By Gail Marsh
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I thought at first that I’d misunderstood the statement. Up until then, I thought there was only one way to use the RV toilet. I quickly found out that I was mistaken! Turns out, there are two distinct groups of RVers when it comes to using the RV toilet. (At least two groups I’ve discovered. Who knows? There may be more!)
No solids in the RV toilet tank
Some RVers, both long-term and newbies alike, prefer to not put any solids into their RV toilet. No solid waste. No paper. Here’s what these “no solids in the tank” folks said:
• Odor. “No solids into the black tank means no odors out.”
• Chemicals. “No chemicals are needed if you keep solids out of your black tank.”
• Less dumping. “You won’t need to empty your black tank as often.”
• No sensor issues. “My RV’s black tank sensor has never malfunctioned. I’m convinced that’s because we’ve never put solids down the toilet.”
• What about TP? “We put any damp toilet paper into a small, plastic trash bag, then twist it closed. There is no odor because we regularly take out the bathroom trash.”
The other camp
Folks who say, “Use your RV toilet as it was intended,” are on the opposing side of the “no solids” group. Here’s what they had to say:
• Odor. “There is no odor if you use the right tank treatment.”
• Convenience. “Who wants to traipse to the campground restrooms in the middle of the night?”
• Tank dumping. “You’ll still dump the black tank before you go to the next campsite or before you head for home. It’s no big deal.”
• Sensor issues. “We put solids down our RV toilet and haven’t had sensor problems. Just use lots of water when you flush. Lots. Of. Water. In addition, you can always use a holding tank sprayer.”
So, there you have it. How do you answer the question? What is the “right” way to use the RV toilet? Please respond in the comments below.
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RVT1247
One of the main reasons we bought an RV was the toilet. The convenience of having my own, my private, my close place to go out weighs the dumping “problem”. I feel like not using the bathroom is akin to not using the bed.
You use the bed too?
I tend not to use my toilet. If needed, I line toilet with a plastic bag for #2 and use a piss bottle or go outside for # 1. Idea started when taking very short trips, overnight or just a few days. I would spend more time cleaning, dumping and flushing out the black tank than it was worth. As a single male this arrangement works great.
There is no need to flush the black tank at every dump particularly if you have plenty of water in the tank.
Perhaps this is one reason you’re single. 😉
Wow… never heard of such stuff….really strange…
There’s a third option. A bidet seat. Use the bidet, use tp to dry and put in trash. Nothing but bodily waste in tank.
Thus using more water than necessary especially boondoocking.
Exactly why I’m “against” RVs with mini fresh water and waste tanks.
I second this. For years we’ve used a water pressure powered bidet, just upgraded to TOTO with pump, heated water & seat. Zero TP in tank. This result is higher water use, but fast and thorough dumping.
TP goes into the toilet. We have and use a bidet which reduces the TP used. Our black tank sensors don’t work anymore after 6 years of heavy use (not full time), but it doesn’t matter to me since I can just look down into the tank with a flashlight.
Why have a RV if you are not going to use it?
Our previous TT had a 10 gallon black tank. We first dreaded emptying, but learned it isn’t all that difficult – the worst thing for me when solo is dealing with connections. We do have a routine to eke out capacity. Only poo-ed paper goes into the toilet, the rest goes into a small trash bag emptied daily. We have limited water and have done fine with good rinsing technique. Having the toilet has meant we could travel during COVID, and with a broken ankle.
I’ve owned my RV for 6 years and never had to do #2 in it. For that I use campground or rest stop toilets. Still have to dump the black tank, but no poo. Although if I had to use it for #2 in the middle of the night, I would. I know it’s psychological. A tank treatment is mandatory. There are two camps regarding that: disinfectant/odor treatment, or a “digester” treatment, and you will have people vigorously defending one or the other. But you also have to use a lot of water to make it work or you’ll end up with a “poo pyramid” and nasty smells. So it’s not just “no poo” argument, it’s how much water do you have to flush down the black tank to make it work properly?
I normally dry camp so I’ve learned to use waste water from sink, shower and cooking to pour into the toilet for extra water there and less use of fresh water. I’m on the use the RV because I paid for it side.
As do I Terry.
Why anyone would dismiss using their fully capable waste holding system and instead use a fly infested throne toilet whose seat has seen the unimaginable with odors “seasoned” by a thousand authors escapes me.
And for what? To “protect” the patina on a $12.00 set of sensor probes that literally take minutes to replace, but to each their own I guess.
I always look down the Forest service holes and wonder if that is where one of the under the bed monsters have taken up hiding.
Sit and RUN!
Hate to drop my keys or phone down there..Yikes!
Never sit with a wallet in your back pocket…even in the camper.
Or a cell phone.
The main reason I went from tent camping to an RV was to have my own bathroom. We use it as intended. The second reason is to have a comfy bed. Dumping the black tank isn’t the most pleasant chore, but it’s worth it to have my own bathroom.
What’s the big deal? Open the compartment, pull out the hose, stick in hole, pull the magic lever, then the Grey Tank lever. Pull the hose out and rinse off if necessary. Stick back in its garage, takes all of 5 minutes..
Except for some people, you know?
We don’t put toilet paper in our toilet. We have a small litter can that has a lid that the tp goes into. It’s lined with repurposed plastic grocery bags. I typically take out the trash daily as a matter of habit. So only liquid and solid waste goes into the black tank.
What we do now too
We have a cassette toilet and just use it for #1. We have some WagBags that we rarely use in emergencies for #2- probably about 4 or 5 times in 7+ years.
We have a Promaster camper with a cassette toilet. This works for us, too. We take showers at campgrounds and use the toilets, too. We are camping after all…
Gone are the days of getting out of a tent at night, flashlight (and maybe a hand trowel) in hand, to find the campground pit toilet or other natural spot when boondocking. The RV’s black tank system works well and for us, we use the toilet as it was designed.
