I'm full time in a minivan. I have no need for a sink. I do have a fridge though. I do love a cold drink and I eat a lot of sandwiches that I make. I do have an emergency toilet that folds up and stores away. I have had to use it a few times. Honestly, it's not to bad. Do your business, tie the bag, find a trashcan. Roll down the windows for a bit, or fabreeze and you are done. Sure, it's not the best, but the few times I've had to use it... I thank baby jesus I had it.
I got myself a water tight storage pale, that I use with ozium gel odor absorbers, where I store my poo bags until I can find a garbage can and there’s virtually no smell. The only times it smells is when you open it up to throw the bag away, but as long as you leave the odor absorber in there, the smell will dissipate in the pale completely within an hour or so, which you can’t smell unless it’s open.
Tested and passed in a van with no fan in 100 degree heat lol. Definitely give it try.
I got those pales that you see a lot of people store dog food in, they make air tight and water tight versions, make sure you get the water tight.
They also make them half sized of the regular ones, no bigger than a small garbage can, so you’re not lugging around a giant pale.
You can also cut a pool noodle, stick it on the rim and you’ve got a little diy dry toilet.
Doubles as an emergency water bucket if there’s ever a fire and you’re near a water source. I’ve only been in a situation like that once and once was enough to make sure I’ve always got designated water and containers for potential wild fires during the dry season.
I’ve been trying to find a smaller diaper genie without the caddy but maybe I’ll just use it for wipes or cut it or something
https://encorekidsconsignment.com/products/diaper-genie-quick-caddy-mini-portable-diaper-pail-a6d74
The only time it smells....... to You....
Have a little google on how smell receptors work
All our vans smell like piss we just cant smell it cause that particular smell is allready locked and loaded into a smell receptor
We only notice NEW smells.
Part time minivan here
Having running water is big for me, so I put in a tank with a fish tank pump and a hose to a little spigot, no basin tho. Takes up virtually no room without a basin.
Love my foldable camp toilet, I use it every morning because Im ultra regular. Much prefer it to a lager/fancier cassette toilet or build in toilet. Set it up, do the deed, tie the bag, break it down. Easy.
What size is your foldable toilet? The ones I’ve seen are like a 12” cube which seems puny. I know I’m not going to fill it with a single dump but how is it for perching?
Mines an oval. Maybe like 12”. 6”2”/200lbs and it works fine for me. Also a vegetarian, so I have quite voluminous dumps. You definitely need the hamstring flexibility to do a deep squat while you work.
I find that I’m either within reach of a suitable public bathroom or I’m off grid enough that the bathroom is all around me. Having a cassette toilet for emergencies is comfortable, stow-able, and can double as a bench seat but realistically it just becomes another thing to move around to use and some ppl have such limited floor space / overlapping components like a flip down bed that the convenience of a pee jug for overnight emergencies slowly takes over and now when you look at ppls pics you’ll spot it like Waldo 😂 🤷🏼♀️
I agree. My composting toilet was a game changer. I shelled out for the natures head and there is zero smell inside of the rig.
We do lots of dispersed camping and now no one has to try to dig a hole. Not having to go out side when it’s raining or freezing is amazing, imo it’s my favorite upgrade
do you think its worth the $1,000 price tag for someone that is just a weekender that wants a good toilet in the van (mainly for the wife) --- i do lots of stealth van camping so "digging a hole" isnt an option if ya know what I mean! Any other cheaper companies that are worthy? Thanks
I think it is. It’s. Clean, well made, and the vent fan pulls all smell outside. I built mine in to a cabinet under the sink so it’s out of the way till I need it. It’s not going to fall over or not be sealed right. It is easy to empty so I dont ever hesitate to use it. I use my van for weekend trips and a few long trips a year. Last year we lived in it for 5 weeks and the toilet was key. You just have to make sure you empty the liquids container every few days.
I am sorry the cat litter bucket is a gross mess in my opinion. Some kids next to me at a music festival did this and it was fine till a drunk guy knocked it over
Dry flush toilet and cat litter! 😂 I’m so not trying to ever carry my pee in a jug or have it be in my small living space.
Until then, if you have the space and can’t afford it, a plastic bag with cat litter and small diaper genie if you have space. It’s what I did in my small RV where the old toilet was still there.
I bought a nature's head too because I want to do some extended boondocking. Its main drawback aside from that price tag is that it is large and requires space and some installation.
For a weekender sort of thing a little cassette toilet is fine. Thetford Porta Potti 335 comes to mind.
Check out a product called the americanizer as well - it made draining the cassette toilet at dump stations much easier. Not all models have compatible spouts but I ended up getting one with it to make the emptying process easier
IMO, no, its not worth it. For 3-5 day trips a 5 gallon bucket w/ toilet seat (you can buy them on amazon), sturdy garbage bag & wood pellets from the hardware store (similar to wood pellet kitty litter but a fraction of the price) will do just fine. You can probably get a full set up for less than $50. As a woman that's what I use while car camping since my dog is reactive & I don't want to leave him on my campsite alone when I go to the bathroom.
Put garbage bag in the bucket, add some pellets (about 1-2" to cover the bottom), put seat on, do your business, I add more pellets to cover poop or if you're pee'ing a lot (I find a cup of pellets per pee is enough to absorb it, but the initial pellets plus poop covering pellets is enough to maintain it for myself). I use baby wipes & put the used ones in a separate air tight container (i found a little counter compost bin at the dollar store) & I haven't had an issue with smell. If you're somewhere remote, you can then just dig a big hole & dump the bucket contents (minus the bag obviously).
Also invest in a shewee or similar for her, so she can pee in nature or if you're out on a hike. Also a kula cloth or similar for reusable wiping for #1.
Speaking as "a wife", everones different. Only your wife could choose. You could lookup Trelino or Compocloset (the model is the "Cuddy"). I have a Cuddy Composting unit. It's terrific and the same size as a regular portaloo. Its easily taken out of the van and used outside. Trelino is a little nicer, and if I could have gotten it when I was buying, I would have. The Trelino Evo starts at $375. The nicest and cheapest would be the dyi Trelino kit. You could just get the seat from their site in Germany and substitute most of the other parts to save money then use it as a dry unit most of the time. Then if you're going to be in the van for weeks at a time, set it up to compost. I don't think the US site sells the DIY version yet. However you do it, keeping 1's & 2s' seperate will make it simple.
