The Best Campervan Toilet: Simploo Composting Toilet Review
There will forever be a debate from van dwellers about whether or not to include a toilet in a campervan. For those opting for a toilet in their camper, it can be difficult to find the best one to fit your needs. Living with Endometriosis and having to often deal with painful flare-ups, it was essential to have an easy-to-use and effective toilet in our bus, and that’s how we found the Simploo (keep reading for our full Simploo Composting Toilet review!)
So, what is the best campervan toilet?
The Simploo Composting Toilet is the best campervan toilet as it is waterless, odour-free, simple to use, and affordable. We have used our Simploo Composting Toilet for the last 2 years and it has provided us with a fantastic stress-free solution for using the toilet in our campervan. Keep reading for our Simploo discount code!
Of course, this Simploo review is opinion based, but we have worked our way through a fair amount of campervan toilets in the last few years and want to save other fellow campers from dealing with leaky loos that just don’t last. We would never support a brand that doesn’t align with our personal beliefs and values, and that’s why we want to share the word about Simploo and the fantastic toilets they have created, now available in a range of sizes!
Before we get into the technical side of the Simploo Composting Toilet, let’s take a look at some of the other options available when living or travelling on the road. We are big fans of being at one with nature and the wilderness surrounding us, but there are a few things to consider if the only option is to head for a bush or the trees.
Rules For The Wild
For adventurers confident without a toilet system in their campervan, there are some fundamental rules to follow when going to the loo in the wild. Remembering to follow these steps means harm to the environment is limited and others passing through the area are respected. There’s nothing worse than turning up to a stunning spot only to be greeted by wipes and soggy tissue. Not only is this disrespectful to the land, but it also creates a bad name for campers, resulting in everyone being tarnished with the same brush.
To keep our planet clean and be considerate of others, there are a few things you can do when nature is the only option for a bathroom stop. Before whipping off your bottom layers, however, it’s worth doing a final scan and double-checking you won’t be giving any morning dog walkers a fright!
Dig a hole
Stay 200ft away from water
Cover it well
Bury/bin tissue (seemingly obvious but a lot of people forget this step)
Leaving no trace is one of our morals and we always endeavour to leave places better than how we find them. A rule we stick by is picking up litter whenever we reach a new park-up as we then wake up to a clean environment and passers-by won’t assume we are the litter villains! It genuinely feels so good to do our part in cleaning up the planet and we have met many like-minded campers on our travels who are on the same mission.
Types Of Campervan Toilet Available
There are many different types of campervan toilet available, all ranging in size, function, and budget. Finding the right toilet for your campervan conversion can be difficult, and if like us, you don’t have loads of space to plat with, figuring it all out can be tough! All types of campervan toilet will have pros and cons, so it’s best to do some research to find the loo that best suits you!
Cassette Toilet
A cassette toilet is one of the most popular toilet options for campervans as they are relatively compact and easy to use. Cassette toilets usually require the use of chemicals to aid in the breakdown of waste and smell prevention, making them a less eco-friendly option.
There is a detachable compartment for waste and when full, this can be removed and emptied at specific toilet waste disposal areas such as those available on many campsites. The inside of the compartment can then be rinsed out with water and connected back up to the toilet. Once the flush liquid has been replaced, the toilet is ready for use again.
Pros
affordable
easy to use
widely available
good for regular campsite users
Cons
leak risks
smell
not ideal for off-grid campers
needs to be emptied at specific places
substantial water used when flushing and cleaning
requires chemicals
Composting Toilet
Composting toilets can work in a few different ways depending on the design and brand. Composting toilets rely on the separation of urine and solid waste through a urine diverter. This separation prevents the type of smell experienced when emptying a cassette toilet. Dry material such as dried compost, sawdust or coconut husk can be used to prevent smells and kickstart the composting process.
To aid smell prevention further, there is usually a small vent or fan connecting the toilet to the fresh air outside. Once the urine container is full, this can be emptied well away from water sources. The compost material can be disposed of using a compost pile, buried correctly or bagged well and emptied in a suitable waste bin.
Pros
easy to use
eco friendly
off grid suitable
minimal or no water is needed
Cons
more expensive
potentially bigger in size
Although laughter is often the best medicine, there is nothing joyful about the stomach-churning ball of stress that comes when your loo gets full and there’s nowhere nearby to empty it. When we had a standard cassette toilet, we would feel this stress at least twice a week and by the time we found a suitable place to empty it, we had wasted a minimum of half a day.
Before we had even put the deposit down on our current van; Peppé the Mercedes 410D, we had already decided a composting toilet was the way to go. After reading countless numbers of reviews online, we opted for a Simploo waterless composting toilet.
