Going into this build, we were 100% committed to a composting toilet. After a few years of peeing in bottles and what have you, we knew it was time for a legitimate throne. We went with the Nature’s Head composting toilet. While it is on the more expensive price end of the spectrum, we knew that we would own this toilet for a long time. So if you think about spending $900 on a toilet you will have for potentially 20 years or more in your future off gird homes, that’s not a terrible deal.
We also knew that we wanted the toilet to slide out from under a cabinet. That way it takes up as little space as possible. We built out a frame for the toilet that fit the toilet very snug with a little bit of breathing room. Next, we build out a base for the toilet to sit on so that it can pull out like a drawer. The nice little custom base for the toilet was finished with a built in switch for the toilet fan.
After this, I decided to finally cut the hole in the floor for the air to vent out. The Nature’s Head comes with a built in fan and hose that blows air through the toilet, out through a hose, and out your van. You need a hole saw capable of cutting metal. I would not advise cutting the hole where I did. I completely *#%^@d that up. I didn’t take into account a few things and messed up. But the fan works and we haven't noticed and terrible scents form the toilet. So, it seems to be working. I used Lap Sealant around the hose and bought a few plumbing adaptors for the hose and fastened it to the wall.
For the toilet drawer, we installed 24 inch fully extending heavy duty drawer sliders on the base. I also attached some office type carpet to the bottom of the base. I did this because the base was going to slide on the ground and not be suspended, even though the rails are heavy duty they cant support the weight of us sitting on them. So, we have the toilet basically slide out on the floor, with assistance from the rails to keep it in place.
We are still in the process of the cover for the toilet at the moment we have a fabric. We think we will keep the fabric but switch up the style to something a bit more “adult.”
After about 3 weeks of using the toilet, we are so satisfied. It is worth every penny to get up in the night and pee in a toilet and not outside our in a bottle. It’s also great every morning when nature calls. I would recommend a composting toilet 100%. There’s a few out there and I’ve even seen some crafty youtube creations like this one here. kdsfjal. When we leave the van in the heat for a long period of time we’ve noticed a scent of what smells like the garden center at Home Depot from time to time but once you kick on the Fantastic Fan it becomes unnoticeable. So, in the end, I’m a happy composting toilet owner and it makes vanlife very easy when you can wake up and relive yourself in normal fashion.
Nature's Head Composting Toilet on Amazon - http://amzn.to/2FkTQq
