A lot of people have been asking us if we installed a shower and toilet in our Toyota Coaster motorhome, so we thought it best to not leave this post any longer. The answer is yes!
Having a shower and/or toilet in your RV is a preference which you need to decide is worth it. It is not something that is a necessity. Having been on the road for a couple of months now, we have found it is quite easy to come across public toilets and even public showers. A lot of caravan parks, rest stops and petrol stations have toilets, and some just ask a small fee to use them. There is no need to stay somewhere just to use the amenities.
So we decided to weigh up the pros and cons for having a shower and toilet in our RV to see if it was worth for us. Our list looked a little like this –
| Pros | Cons |
| Not needing to use public restrooms (YES!) | Space consuming |
| Convenience | Water usage |
| Save money not paying for amenities | Leaks! |
| Privacy | Smell (Yes, there is smell) |
| Self sufficient | Finding dump points |
| Can go to more remote locations |
After looking at our list, we quite quickly opted for an RV shower and toilet in our Toyota Coaster bus plan. As much as we liked the look of the open plan motorhomes, we liked the convenience of having our own shower and toilet more.
So what did we decide to do?
You may remember from one of our first posts, we discussed that we wanted our bus to look like a home. Our RV shower was the hardest thing to do while trying to keep this in mind.
One option we considered was building our own bathroom cubicle. We found it so difficult to find a shower base to fit in our desired spot in the bus; the dimensions were either too wide, too long, or it was just too expensive.
Another thought we had was to customise the entire shower, including the base from waterproof material. We couldn’t work out what to make the base and walls from, and had no idea where to start. So this option was a no go.
We ended up deciding on a pre-fabricated RV shower toilet combo. It isn’t what we wanted, but it would fit in the space we had, and the one we chose was already made to fit our curved walls.
The shower toilet combo was purchased from Custom Coaster Conversions. It is no longer available for sale through Custom Coaster Conversions, however, you can purchase it at DIY RV Solutions. They do different moulds for different vehicles.
It is a fiberglass shell which comes in 2 pieces to make it putting it in the bus and together easier. The dimensions are 1820mm high, 1000mm wide and 700mm deep (all at the biggest point). There is an optional shower door frame available which we purchased to go with it. It does not include the glass of the door (for safety/shipping reasons), and you need to organise that yourself. Ill discuss below how we decided to do that.
The Toilet
There are so many different RV toilets available and we had no idea where to start. So as we did with everything, we researched. Here are the few most common RV toilets and a little breakdown of how each works. I wish I had found something like this!
Cassette Toilet –
A cassette toilet is a more permanent option in your RV. It is secured in place, and has a waste holding tank underneath.
Once you flush the toilet, the waste goes down into the cassette and is stored until emptied.
Most cassettes are accessible from the outside of your motorhome via a small door.
The idea is to remove the cassette tank, and empty when needed into a dump point (a specific spot for dumping motor home waste – we have found these to be quite common everywhere in Australia, most RV friendly towns have one available).
The good –
Easy to find dump spots – readily available in most RV friendly towns.
Convenience – No need to find a public toilet, or a nice spot on the ground!
Space saving – some cassette toilets come with a swivel seat which means it can be turned in any direction. This is handy in smaller spaces like ours.
The bad –
The smell. Yes, it can smell.
We use specific toilet chemicals which help to break down the waste, and basically turn it into slush. This is what comes out of your cassette and into the dump point.
Some dump points are definitely more cleaner than others, and we have found most to be perfectly fine and have had no issues. There are the occasional few that do not have a hose available to rinse after you have dumped your waste; these tend to be the ones that are not quite as nice as the rest!
The smell is mainly when you open the toilet (there is a small hole which is only opened as you are about to go), and you can smell it from underneath.
We have found regularly cleaning the toilet, rinsing it at each dump station, using the chemicals, and a few drops of eucalyptus oil every now and then helps with the smell.
Some examples of Cassette toilets –
Portable Toilet –
A portable RV toilet is essentially the same as a cassette toilet, however the waste holding tank is attached to the toilet itself, and the whole thing can be moved around as a unit. This is a good idea if you are not wanting a permanent plumbed in toilet, or do not have enough space for a bathroom but want the convenience of a toilet just in case.
The good –
Easy to find dump spots – readily available in most RV friendly towns.
Convenience – No need to find a public toilet, or a nice spot on the ground!
Space saving – if you cannot have a permanent bathroom, at least you can still carry a toilet around with you.
Typically a lot cheaper than a cassette toilet, so better for those watching their budgets!
The bad –
Generally a smaller waste saving tank, so it needs to be emptied more often.
