Best RV Toilets: Gravity, Macerating and Composting

Installed RV toilets fall into three broad categories: gravity-flush units that rely on a direct drop into a black tank positioned below, macerating systems that grind waste and pump it through a narrow hose to a remotely located tank, and composting toilets that eliminate the black tank and its plumbing entirely.

Which category makes sense depends heavily on your RV's existing plumbing layout. A factory gravity-flush toilet is straightforward to replace with another gravity model, but switching to a macerating or composting system is a bigger project involving different plumbing, venting, or electrical needs.

This guide walks through the trade-offs among the three flush types and highlights specific installed models within each category, based on manufacturer specifications and documented owner feedback rather than in-house testing.

Our top picks

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The picks in detail

Gravity, macerating or composting?

Gravity-flush toilets are the simplest and most common design: waste drops directly through a floor flange into a black tank positioned immediately below. They're reliable, have few moving parts, and use well-understood replacement seals and flush valves, but the toilet and tank must be vertically aligned.

Macerating toilets add a pump that grinds waste and pushes it through a narrow discharge hose, which allows the black tank to sit farther away, even slightly uphill in some installations. This flexibility is valuable in custom builds or renovations, but it introduces an electrical pump component that needs occasional service.

Composting toilets separate liquid and solid waste, using aerobic decomposition rather than water and a black tank. They eliminate dump-station visits for solid waste entirely but require a different daily routine, including more frequent emptying of the liquid container.

Water use per flush

Gravity toilets typically use a manufacturer-specified amount of water per flush, controlled by how long the user holds the flush pedal or lever — using less water reduces gray/black tank fill rate but can leave more residue in the bowl. Macerating toilets, particularly vacuum-assisted designs, are often engineered to use less water per flush while still clearing the bowl effectively.

Composting toilets use no flush water at all, which can meaningfully extend how long you can go between fresh-water refills on boondocking trips, at the cost of managing solids composting media instead.

Footprint and installation complexity

Gravity toilets are usually the easiest to install or replace, especially when swapping a like-for-like model onto existing plumbing. Macerating systems require running discharge hose and providing 12V power to the pump, which is a more involved installation, especially in a retrofit.

Composting toilets vary in footprint; compact models fit in tight bathroom spaces, while larger fan-assisted units need more room and a vent path to the outside of the RV.

Ongoing maintenance

Gravity toilets need periodic seal and flush-valve maintenance, along with routine black tank treatment and flushing. Macerating systems add pump maintenance to that list, and the discharge hose should be inspected for blockages given its smaller diameter.

Composting toilets require regular emptying of the liquid container — often every few days for two people — and periodic emptying of the solids compartment, along with maintaining the composting medium.

Choosing by use case

Weekend and seasonal campers with a standard tank layout are usually well served by a straightforward gravity-flush replacement. Owners doing custom builds, renovations, or working with an awkward tank location often turn to macerating systems for the plumbing flexibility.

Off-grid, boondocking-focused rigs and van conversions frequently favor composting toilets specifically to avoid black-tank plumbing and reduce dependence on dump stations altogether.