The “no solids, chemicals, etc.” crowd leans towards being an environmentalist who wants us to go back to horse and buggy days. Then they would complain about horse balls all over.
Why even have an RV if you are not going to use the toilet as it was intended to? Unless boondocking, why would anyone put “used” toilet tissue in a plastic bag? Gross. Please, if I run into you at a campground, don’t offer to shake my hand. Sensors, I stopped looking at mine over 10 years ago. Smell, as long as the toilet is vented properly, and a small amount of biodegradable additive is added to the tank, there is no smell. You can get by with no additives using lots of water if you have the tank capacity.
And “Dawn Dish Soap.”
This deserves a poll!
We don’t put TP in the toilet. Plastic bag for that.
I’m on the side of using all things in the RV for their intended purpose. I know of someone who said he refused to use the toilet because he thought that would be a selling point in the future!!’ Really? How will you prove it was never used. Ridiculous.
What campground? And no, I don’t think I’ll keep bags of poop around for a week or two off grid. No digging large sized or large number of cat holes either, at least for me.
We spent a summer caring for my MIL, parked on her property. We started out using the toilet as we always had – solids went down. Every 4-5 days we had to put everything away, unhook the power & water and drive 5 miles each way to dump the tanks. Then we stopped putting paper down. We only had to go the dump station every 10-11 days. We keep a small trash can in the shower/toilet room for the paper. ALL paper. We learned the hard way an open can has virtually no smell, but a closed one captures and grows the smells. Never would have believed that was the way to go. So, bottom line, we’re a mixed use couple.
My trailer does not have a toilet and that is the way I like it. No wasted space! No chemicals. No Dumping. I don’t mind campground restrooms. I use a pee bottle at night and a Luggable Loo for boondocking. I laugh at the line for the dump station.
We use the marine toilet strategy. Do not put anything in the toilet that you didn’t eat or drink first. No paper please.
We had friends that only did liquids. I would hear their camper door at night getting up to go to the bathroom. I just turned over and smiled. It’s all in proper prep and dumping. You need to do some good research on black tank chemicals. Some are just attempts to mask the odor. You want one that does a good job of breaking down the solids. Lots of youtube on this. Water, water, water at dump time. i don’t pay any attention to sensors. I can tell when it is getting full by the sound. To each his own……….I guess.
The only paper that goes into tank is after a bowel movement. And we ues copious amounts of water. The other TP goes in plastic bag lined trashcan with lid.
Like so many others here, one of the reasons we bought a TT was to have our own bathroom. So we use the toilet. If there’s a relatively decent (and everybody’s version of “decent” for these purposes is a little different) campground toilet facility, we’ll use that during the day. As long as we aren’t running through a storm to get there, that is. But the whole point of having a toilet in your camper is to have a toilet in your camper.
The folks I got my rig from never used the toilet and used the shower as a closet.
Takes all kinds, go figure?
I use the toilet exactly as it was intended for. I been rving for over 20 years. I always clean my rv black tanks. Not a big deal I stick the wand down the toilet and flush my toilet until the water comes out clear. I’ve never had a problem with my sensors or odors from my tank. Use the toilet, campers. Be the change. Everyone wants to use the toilet, but no one wants to clean it or replace the roll. LOL
I’m in the group that uses the toilet as it should be used. The only thing I don’t do is I don’t put toilet paper into the black tank.
If you’re not really going to use the toilet why have it?
Oh my goodness. What a strange kerfluffle! We’re not full time, but I’ve camped for over 60 years. There has never EVER been a problem with any toilet in any unit we’ve ever owned. Now that we’re retired, we go 6-7 weeks at a time. Anything that goes down in at home also goes down in the trailer. Isn’t that the whole point of owning an RV over a motel or cabin? My bed, my shower, my potty!!!
We have a Wolf Creek 850, one of the smallest truck campers with a toilet and shower. We decided from the start not to poop in our toilet. It’s so small the smell would kill us. We do have a portable toilet that we use outside or inside then take it out. If we pee we put all toilet paper in a garbage. No solids.
The top benefits of travelling with an RV is always having a fully-functional bathroom and kitchen 20 feet behind you.
We’ve never had a stink problem with our black tank. (Have with the grey) Regular flushing precludes most problems. Yeah, like most people our tank level monitor is usually useless. But I can see the level merely by looking down.
We have used our RV for 8 years have always used the toilet like our home one. Put in tp and all solids have never used any treatment never had any odor. Our black tank is 35 gallons we empty when full – you can see the level with a flash light. I have heard all the stories about dirty tanks but I have checked the tank with a camera no residue at all.
Who doesn’t dump both waste tanks when leaving a campsite or at the campground dump on departure day? Otherwise you might have to cut short a stay at a beautiful boondocking site due to…full waste tanks.
After six years of camping in popup campers and having to get up in the middle of the night to walk to the bathroom building – in all kinds of weather – plus crawling over each other to get up to use the bathroom in the first place, my wife and I upgraded to a small (19 foot) camper that has a full bathroom, and we USE it! We always put a Bio-Pack down the toilet along with several gallons of water before we head down the road, and we only use RV toilet paper. “Flushable” wet wipes, however, go into a plastic bag and get tossed into the wastebasket next to the toilet. We haven’t had any long-term sensor problems or odor issues. If the tank gets full before we leave we have a waste tote.
We use campground toilets for solids whenever possible. If it’s inconvenient, like in the middle of the night (or in the morning when our coffee kicks in too quickly! lol), we use the RV toilet. We always put our toilet paper in a sealed and lined container. It seems the sensors work much better without the paper.