Not a permanent feature, so needs to be carried around with you.
The smell! Always the smell haha!
Some examples of portable toilets are –
- Camec Portable Toilet – 20L (10L also available)
- Thetford Porta Potti 365
- Dometic Sanipottie 976
Composting Toilet –
Have you ever chucked all of your vegetable and kitchen scraps somewhere and just left it to breakdown?
That is essentially what a composting toilet is.
It works by separating the liquids from the solids, and an additive such as peat moss, or sawdust helps to break it down.
After you have used it, it can then be emptied anywhere you would normal compost. It is definitely recommended not to empty the compost around any edible plants, herbs, vegetables, fruits, seeds etc.
The liquid can be disposed of at a dump spot, or even in a normal toilet as it has no chemicals in it.
The good –
It is the most environmentally friendly option. It is a dry toilet and doesn’t require water to use. If needed a quick spray of water from a bottle should do the trick.
Easy to find dump spots.
Convenient!
The bad –
Typically the most expensive.
If you need to use toilet paper, it takes much longer to break down than the waste does, so you will be able to see this and would probably need to dispose of at dump stations. Alternatively, you can put your used toilet paper in a bin instead of the toilet.
There is also RV specific toilet paper available. It is generally a lot thinner than regular toilet paper which helps it to breakdown quicker. Downside to this is the cost.
As it separates solids from liquids, it is not great for anyone who may be sick; sometimes there is an in-between!
There are not a lot of composting toilets around, however a good example is the Natures Head Composting Toilet.
So what did we decide?
After looking at all of these options, both Shane and I were tossing up between a cassette toilet, and a composting toilet. We wanted a permanent toilet and both of these fit what we were looking for. After watching a clip on YouTube describing the composting toilet, we opted against it. The idea of being sick, or even for a girl during that time of the month and not being able to use the toilet turned us off a little. Not to mention it was more expensive! Because of this, we decided on a Dometic CTS 4110 .
The RV Shower Cubicle Installation
Step 1 – Waterproofing
Before we installed it completely, we waterproofed the area underneath and around where it will sit using Crommelin Aqua Block – waterproof primer, and undercoat.
It is an easy task as it requires no thinning or modification. We used a brush and roller and just painted it everywhere we needed to.
Like a lot of things, this is not a necessity but an option we decided was worth it to protect the wood underneath from water damage in case of a leak. And aren’t we glad we did! We have had a few leaks since and even though we know it could have done some damage to the wood, this water proofing was a little piece of mind.
Step 2 – Measuring and cutting the toilet hole in the shower cubicle, and the wall of your bus
Once the waterproofing was dry, we placed just the bottom half of our shower cubicle into position.
This allowed us to sit our Dometic CTS 4110 toilet into place. By doing this, we could mark up where we need to cut the fiberglass shower wall so we can access our toilet cassette from the outside of the bus.
The Dometic instructions were a little difficult to follow. After a bit of reading and re-reading, we ended up working out how to measure it up. It is different for each individual toilet they sell, so check out this guide which has all the measurements.
We measured the access hole for the cassette, drew it up, and drilled a hole into each corner. This gave us a starting point to then cut the fiberglass using a jigsaw with a fiberglass saw piece.
Hopefully, unlike us, you have already cut your hole in the bus wall and it is ready for your cassette toilet (if this is what you decided on). Or, are ready to do it now, prior to installing your shower.
Using the measurements from the instructions for your toilet, cut the metal of your bus wall in the same position as your fiberglass hole. It can be hard to line up. We pre-drilled 4 pilot holes, 1 in each corner which gave us a starting point. Then on the outside of the bus, we used a permanent marker to draw up the size and check the measurements were accurate before preceding to grind the hole out.
It is very important not to cut through any of the structural metal in your bus wall. Please check beforehand with your engineer so you know where you are cutting is safe.
Step 3 – Cutting the holes for the drains
Now that the holes are cut in the walls, it is time to cut the holes for our drains.
The RV shower cubicle we purchased came with 4 specific spots for drains. When we initially were making the purchase, it was recommended to buy four drains and have one in each corner. That way, no matter what angle you are on, your shower will drain.
What a great idea!
Using a hole saw, the same size as our drains, we cut out the 4 holes and preceded to put the bottom half of the shower cubicle back into place.
Now that the drain holes were cut into the fibreglass, we traced around each drain hole onto the floor underneath for the plumbing to go in. We then removed the shower cubicle again to cut these 4 holes through the sub floor of the bus as well.
This was a mistake.
