AdventurousWanderers
Member
Knowing that skoolie builders often consider installing compost toilets, I want to share our experience with a Sun-Mar compost toilet. My wife and I used a Sun-Mar Mobile (12 volt) toilet for just over two years. We are full-time RVers towing a 23 foot travel trailer with a converted Glaval shuttle bus.
After a great deal of research, we selected the Sun-Mar Mobile toilet for the bus. Our selection was based primarily on the Sun-Mar composting technology. Even though the Sun-Mar toilet is the most expensive compost toilet we considered, we felt the technology and ease-of-use claims made by Sun-Mar warranted the cost.
Today, we are removing the Sun-Mar and installing a traditional toilet with a black water tank.
After two years of use, we have decided that a compost toilet – or at least, a Sun-Mar compost toilet – is not suited for full-time mobile use. In our experience, the Sun-Mar toilet never satisfactorily composted human waste.
We installed the toilet in strict compliance with Sun-Mar instructions. We carefully followed Sun-Mar operational directions. Only one person used the toilet as Sun-Mar suggests. Yet, we never achieved the composting results Sun-Mar promised in their marketing materials.
It is our opinion that the Sun-Mar composting process does not stand up to the movement and environmental challenges a skoolie (or any RV) presents.
On top of the operational problems we experienced, our encounters with Sun-Mar customer service were disappointing. Every time we contacted Sun-Mar about a problem, it was a painful process to get help. Eventually, Sun-Mar would provide replacement parts; however, there was a lot of finger pointing along the way.
In summary, our advice is to think long and hard before selecting a compost toilet over a traditional toilet and black water tank. If you do choose to install a compost toilet, please keep our experience in mind as you select a manufacturer.
After a great deal of research, we selected the Sun-Mar Mobile toilet for the bus. Our selection was based primarily on the Sun-Mar composting technology. Even though the Sun-Mar toilet is the most expensive compost toilet we considered, we felt the technology and ease-of-use claims made by Sun-Mar warranted the cost.
Today, we are removing the Sun-Mar and installing a traditional toilet with a black water tank.
After two years of use, we have decided that a compost toilet – or at least, a Sun-Mar compost toilet – is not suited for full-time mobile use. In our experience, the Sun-Mar toilet never satisfactorily composted human waste.
We installed the toilet in strict compliance with Sun-Mar instructions. We carefully followed Sun-Mar operational directions. Only one person used the toilet as Sun-Mar suggests. Yet, we never achieved the composting results Sun-Mar promised in their marketing materials.
It is our opinion that the Sun-Mar composting process does not stand up to the movement and environmental challenges a skoolie (or any RV) presents.
On top of the operational problems we experienced, our encounters with Sun-Mar customer service were disappointing. Every time we contacted Sun-Mar about a problem, it was a painful process to get help. Eventually, Sun-Mar would provide replacement parts; however, there was a lot of finger pointing along the way.
In summary, our advice is to think long and hard before selecting a compost toilet over a traditional toilet and black water tank. If you do choose to install a compost toilet, please keep our experience in mind as you select a manufacturer.
