Composting toilet: smart.
Tank sizing: Many folks here have immense tanks-they can chime in on what is reasonable/nice to have/essential. My shuttle bus design is for maximum four days boondocking and I have 40/40 fresh/gray after doing quite a bit of online searching on the topic. We'll see if that's enough.
Water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon, and 800 lbs seems like a lot of weight cantilevered over the rear wheels, but again, many people do that, so I can't help there. Shurflow pumps can handle about 6 feet of head (they are self-priming, apparently). So as long as the pump is not insanely far from the tank it seems like location is not a concern. I mounted my freshwater tank above the rear wheelwell inside the bus, so the pump and accumulator are lower than the tank and directly adjacent to it. I didn't want to worry about self-priming.
I read somewhere that there are boondocking locations where rangers check to see that your graywater tank is at least as large as your freshwater tank. I can't find the reference right now, but that might be a consideration.
I struggle with the utility/practicality of recirculating showers and never really considered doing one. I'm going by my camping experience-wear the same clothes every day and swim to shower. I'm sure I'll feel differently about it when I hop into that fancy and expensive mattress I bought for the bus, but I built a huge shower stall just in case. Most conversion videos I've seen show people use their shower for clothes storage, not bathing.
I picked one of the mid-grade propane water heaters. It MUST be vented and in fact I have not seen one on the market yet that can be installed without venting, despite what people may say. Mine is mounted in a wall cabinet between the sink and bathroom, and vents through the little slider window. I remove the vent pipe when travelling.
Yes you can install without venting, but that's a huge amount of moisture put in the air from the propane exhaust, and may contribute to condensation and mold issues down the road.
I don't think the exhaust is particularly hazardous. However, if you plan to have a truly well insulated bus, and put the water heater in a small and confined space like under a kitchen cabinet, you risk carbon monoxide poisoning. Lack of oxygen for combustion is what creates carbon monoxide.
My recommendation is to plan on venting the unit, period. Best practice is to have TWO carbon monoxide detectors for safety (in case one fails).
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