some vanlife toilets for RVs and vans have bowls, with a small opening for the solid waste. This means that poop will hit the side of the bowl. It’s gross, and requires clean up after every use. Much better are the toilets that have a large chute, with vertical or near vertical walls. The waste will usually fall down the chute and not hit the sides. Little or no clean up is required. You generally don’t have to aim, as you might with a toilet that incorporates a small opening. Better!
What About Using a Wet Bath with a Vanlife Toilet in a van or RV?
Since space is at a premium in an RV or boat, many people want the toilet area to do double duty as a shower. However, all of the better toilets have fans, which use electricity. Therefore they cannot get wet. It could destroy the fan, or cause a shock or injury to the user. Electricity and water are not compatible! Please do not under estimate the risk.
But there is a solution! You can remove or disconnect the fan inside the toilet, and install a fan in the vent pipe well away from any water. You can buy inline fans, but a cheaper solution could probably be improvised. I have even seen someone cut the corners off a small computer fan so it would fit inside a PVC pipe, held in place with light adhesive. A small hole was drilled in the pipe for the wires.
Which Vanlife Toilet To Choose?
Everyone will have their own preferences and requirements. There are trade offs, and there is no perfect small vanlife toilet for vans or RVs or boats. However, we have used and tested most of them over the years, and the better models that meet most of the criteria listed above are all pretty good. Do some homework, and study the toilet carefully before buying. That said, we are very confident recommending the Separett Tiny 1270 and Separett Tiny 1271. They both check most of the boxes. We are an official dealer for Separett Canada.