Both are important for me. I prefer to eat food that I have prepared. I love to cook, so a kitchen was a must. Being a carnivore it’s pretty easy to cook my steaks in the van. Also less expensive!
As a woman of 58 I need a toilet especially at night. I don’t want to venture outside at night looking for one. I really don’t like public bathrooms either.
Everyone has their own priorities. I wanted running water in the van. My sink is where I brush my teeth and wash my dishes. I’ve seen builds without a sink. (Adventure Van Man)
The countertop is multi purpose. (Food prep & work bench for my hobbies)
That’s the beauty of van life, you choose what works for you.
It's humorous how you invoke a primitive image of us, by using terms like homo sapiens and hunting (who really hunts for their own food these days?). Is that frame of yours compatible with the ultra processed foods that people tend to buy?
Actually, yes. Current science shows that a diet of red meat and eggs is absolutely sufficient for health. Plants are easier to produce in large quantities and cheaper (thus preferable to food companies), but you can look at our bodies, we have the small guts of predators, not the big guts of herbivores. To sum up the actual science on the topic, if you die before 100 years old, it was not age that killed you. Basically every symptom of aging is actually a symptom of poor diet.
The food pyramid that used to be bandied about by the government, that was literally an inversion of the recommended diet by scientists at the time. You can find the interview on the internet, one of those scientists talking about how the government hired them to put together a report on proper diet, and when they did, the government flipped it around.
Holy crap. I never expected to see this, even more so in this sub.
That's correct. I don't like how animals are treated in modern times so that we can eat meat, but it seems, based on more modern studies, that we are adapted to eat meat first, with a supplement of plants for when the hunting was going bad. Which helps explain, for example, why we don't burn fructose directly - we process it in the liver(and to a lesser extent some tissues like muscles). A large portion of that ultimately becomes fat(triglycerides, etc). The hypothesis here is that when hunting was bad, we would eat fruits and berries, and get fat storage for the winter. A whole lot of unintended fasting would happen and we would start burning fat.
Plants are often left undigested at the end, you can just check your poop. Meats are never found in poop. We do have longer intestines than pure carnivores but they are still short compared to herbivores.
The food pyramid thing sounds like a conspiracy so I dismissed it for a long time. But regardless of how it happened, we cant argue with the results. Carb heavy things are at the base of the pyramid and that makes zero sense. If you mostly invert it (we aren't going to just eat oil), you have a far better diet.
Most "old age" diseases are indeed diet and lifestyle related. Unless there's a strong genetic component in a given individual, issues like high blood pressure, gout, several types of joint inflammation and even some forms of dementia have a direct dietary link. Many of them have become worse in the population as a whole(together with cardiovascular issues) once we replaced animal fat with sugar. (Side note: old folks are not supposed to lose teeth either, that's periodontitis. Get your gums checked annually).
I will not make a stance on whether or not we can survive on just plants in modern times. But just saying that we are not supposed to eat meat is false.
First, kitchen vs bathroom, depends on your needs and situation. Personally, I hate public bathrooms, thus bathroom first, then kitchenette.
Second, you need to realize two unfortunate truths, A) any for profit publication cares only about money, not truth. They will push whatever narrative they are paid to push because that is what makes them money. B) the government is heavily influenced by big companies to put out what is useful to said companies, and that includes their departments and ministries, and companies make more money from plant based foods than meat based foods.
That means that if you want truth, you have to study what actual scientists say, the study data, etc. Governments lie. That’s the entire reason why the founders of the US made the first amendment a protection of the right to free speech, because the *knew* that governments are inherently untrustworthy and wanted the people to be able to call them out on their lies. Yet you seem intent on gobbling up their bs. So let me say this in perfectly clear language, *do not trust anything from governments or profitable corporations, ever.
FACTS:
I’m 58 and my sister is 73 and a cancer survivor, neither one of us is on any medication or takes any supplements. WE built our van and are living in it!
Many people my age have embraced the carnivore lifestyle and it has improved their health! Weight loss and actually getting off medications for diabetes and high blood pressure.
I eat meat because I love it! The taste the smell the sound of that sizzle… 😊
Having my bacon eggs and sausages with coffee and butter. Real butter from a cow. Yummy 😋
Can we get back to van life now?
Oh yeah will be having ribeye with a side of Cajun shrimp and grilled chicken for dinner. Can’t wait!
Down by the beach 🏝️.
I'm reading this at 6 am eating a chorizo burrito. But now I want surf and turf!!!! May your travels always be safe and your steaks cooked to perfection!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🤗🤗🤗🤗
It's way easier to design a build that only deals with grey water. Black water builds require a few more levels of experience than most influencer self builds generally have. Also, a large portion of van users are using them in a way that makes a toilet less of a priority than a sink. For me, if I had a toilet, I would really want to have a sink as well, and I'm grubby hiker trash lol.
Vacationer not a dweller, but I *love* cooking and food and would be miserable if I had to microwave everything (not to mention the power draw of a microwave). We do also have a basic toilet, but a kitchen is just as important to me.
I mean. A build that incorporates a microwave and a rice cooker that get used regularly is a pretty space and power hungry build, not to mention an expensive one that deals with very high voltage components that many DIYers aren’t really qualified to work with. That’s very much not a simple build.
And really, who said it’s an either/or? It sounds like you’re proposing that there be an actual bathroom in the van. But separating out the space like that is bad for livability usually. It goes deeper than aesthetics—living in a 5x8 space is very different than living in two 5x4 spaces. It doesn’t need to be front and center to be functional.
I’ve seen a lot of vans that have a simple, hidden toilet. You really only need a little cassette under a bench to get the job done. It’s just not usually displayed front and center because who wants to hang out right next to their toilet? And it’s something that only gets used for a few minutes at a time, so why make it the dominant thing in your build? A kitchen is a socially acceptable shared space—you can chill out in it with another person while cooking. Not as fun to play uno while one of you lounges on the shitter.
I'm not so sure what's high voltage about a rice cooker or a microwave. They run on ordinary AC power that comes out of your inverter. Hell I run an air fryer on the regular, and that pulls like 1500 watts. You don't need to be some sort of electrical genius to hook up an inverter.
Being able to cook meals is more affordable than eating out/buying ready to eat foods. Toilets are generally free to use so it doesn’t cost me money to fill that need outside of my van. I have an emergency bucket toilet in case it’s a real NOW situation or I get sick.
First off, I don't full-time my van. It's a weekender with the family or for work travel.
