Toilets - Portable

Portable Toilets for RV, Marine & Outdoor Use

Whether you're anchored offshore, parked at a remote campsite, or cruising down the highway in your RV, reliable sanitation is not a luxury — it's a necessity. Portable toilets designed for marine and RV use are engineered specifically for the challenges of life away from a fixed plumbing system: tight spaces, motion underway, limited water supply, and the need for odor control. Unlike residential fixtures, these units are self-contained or designed to connect to compact holding tank systems, making them indispensable for any serious adventurer on the water or the road.

How Portable Toilets Work

Most portable toilets used in RV and marine environments fall into a few main categories: self-contained portable units with a built-in freshwater flush tank and removable waste cassette, cassette toilets permanently mounted but with a slide-out holding tank for easy emptying, and manual or electric marine heads that plumb into an onboard holding tank system. Key features to consider include flush mechanism (piston pump, electric, or gravity), waste tank capacity, freshwater tank size, tank level indicators, and overall footprint — especially critical in tight boat heads or compact RV bathrooms.

What to Look for When Shopping

• Tank Capacity: Larger waste tanks mean fewer trips to dump stations, but add weight and bulk. Match capacity to the length of your trips.
• Flush Type: Piston-pump flushes are reliable and require no power; electric models offer convenience but need a 12V or AC source.
• Odor Sealing: Look for sealed valve designs and compatible holding tank treatments to keep odors from escaping the waste tank.
• Ease of Emptying: Features like rotating pour-out spouts, carrying handles, and level indicators simplify the least glamorous part of the job.
• Installation Type: Decide between a fully portable unit you can move between vehicles or vessels, and a permanently mounted cassette or plumbed marine head.

Top Brands in Portable Toilets

Thetford is the dominant name in portable sanitation for good reason. Thetford is the inventor of the iconic Porta Potti® and is recognized as the world's leading maker of mobile sanitation systems. Their lineup spans everything from compact self-contained portable units to cassette toilets and permanently mounted RV and marine heads, with a deep catalog of compatible holding tank treatments and accessories. With over 50 years serving RV and marine customers, Thetford's commitment to reliable performance in compact, low-profile designs has made them the go-to choice for the category.

Jabsco is a respected marine industry specialist best known for its manual and electric marine heads designed for installation aboard power and sailing craft. Their manual toilets feature a powerful self-priming double-acting piston pump with strong swirl-action flushing, while their electric Deluxe Flush models offer space-saving design with minimal water usage and virtually silent operation — making Jabsco a trusted solution for boaters who need a permanently plumbed marine head.

Raritan Engineering brings decades of marine sanitation innovation to this category. Raritan Engineering Company started with a manual marine toilet originally designed for the Navy, and has since grown into one of the most respected names on the water. As the pioneer of the first marine macerating toilet, Raritan's products — including the renowned Marine Elegance line — are known for their compact footprints, environmentally focused flush options (including freshwater and raw water SeaFresh switching), and unmatched after-sale support.