VAN BATHROOM TOUR | is having a bathroom in a van really worth it?
Wondering if having a van with a bathroom is really worth it?
Well today we’re sharing some pros and cons of having a bathroom in your conversion van.
If you’re looking for details and what we used for our bathroom in our van, check out this blog post. And if you’re looking for plumbing details you can find them here.
Pros of Having a Bathroom In Your Van:
You can shower any time you want! That means first thing in the morning, late at night or after a hot sweaty day. This was a must for us - we both like to shower every day so we knew we wanted a shower in our van. Outdoor showers are unrealistic to use whenever you want because you have to be OUTSIDE, which likely means you won’t be getting naked and you’ll have a lot of people staring at you.
You can go to the bathroom any time you want! If you know you don’t want to be running to find a toilet multiple times per day (or night) then a toilet is a priority. Being a girl, I didn’t want to have to find toilets late at night or try to go somewhere outside - that would’ve ruined van life really quick for me.
Privacy. This is a big one if you know you’re a private person and you don’t want to use public restrooms and locker rooms to shower and use the bathroom. If you’re going full-time in your van, then this is your house - can you imagine a house without a bathroom?!
Cons of Having a Bathroom In Your Van:
You need extra power and extra water storage. If you want a hot shower in your van, then you need an upgraded electrical system that can handle an electric water heater (you can find details on our electrical system here). You could always go the propane route but we aren’t a fan of having big propane tanks in a moving vehicle. As for water, you’ll need more water to be able to shower daily.
You have to find places to dump your grey water tanks. With our setup, we have a 5 gallon grey water tank for our shower, a 5 water grey water tank for our sink and a 5 gallon black water tank for our toilet. These each need to be dumped 1-2 times per week.
A bathroom in a van takes up quite a bit of space. If you are in a smaller van, a bathroom might not be feasible in your layout. For us in a 170” wheelbase Sprinter Van, we had plenty of room to incorporate both a shower and toilet into our van. We still have an almost king size bed, full closet, dresser, kitchen and tons of storage in our upper cabinets, so sacrificing some space was worth it to us.
Wondering the exact specs and dimensions of our van’s bathroom? Check out the Van Layout Guide below.