Full Bathroom VS. Separate Shower

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Big BackYard

In Nevada there is no "4 of 6" criteria,

Regulations vary considerably state by state when it comes to titling, registration and licensing requirements.

In Washington State :

According to RCW 46.04.305, a motor home is a motor vehicle originally designed, reconstructed, or
permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, which include lodging and cooking or
sewage disposal, and is enclosed within a solid body shell with the vehicle, but excludes a camper or
like unit constructed separately and affixed to a motor vehicle.

[JDOnTheGo]

My conversion is not "done" so I may not qualify to answer... but... I have been living in it for nearly a year and a half so maybe that is "done enough"?
Actually, I don't think these are ever "done"...

The best style is the one that works for you and your typical/anticipated use. IMO, there is no right or wrong (or all around best). Unless you plan to sell it as soon as it is complete - but this would then be a market analysis question.

I am solo. My bathroom is a walk thru style and has a pocket door to close it off from the living area but no door to separate it from the bedroom. Works great for me, no doubt someone out there would hate it.

[Ninjakitty]

JD, that's a nice bathroom.

[Trail Fairy]

JDOnTheGo, wow that's a really nice bus bathroom. Obviously you're not just camping with it now and then in the backyard, haha.

[JDOnTheGo]

Thanks to both of your for the kind words. No, definitely not occasional backyard camping.

For the OP, I hope you can kinda see that a walk thru bathroom works in this scenario (solo person) but for a family it would be horrible. My last motorhome had a walk thru bathroom but the toilet was in its own little room (with a door). That would be much better for a family but still leaves part of the rig inaccessible when someone is taking a shower. In that scenario, a separate room with the hall running down one side would probably be best - assuming the bathroom is not at the back.

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Big BackYard

In Nevada there is no "4 of 6" criteria, unfortunately. Here they have 5 requirements and you have to meet all 5 to be considered a non-commercial motor home and one of them is a toilet. Personally, I'm going with everything in one room. Since I don't need extra accommodations for kids it's looking like I'll have plenty of room to work with.

Where did you see this rule for NV? NV law:

NRS 482.071  “Motor home” defined.  “Motor home” means a structure:
**** 1.  Attached permanently to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis;
**** 2.  Designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational or camping use; and
**** 3.  When assembled for the road, has a maximum body width of 102 inches.
**** (Added to NRS by 1973, 229; A 2001, 1725)
RS 482.101  “Recreational vehicle” defined.  “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular-type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for travel, recreational or camping use, which may be self-propelled, mounted upon, or drawn by, a motor vehicle. The term includes a recreational park trailer.

There are zero specific requirements for a toilet or whatever. Your insurance company may have different ideas about things and if you want that insurance you have to jump thru their hoops.

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Here's what we did, I couldn't get a good angle for a whole bathroom shot but I think it's pretty easy to piece together from this.

The composting toilet is on the wheel well, the shower is a utility sink we picked up on sale. The tub surround, floor, and box in front of the toilet are from an old cedar chest Drew trash picked. The medicine cabinet and shelving are old wine crates we've been using in various ways for the last 20 years.
The entire bathroom is two windows wide and about 40 inches deep.


eta: the shower doubles as a sink

What did you use for a shower pan/tub? I think I like it! I like the storage crates on the walls, too!

[2martins]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I had a ****'n'shower in a travel trailer and hated it. toilet was always wet and there wasn't enough room in the shower.


I haven't researched them because I wouldn't want one but, I'm pretty sure the composting toilets are permanently mounted with some sort of exhaust fan. Unless you are using a bucket and kitty litter, I guess you could set that anywhere. I lived in a semi for twenty years, don't like having to move something so I can do something. For same reason I want big spaces in my bus.


RV toilets use very little water. For liquid probably less than a pint a bit more for solids maybe 2 to 3 pints.


Pee is black water, human waste. Sink and shower are gray water.

