OK, Let's Talk TOILETS... (Replacement, that is)

[ATCguy]

So how many of you have tried to replace a toilet in an RV? Let me tell you, it ain't all that easy. At least, my experience hasn't been... but then again, hardly anything ever is.

So I'm a big guy, and I decided last time out that I was gonna replace the little 'squatty-body' toilet that came in my rig before I went out again. The friggin bathroom is small enough as it is w/o having to be uncomfortable while... well, you know.

So I shopped around, did my homework, and found a taller unit with an elongated bowl & seat that would fit. Specifically, a Dometic 320 series unit.

Ordered it from an online distributor.... arrived in 4 days... figured I'd go ahead and do the swap-out that should take me no longer than an hour.

Yeah... right!

The old toilet was removed easy enough. 2 hold-down nuts & bolts just like a residential toilet has... remove the water supply line... pull it off the floor. Get a rag, clean up the area around the floor-flange, no problems so far... this should be a snap. (famous last words)

Opened the box with the new toilet... came with new hardware (nice), came with a new rubber seal (again, nice)... and then I notice where the water supply connector is located. UGH!!

The toilet that came with the rig (a Thetford, I found out via a tag on the rear) has the water connector high & centered on the rear of the unit, just below the top of the bowl... and of course, the rig has a nice tall PVC water supply pipe & fitting right out of the floor to accommodate that.

The new Dometic toilet has it's water connector low and on the right side as you face the toilet, right behind the foot pedal.

Ok, 'no problem' I think to myself... just more busy work to run down to Lowes and pick up a flexible water supply line to make the junction. Had to do the same thing on my residential toilet when I replaced it last year... so again I'm thinking, this should be no problem except I don't know what size threads these are. They look like ½ inch, but I'm no plumber.

So off to Lowes I go... and as I arrive in the plumbing department, I quickly see that this isn't gonna be as easy as I thought. Why?

First off... I find out there are ½" compression threads, and then there are ½" FPT threats. Well, since everything I'm dealing with is plastic and/or PVC... I' figure compression is what I want.

Next, the RV water supply line is a ½" female connector... while the toilet's water connector is a ½ male. Turns out, it seems no one makes a standard flexible line to accommodate that. They all have female connectors at both ends... and none of them have ½" threads at both ends.

So now it's time to start trying to mix & match adapters. The guy working there suggests a Cut-Off valve to connect to the toilet side (½" threads), a nipple connector with ½" male threads at both ends for the RV side, and a flexible hose to fit between them.

I get back home, install the lines... have I mentioned before that I'm a big guy, and that the toilet sits in a very confined space that I have to contort myself to even get to? Ok well... I tighten all the lines, install the toilet on the flange & tighten it down. Now the moment of truth.

I connect my water hose to the RV, and turn it on. When I get to the RV door, I already hear water spewing out from somewhere... and, of course, it's from my toilet supply lines. I quickly go shut off the water, and arrive back to the bath to find water all over the floor... which I quickly wipe & soak up with a towel.

So that's where I am right now. Frustrated again that nothing... not a single, solitary thing that I seem to want to do to my RV is ever simple. First it was my LED awning light kit (details in another thread)... now it's the friggin toilet.

Just needed to vent a little bit, and share my story... so maybe the next person who thinks about swapping out their toilet can read this and figure out exactly what he's gonna need before he starts. Or, maybe just say... 'screw that', and get somebody else to install it & deal with the problems.

More to follow when I figure this all out...

[DesertRat]

Oh yea been there done that. I feel for you.

[sawpilot]

Wellllll........ and I thought I was the only one. I quit giving estimates on time. Seems every time I say 10 minutes it ends up being 3 hrs (if I'm lucky). Same issues. Many trips to Lowe's, always buying more than I need of parts that don't or won't work (I'll take them all back someday or maybe I'll need them someday, we'll wait and see). The profanities that fly as I try and maneuver where no engineer has ever been. And then to top it off, doing it wrong the first time and having to start all over again. Been there, done that a hundred times. You'll get this figured out, it will just require a few more trips to the store, different parts and wiggling around on the floor some more. Good luck and remember.... have FUN with your RV!

