Inspiring Campervans with Bathrooms for Van Build Ideas

When we’re driving around in our Sprinter van conversion, you wouldn’t believe how many people stop us and say: Do you have a bathroom in your campervan?

And the answer is this: No, we don’t. We choose not to have a bathroom in our van for many reasons, including lack of space, not wanting to deal with dumping, and mold issues. We instead choose to shower outside and use public bathrooms.

However, I do know that MANY people absolutely need to a bathroom in their campervan. I hear this daily from subscribers to my email list. 

Luckily, there are many campervans with bathrooms out there that serve as models for us to look at.

What Type of Campervan Bathroom Do You Want?

There are TONS of different options for a campervan with bathroom if you’re building out your own van. Of course, pretty much all Class B RVs (campervans), have a bathroom as it’s required by the RV Industry Association. But if you’re going with a DIY campervan, you’ll have to think about how you’re going to create the perfect toilet and shower combo for your lifestyle.

Here are some options when it comes to campervans with bathrooms.

The Wet Bath

We just explored Europe in two models of campervan, and both had a wet bath. This all-in-one bathroom solution combines a shower, sink, and toilet in one compact space. It’s a practical option, especially for vans with a 144 wheelbase, where space is at a premium. This is the type of bathroom you’d see in the Winnebago Revel, which is a Class B RV. 

These campervans with bathrooms are designed so that you can take a shower and get water all over the bathroom without causing any damage. However, if you build this incorrectly, it could result in mold and water incursion into your van build. 

Some people also might not like getting their entire bathroom wet when showering.

The Hidden Bathroom

Imagine having a functional bathroom that’s hidden from the naked eye. A hidden bathroom setup in a camper van is a creative and ingenious solution that maximizes space while maintaining privacy. Tucked away behind panels, under seating or up in a cupboard for a shower, these bathrooms appear only when you need them.

Designing such a campervan bathroom setup requires thoughtful planning and a keen eye for space utilization. The aim is to ensure that when the bathroom is not in use, it blends seamlessly with the rest of the interior. Despite the compact nature of camper vans, it’s possible to create a hidden, functional bathroom that doesn’t compromise on comfort or convenience.

I’ve seen some van lifers putting a portable toilet into a bench seat (check out this perfect bench storage for toilet from Serg supply!), or tucking a shower up into some cabinetry. Luckily, van build companies are getting smart and offering parts and pieces to let you add this to your own van build.

Stunning Camper Vans with Bathrooms for Your DIY Inspiration

I scoured the internet to find my favorite bathroom designs. Here are some DIY ideas to help you design yours.

Hidden toilet

Darian has traveled around the US on a 2017 Ram Promaster 159” High Roof with her partner Ricky and pooch Aussie for two years. The guys wanted to keep their home-on-wheels as open plan as possible, without adding any floor-to-ceiling furniture.  So they chose to install a slide-out composting toilet inside a lower cabinet.

“I think the Nature’s Head [composting toilet] is ideal for couples and strong people. It does get heavy and can be difficult to take out of the van when it’s time to empty it, but it’s doable!” – says Darian.

Darian and Ricky recently split up and she is now kitting out a van for solo traveling.

Sydney has lived on the road for 5 years with her 2 dogs and husband Henry. On her van, she installed a dry flush toilet under her bed. The toilet sits on a track, so she can slide it out when she needs to. Sydney loves it because it doesn’t smell; she says: “It’s like magic.” You just need to replace the cartridges regularly and keep some pee powder handy. 

Shower stall

Tim and Katie spent 9 months fitting their Ford Transit cargo van into the campervan of their dreams. Having a decent-size vehicle, they wanted to take private showers on the road. The guys built an enclosed shower with a pull-out toilet, which disappears into a cupboard. The stall even has a sliding door, so you can do your business or wash in private. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wabi Sabi | Van Life (@wabisabi_vanlife)

The guys of Wabi Sabi took this idea to the next level by creating the same set-up in a wide section at the back of their van. 

“I was overwhelmed by the idea of living in a small space and having little room to move around with a fixed shower, but I also didn’t want to deprive myself of a warm shower in winter. I racked my brain and started thinking about a practical and comfortable bench shower,” Wabi Sabi told The Wayward Home.

“I bought a 55×55 cm shower tray and made a bench around it. When you build a van the first thing you have to do is to know what your needs are and build everything else around them. A bed, a kitchen, a projector? I had a lot of ideas in my head so I designed everything according to the objects I wanted to incorporate in my camper van.”