Oops, thanks for correcting my error on black and gray! I am indeed thinking 5 gallon bucket and sawdust for poop with either a diverter for pee or possibly a separate set up for pee. I got an RV toilet at habitat supercheap and I like the way the lever opens and closes a trap between the area where you sit and below that, but not for poop. I DO NOT want to be cleaning poop off that trap!!!!

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by 2martins

What did you use for a shower pan/tub? I think I like it! I like the storage crates on the walls, too!

" the shower is a utility sink we picked up on sale. "
Just had a thought go by about putting in a separate urinal, wold need to modify the drain on it, but would work.

[2martins]

Originally Posted by 2martins

What did you use for a shower pan/tub? I think I like it! I like the storage crates on the walls, too!

Is it one of the PLASTIC utility sinks that you framed around enough to make it really sturdy? Did you drill the drain hole out larger? Isn't a shower drain larger than a sink drain normally?

I love this idea. All the shower pans I have seen are ridiculously expensive and the galvanized stock tanks are oval which makes framing around them harder. I want a large sink or tub for washing things, rinsing things off, drip drying things, and it must be big enough to clean a 5 gal bucket.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by 2martins

Is it one of the PLASTIC utility sinks that you framed around enough to make it really sturdy? Did you drill the drain hole out larger? Isn't a shower drain larger than a sink drain normally?

I love this idea. All the shower pans I have seen are ridiculously expensive and the galvanized stock tanks are oval which makes framing around them harder. I want a large sink or tub for washing things, rinsing things off, drip drying things, and it must be big enough to clean a 5 gal bucket.

Shower tub drains and bathroom sink drains are the same. The kitchen sink drains are larger. Some shower drains are larger in center floor drains, but they all flow through the same pipes.

[family wagon]

I wanted to have room to move my elbows, to bend over, to take a step or two, etc at both the shower and the toilet. But I need to preserve space for fitting a family of 7 into a 35 foot bus, too.

We settled on a 30x60 inch shower pan with the drain centered on one of the short edges and the RV toilet nestled into a corner at the opposite side. We'll have wardrobe hooks and/or towel bar(s) on the wall above the toilet and a shower curtain to keep that end of the space dry while the shower water is splashing. Haven't quite figured out what to do about the wet floor -- probably it'll end up with one of those wash-through style commercial kitchen floor mats. Or maybe just a junk towel specifically for drying the floor after showering.

[Big BackYard]

Originally Posted by 2martins

Where did you see this rule for NV? NV law:

NRS 482.071  “Motor home” defined.  “Motor home” means a structure:
**** 1.  Attached permanently to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis;
**** 2.  Designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational or camping use; and
**** 3.  When assembled for the road, has a maximum body width of 102 inches.
**** (Added to NRS by 1973, 229; A 2001, 1725)
RS 482.101  “Recreational vehicle” defined.  “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular-type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for travel, recreational or camping use, which may be self-propelled, mounted upon, or drawn by, a motor vehicle. The term includes a recreational park trailer.

There are zero specific requirements for a toilet or whatever. Your insurance company may have different ideas about things and if you want that insurance you have to jump thru their hoops.

I started by going to the DMV's website. They had separate categories for RV's and Custom Vehicles and I wasn't sure which would have the info I'm looking for so I went for the human approach and swung by my local DMV office. The lady that I talked to there didn't know the answer so she called the DMV at the state capital and talked to the guy there in charge of titling (Edgar, Evan, something that starts with E).

The five things were:

• bed
• toilet
• sink with running water
• cooktop
• table to eat at

[Big BackYard]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

My conversion is not "done" so I may not qualify to answer... but... I have been living in it for nearly a year and a half so maybe that is "done enough"?
Actually, I don't think these are ever "done"...

The best style is the one that works for you and your typical/anticipated use. IMO, there is no right or wrong (or all around best). Unless you plan to sell it as soon as it is complete - but this would then be a market analysis question.