After cutting the holes into the floor for the plumbing, we realised quite quickly that there was some structural metal underneath the bus that we could not cut through and could not get the drain hoses around. Two of the four drain holes would work, the others would not.
This is definitely something to check prior to cutting!
Time to get some fibreglass and resin and fix the two holes in our shower cubicle floor we could no longer use.
Step 4 – Attaching the two halves of your RV shower cubicle together
Now we could finally sit the two halves in position together and attach them.
The two halves are easy to attach together.
We started by using Selleys wet area silicone between each of the halves and sandwiching them together.
Then, on the outside of the shower cubicle, there is a small fiberglass lip. We used stainless steel screws to attach each half together on this lip, so they are not seen inside the shower. The reason we used stainless steel screws is to avoid any of them rusting from the water (if it leaks) in the future. Covering all bases!
HOWEVER, and it is a big HOWEVER, we have since learnt that the silicone we initially use is not great for fiberglass.
We have had a lot of issues with leaks. After seeking some expert advice from Bunnings, we have now used Selley’s Marine Flex Adhesive Sealant. This is specifically meant for fiberglass and wet areas. So far so good, so we recommend this one over any others (and we tried 4 different types!).
Your RV shower cubicle is now together and in place.
If you want to, this is when you can install a roof hatch into your shower. It is not a necessity. We decided to have one, and if you want to know about our install, watch our video below 🙂
RV Cassette Toilet Install
As we discussed early, we chose the Dometic CTS 4110 toilet. Lucky for us, this was also the one recommended to go with the shower/toilet cubicle we decided on.
Step 1 – The lip
The Dometic toilet we purchased for our Toyota Coaster motor home comes with a little piece of plastic which is used as a lip to help attach the toilet to the wall of your shower cubicle. Using the measurements provided, we pre drilled pilot holes and screwed it into place.
Step 2 – Sitting the toilet in place
Now that the lip is in place, you lift the toilet up, and lower it back down onto the lip where it catches, and clicks into position. This can be a little tricky and may take a few attempts. You can feel if it works or not because it will no longer pull away from the wall easily.
With this shower cubicle, the RV toilet sits perfectly on a raised part of the shower floor. It has a rubber edge which goes all around the joint between the toilet and the fibreglass wall. behind it which is supposed to prevent water getting in behind it.
We noticed straight away that it did not sit flush.
After consulting with the supplier this issue, he advised us what to do to fix it (he does this with all of his installs too, so it is good to know!).
To fix, we purchased 2 really long screws (8G X 140mm length) and screwed one on each of the 2 corners of the top of the toilet. These screws went through the toilet, and into the fiberglass shower wall behind. As we had discussed this, we knew there was nothing behind this bit of the toilet and it would be safe to do so. In doing this, it pulled the toilet nice and close to the shower cubicle wall which we were happier with; it means less chance of leaks!
Step 3 – Attaching to the ground
Now that your toilet is in place, it is time to secure it to the ground.
From the outside of your bus, you can now remove the cassette that comes with your toilet. Check the instructions to see how to remove it if you are not sure. Ours has a little plastic lip which we push down, this then releases the cassette and it slides out. It can be a bit tough and can take a little to get used to.
Once it is removed, underneath there are 6 places to screw through the bottom of the toilet and into the base of your shower cubicle to secure it in place.
Using the screws provided, screw them in.
Our Dometic toilet came with cover plates to cover these up. They simply sat into position and if you push down on them firmly, they click into place into plastic holes provided to secure them.
If you ever need to remove these, we have found the easiest way is to use a flat head screwdriver. We just put this in underneath them and lever them just a little. It gives it enough force to remove them without damaging the cover plates.
Your RV toilet is now secured into position!
The Issues!
Once we began our journey and started using our shower and toilet, we quickly realised the leaks.
The water was getting in and around the underneath of the toilet via the sides where the rubber was. The water even got in under the toilet seat and down into the bottom of the cassette!
This is when we starting researching and thanks to one of followers, found out that this toilet is not meant for wet areas. In saying that, Dometic appear to no longer supply one made for wet areas, and this was the toilet recommended with our shower cubicle. So we figured it must work somehow.
It was time to fix it – silicone.
We used silicone for the entire edge around the rubber on the toilet, as well as around the base.
Underneath where the cassette is accessed from the outside of the bus, we used silicone to get any holes we could see inside the shower cubicle.
We pretty much sealed every single possible spot where water may or may not get in to the underside of the toilet and shower cubicle.
If we are on an angle, or having drainage issues (which, there have been a few!), if the water level rises to the level of the toilet, we find it still makes its way underneath the toilet at the back and down under the floor. I guess it is about being aware what causes the issues to make sure that doesn’t occur again. This problem forced us to re-look at our drainage system.
