Question about types of toilets? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

lonelyroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

Question about types of toilets?

John U · RV-Dreams Family Member

Margaret,

The Wynn's have 6 other video's on composting toilets besides this one which is a good starting point IMHO.
www.youtube.com/watch

There are maybe a hundred different videos on black and grey water and chemical use. Also video's on RV toilet paper and macerators.
www.youtube.com/watch

John

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Most RVs have a holding tank where the waste from the toilet dumps into. Depending on the size of the waste (Black water) tank and the amount of toilet use most rv'ers can last a weekend or more without the need to get rid of the waste known as dumping the holding tank. On our 5th wheel the black tank holds 50 gallons and with just the two of us we won't fill it up in 7 to 10 days.

Most RV toilets don't use re-circulation so no chemicals are involved. They flush with freshwater just like the toilet at home except you can control the amount of water used for each flush. You can add a waste digester to the blank tank which helps to break down the solids to make it easier to dump the tank. In addition these digester chemicals may also have a deoderizer to eliminate bad smells from coming into the RV.

A properly working toilet and holding tank system in an RV should function similar to what you have at home except for the need to dump the black water tank when full.

Honeydeaux · RV-Dreams Family Member

The wife and I can go 14 days on our tanks with out to much effort. It takes a little getting use to but once you figure out what you can and can't do its not a problem. We don't have a composting toilet.
Our tanks are 100 gal fresh
50 gal black
50 gal gray.

The Hensons · RV-Dreams Family Member

Two years ago I installed the same Nature's Head composting system the Wynn's have. It cost about $1k but was very easy to do. This year I will plumb my black tank into my grey tank to give extra grey tank capacity.

After solar and residential fridge, I consider the compost toilet to be the third best upgrade we've done to our rig...though some might argue that going from a flush system to compost is an "upgrade" haha. But we love it...no more sewer. Great system for up to 3 people using fulltime. 4 or more I wouldn't do it.

Howard · Host

RV toilets are basically gravity or electric flush (aka macerator toilet). The gravity toilets aren't complicated - flush and everything in the bowl falls into the "black" tank (wastewater holding tank for the toilet) via ... gravity. The macerator toilets usually have a low flow push button flush and a higher flow one. When flushing, push a button and the bowl contents are "pumped" out, chopped up by a macerator (like a garbage disposal), and pumped to the black tank.

The macerator toilets allow for more creativity in toilet location in RVs since they don't have to be directly over the black tank. When there are two toilets in a rig, one is often a macerator type in order to pump waste to a distant black tank (which may or may not be under a second gravity toilet in the unit).

There are certainly pros and cons to both types depending on camping style. Of course, simpler is less likely to break and is easier to fix while complex comes with popular benefits that override the increased risk of malfunction for some.

RV toilets are plumbed so that there is a source of water coming into the bowl for rinsing and flushing. Chemicals are not part of the system, but some people use chemicals or organic substances to cover or control odors and to help breakdown the waste in the tanks. Many full-timers, us included, don't use any chemicals or other products.

If you are dry camping, you have a few options. You can take the entire RV to the nearest dump station, you can use a portable waste disposal tank (often called "blue boy") that you can tow to a dump station and dump (may take several trips), or you can build a more sophisticated "pump and dump" system where you can pump waste into a larger holding tank in a truck and then take just the truck to a dump station.

Though some love their composting toilets, be sure you understand everything about them before you convert. You still have to dispose of the waste (liquids and solids are separated) and though most just put the solids in a bag and then in a dumpster (composting piles are not readily available), it's not necessarily legal to do that everywhere. I tend to agree with this article: Is A Composting Toilet A Good Idea In An RV?

One thing that article mentions that a lot of people don't think about when installing a composting toilet is the future re-sale or trade-in of the RV. Most RVers won't want a composting toilet, so you really restrict the number of potential buyers.

You'll figure it all out and determine what is best for you.