RV Toilet or Composting Toilet?
- no.e.t.a.
- Dec 20, 2018
- 3 min read
Hello Campers!
We are Kelsey and Scott Kiessig and we are @no.e.t.a.
We LOVE to travel in our fifth wheel, but so many places we want to go don’t have hookups!
This is called boondocking or dry camping.
For those unfamiliar, this simply means that as you use the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the shower, and the toilet, the waste water does not leave the trailer. It is held inside a storage tank in the belly of the trailer/RV. This puts a timeline on your stay. When you run out of room for more waste water, its time to go! And depending on the size of your tanks and the level of your conservation, this can be as quick as one weekend! No fun!!
If you own an RV, you know that dealing with the sewage from your black tank is terrible. And I am sure that you are familiar with that oh so wonderful smell of RV toilets. That mix of deodorizer, sewage, and rot! Ew!
And to top it all off, at some point during every trip, you get to perform the nasty task of emptying the black tank. If you are a seasoned RVer you know what we are talking about, if you don’t know, we will let your imagine do the rest.
There has to be a better way!
Years ago we stumbled upon RV'ers on the internet that had solved all of those issues with a composting toilet! We had no idea what that even was!
In a nutshell, instead of your #1 waste and #2 waste going down the traditional toilet drain and being held in your black tank, they are separated as you do your business and held in storage tanks above the level of the floor. Your waste only becomes toxic sewage when they mix. If they are kept separate, they are actually WAY nicer to deal with!
So first the benefits!
No more having to deal with emptying nasty, toxic sewage every time you go camping! You only have to empty gray water (dirty/soapy water from sinks and shower) which is SO much more pleasant.
You get to use your black tank as another gray tank! In our case that adds another 35 gallons of space which is a big bonus when boondocking/dry camping!
No more stinky RV toilet!
No more chemicals and deodorizers to deal with.
It uses no water so your fresh water never gets wasted flushing your toilet!
If you have boys in the house, no more pee on the ground and the walls! More on this below.
The draw backs…
You have to empty the #1 holding tank on a daily/regular basis. But that being said, urine is sterile so its not really that bad.
You have to crank/mix the #2 tank every time you “make a deposit”. Depending on a lot of factors, this can sometimes be a challenge.
You have to empty the #2 holding tank periodically and dispose of the “compost”. I do this with a plastic garbage bag stretched over the top so its not terrible.
The unit is expensive up front and there is some installation of venting and electrical for the fan.
The last pro/con is that you have to sit for all of your business. For the women, this is obviously not an issue. For the guys, this can be a change, but it’s honestly not a big deal.
We list it as both a pro and a con because it falls in a different category depending on who you are! 😉
All that being said, we will NEVER go back to a traditional RV toilet!
We love having the extra gray tank space the best!
Plus we never have to deal with sewage ever again!
If you have more questions about composting toilets or anything else RV related, feel free to reach out on our Instagram page @no.e.t.a!
We would love to talk with you!
Happy Trails!
-Kelsey and Scott Kiessig
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