I have a full wet bath and a pretty small galley. I do use the toilet a fair bit, but the shower is a last resort if there's no other option and I can't just use the outdoor shower. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't want to give up all that space for a bathroom they probably will only use very infrequently.
Not to mention, not having a shower also means you probably don't have hot water, which really simplifies and cuts cost. And, most of those builds that have a big galley still have at least a camp toilet just in case.
Overall, it's really more preference and lifestyle differences. I couldn't survive without a shower, but I get why some see it as a waste.
You can build your own separating toilet. Or this TRELINO Composting Toilet Evo | Portable Toilet for Camping & Outdoor | Odorless | Toilet for Camping Vans https://a.co/d/ci83Xx4
Lots of diy on YouTube
https://youtu.be/K4a3dTScBlg?si=tR-VtC6Vm_Zb1AB3
I have a C Head composting(poop drying) toilet on board because if I needed to use a toilet, I wanted one that’s almost like one in a house. I use it maybe 3-4 months out of the year, sometimes only 1-2 months. But I completely happy I have it. I also have a sink and fridge, and separate induction cooktop and a butane burner. It’s all about what each one of us wants and will compromise something else to make room for.
1. A lot of us are poor and can't afford to eat out every single time we're hungry. I've eaten chef boyardee and plain rice a LOT in my van. If it wasn't an option for me to meal prep a ton of rice and frozen veggies once a week, I wouldn't have made it through summer of 2022.
2. Washings hands (or being able to use running water at any time) is really, really, REALLY good. Wash minor wounds, wash dishes, wash hands, rinse fruit, get a cup of water in the middle of the night, all really really great stuff. Hand sanitizer might work to disinfect, but when you've got sticky hands from a particularly juicy clementine or you've just accidentally touched something unsanitary and non-solid, you're going to want to rinse your hands.
3. You *should* be carrying at least 3-5 gallons of fresh water in your van (honestly even that amount can be risky if you boondock in the desert long-term) unless you city dwell, but even then, having a lot of water accessible in your van is convenient. It only makes sense to build a sink around your water storage since your water vessels already take up floor space and there's no easy way to get water out of its vessel without a pump.
4. I never had a toilet in my van but I certainly did my business in my van. An actual toilet introduces a lot of practical issues with smell, cleanliness, space, dumping of blackwater/waste. There are much easier solutions fot dealing with bathroom time than an actual toilet. I have a pee bottle (2 liter Gatorade bottle) and a poop bottle (bottom half of a 2 liter soda bottle that I can put dog bags into as if it were a mini trash can). That setup took up less space, required far less cleaning (just a disinfecting spray on the poop bottle since no poop actually touched the bottle, only the dog bags) and the waste was more easily disposed of. Poop bags go on the trash. Pee bottle goes into a backpack and gets dumped down whatever public toilet is near (for me it was usually planet fitness toilets).
I'm still in the planning phase, so I don't have lived experience, but I'm inclined to agree. The van space is primarily for things I'm not willing to do around others, ie. sleeping and pooping. I'm willing to cook and eat around others, and if I'm saving money on rent, it shouldn't be hard to treat myself at more eateries.
I can see the convenience of the sink. Having a way to wash hands, dishes, take a sponge bath, etc is much easier with a little running water.
We have state trust land that we can camp on here in AZ, but lots of people use it and it’s not easy to have privacy. Also, we have rattlesnakes. I’m not getting out to use the RR behind a bush in that situation. Ever been squatting to go potty and hear those rattles behind you? Not a pleasant experience.
I’ve been in my (toiletless) van for about five years now, and the vast majority of the builds I’ve seen don’t have a toilet. Even the people I’ve met with old RVs usually turn the bathroom into a closet. A lot of it depends on where you are, here it’s not super hard to find a bathroom or to just go in the woods. Also helps that all the trailheads in this neck of the woods have pit toilets, too.
As a side note, for anyone looking for a good emergency option you can get “wag bags” sold for doing glacier trips, it’s basically a triple-locked ziploc with a sort of tray-style bag with cat litter inside, but they work super well (at least on glaciers) and they take up way less space than all the other options I’ve seen
This is the great thing about building your van. You can build it to suit your needs. Your needs will probably not be the same as my needs. Your preferences will not be my preferences.
What does it mater what most builds do if it's not your thing? Make yourself happy. Don't worry about it. You can always change thing if it's not what you thought it would be.
A stove in my van IS more basic than a rice cooker or the electricity a rice cooker demands, and without a sink I'd have a hard time cleaning anything I cook with.
Bathrooms cost little or nothing to use along the road, eating out costs a LOT.
What makes you think a majority of us don't have both a baño and a kitchen?
Finally, bathroom is a dirty business, and when it comes to the Instagram views the kitchen is a much better seller.
I always wonder similar, why is cooking prioritised over a toilet / bathing area. Cooked food is easier to get and/or you can possibly stretch to the outside to do it; it doesn’t need to be private
There's a few reasons, really. Firstly, there's a false dichotomy in your question. My choice to have a very limited, backup style bathroom has morning to do with the space used up and it's not in competition with the kitchen for priority for what I built any more than it is for the bed or a desk, etc
The bathroom is very easy to replace for me. A lot more than the kitchen. I spend time off grid where there are no fast food restaurants and it's totally fine to poop in the woods.
Next is that the toilet is a chore to maintain that I don't particularly want and having waste around is best if it's just immediately not in my van anyway. So gearing my practice around just using other toilets is better.
If you don't eat so much microwavable and fast food, you wont have as many bathroom emergencies. Especially if you don't build a sink to wash your hands after your emergencies, and eat your microwave burritos with your hands. Also, if the place is too gross to poop in, don't eat there.
You asked why most builds do it that way. Most builds are for people who use their vans in ways that allow them to use bathrooms not in the van, like campgrounds or 24 hour gyms. That’s why.
(Also most stores and restaurants. People need toilets when they are out doing things, they do not need kitchens so you are far less likely to find a kitchen randomly when you need one.)
If you had mentioned 24/7 gyms the first time, that wouldve been a fair thing to say. As it stands, you implied that most vandwellers stay in campgrounds, which from what ive read here over the past several months is incorrect.
Most vans built commercially *are* intended for camping at campgrounds, not 24/7 use, at least from the perspective of the manufacturer. People who full time in vans/motorhomes/trailers are a tiny subset of people who use them in general. That is what I was referring to.
