Bathrooms: two rooms or one?

[belfert]

What are the opinions on one large room for the bathroom versus the designs where half the bathroom is on each side of the aisle?

I currently have a single large bathroom with a side aisle.  It actually works pretty good for showering, but it also means no toilet use when someone is showering.  A center aisle design could have the shower on one side and the toilet on the other side.  The disadvantage is sometimes lack of room for drying after a shower and crossing the hall to use the sink after showering. 

A lot of people have sliding doors to block the hall when showering, but that would block the rear bunk room for me and not be practical.

It isn't likely I will change my design since it works and is done, but I was just thinking about the alternatives.

[BG6]

What are the opinions on one large room for the bathroom versus the designs where half the bathroom is on each side of the aisle?

I've never seen a house that put a hallway between the toilet and the shower.

I'm doing one big room (5' x 8') on the left side (over the grey and blackwater tanks) with a 30" hall along the right side, like on a train.  I will have a full-sized Jacuzzi tub/shower, the toilet and my LG washer/dryer in there, with the sink on top of the washer. 

I'm going to use the original luggage rack for storing towels, TP etc., with the original lighting fixtures.

[Jeremy]

My bathroom will be one room with a conventional shower enclosure at one end and the sink & toilet etc at the other, with a concertina-type door to divide the shower enclosure off from the rest of the bathroon when required. The normal shower enclosure door opens into the bedroom, so the concertina door effectively forms the rear wall of the shower. The other end of the bathroom has a door that opens into the living room - so you effectivly have one room with a door at each end, and a temporary dividing wall in the middle that can be closed when two people want to use the bathroom, but would be left open to give a greater feeling of space in the bathroom when only one person is using it (which will be the vast majority of time)

Jeremy

[Len Silva]

I definitely prefer the side aisle floor plan, at least if you are designing for two people.  More than that can complicate things.

I do not want to see the bedroom or bathroom from the living.

[Sean]

We put the commode in a separate room, which is across the aisle from the shower and vanity area.



We are very happy with this arrangement.  The doors swing closed in two directions, so anyone wanting privacy while showering or changing (rare, with just the two of us aboard) can close off the whole bathroom area from the rest of the coach, if desired.

We allocated lots of floor space to the main part of the bath area, to leave plenty of room for dressing and taking care of personal grooming.  The commode area is minimal, but plenty large for its purpose.  We went into many RV potties at shows taking measurements before settling on our dimensions.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Lin]

I think that if the bus use is just for a couple, either is fine with the single bath/shower room giving at least a sense of more space.  If there are to be others in the group, the divided setup will be better since it would leave less people with their legs crossed while you take your luxurious shower.

Jeremy,

I am interested in finding out more about those concertina-type doors.  Here we can only get the accordion variety, which sounds like it is more bulky.

[belfert]

No, houses don't have aisles seperating the bathroom, but a house is also usually wider than 8.5 feet and bigger than 300 square feet.  Interior design is always a compromise in a bus or any RV.  I do know that most RVs tend to have the center aisle design although there are exceptions with side aisles.

I'll probably not change things unlss I can save significant space.

[Jeremy]

I am interested in finding out more about those concertina-type doors.  Here we can only get the accordion variety, which sounds like it is more bulky.

I thought maybe I had used the wrong term, but have just done a quick search and see that the terms 'concertina' and 'accordion' are used interchangeably to describe the same thing - eg:

http://www.moveable-wall-partition.co.uk/accordion_concertina_room_partitions.html

Jeremy

[belfert]

I definitely prefer the side aisle floor plan, at least if you are designing for two people.  More than that can complicate things.

My design is for nine people.  Nine people is really not crowded as we spend most of the time outside once we get to the destination.  On the road one person is driving and usually some are sleeping or laying in their bunks in the back.

The shower had to be in the center in my current config so that forced a side aisle.  I have figured out how to do a shower on the side now so I could go to center aisle if it made sense.

[Don4107]

Our first bus has a center isle that lets you look from the front to the rear wall giving that 'tunnel' appearance.  Side bath and shower are tight.  Bunks on the other side.  The kids are grown and we don't need the bunks anymore.

For the new bus we are thinking an L shaped kitchen with a side entrance to the bathroom. Instead of the traditional side aisle it will then angle back to center with an open bathroom.  There will be doors on both ends of the bathroom.  It will allow me to put the shower more toward the middle of the bus.  Being a GM and me 6' it is about the only way we can make it work.  To me a side aisle is wasted space and with the curve of a GM hard to navigate if you are taller.

Don 4107

[gus]

The PO laid out my bus and I have thanked him every day since.

The shower is on the center aisle just ahead of the bedroom. It is a full tub/shower with a shower curtain. I'm not crazy about a full tub but can live with it.

The wash basin is directly across the aisle from the tub and not closed in at all which is really great.

The toilet is just forward of the tub in a completely separate space facing the aisle and has a folding door.

This setup allows three people to use facilities at the same time. I could never understand having all three in the same tiny, confined space. This is nuts!

There is a folding door separating the bedroom from the rest of the bus and another folding door at the front separating the aisle containing the facilities from the front of the bus. These two doors closed confine all the facilities into a separate space of its own if desired.

I couldn't have done better if I had designed it myself!!

[TomC]

With my transit bus, I took advantage of the rear door and built the bathroom around it. I can go directly from the outside into the bathroom-this has the advantage of not tracking dirt or sand through the bus when at the beach or after a dusty hike.  I have a trap door that goes over the stairway when not in use.  The main part of the bathroom is 4ft x 5ft.  Attached is a 3x3 shower stall with the linen closet between the wall and shower.  The shower not only has a folding door to the bathroom, but also a solid door to the hallway, so someone in the bathroom will not disturb the person getting out of the shower.  So starting from the right outside wall, 4ft of bathroom width, 2ft of hallway and 2ft of closest/refer/washer dryer.  Very versatile, with privacy yet 2 people can use it at the same time and a third can still walk to the back of the bus.  Never have liked walk through bathrooms that get sealed off from the rest of the bus when in use, and probably never will. Good Luck, TomC

[buswarrior]

Bingo! Thanks Tom!

In and out from the outside to use the toilet, often times "guests" or passersby, who you may not really want to be having an intimate visit with all parts of the coach.

Being able to use the toilet and keep at least some part of the coach securely private might be a consideration for some.

In mobile command vehicle design, this is often forgotten and the toilet is buried deep in the vehicle, rendering security useless in order to let support people pee.

Great topic!

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Zeroclearance]

I have two toilets in my bus..   And this is what I have noticed.   The front one (midship) gets all of the use from the women and kids.    Except when they have to "really" use it they track down the rear toilet.   I tend to use the rear unit.   It is nice to have two seperate toilets when you have guest of children running around.   If someone is sleeping in the rear, you can direct everyone toward the front unit.

[Blacksheep]

We really like our side/center isle design. It doesn't allow anyone to see the BR from the front of the bus and 2-3 people can be in the bathroom at the same time (if needed). Our BR door is not in the center. It is offset to one side allowing us to leave the door open while in the BR giving privacy! Sink and toilet on one side while shower sits on opposite. You sort of walk around the neo-angle shower to enter the BR.

Ace