[DesertRat]

Other problem I run into is theres a Home Depot within a 1/2 mile of the Lowes. So now if I don't like the price at one I go to the other to see if I can save $$. You know how that woks out, they are either higher or they don't have it.

[ATCguy]

No, I can't say I play that game. I'll take Lowes over the Depot any day. It's not that I have anything against the Depot... it's just that things look nice & neat, and are pretty easy to find at Lowes. At Home Depot, it looks like someone just came in and threw a bunch of boxes down in a general area, and said 'Let them find what they need'.

In re my toilet, I've just come back in from Round 3. It seems the female end on the RV water supply line is some kind of "bubble" fitting. (Again, I'm not a plumber... I'm sure it has some special name).

So anyway, that's where my leak is. I wrapped thread tape all around the double-ended ½" male nipple that fits into it... and it's tight... but the female 'bubble fitting' can still be moved around on the PVC pipe. When perfectly straight, with no bind or sideways pressure on it (as when connected directly to the old toilet), there's no leak. But with the flexible line attached to it, curving away and down to the new toilet connection... it leaks. It's just a continuous drip as it sits, but when I grab it with my fingers to move it... it begins spewing water under pressure.

So I guess I have to remove that fitting, get some new PVC pipe & a fitting, and then glue that on there. Or I may just get a friend of mine who's a plumber to come play with it. After going 0-for-2 with the LED's and now this... I'm pretty much fed up with wrenching on the rig for now. I'll come back and play with it later

Sometimes, you just gotta walk away... come back a day or 2 later with fresh motivation.

[Chalkie]

Just thinking out loud here, but since the supply line was too tall for the new toilet, why not just cut it off shorter? Lowe's carries a pretty good selection of PEX fittings that do not require any clamping or gluing. Perhaps you could end up with something that would be more direct that way like the old toilet was connected?

I hope no offense is taken as I am following your trials with interest since this is on our list of things to do as well.

[ATCguy]

No, no offense taken... none at all.

Cutting the old connector off is pretty much what I've decided has to be done too. Not so much as to bring the line down to that level, so much as just to change the connector. Once I put a new male connector on it, then one of those residential type flexible lines should work. I'll go out and play with it again next week or so.

[kayakcrazy]

Greetings ATC Guy, sorry for your problems but happy to hear that I'm not the only one to have renovation ruins. Just as a thought, why not install an on/off water valve there while you have it all apart. On one of these forums I read a post where the owner stepped on the foot pedal for the toilet and it broke blasting water all over the place. He looked behind the toilet for a shut off but there wasn't one - there was one the next day. We'll be praying for you.

[Chalkie]

Originally Posted by kayakcrazy

Just as a thought, why not install an on/off water valve there while you have it all apart.

That seems like a good idea to me. Since we are only talking short segments from one fitting to the next you might have enough "leftovers" (I think) if you shorten the run to make that happen.

Monday I am out to the yard and into the trailer to take an up close look at how ours is hooked up. While I know you are having your travails, I *think* this is becoming clearer in my mind on how I am going to tackle the whole thing.

After several months total in the trailer, the DW and I are finding the same thing we think you have found. You feel like you are falling to the floor and wonder who is going to come help you get up. All the toilets in our house are ADA compliant and we think the trailer needs to be the same.

[Pirate]

Ya know...this is the reason I have started taking the equipment with me to my local Ace Hardware (much better than the local Home Depot...the staff at Ace actually know the store!)

I find it a lot easier to drag stuff and get help finding what actually works...

Just a thought!

Pirate

[ATCguy]

Well, just to update...

Had a friend over to the house this past week, who dabbles around a bit in home remodeling. He took a look at the toilet issue, and quickly came to the same conclusion: cut the OEM PEX connector from the PVC pipe exiting the floor... attach new a new fitting, flexible line, and a shut-off valve. Since he knew what he was doing, one trip to Lowes was all it took... correct supplies in hand, he had it done it about 10 minutes.

[HornedToad]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

he had it done it about 10 minutes.

When your talkin' bout toilets,
no job is done...
until the paperwork is finished!!!