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Water and sanitation setup for a van

Fresh, grey and black: three water streams to plan before the build. What sizes work and where you service them.

The three streams

70–150 L typical fresh-water tank
50–100 L typical grey-water tank
Cassette / composting the two toilet routes

Servicing on the road

Fresh water refills at aires, campsites and fountains; grey water empties at dump stations (aires, campsites, motorway services). For the toilet, cassette is the simplest EU-wide option but needs dump stations, while a composting toilet removes that dependency for off-grid stays — see our toilet comparison.

Key takeaways

  • Plan fresh (70–150 L) and grey (50–100 L) tanks before the build.
  • Dump stations on aires/campsites service grey + cassette.
  • Composting toilets cut the dump-station dependency off-grid.

Sources

What this page is based on — every source is verified and links out so you can check it yourself.

  1. Thetford — sanitation referenceverified · 2026-07 · VanLife Beacon