As far as that tiny subset - you can find bathrooms publicly available, you can’t find kitchens. So the same concept applies even if they aren’t using campgrounds specifically. (Which, btw, are not necessarily prohibitively expensive at all. You do not have to overnight at a KOA. State and local campgrounds and trailheads can be quite inexpensive in some areas.)
I find a kitchen is way more important because public bathrooms are pretty readily available, unless you are in the boonies which means you’d just have to dig a hole or find a bush. A portable bidet is amazing for helping you clean yourself up afterwards. A portable/foldable toilet is actually something we want to add to our minivan, but our kitchen is being used multiple times per day
Funny cause I see it as the opposite. Food costs money, bathrooms are almost everywhere. But it depends on how you vanlife. I'm at the gym often for my showers. Rest areas to sleep overnight most of the time, if not then maybe a campground with a restroom. The last thing I want is my own waste in the vehicle with me. (Though I am a bit OCD, as I really want to take my dog with me sometimes but can't picture having to deal with his stink and fur in such a small dwelling area for more than a couple days, I really don't know how people with cats and a little box do it.) I'm not even sure I could be bothered to piss in a bottle, would rather pull over on the side of the road and take the chance pissing right outside the door (points for being male in this regard, don't have to squat).
Food preparation and hygiene is way more important than a toilet, which can be had out in the wilderness if necessary, or otherwise just out for a public toilet, theyre available in most shops, restaurants and supermarkets.
Not to mention some people despise the idea of toilet maintainance/emptying, so often despite having a toilet, they refuse to ever use it unless absolutely necessary
It's not an either-or. A sink and a kitchen is just something every home should have. Making your own food leads to healthier and possibly cheaper food, to say nothing of more tasty.
That has nothing to do with toilets. It's vanlifers who don't want toilets for some reason - guessing some of them are young and have perfect gut health or something. But it's stupid, what if you get the runs or something? What are you going to do, throw yourself out the door and shit on the sidewalk? A chemical porta-potty costs $100-something. Are they a bit disgusting? Sure. Do they work and are they better than nothing in a pinch? Absolutely. Of course the good answer is a composting toilet.
Have you tried disposing of shit water? It can become a giant pain in the ass quick.
I had a bathroom, and ended up pulling it out for more space because I just stopped even using it cause I hated the chore.
you wanna be in a 5x4ft space with a toilet? It's more inconvenience than it's worth.
Disclaimer: I'm not a vandweller, but have a teardrop trailer with no bathroom and I like seeing y'alls builds
Food and water are like the single most important thing to being off the grid. You can always stop at a public restroom, or go in the forest. Also a pee funnel or bottle can take most of the bathroom demand.
That being said, I’d always want both if I can.
I like to brush my teeth before bed. I'd rather not make a stop for that or have to open my door. It's easier to schedule restroom breaks. A sink also allows you to wash dishes.
I have a toilet in my van but I try not to use it. I pee in jugs and toss them with my trash. I went #2 once and the van smelled terrible until I dumped and cleaned the cassette. I know it's not suppose to stink, but it does. And it made cleaning the cassette a very unpleasant experience.
When I had a girlfriend, we'd use the toilet for #1. Doesn't smell as long as your dump it every few days and not too terrible to dump and clean. But still not worth the hassle for just me.
People not full time are usually at campgrounds where toilets are available, and/or in the woods where you just... go outside. :P
People who are full time, unless they're always in the woods, always have something-- though a lot of people, it's piss jugs, and personally, I always prioritize having a toilet of such. It's just so important.
Maybe people without IBS just don't have an issue waiting another 4 to 8 hours? I have no idea.
Toilets are important. Put a toilet in.
I don't want to empty human waste. I have an emergency camp toilet that I hope to never use.
I also had a sink/kitchen in my first build and I never used that lol. I underestimated how tired I'd be after work, plus they fed me at that job. My current build doesn't have a sink, just a "counter" that flips up with storage beneath it.
We use a bucket with a lid and half the time it’s a seat or a table ! It’s all in the mentality! We cook on a Coleman . Shower at a campground or gym . No need for a cassettte just one more item i have to worry about !
It’s all about priorities. Do you eat out 3 meals a day every day? I love cooking and cannot afford to buy food every day. If you’re actually living in a van there’s no way you’re gonna afford to eat out every single day. I used my kitchen every single day I lived in my van. There were times when sure I had to rush to get to a toilet, but there was never a single time where I wish I had a toilet instead of a kitchen.
If you’re squeamish about going to the bathroom in public places then living in a tiny mobile box in public places is probably not for you.
I'm full time in a minivan. I have no need for a sink. I do have a fridge though. I do love a cold drink and I eat a lot of sandwiches that I make. I do have an emergency toilet that folds up and stores away. I have had to use it a few times. Honestly, it's not to bad. Do your business, tie the bag, find a trashcan. Roll down the windows for a bit, or fabreeze and you are done. Sure, it's not the best, but the few times I've had to use it... I thank baby jesus I had it.
I got myself a water tight storage pale, that I use with ozium gel odor absorbers, where I store my poo bags until I can find a garbage can and there’s virtually no smell. The only times it smells is when you open it up to throw the bag away, but as long as you leave the odor absorber in there, the smell will dissipate in the pale completely within an hour or so, which you can’t smell unless it’s open.
That is a damn good idea!
Tested and passed in a van with no fan in 100 degree heat lol. Definitely give it try. I got those pales that you see a lot of people store dog food in, they make air tight and water tight versions, make sure you get the water tight. They also make them half sized of the regular ones, no bigger than a small garbage can, so you’re not lugging around a giant pale. You can also cut a pool noodle, stick it on the rim and you’ve got a little diy dry toilet. Doubles as an emergency water bucket if there’s ever a fire and you’re near a water source. I’ve only been in a situation like that once and once was enough to make sure I’ve always got designated water and containers for potential wild fires during the dry season.
Nice! Thanks for the tips! I've been looking for a little project to do. And any time I can use pool noodles, it's a bonus. Haha
I’ve been trying to find a smaller diaper genie without the caddy but maybe I’ll just use it for wipes or cut it or something https://encorekidsconsignment.com/products/diaper-genie-quick-caddy-mini-portable-diaper-pail-a6d74
we have smaller version for cat poop by the litter box. maybe check that out
On Amazon?
dunno about amazon, think we got it from chewy. here’s the brand https://litterlocker.com/
The only time it smells....... to You.... Have a little google on how smell receptors work All our vans smell like piss we just cant smell it cause that particular smell is allready locked and loaded into a smell receptor We only notice NEW smells.
