When we started looking into toilet options for our van, we found a lot of reviews where people said they didn’t have any smells but “we don’t poop in our cassette”. Well, that’s not very useful. And it begs the questions, where do you poo then?! So, if you are also frustrated, this is the post for you! But beware, we will probably be oversharing!
After many hours of research and conversations with van-lifers, we landed on the Thetford C223 Cassette toilet for our van build. Let’s talk about why!
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Why Did We Go With a Cassette Toilet?
For years, we have lived on a boat, and a very popular conversation amongst liveaboard boaters is around toilets. Everyone is trying to be sure they aren’t missing out on a better option because, honestly, none of them are that great. We’ve had a lot of conversations about composting toilets with other boaters over the years, and we knew before this build that we had ZERO interest in going the composting route.
The first reason is that composting toilets are not a great option for folks whose bowel movements tend toward the looser side. When we first dug into researching this for the van, I had yet to receive my colon cancer diagnosis or have that cancer removed. And let’s just say, this immediately ruled out a composting toilet for us. But even if you’re situation isn’t quite as extreme, looser stools can be a serious issue for composting toilets and it’s not talked about enough. It can certainly add to the smell, and requires significantly more substrait, and potentially can lead to poo in the pee which is DEFINETLY an issue with smells.
The second reason: many women struggle with composting toilets because we can sometimes struggle to “separate” our pee and poop. Pee in compost area, or poo in the pee jug can both cause issues with composting toilets! I really didn’t want to have to be worried about it!
The third reason: bugs. I know that if you are taking care of a composting toilet and cleaning it regularly, it’s less likely, but I’ve seen enough magots in the composting toilet videos that it was a hard no from me.
And the last reason, after watching a lot of video, the cleaning process for the composting area looks absolutely miserable. Way worse than the emptying process for a cassette.
We also ruled out a more conventional RV toilet with a black water tank because we just didn’t have space. And the twisty toilets, I don’t know what else to call the ones that are essentially just a plastic bag that twists, are crazy expensive for what they are, and the idea of having to make my pee solid is weird.
So we landed on cassette!
Why the Thetford C223?
It was important to me that our van toilet be as close to a household toilet in height and feel as possible, and we were also looking for the highest capacity cassettes. This sent us toward the Thetford cassette toilets. Andy also felt very strongly about being able to access and empty the cassette from outside the van. He really didn’t want to have to carry the full cassettes through our living space. And that pretty much left us with the Thetford C223 or the Thetford C402. The C402 is MASSIVE and we would have needed to install it east-west in the van which didn’t make a lot of sense for our build. The C223 worked best in our space, and since the two had the same cassette capacity (4.75 Gallons), it was a no brainer.
How does the Thetford C223 work?
Using the Toilet:
Using the toilet is pretty self-explanatory. It operates similarly to a household toilet. The only thing that might be a little different is that if you’re planning to go number 2 without peeing first, you may want to add a little water to the bowl first to make flushing easier.
Once you’ve done your business, you flip the lever at the front of the toilet and everything will drop into the cassette below. You can then use the built-in flush to rinse the bowl, or we use a hand-held bidet to make sure the bowl is clean. We then do a final “flush” and add just a little water back to the bowl to help keep smells down. That water acts similarly to the P-trap in your sink or toilet at home.
And that is it! For the first three months we were not flushing toilet paper and wrapping it up in dog poo bags, but we decided to experiment with flushing toilet paper and we have not noticed a difference in smell or ease of emptying the tank. Since it didn’t seem to make a difference we even flush out toilet paper now! Just like your home toilet, it is NOT a good idea to flush anything like feminine hygiene products, wet wipes, paper towels, etc. Those are not meant to breakdown the same way and will cause issues with emptying your tank, and potentially with the sewer systems where you dump.
Emptying and Cleaning the Cassette:
The cassette can be emptied at any RV dump site. One pro of the cassette’s portability is that it can also be emptied in a regular toilet. We don’t necessarily recommend emptying into a toilet, as it can stink the place up and splashback is a very real possibility, but it is possible. Be sure to clean up after yourself if you choose this option!
To empty the tank you’ll need:
- Gloves
- Water (DO NOT CONTAMINATE POTABLE WATER SOURCES FOR THIS PURPOSE)
- Tank Chemicals
Emptying is easy. Just unscrew the cap, and slowly pour into the dump hole. Pushing the vent button on the cassette will keep the liquids flowing smoothly and prevent glugging and splashback.
Once emptied, we recommend rinsing with a non-potable hose until the water runs clear. Usually this takes 2-3 rinses while shaking the water about in the cassette each time. You can also open the top flush door and spray water in from that direction. Additionally, we take both the tank level indicator and the vent assembly out and rinse them every few weeks.
Before replacing the cassette, we add a little bit of water and 4 oz of Thetford Aquamax toilet chemicals. We’ve tried going without the chemicals, both on purpose and on accident. Oops! We are pretty confident in saying that they do work. They help with breaking down solids and toilet paper. This makes emptying the cassette easier. They also help with smell, though not significantly.
Cleaning the Toilet Bowl:
Cleaning the toilet bowl itself is best done just before you empty the cassette. We prefer to use the Thetford foaming toilet bowl cleaner because we know it’s safe for the seals, and it won’t react with the cassette chemicals. It also does a great job of breaking down any buildup at the bottom of the bowl and just needs a quick wipe out when it’s finished!
Cons of the Thetford C223:
While overall we’ve been extremely happy with our Thetford C223, this wouldn’t be an honest review without some downsides:
- The tank is pretty small–We’ve found we can go about 4-5 days with the two of us. We have purchased a second cassette that is stored in our garage and we can swap it in if we get full without having a place to dump. We’ve only used both tanks a handful of times, but it has been a lifesaver when we have needed it.
- It will smell when it gets SUPER full. Especially if you have the windows open. But 99% of the time you won’tsmell anything.
- The tank level indicator doesn’t always work. This is the one thing we’ve found that toilet paper may be affecting. But as you use the toilet, you will start to be able to tell how full the tank is by the sound when you flush. Also, you can always just open the flush door and take a peek if necessary.
Pros of the Thetford C223:
Here are the top four easons we would recommend the Thetford C223 for your van build:
Exterior Cassette Removal
Not having to haul your waste through your living space is the number one reason we would recommend at Thetford C223. The access door is easy to install and operate. We’ve never had issues with the cassette leaking, but knowing that even if it did, it wouldn’t be leaking into our living space gives us peace of mind.
Functions Similar to a Household Toilet
We love that the Thetford C223 looks and operates similarly to a household toilet. When your van is your full-time home you don’t want to feel like you’re camping every day. Our toilet feels civilized and I will choose it over many public restrooms. We love not having to worry about keep pee and poo separate or having to carry around substrate.
Ease of Emptying the Cassette
Emptying and cleaning the cassette is so easy. We are typically in and out of a dumping station in under 5 minutes. The design allows you to just swish some water around to rinse it out and you’re good to go again! We’ve heard complaints about it being difficult to aim the funnel portion of the cassette into the small dump station drain holes. We have not had issues. It does take a little practice to get confident with it but we’ve never spilled!
Capacity
We love that we were able to expand the capacity of our system with a second cassette. Some folks also use the larger portable waste tanks to extend their cassette. We’ve found that with our travel style, moving every 3-4 days, the nearly 10 gallons of two cassettes is plenty of capacity. We’ve gone as long as two weeks between dumps when using both.
There you have it! Our honest opinions about the Thetford C223 Cassette toilet! We are happy to answer questions if you drop a comment below! And if you’re interested in our full DIY van plumbing set up we recommend our van plumbing post!
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