Bathroom stall + portable shower

I like how Lauren merged the idea of a bathroom stall and a portable shower for her campervan with a bathroom.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lauren✨| Solo Vanlife + Travel + Unique Stays (@stella.traveler)

She built a stall where the toilet lives all the time. At the bottom of the stall, there’s a shower tray which she can take into the main part of the van and set up a shower by hanging a curtain to the ceiling.

Hidden pop up shower

Scarlet and Seth hid their pop up shower and portable toilet inside a bench. To go to the bathroom, they simply open the bench and sit on the toilet. When they need to have a shower, they remove the toilet and hang the shower curtain frame up to have a hot shower without getting water into the van.

I also like this idea Project Van Life has shared. It’s another bench shower, but in this case the bench seat folds up to reveal the shower head and create a solid wall. Very cool!

Exterior shower

The guys from Lifepothesis use a 12v shower pump to shower off the back of their van. If they need to, they warm up the water on the stove. 

You can also use a solar shower or a water heater with a nozzle. Simply pop the shower in the garage and attach the shower head to one of the rear doors.

Dry bath

The ultimate dream would be to have a dry bath – right? But who’s got the space? I really like how Winnebago solved the issue on the Ekko.

They used one stall to create a shower and a toilet. A screen door separates the two areas; these can only be used one at a time. It’s rad! I’m sure some van lifers who are good at DIY can replicate this idea to have a big dry bath while saving some space.

Permanent cassette toilet

In Europe, many campervans with bathrooms have a permanent cassette toilet. It’s neater than using a portable toilet because you can remove the cassette from outside of the van, rather than carrying the whole toilet (or cassette) through your vehicle.

Check out our cassette toilet comparison article here.

This setup isn’t very popular in the US but some companies, like Thor Motor Coach, are starting to use it.

Toilet Types for Campervans with Bathrooms

If you want to add a toilet to your rig, I recommend you carefully consider your options, because no matter what you choose to install, you’ll need to make some compromises.

There are three main types of toilets you can use on your van.

Portable camping toilet

These are easy to recognize – they look like small rectangular self-contained toilets. Portable camping toilets (also known as porta-potties) come with a detachable seat, a flush-water tank, and a bowl. Their size and shape makes them easy to store in a small van – just slide yours under a bench and forget it’s there. 

You will, however, need to empty it and clean it regularly, which many people (like me!) find pretty disgusting. The other annoyance of a porta potty is that, to keep the smells at bay, you need to add chemicals to the holding tank. These are quite helpful – they hide the solids, mask the odor, and kill bacteria. But you need to store them and find a designated dump disposal point every time the toilet is full.

If you’re on a budget or in a hurry to get on the road, a portable toilet is a great option. It doesn’t require any installation and you can easily get rid of it if you hate it.

Composting toilet 

Composting toilets are dry toilets that compost human waste and are popular with DIY campervans with a bathroom. I’m not going to get into the (interesting) science behind the process, but it works. Many van lifers swear that if you follow the instructions of the toilet’s manufacturer’s, you won’t smell a thing and you can empty the toilet every month or so. As the waste is organic, you can do this in the wilderness.

The downside of a composting toilet is that you need to store coconut husks or saw dust in the van and keep them at hand every time you go for a number 2. Also, it can take a while to master the composting process, so you might end up creating a mess (read: a colony of flies) for a few weeks. 

Last but not least, a dry toilet only composts number 2s. There is a big bottle in the front of the bowl which collects your pee. So, if you pee inside your van often, you’ll need to empty the bottle every couple of days. 

When it comes to composting toilets, most van lifers choose either the Cuddy, the Nature’s Head, or the Airhead. If you plan to install one in your van, I’d suggest you stick with these tried-and-tested brands, so you’re confident the toilet is sturdy enough and does its job.

Permanent cassette toilet

There is a third option, which isn’t very popular in the States: installing a cassette toilet inside the van. A cassette toilet works exactly like a portable toilet, but it’s permanently installed inside the vehicle and feels more like a “house toilet.” This design is very popular in Europe and it’s sometimes used for American RVs, but not so much for DIY rigs. 

The bowl, which takes up a lot more space than that of a portable toilet, is fixed inside a wet or dry bath, but the cassette can detach for emptying. To make the process easier, you can create a hatch on the side of your van through which you can grab the cassette from outside. This allows you not to carry the sealed cassette through your camper. By the way, a cassette toilet can be connected to the water supply to autofill the flush tank.