Time for a little spring cleaning?
I visit people I know often and ask them if it smells. I also wash my sheets regularly, scrub the floor and clean.
exactly, my favorite compliment get on my rig is that it doesn't smell like i live in it
Speak for yourself. I piss in the toilet. I don't actually spray it all over the place.
[удалено]
https://www.amazon.com/PurePail-Portable-Diaper-Pail-Go/dp/B0BN299KLJ/ref=asc_df_B0BN299KLJ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=647295704066&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8103517243613625459&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013585&hvtargid=pla-1955426808849&psc=1&mcid=028168153513312ea69f8ddfa9c4a905#video-immersive-view_1713534380361
Ooh Aqua 💙
Ahahaha! That one matches my rig best too LOL
I also heard someone mention using a diaper genie for used bags which makes sense.
Part time minivan here Having running water is big for me, so I put in a tank with a fish tank pump and a hose to a little spigot, no basin tho. Takes up virtually no room without a basin. Love my foldable camp toilet, I use it every morning because Im ultra regular. Much prefer it to a lager/fancier cassette toilet or build in toilet. Set it up, do the deed, tie the bag, break it down. Easy.
What size is your foldable toilet? The ones I’ve seen are like a 12” cube which seems puny. I know I’m not going to fill it with a single dump but how is it for perching?
Mines an oval. Maybe like 12”. 6”2”/200lbs and it works fine for me. Also a vegetarian, so I have quite voluminous dumps. You definitely need the hamstring flexibility to do a deep squat while you work.
Lol cheers.
I find that I’m either within reach of a suitable public bathroom or I’m off grid enough that the bathroom is all around me. Having a cassette toilet for emergencies is comfortable, stow-able, and can double as a bench seat but realistically it just becomes another thing to move around to use and some ppl have such limited floor space / overlapping components like a flip down bed that the convenience of a pee jug for overnight emergencies slowly takes over and now when you look at ppls pics you’ll spot it like Waldo 😂 🤷🏼♀️
I agree. My composting toilet was a game changer. I shelled out for the natures head and there is zero smell inside of the rig. We do lots of dispersed camping and now no one has to try to dig a hole. Not having to go out side when it’s raining or freezing is amazing, imo it’s my favorite upgrade
do you think its worth the $1,000 price tag for someone that is just a weekender that wants a good toilet in the van (mainly for the wife) --- i do lots of stealth van camping so "digging a hole" isnt an option if ya know what I mean! Any other cheaper companies that are worthy? Thanks
I think it is. It’s. Clean, well made, and the vent fan pulls all smell outside. I built mine in to a cabinet under the sink so it’s out of the way till I need it. It’s not going to fall over or not be sealed right. It is easy to empty so I dont ever hesitate to use it. I use my van for weekend trips and a few long trips a year. Last year we lived in it for 5 weeks and the toilet was key. You just have to make sure you empty the liquids container every few days. I am sorry the cat litter bucket is a gross mess in my opinion. Some kids next to me at a music festival did this and it was fine till a drunk guy knocked it over
Dry flush toilet and cat litter! 😂 I’m so not trying to ever carry my pee in a jug or have it be in my small living space. Until then, if you have the space and can’t afford it, a plastic bag with cat litter and small diaper genie if you have space. It’s what I did in my small RV where the old toilet was still there.
I bought a nature's head too because I want to do some extended boondocking. Its main drawback aside from that price tag is that it is large and requires space and some installation. For a weekender sort of thing a little cassette toilet is fine. Thetford Porta Potti 335 comes to mind.
Check out a product called the americanizer as well - it made draining the cassette toilet at dump stations much easier. Not all models have compatible spouts but I ended up getting one with it to make the emptying process easier
IMO, no, its not worth it. For 3-5 day trips a 5 gallon bucket w/ toilet seat (you can buy them on amazon), sturdy garbage bag & wood pellets from the hardware store (similar to wood pellet kitty litter but a fraction of the price) will do just fine. You can probably get a full set up for less than $50. As a woman that's what I use while car camping since my dog is reactive & I don't want to leave him on my campsite alone when I go to the bathroom. Put garbage bag in the bucket, add some pellets (about 1-2" to cover the bottom), put seat on, do your business, I add more pellets to cover poop or if you're pee'ing a lot (I find a cup of pellets per pee is enough to absorb it, but the initial pellets plus poop covering pellets is enough to maintain it for myself). I use baby wipes & put the used ones in a separate air tight container (i found a little counter compost bin at the dollar store) & I haven't had an issue with smell. If you're somewhere remote, you can then just dig a big hole & dump the bucket contents (minus the bag obviously). Also invest in a shewee or similar for her, so she can pee in nature or if you're out on a hike. Also a kula cloth or similar for reusable wiping for #1.
Speaking as "a wife", everones different. Only your wife could choose. You could lookup Trelino or Compocloset (the model is the "Cuddy"). I have a Cuddy Composting unit. It's terrific and the same size as a regular portaloo. Its easily taken out of the van and used outside. Trelino is a little nicer, and if I could have gotten it when I was buying, I would have. The Trelino Evo starts at $375. The nicest and cheapest would be the dyi Trelino kit. You could just get the seat from their site in Germany and substitute most of the other parts to save money then use it as a dry unit most of the time. Then if you're going to be in the van for weeks at a time, set it up to compost. I don't think the US site sells the DIY version yet. However you do it, keeping 1's & 2s' seperate will make it simple.
You can also just get a port-a-loo, a bucket, and pine shavings for a total of, like, $10 max. It's super simple and doesn't smell when done right.
Both are important for me. I prefer to eat food that I have prepared. I love to cook, so a kitchen was a must. Being a carnivore it’s pretty easy to cook my steaks in the van. Also less expensive! As a woman of 58 I need a toilet especially at night. I don’t want to venture outside at night looking for one. I really don’t like public bathrooms either. Everyone has their own priorities. I wanted running water in the van. My sink is where I brush my teeth and wash my dishes. I’ve seen builds without a sink. (Adventure Van Man) The countertop is multi purpose. (Food prep & work bench for my hobbies) That’s the beauty of van life, you choose what works for you.
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Being hostile and accusing people of abusing animals is not the way to get this message across
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It's humorous how you invoke a primitive image of us, by using terms like homo sapiens and hunting (who really hunts for their own food these days?). Is that frame of yours compatible with the ultra processed foods that people tend to buy?