Our Simploo Waterless Composting Toilet Review
We were first drawn to the Simploo by its compact size and simple design. Living full-time on the road, we wanted a composting toilet built to last and with so many positive reviews, the Simploo ticked every box. We purchased a Simploo ourselves nearly two years ago and this is an honest, non-obligatory review.
I love that the Simploo is waterless, as other vanlifers and RVers will confirm, water is a very precious feature in a van as there’s only so much you can carry at any one time! Along with being waterless, the Simploo is also scentless, aided massively by the separation of solid and liquid waste, and the use of either a fan or carbon filter.
It is on the pricier side, and although there are plenty of other campervan toilets out there on the market, this one is pretty unique and hard to beat. Made from renewable plant-based plastic, and created via 3D printing, the Simploo is a great option, for the eco-conscious camper who wants to sit on something closely resembling a ‘real’ toilet.
I like the option to choose either a fan or carbon filter to eliminate odours, as it gives campervanners the freedom to choose the Simploo setup best suited to them. We have the carbon filter in our bus as we installed our Simploo quite late into our conversion and didn’t want to cut through the walls. The fan only draws 1.5 watts so is very low-energy, and keeping it on at all times will help maintain a smell-free environment.
Simploo ships worldwide, so wherever you are on the planet, chances are Simploo has got you covered in terms of a composting toilet that does exactly what is says it does. The install is straightforward, and with helpful instructions, it doesn’t take long to get a Simploo into position, ready to make vanlife travel a lot easier!
How Does The Simploo Composting Toilet Work?
The Simploo composting toilet works by separating urine and solid waste, removing the distasteful smell caused when mixing matter. For urine, either a 6-litre bottle can be used or a pipe that drains straight outside (Simploo advise customers to contact local councils and obtain permission for a soak away before choosing the pipe option).
Solid waste is collected in a 20l container which Simploo recommend lining with either bin liners or biodegradable bags. Once full, the solids can be placed in an external compost bin. The video below provides a great walk-through of the Simploo Composting Toilet to give you a better feel for what this great piece of kit is all about!
As you can see in the video, this toilet looks similar to a regular household toilet, something I in particular like as many campervan toilets aren’t anywhere near this good-looking! Although unnecessary with the Simploo, it’s a personal choice whether to add dry material such as sawdust to the solid waste.
To remove any smells and moisture from the solid waste, a low-energy fan (1.5watts) is fitted to the Simploo which can either be vented directly outside or into an active carbon filter if external ventilation isn’t possible. The carbon filter removes any unwanted smells and Simploo recommends replacing the filter after 9-12 months.
What Are The Simploo Composting Toilet Measurements?
We have the ‘Simploo Original’ which was the first composting toilet made by Simploo, measuring 35cm wide, 52cm long, and 50cm tall. Simploo has recently increased their range of toilets, however, and now offers the Simploo Nano and Simploo Mini which are both smaller than the loo we have. These new options are perfect if you have a smaller space but still want the convenience of a waterless, composting toilet.
The Simploo, along with eliminating odours, eliminates the stress that comes with chemical cassette toilets and is one of the best purchases we ever made for our van. Emptying the toilet is no longer a dreaded event as it takes such little time and is hassle-free. We cannot recommend Simploo enough if you’re looking for a durable, long-lasting composting toilet for a campervan, RV, boat, travel trailer, and other spaces!
Simploo Composting Toilet Discount Code
We are excited to share our discount with you, to help save you money on your Simploo and accessories! We receive a very small amount of commission when our code is used, at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep our website ad-free and supports our vanlife and off-grid land journey.
Simploo Composting Toilet Discount Code: thehippybus0124
Copy and paste the code above at the checkout to save some pennies on your Simploo purchase.
As we live and travel full-time on the road, we find it useful to carry extra bags and a replacement carbon filter.
If you use our Simploo discount code get in touch as we would love to say thank you!
FAQs
Are Cassette Toilets Good For Camping?
In our experience, whether you buy a cheap, low-quality cassette toilet or a more expensive, branded one, they all have the same issues. After a short amount of time, cassette toilets really begin to smell and are such an inconvenience to empty and clean, for us it became one of the most dreaded chores to do. We have also experienced cassette toilets leaking which needs no explanation.
Do Composting Toilets Smell?
Composting toilets in their simplest form, separate solid and liquid waste. It’s the mixing of these that creates the awful stench in cassette toilets. For composting loos, to prevent other odours, you can use a material like sawdust, coconut husk or even coffee grounds on the solid waste. The Simploo composting toilet either comes with a fan vented to the outside of the van or a carbon filter which keeps nasty smells at bay.
How Often Do You Have To Empty The Simploo?
We tend to empty our solids container once a week and our liquids pot every few days, as there are two of us using the Simploo, so it sees double the action! This will be different depending on your bathroom routine, how many people are camping with you, and maybe even what you ate for dinner!
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