If you feel this is a good option for you, why not use a portable toilet for a while and see how you like it? You can upgrade to a cassette toilet once you decide you’re OK emptying a tank at dump stations regularly.

Showers for a Campervan with a Bathroom

We typically only use this Sea to Summit solar shower outside our campervan. We heat water up on the stove and pour it into our solar shower. This works for us and we don’t have to deal with a messy install in our 144 wheelbase Sprinter van, which takes up TONS of space.

If you can’t imagine living in your van without a shower, but you don’t feel like building it from scratch, there are some DIY shower kits on the market which you can install without too much hassle.

Sprinter Van Enclosed Shower

Got a Sprinter and like the idea of having a separate wet bath? You need to take a look at this enclosed shower by RB Components. It’s a shower room that fits the interior of a Sprinter perfectly and is made out of aluminum. It’s also telescopic: it can expand to reach the ceiling, so you get maximum headroom in your shower. It comes with a welded-in shower rod, but you’ll need to drill the drain hole, so you can position it exactly where you need it. To complete the shower room, you can add this fitted shower screen.

Van Wife Shower Stall

Another option for a pre-made aluminum shower stall is this one by Van Wife Components. While you do need to add the plumbing and drain to this kit, you can save a lot of time by skipping the build of the room itself. You’ll also need to add a shower curtain, which you can easily hang using a small tension rod. Buy one from your local DIY store.

The Van Wife Shower Stall hasn’t been designed with a specific van model in mind. It’s 24″ deep and 74.5″ high and comes in a 24″, 30″, 33″, or 36″ width.

TetraVan Folding Shower

If you don’t want to use precious space to create a separate shower room, you can get a kit to install this fold-out shower by Serg Supply. To set it up, attach the shower pan to a bench or bed with some screws, fix a tank inside the furniture, and connect it to the pan. 

To use it, simply fold down the shower pan and attach the curtain to the van’s ceiling. Et voila. You can now shower inside your campervan without getting water everywhere. Pretty neat, huh?

Sprinter Van Removable Shower Pan

This shower pan by RB Components mounts in the driver’s side rear of a Sprinter. The cool thing about it is that it can be moved easily, thanks to the quick change buttons. This means it doesn’t need to be a permanent feature. You can complete the kit by buying a wood grate, shower curtain, water system, and the drain fittings.

RV Hidden Stainless Steel Shower Pan

Need to save space? The RV Hidden Stainless Steel Shower Pan literally takes up zero, so you can install it literally anywhere you like. It fits directly into your existing floor and subfloor, so it sits flush with your floor. This pan comes with a drain, which is available in four different positions.

Water System Considerations for Your Campervan with a Bathroom 

As you’ve seen above, not all showers require plumbing in. However, if you choose to install a pan inside your van, you will definitely need to design and build a water system.

First, decide where the plumbing will sit in the van – it’s best if you install it on one side of the van only, either on the passenger or driver side. This allows you to use fewer piping and fittings; plus, there are less places for the system to leak.

Then you’re ready to create an area where to fit water jugs or tanks for storing fresh and gray water. These come in a variety of sizes and can be hidden in benches, under the bed, in the back of the van, or in the kitchenette lower cabinets.

Next, install a 12V pump with an on/off switch or a manual pump to pressurize your water. To help the pump keep the pressure consistent, add an accumulator. Use flexible water piping (most van lifers use PEX tubing) and high quality fittings to connect your tanks or jugs. Finally, attach the piping to your shower.

Want to be able to have hot showers? Don’t forget to add a water heater to your system. Choose between propane and diesel. I recommend picking a tankless heater, so it heats the water on demand – you don’t need to wait for it to warm it up in advance.

If you’ve decided that creating your own water system is for you, you can use this Water Diagram and Tutorial to kickstart your own project.

Do you REALLY need a campervan with a bathroom?

I hope this post helped you figure out what type of bathroom to put in your campervan! You can do anything from a more complicated shower stall and permanent toilet, to a cassette toilet and outdoor shower.

If you aren’t building out your own van, you’ll find plenty of Class B RVs that already come with a wet bath.

For us, we haven’t found that we needed a bathroom in our campervan. We started out in a Chevy Astro and now in a Sprinter, and I haven’t ONCE craved a toilet in this cramped space. We find public restrooms or dig holes, and that suits me perfectly find.