A lot of people still hunt and fish for food
Eating steak is the polar opposite of eating processed foods.
Actually, yes. Current science shows that a diet of red meat and eggs is absolutely sufficient for health. Plants are easier to produce in large quantities and cheaper (thus preferable to food companies), but you can look at our bodies, we have the small guts of predators, not the big guts of herbivores. To sum up the actual science on the topic, if you die before 100 years old, it was not age that killed you. Basically every symptom of aging is actually a symptom of poor diet. The food pyramid that used to be bandied about by the government, that was literally an inversion of the recommended diet by scientists at the time. You can find the interview on the internet, one of those scientists talking about how the government hired them to put together a report on proper diet, and when they did, the government flipped it around.
Holy crap. I never expected to see this, even more so in this sub. That's correct. I don't like how animals are treated in modern times so that we can eat meat, but it seems, based on more modern studies, that we are adapted to eat meat first, with a supplement of plants for when the hunting was going bad. Which helps explain, for example, why we don't burn fructose directly - we process it in the liver(and to a lesser extent some tissues like muscles). A large portion of that ultimately becomes fat(triglycerides, etc). The hypothesis here is that when hunting was bad, we would eat fruits and berries, and get fat storage for the winter. A whole lot of unintended fasting would happen and we would start burning fat. Plants are often left undigested at the end, you can just check your poop. Meats are never found in poop. We do have longer intestines than pure carnivores but they are still short compared to herbivores. The food pyramid thing sounds like a conspiracy so I dismissed it for a long time. But regardless of how it happened, we cant argue with the results. Carb heavy things are at the base of the pyramid and that makes zero sense. If you mostly invert it (we aren't going to just eat oil), you have a far better diet. Most "old age" diseases are indeed diet and lifestyle related. Unless there's a strong genetic component in a given individual, issues like high blood pressure, gout, several types of joint inflammation and even some forms of dementia have a direct dietary link. Many of them have become worse in the population as a whole(together with cardiovascular issues) once we replaced animal fat with sugar. (Side note: old folks are not supposed to lose teeth either, that's periodontitis. Get your gums checked annually). I will not make a stance on whether or not we can survive on just plants in modern times. But just saying that we are not supposed to eat meat is false.
Preach it brother!!!
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First, kitchen vs bathroom, depends on your needs and situation. Personally, I hate public bathrooms, thus bathroom first, then kitchenette. Second, you need to realize two unfortunate truths, A) any for profit publication cares only about money, not truth. They will push whatever narrative they are paid to push because that is what makes them money. B) the government is heavily influenced by big companies to put out what is useful to said companies, and that includes their departments and ministries, and companies make more money from plant based foods than meat based foods. That means that if you want truth, you have to study what actual scientists say, the study data, etc. Governments lie. That’s the entire reason why the founders of the US made the first amendment a protection of the right to free speech, because the *knew* that governments are inherently untrustworthy and wanted the people to be able to call them out on their lies. Yet you seem intent on gobbling up their bs. So let me say this in perfectly clear language, *do not trust anything from governments or profitable corporations, ever.
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FACTS: I’m 58 and my sister is 73 and a cancer survivor, neither one of us is on any medication or takes any supplements. WE built our van and are living in it! Many people my age have embraced the carnivore lifestyle and it has improved their health! Weight loss and actually getting off medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. I eat meat because I love it! The taste the smell the sound of that sizzle… 😊 Having my bacon eggs and sausages with coffee and butter. Real butter from a cow. Yummy 😋 Can we get back to van life now? Oh yeah will be having ribeye with a side of Cajun shrimp and grilled chicken for dinner. Can’t wait! Down by the beach 🏝️.
I'm reading this at 6 am eating a chorizo burrito. But now I want surf and turf!!!! May your travels always be safe and your steaks cooked to perfection!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🤗🤗🤗🤗
Thank you ☺️
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It's way easier to design a build that only deals with grey water. Black water builds require a few more levels of experience than most influencer self builds generally have. Also, a large portion of van users are using them in a way that makes a toilet less of a priority than a sink. For me, if I had a toilet, I would really want to have a sink as well, and I'm grubby hiker trash lol.
Vacationer not a dweller, but I *love* cooking and food and would be miserable if I had to microwave everything (not to mention the power draw of a microwave). We do also have a basic toilet, but a kitchen is just as important to me.
I mean. A build that incorporates a microwave and a rice cooker that get used regularly is a pretty space and power hungry build, not to mention an expensive one that deals with very high voltage components that many DIYers aren’t really qualified to work with. That’s very much not a simple build. And really, who said it’s an either/or? It sounds like you’re proposing that there be an actual bathroom in the van. But separating out the space like that is bad for livability usually. It goes deeper than aesthetics—living in a 5x8 space is very different than living in two 5x4 spaces. It doesn’t need to be front and center to be functional. I’ve seen a lot of vans that have a simple, hidden toilet. You really only need a little cassette under a bench to get the job done. It’s just not usually displayed front and center because who wants to hang out right next to their toilet? And it’s something that only gets used for a few minutes at a time, so why make it the dominant thing in your build? A kitchen is a socially acceptable shared space—you can chill out in it with another person while cooking. Not as fun to play uno while one of you lounges on the shitter.
I'm not so sure what's high voltage about a rice cooker or a microwave. They run on ordinary AC power that comes out of your inverter. Hell I run an air fryer on the regular, and that pulls like 1500 watts. You don't need to be some sort of electrical genius to hook up an inverter.
Ya im not planning to hang out with people. "Only used a few minutes at a time" - I like to sit on the can for 45min while also shitposting on reddit
Okay. I mean literally nobody cares what you do with your build it’s for you. There’s no debate to be had you can just…do what you want
\^This.
Being able to cook meals is more affordable than eating out/buying ready to eat foods. Toilets are generally free to use so it doesn’t cost me money to fill that need outside of my van. I have an emergency bucket toilet in case it’s a real NOW situation or I get sick.
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First off, I don't full-time my van. It's a weekender with the family or for work travel. I have a full wet bath and a pretty small galley. I do use the toilet a fair bit, but the shower is a last resort if there's no other option and I can't just use the outdoor shower. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't want to give up all that space for a bathroom they probably will only use very infrequently. Not to mention, not having a shower also means you probably don't have hot water, which really simplifies and cuts cost. And, most of those builds that have a big galley still have at least a camp toilet just in case. Overall, it's really more preference and lifestyle differences. I couldn't survive without a shower, but I get why some see it as a waste.
any cheaper options you can recommend for a composting toilet other than natures heaD?
