DIY Waste System

RV waste systems are a literal and metaphorical messy issue. Selecting the right RV toilet, tank, plumbing, and ventilation is so contextual and critical. We spent the last several years looking for the perfect waste management system for our truck camper, but the truth is that there is none. But there are a lot of options. So, while we can't offer you definitive answers but we are happy to share some guidelines.

Man cleaning a dry flush toilet with the Sierra Nevada in the background.

RV Toilets 101

Black tanks, cassette, composting, & more

Laveo by Dry-Flush

Cartridge toilet

Thetford MT Campa Potti

Portable Cassette Toilet

Orignal Thetford Toilet

Potential Waste

The Original Waste System

Our 1970 Avion C11 truck camper rolled out of the factory with a white plastic foot flush Thetford toilet and a small rounded black water tank. In fact, the RV only had two tanks: a white water tank for fresh water and a black water tank for everything else. Today, it’s common to include a grey water tank for the dirty but more sanitary sink runoff. With modern considerations and a rotten floor that needed replacing, the old waste system became a casualty of our complete interior gut. We are starting the whole waste system from scratch

Original Black Water Tank

Testing Toilets

Experiments Down The Drain

There are a lot of toilet options out there. Even after disposing of our camper’s original throne, we continue to experiment with a few different options. Our first is an impulse buy on the camping aisle of a big box retails store. But the truth is, the Thetford Campa Potti is a convenient entry into the world of RV toilets. We learn a lot about what we like and don’t like about cassette toilets. To the point that we think we are upgrading when we invest in a Laveo by Dry-Flush. The price is certainly higher-end and the features are enticing, but in less than a year, we are back to the Thetford. You can learn more about both toilets in our writeups of each.