I am solo. My bathroom is a walk thru style and has a pocket door to close it off from the living area but no door to separate it from the bedroom. Works great for me, no doubt someone out there would hate it.

I love this! I'm also planning on doing the walkthrough bathroom design. You're the first person I've seen who has it. Thanks!!

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Big BackYard

I started by going to the DMV's website. They had separate categories for RV's and Custom Vehicles and I wasn't sure which would have the info I'm looking for so I went for the human approach and swung by my local DMV office. The lady that I talked to there didn't know the answer so she called the DMV at the state capital and talked to the guy there in charge of titling (Edgar, Evan, something that starts with E).

The five things were:

• bed
• toilet
• sink with running water
• cooktop
• table to eat at

The NV DMV website says

"Recreational Vehicles

There are no special registration requirements for non-commercial recreational vehicles. RVs must meet pass*emissions tests*when required. You may need special driver license classes or endorsements for large vehicles or multiple trailers. See*Driver License Classes."

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Big BackYard

I started by going to the DMV's website. They had separate categories for RV's and Custom Vehicles and I wasn't sure which would have the info I'm looking for so I went for the human approach and swung by my local DMV office. The lady that I talked to there didn't know the answer so she called the DMV at the state capital and talked to the guy there in charge of titling (Edgar, Evan, something that starts with E).

The five things were:

• bed
• toilet
• sink with running water
• cooktop
• table to eat at

I think he pulled this out of his a$$. I can find nothing written in the law that says anything like this and I certainly didn't have to do anything like this to get registered as an RV. I got a VIN inspection form filled out by my local community officer and then took in all my documents and a CAT scale weight in an effort to avoid needing a class B license endorsement, which worked, happily.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by 2martins

Is it one of the PLASTIC utility sinks that you framed around enough to make it really sturdy? Did you drill the drain hole out larger? Isn't a shower drain larger than a sink drain normally?

I love this idea. All the shower pans I have seen are ridiculously expensive and the galvanized stock tanks are oval which makes framing around them harder. I want a large sink or tub for washing things, rinsing things off, drip drying things, and it must be big enough to clean a 5 gal bucket.

Thanks! Yes, it's a plastic utility sink with a washboard on one side. We didn't have to modify the drain but we did have to cut the faucet mounting deck off, and trim the leg mounts a bit. I think the dimensions are 24"x22", I can check on Friday, you can fit a 5 gal bucket in it easily. The corner wall surround is 27"x27" so we hung the shower curtain out a bit from the rim of the tub for a some extra elbow room.

[2martins]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Thanks! Yes, it's a plastic utility sink with a washboard on one side. We didn't have to modify the drain but we did have to cut the faucet mounting deck off, and trim the leg mounts a bit. I think the dimensions are 24"x22", I can check on Friday, you can fit a 5 gal bucket in it easily. The corner wall surround is 27"x27" so we hung the shower curtain out a bit from the rim of the tub for a some extra elbow room.

Did you frame around the sink and then set it in place and attach the frame to the bus? The interior dimensions of those sinks are not rectangles and my carpentry skills are very basic, but I would like to make this work (if my son is ok with it.)

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by 2martins

Did you frame around the sink and then set it in place and attach the frame to the bus? The interior dimensions of those sinks are not rectangles and my carpentry skills are very basic, but I would like to make this work (if my son is ok with it.)

We put in the corner surround, then placed the tub and plumbed it through the bottom of the bus. That holds it pretty secure. Then we added the cedar front. The cedar is attached to the wall and the floor by L brackets. The middle of the top front of the tub is screwed to the cedar. Then we caulked around the wall and cedar front.

The floor of the sink is smaller than the opening so there is a gap between the cedar (which is attached perpendicular to the floor) and the bottom front of the sink which attaches at the top and then moves away at an angle.

[Big BackYard]

Originally Posted by 2martins

I think he pulled this out of his a$$.

It seems likely.