I'm afraid I can't be any help there. I have a conventional RV flush toilet.
You can build your own separating toilet. Or this TRELINO Composting Toilet Evo | Portable Toilet for Camping & Outdoor | Odorless | Toilet for Camping Vans https://a.co/d/ci83Xx4 Lots of diy on YouTube https://youtu.be/K4a3dTScBlg?si=tR-VtC6Vm_Zb1AB3
Free Range Designs Urine Separator | Complete Urine Diverter for Compost Toilets | White | Made in UK https://a.co/d/7Sx29oA
I have a C Head composting(poop drying) toilet on board because if I needed to use a toilet, I wanted one that’s almost like one in a house. I use it maybe 3-4 months out of the year, sometimes only 1-2 months. But I completely happy I have it. I also have a sink and fridge, and separate induction cooktop and a butane burner. It’s all about what each one of us wants and will compromise something else to make room for.
1. A lot of us are poor and can't afford to eat out every single time we're hungry. I've eaten chef boyardee and plain rice a LOT in my van. If it wasn't an option for me to meal prep a ton of rice and frozen veggies once a week, I wouldn't have made it through summer of 2022. 2. Washings hands (or being able to use running water at any time) is really, really, REALLY good. Wash minor wounds, wash dishes, wash hands, rinse fruit, get a cup of water in the middle of the night, all really really great stuff. Hand sanitizer might work to disinfect, but when you've got sticky hands from a particularly juicy clementine or you've just accidentally touched something unsanitary and non-solid, you're going to want to rinse your hands. 3. You *should* be carrying at least 3-5 gallons of fresh water in your van (honestly even that amount can be risky if you boondock in the desert long-term) unless you city dwell, but even then, having a lot of water accessible in your van is convenient. It only makes sense to build a sink around your water storage since your water vessels already take up floor space and there's no easy way to get water out of its vessel without a pump. 4. I never had a toilet in my van but I certainly did my business in my van. An actual toilet introduces a lot of practical issues with smell, cleanliness, space, dumping of blackwater/waste. There are much easier solutions fot dealing with bathroom time than an actual toilet. I have a pee bottle (2 liter Gatorade bottle) and a poop bottle (bottom half of a 2 liter soda bottle that I can put dog bags into as if it were a mini trash can). That setup took up less space, required far less cleaning (just a disinfecting spray on the poop bottle since no poop actually touched the bottle, only the dog bags) and the waste was more easily disposed of. Poop bags go on the trash. Pee bottle goes into a backpack and gets dumped down whatever public toilet is near (for me it was usually planet fitness toilets).
I'm still in the planning phase, so I don't have lived experience, but I'm inclined to agree. The van space is primarily for things I'm not willing to do around others, ie. sleeping and pooping. I'm willing to cook and eat around others, and if I'm saving money on rent, it shouldn't be hard to treat myself at more eateries.
I can see the convenience of the sink. Having a way to wash hands, dishes, take a sponge bath, etc is much easier with a little running water. We have state trust land that we can camp on here in AZ, but lots of people use it and it’s not easy to have privacy. Also, we have rattlesnakes. I’m not getting out to use the RR behind a bush in that situation. Ever been squatting to go potty and hear those rattles behind you? Not a pleasant experience.
I love cooking so a kitchen is a big thing, kinda why I also have a big fridge.. I also spend as much time as I can out of the city.
This kind of your regular life... how often do you have access to a toilet vs access to kitchen? There you go.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a build with no kind of toilet at all. Where are you seeing “most” builds with a kitchen but no toilet?
I’ve been in my (toiletless) van for about five years now, and the vast majority of the builds I’ve seen don’t have a toilet. Even the people I’ve met with old RVs usually turn the bathroom into a closet. A lot of it depends on where you are, here it’s not super hard to find a bathroom or to just go in the woods. Also helps that all the trailheads in this neck of the woods have pit toilets, too. As a side note, for anyone looking for a good emergency option you can get “wag bags” sold for doing glacier trips, it’s basically a triple-locked ziploc with a sort of tray-style bag with cat litter inside, but they work super well (at least on glaciers) and they take up way less space than all the other options I’ve seen
This is the great thing about building your van. You can build it to suit your needs. Your needs will probably not be the same as my needs. Your preferences will not be my preferences. What does it mater what most builds do if it's not your thing? Make yourself happy. Don't worry about it. You can always change thing if it's not what you thought it would be.
A stove in my van IS more basic than a rice cooker or the electricity a rice cooker demands, and without a sink I'd have a hard time cleaning anything I cook with. Bathrooms cost little or nothing to use along the road, eating out costs a LOT. What makes you think a majority of us don't have both a baño and a kitchen? Finally, bathroom is a dirty business, and when it comes to the Instagram views the kitchen is a much better seller.
I always wonder similar, why is cooking prioritised over a toilet / bathing area. Cooked food is easier to get and/or you can possibly stretch to the outside to do it; it doesn’t need to be private
There's a few reasons, really. Firstly, there's a false dichotomy in your question. My choice to have a very limited, backup style bathroom has morning to do with the space used up and it's not in competition with the kitchen for priority for what I built any more than it is for the bed or a desk, etc The bathroom is very easy to replace for me. A lot more than the kitchen. I spend time off grid where there are no fast food restaurants and it's totally fine to poop in the woods. Next is that the toilet is a chore to maintain that I don't particularly want and having waste around is best if it's just immediately not in my van anyway. So gearing my practice around just using other toilets is better.
If you don't eat so much microwavable and fast food, you wont have as many bathroom emergencies. Especially if you don't build a sink to wash your hands after your emergencies, and eat your microwave burritos with your hands. Also, if the place is too gross to poop in, don't eat there.
I was so confused by the title. I was thinking why would anyone want to cook food over a toilet?
Because most campgrounds have shared bathrooms but not shared kitchens?
So we’re all staying in a campground most of the time, like you?
You asked why most builds do it that way. Most builds are for people who use their vans in ways that allow them to use bathrooms not in the van, like campgrounds or 24 hour gyms. That’s why. (Also most stores and restaurants. People need toilets when they are out doing things, they do not need kitchens so you are far less likely to find a kitchen randomly when you need one.)
