Choosing
A toilet in your van camper: which type, how much space, and is it required?
In a three-metre van every square decimetre is a choice. A toilet costs between thirty and sixty of them, straight out of your galley or your seating area. Before you give up that space there is one question that is rarely asked and that changes the whole decision: is it actually required?
Updated on 11 min read
First: it is not required
This is the cheapest square decimetre you can win back in the whole project. To register a panel van as a camper the RDW asks four things: seating with a table, a bed, a cooking facility and storage, all permanently attached. If you also want the favourable tax rate, a kitchen unit with sink, tap and drain is added to that. Neither list mentions a toilet.
That makes it a free choice rather than a condition — a trade-off between how you travel and what you are willing to give up. Anyone always on campsites might use one three times a year. Anyone staying off-grid or travelling with children does not want to be without at night.
The full requirement list from the RDW and the tax office
The three types, and what they cost in space
| Separating toilet | Cassette toilet | Portable toilet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor area | ± 40 × 40 cm | ± 45 × 50 cm | ± 40 × 35 cm, stowable |
| Cut into the bodywork | None | Service hatch in the side wall | None |
| Chemicals needed | No | Yes, or a biological additive | Yes |
| Emptying | Solids in general waste, urine in any toilet | Only at a designated disposal point | Only at a designated disposal point |
| How often | Urine every 1 – 2 days, solids every 3 – 4 weeks | Every 3 – 5 days with two people | Every 2 – 4 days |
| Smell | Barely, provided it has a small fan | Depends on the fluid | Noticeable in warm weather |
The difference between the first two columns is bigger than the table suggests, and it sits in the last two rows. A cassette toilet needs a disposal point, and those are at campsites and some motorhome stops — not by the roadside and not in a village. A separating toilet keeps urine and solids apart, and it is precisely that mixture which causes the smell. The solids dry out and go in with general waste; the urine goes down any ordinary toilet. That makes you independent of disposal points, which for off-grid travel is the entire point.
Where it fits in your layout
- Under a bench or inside a cabinet: the cheapest option in space terms, because you use floor area that was already committed. You lift it out when you need it.
- In a fixed corner beside the sliding door: you stay dry using it and it costs no walkway, because you already walk there.
- A separate wet room with a shower needs at least 70 × 80 cm and therefore an L4 or longer. In an L2 it costs you your entire galley.
- Do not put it under the bed if you have a transverse bed: you then have to lift the bed at the moment you least want to.
The little fan is half the story
A separating toilet has a small fan in the solids compartment that draws air outside. It uses about half a watt-hour per hour — negligible on your battery — and it does two things at once: it keeps the smell out of your living space and it dries the solids, which means emptying far less often. Skip it to avoid cutting a duct outside and you have the difference between a toilet you forget about and one you can smell.
See which layouts leave room to spare
What you need for this
We do not (yet) sell these parts separately. The list is here because this is what should be in your basket before you start.
- Separating toilet with a fan and an outside duct
- Biodegradable liners for the solids
- Cover material: coconut or wood fibre
- A 10-litre jerrycan as the urine container
- Small vent with a grille for the fan hose
Frequently asked questions
- Is a toilet required in a camper?
- No. To register a van as a camper in the Netherlands the RDW asks for seating with a table, a bed, a cooking facility and storage, all permanently attached. For the favourable tax rate a kitchen unit with sink, tap and drain is added. A toilet appears on neither list.
- How much space does a toilet take in a van camper?
- A separating toilet about 40 × 40 cm of floor, a cassette toilet about 45 × 50 cm plus a service hatch in your side wall. A separate wet room with a shower starts at 70 × 80 cm and therefore needs an L4 or longer in practice.
- Separating toilet or cassette toilet?
- If you stay off-grid, choose a separating toilet: it keeps urine and solids apart, so there is barely any smell and you are not dependent on a disposal point. The solids dry out and go in general waste, the urine down any ordinary toilet. A cassette toilet is simpler to use but needs a designated disposal point every three to five days, and those exist only at campsites and some motorhome stops.
- Does a separating toilet smell?
- Not if the fan is fitted and connected. The smell comes from urine and solids mixing; keep them apart and draw air outside, and you smell nothing. That little fan uses about half a watt-hour per hour and also dries the solids, which means emptying far less often.
- Where may I empty my camper toilet?
- A cassette toilet only at a designated disposal point; those are at campsites and some motorhome stops. With a separating toilet the solids go in a biodegradable liner with general waste and the urine down any ordinary toilet — which is exactly why off-grid travellers often choose one.