With the toilet seat, we ended up buying a shower cap to keep on it during showers. Such a cheap, and easy way to fix the leak issue!
Now that the physical toilet and shower is in, it is time for tapware, plumbing and wiring up our RV toilet. Keep an eye out for our next post which will go through this.
The Walls and RV Shower Door Installation
Step 1 – Cardboard mould
To get the correct curve for our walls, we used a piece of cardboard to make a cut out we could copy.
We simply held the carboard up against the wall, and cut each bit piece by piece and adjusted as we went. It took a little while to get the correct shape, but it saved a lot of incorrect cuts later on.
You can measure along the way if you like, however I found it easier just physically looking at it and cut accordingly.
Step 2 – Cutting the walls
For the walls, we used 16mm white melamine panel. This is a water resistant panel which is good for wet areas. With this, we strongly recommended water proofing and sealing all edges before installing them as walls. While the white side of the melamine is water resistant, the inside is most definitely not. As we have had leaks, the water has come into the walls from the underside, and we wish we had known, or thought about sealing them before putting them in place.
To cut the walls, we used clamps to hold our cardboard cut-out against our melamine panel and trace around the outside. Something we didn’t realise at the time was how to get a nice clean cut on melamine. We were trying to use a jigsaw blade that had nice small teeth, however there is one other HUGE tip – use masking tape.
Once you have drawn around the cardboard cut-out and put this aside, use masking tape on both sides of the melamine. Put it over the top of your outline, exactly where you will be cutting. You can still see the outline through the masking tape so if you need to, you can redraw it on.
The reason you should do this, is it keeps all the small edges from flaking off while using the jigsaw. The jigsaw just rips through the wood and this helps to keep it together, and overall you will have a much neater cut.
Wish we had known!
Now time to cut it using a jigsaw. Ensure you have all of the necessary safety precautions and PPE. Clamp your wood in place to avoid movement, and cut around your outline.
For the front of the shower cubicle, our piece of 16mm melamine was the width of our shower, plus 16mm on each side to allow it to overhang the side walls.
We cut out a section for the shower screen to go in place. Depending on what you do for a shower screen, your instructions should tell you the dimensions required.
The original instructions we received with our shower screen wanted this cut out section to be quite large, however it looked too big and we decided to go smaller just in case and trim more if necessary. I am glad we decided on this as the space wasn’t needed… however it did make it a little bit harder to get in place.
Step 3 – Checking and adjusting
Once we cut our first wall, we tested and found there were a few spots to trim. Once happy, we used this first piece of wood as the outline for the rest, rather than our cardboard cut-out. Getting it close can take some time, and some patience, but it is worth it!
Time to repeat for each wall – double checking along the way they all have the same shape prior to cutting.
Step 4 – Attaching the walls
We used a very simple method to attach our walls – brackets.
Small L shaped brackets; these were only used on the inside of the wall where they would not be seen from the outside. Where possible, we attached each wall (in our entire bus) at the top, middle and bottom using 16mm wood screws into the melamine, and 30mm screws into our roof and walls.
If we were unable to attach the wall using a bracket, the other method we used was attaching it to others things.
For example, as we were unable to get a bracket on the inside wall of our shower cubicle at the back, we joined this wall to the front wall using angled screws down the side. After this, we used gap filler silicone to connect the top to the roof, as well as fill the gaps.
From the inside of the shower cubicle, we put two small screws on each side into the fiberglass. These went through to the melamine wall behind and attached the side walls to the cubicle. This stopped the middle of the shower cubicle bowing in.
Step 5 – Door frame and screen
This is the one page instructions we received with our shower screen.
It is a blown out version of the shower screen and quite difficult to follow, and even more difficult to explain.
If you have any questions, send them through to us and we will try and explain a bit better haha!
Check out the video below of our shower screen. It gives you a few tips on what we decided to do instead of glass for the door, as well as some adjustments on the edging.
Step 6 – Edging
The final step to our RV shower/toilet cubicle was to edge. From Bunnings, we were able to purchase some timber edging. They have a wide range available, and depending what suits you is what you decide on. We simply glued them onto the edges of our melamine and used the nail gun to secure into place while the glue set.
So that is our RV shower toilet combo and how we went about deciding on what we did, and making it come to life.
After being on the road for a couple of months now, we are definitely happy with our decision to install a RV shower and toilet. There have been so many times we have used it and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Check out the video below if you haven’t already, which shows us installing and building it.
The next post up will be the plumbing, tap-ware and electrical so keep an eye out for that.
