Choising a caravan with shower/toilet

The best thing we did was to hire all types of caravans and campers to see what we wanted......took a bit of time but if you are just looking at vans, then just hire a couple of different styles that you would like to buy.
you soon find out what suits you and what you like and need etc.

We settled on a ensuite van and we bought a near new model and saved lot's of money...it is a buyers market out there at the moment.

Make a wish list of the things you want in a van and aim to get as close to that list as you can......testing and trying soon highlights the good and the bad.

As you travel enquire and compare with other travellers..... this too will help you decide.

Anton and Barb

We have a new van with combo shower/toilet.We compromised the ensuite for an off road pack.If you can afford it I would go for the full ensuite for the time you are going to spend on the road.

We find ours adequate as its a reasonable size however some of the vans we looked at were very squeezy particularily in pop top configeration.It really depends on what size van you are prepared to buy and tow.Some of the larger vans have combos to allow more living space which is an advantage.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

It depends if you are going to use an existing vehicle and what its towing capacity is. A similar van with a full ensuite will be a fair bit heavier.

If a new tow vehicle is on the shopping list then consider a 5th wheeler. Long term vanners carry considerably more than 400 kg load allowance that the vans are built with. Some vans allow more than this but not many. Remember that any solar power system and other accessories plus the water you carry comes out of this 400 kg. We carry 500 kg for a maximum of 6 months travel (with full water) and have had to upgrade the van to carry it. 5th wheelers generally have a higher carrying capacity and are more roomy for the same overall length of van (for a standard van you have about 2 meters of boot and draw bar length extra,)

Any of the twin cab utes - except for the Toyota and Mitsubishi will tow up to 3,000 kg plus the weight on the turn table. Go to http://www.venturevan.com.au/ - this is a good site that explains the subject in detail.

PeterD

A + B ,

I have a van with shower and toilet combined . Like Mrs Hen , the toilet is used very infrequently - but we are usually just on holiday and we are camped in out of the way places .

It is pretty yucky to go into a bathroom with wet toilet and wet floor then use the toilet . I have never done it , but you would either have to do your bus before your shower or spend 10 minutes mopping and wiping everything dry.

I would certainly go for seperate shower and toilet if I was going to spend two years in the van .

Cheers ,

Willie .

You should gain a huge amount of information by clicking on the article to the right of your post , very informative indeed.

.

We are about to embark on exactly the same type of journey as you.. 2 years or more on the road. We leave tomorrow actually. WOW everytime I say that I can't really believe it. We've just bought a Nova Caravan brand new. We picked the design, colours, materials, suspension, solar etc everything from scratch. We thought about getting a van with a full ensuite but decided we would much rather have a bigger kitchen with more bench space, so w chose the combo shower toilet. When I think about how much time we'll actually spend in the toilet/shower, having more space outside it won hands down. It would have cost us $2000 more to have the full ensuite.

We currently have a pop-top with a combined shower and toilet. To overcome the problem of everything getting wet after a shower I fitted a sail track and shower curtain so that the water does not go everywhere.

Our next van will be a full ensuite that offers much more space with some added privacy to boot.

Cheers,

Patrick

Thanks for everyone's interest and response.

We want to add that we are not new to vanning (40plus years) but never had a shower (in a van that is).

So our main question is from those who have combo toilets, are they happy with them and how do they use them, i.e. do you always use them or only when not at parks. Likewise, those of you that have full en suites, do you use them in parks or do you still use the park's facilities?

It is a good argument about combos being wet after showering and the need to have to wipe them down. Likewise it is also a good argument re the space taken with either type that could otherwise be used for living space.

Again we appreciate your time taken to help us decide. A+B

We have a 'rough roads capable' 18' van on order and have given this issue quite a lot of thought - a combo shower/toilet is the go for us (but not the ultra squeezy ones). Being bush campers to date with a hard floor camper, any sort of bathroom will be a fair 'step up' for us.To be able to have a toilet available everywhere we go is a big bonus - to have even a short shower when you really need one will be great too. As someone mentioned above, people don't spend long in there - better to save the floorspace that may have been used for an ensuite, for living area IMV. BTW - we met several van owners with shower / toilet combos on on our recent WA trip - they all said that while they of course use park facilities when staying in towns, they still don't use the van's facilities much when in the bush - mainly because the water used is heavy and has to be carted everywhere. For vans that may always be on the bitumen and staying in van parks, thinking can be entirely different of course due to water being always on tap..... hell...... we parked alongside larger sized vans here and there where the owners never seemed to step outside ! :-)

It's hard to understand just how wonderful it is to have a separate shower and toilet unless you have experienced it. Such a convenience at any time but particullarly at night or in bad weather.
On one occasion I became ill with the flu and the weather was terrible, how I appreciated it then.

Hope this helps.
Regards Greg.

Yes I agree, the Cook likes the Amenities on Board, good in Winter,
and when its Raining, and no Night Time Trips to the to the Toot
in the Van Parks, I suggest to have a extra Water Tank, solely for
the Amenities, we have 3, and Dual Toilet Cassettes.


Cheers
Daza