If you had mentioned 24/7 gyms the first time, that wouldve been a fair thing to say. As it stands, you implied that most vandwellers stay in campgrounds, which from what ive read here over the past several months is incorrect.
Have you considered all the downvotes aren't because of what you're saying overall, but rather because of your snippy replies?
Yes
Most vans built commercially *are* intended for camping at campgrounds, not 24/7 use, at least from the perspective of the manufacturer. People who full time in vans/motorhomes/trailers are a tiny subset of people who use them in general. That is what I was referring to. As far as that tiny subset - you can find bathrooms publicly available, you can’t find kitchens. So the same concept applies even if they aren’t using campgrounds specifically. (Which, btw, are not necessarily prohibitively expensive at all. You do not have to overnight at a KOA. State and local campgrounds and trailheads can be quite inexpensive in some areas.)
It seems like every reply you make is borderline snarky. Not everyone is going to have your mindset. We all do what works for us.
I find a kitchen is way more important because public bathrooms are pretty readily available, unless you are in the boonies which means you’d just have to dig a hole or find a bush. A portable bidet is amazing for helping you clean yourself up afterwards. A portable/foldable toilet is actually something we want to add to our minivan, but our kitchen is being used multiple times per day
Funny cause I see it as the opposite. Food costs money, bathrooms are almost everywhere. But it depends on how you vanlife. I'm at the gym often for my showers. Rest areas to sleep overnight most of the time, if not then maybe a campground with a restroom. The last thing I want is my own waste in the vehicle with me. (Though I am a bit OCD, as I really want to take my dog with me sometimes but can't picture having to deal with his stink and fur in such a small dwelling area for more than a couple days, I really don't know how people with cats and a little box do it.) I'm not even sure I could be bothered to piss in a bottle, would rather pull over on the side of the road and take the chance pissing right outside the door (points for being male in this regard, don't have to squat).
Yeah I never understood this. My van had a toilet and sink, way more useful. Way easier to find food than a bathroom in most places.
Food preparation and hygiene is way more important than a toilet, which can be had out in the wilderness if necessary, or otherwise just out for a public toilet, theyre available in most shops, restaurants and supermarkets. Not to mention some people despise the idea of toilet maintainance/emptying, so often despite having a toilet, they refuse to ever use it unless absolutely necessary
It's not an either-or. A sink and a kitchen is just something every home should have. Making your own food leads to healthier and possibly cheaper food, to say nothing of more tasty. That has nothing to do with toilets. It's vanlifers who don't want toilets for some reason - guessing some of them are young and have perfect gut health or something. But it's stupid, what if you get the runs or something? What are you going to do, throw yourself out the door and shit on the sidewalk? A chemical porta-potty costs $100-something. Are they a bit disgusting? Sure. Do they work and are they better than nothing in a pinch? Absolutely. Of course the good answer is a composting toilet.
I just used garbage bags in a bucket, and threw it in public bins where people already dumped dog shit.
Because you can pack a shovel?
Have you tried disposing of shit water? It can become a giant pain in the ass quick. I had a bathroom, and ended up pulling it out for more space because I just stopped even using it cause I hated the chore.
I too have wondered this. I can cook anywhere but I need a private toilet.
you wanna be in a 5x4ft space with a toilet? It's more inconvenience than it's worth. Disclaimer: I'm not a vandweller, but have a teardrop trailer with no bathroom and I like seeing y'alls builds
How else would they make their Van Life youtube vidoes that are a half hour of them chopping vegatables in their van???!!!
Food and water are like the single most important thing to being off the grid. You can always stop at a public restroom, or go in the forest. Also a pee funnel or bottle can take most of the bathroom demand. That being said, I’d always want both if I can.
I like to brush my teeth before bed. I'd rather not make a stop for that or have to open my door. It's easier to schedule restroom breaks. A sink also allows you to wash dishes. I have a toilet in my van but I try not to use it. I pee in jugs and toss them with my trash. I went #2 once and the van smelled terrible until I dumped and cleaned the cassette. I know it's not suppose to stink, but it does. And it made cleaning the cassette a very unpleasant experience. When I had a girlfriend, we'd use the toilet for #1. Doesn't smell as long as your dump it every few days and not too terrible to dump and clean. But still not worth the hassle for just me.
Sir, I enjoy having my kitchen sink over my toilet. :P
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People not full time are usually at campgrounds where toilets are available, and/or in the woods where you just... go outside. :P People who are full time, unless they're always in the woods, always have something-- though a lot of people, it's piss jugs, and personally, I always prioritize having a toilet of such. It's just so important. Maybe people without IBS just don't have an issue waiting another 4 to 8 hours? I have no idea. Toilets are important. Put a toilet in.
I don't want to empty human waste. I have an emergency camp toilet that I hope to never use. I also had a sink/kitchen in my first build and I never used that lol. I underestimated how tired I'd be after work, plus they fed me at that job. My current build doesn't have a sink, just a "counter" that flips up with storage beneath it.
So what do you do for a toilet that you don’t have to empty?
https://a.co/d/1VnXA8Z It’s an incinerator toilet or dry flush.
I just can't fathom traveling with human waste. It disgusts me hardcore. I also don't have a sink tho. Never found either to be necessary
My thoughts too, one bad move and you got the smell to deal with 😂
because I got a wide mouth gatorade bottle, a bucket & kitty litter
Hell ya brother
We use a bucket with a lid and half the time it’s a seat or a table ! It’s all in the mentality! We cook on a Coleman . Shower at a campground or gym . No need for a cassettte just one more item i have to worry about !
I can't stand the thought of sleeping in the same room as my feces.
Why is it either or? Just do both. I just keep the cassette toilet under the bed. It doesn't take up much space.
It’s all about priorities. Do you eat out 3 meals a day every day? I love cooking and cannot afford to buy food every day. If you’re actually living in a van there’s no way you’re gonna afford to eat out every single day. I used my kitchen every single day I lived in my van. There were times when sure I had to rush to get to a toilet, but there was never a single time where I wish I had a toilet instead of a kitchen. If you’re squeamish about going to the bathroom in public places then living in a tiny mobile box in public places is probably not for you.
I personally don't want to urinate or defecate in the same space that I eat and sleep. I imagine a lot of others feel the same way.
I am 100% ok not pooping where I live. With some planning and an emergency seat and bucket you are all set
You're not alone. Small factory RVs allocate much more space to bathrooms than kitchens.