It’s one of those topics that motorhomers will undoubtedly have strong opinions on – do you prefer to use the facilities provided in your motorhome or do you use the washblock at your chosen campsite?
It’s a question which can provoke a lot of debate. After all, the amenities blocks provided by the best motorhome sites received plenty of praise in the reader comments in our most recent Top 100 Sites Guide 2026.
However, washrooms in motorhomes and campervans are also impressing, with designers showing plenty of innovative thinking to make the most of small spaces, with great examples being seen in the Bürstner Habiton 6 and the Auto-Sleepers Active FG635, with the latter also providing Truma CombiNeo.
In the left of the lead image, you can see the shower cubicle of the Auto-Sleepers Burford Duo too, which comes with a domestic-style lining.
Fundamentally, whichever you choose comes down to personal preference – as with many elements of touring, there’s no right or wrong answer. But we were still interested to see where opinions lay within the team at Practical Motorhome. With that in mind, we asked Sarah, the editor of Practical Motorhome, Content editor, Peter Byrne, and Reviews editor, Peter Baber “On-board facilities or campsite washblocks – which do you prefer to use?” This is what they said.
Practical Motorhome’s editor, Sarah, was firmly in favour of using the facilities in her ‘van, saying: “I think for me the answer would definitely be on board facilities.”
While acknowledging the “amazing on-site facilities out there”, Sarah feels you simply “can’t beat having your own washroom on board.”
There’s a relatively simple reason for this – it’s the fact that “You’ve got everything you need there and it’s warm and cosy.”
The convenience of using your ‘van’s washroom also comes into play, with Sarah highlighting “You don’t have to take everything over to the shower block and it also means that you’ve got somewhere to dress and get changed.”
However, if you prefer to tour like this, it’s something to factor in when coming up with your list of requirements for what you want in a motorhome, with Sarah adding: “that is one of the reasons why you need to make sure that the washroom, when you buy your motorhome, is the right size.” After all, you don’t want a small and poky washroom if you’re intending on using it all the time.
For Content editor Peter Byrne, it came down to the circumstances and the weather conditions. He said: “I know that in the middle of the night, if I wake up needing the toilet, I do not want to go to the wash block, especially if it’s going to be raining.”
However, as anyone who has visited one of the campsites in our Top 100 Sites Guide 2026 will be aware, touring parks are offering increasingly spotless amenities blocks. This prompted Peter to say: “If I’m at a campsite which has really good facilities, as so many are nowadays, why would I not go there for a shower?”
This could particularly come in if you’re at a site which has won awards for its amenities, for instance.
Reviews editor, Peter Baber, came down firmly in favour of using the facilities provided by a motorhome, yet it’s a stance he’s only switched to in recent years.
He said: “A few years ago, I think I would have said campsite washblocks, but recently I’ve found more and more of them are really quite basic and utilitarian.”
At the same time, he has been impressed by the improvements that are apparent in modern motorhomes and with what designers are managing to do. Peter explains: “On-board facilities and washrooms and motorhomes have really improved. Even for someone like me who’s 6’6, I can still get a fairly decent cat lick in a shower in a motorhome.”
This especially applies to innovations seen in recent motorhomes which allow you to make the most of the provided space. Peter said this was particularly apparent in “Modern continental motorhomes which have partitions that swing over to give you more room to have a shower.”
If you find you’re confronted by a cold start to the day, the ease of using on-board facilities is also showcased, as Peter said: “I also find it’s a lot more nicer in the cold morning just to be able to pop into your shower, rather than to have to go out and face the elements going over to a nasty toilet block.”
As you can see from our answers, there’s no right or wrong, and it’s very much down to personal preference. Which do you prefer?
You can also see what we had to say about “how important is it to have an oven in your motorhome? too.
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