The Thetford toilet: a virtual tour and fixing it for good

>...I think that I would have designed the system to partition off the pump...

I think the additional purpose of the basket is to make sure all the solids evacuate out the drain vent.

If you partition off the pump and leave the basket out then solids could be anywhere in the tank. This would certainly keep solids from being pumped around.

I think getting the basket bettered secured would payoff in the long run. When it comes time to dump the toilet, all the solids are near the drain vent. When you open the drain vent the rest of the blue water will flush the solids out the drain vent.

So the trick here is to find a bonding agent that will secure to the tank and and is inert to tank chemicals.

On the vinyl skirt, you have to careful what materials you use to keep the flapper closed. A lot of those common vent flapper components will react with the chemicals in the toilet. I would not expect a vent hood component to last very long at all.

Dave - I won't comment about your legs but it is definitely time to break down and replace those deck shoes!

This is pretty basic stuff (and not necessarily the most pleasant topic) but I have a few thoughts to share based on 4 years of TM ownership and 30+ years of sailboat ownership and chartering. On sailboats holding tank capacity is even more of a problem than with the TM. When chartering a sailboat the service always does a "boat show" to acquaint you with the systems. They suggest putting a few squares of TP in the head before use to make solids flush more easily. They also suggest flushing twice, once to remove the waste and the second to dispose of TP. Both of these work equally well in the TM. Solid waste or TP does tend to hang up at the exit from the bowl and "pulsing" the button sometimes disposes of that blockage better than a protracted flush. It goes without saying that only RV or Marine TP should be used.

Lastly, you asked about experience with the Thetford, and except for the little problem set forth above, and one incident of splashing when the unit was almost full and we traveled about 30 miles down a rough gravel road, we have no complaints about the Thetford. We follow the forum advice about using both one Potty Toddy tablet and the Thetford chemical containing formaldehyde and have no odor problems. Thanks for posting the photos - I never quite realized how the unit worked until I viewed them. - camp2canoe

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by camp2canoe

Dave - I won't comment about your legs but it is definitely time to break down and replace those deck shoes!

This is pretty basic stuff (and not necessarily the most pleasant topic) but I have a few thoughts to share based on 4 years of TM ownership and 30+ years of sailboat ownership and chartering. On sailboats holding tank capacity is even more of a problem than with the TM. When chartering a sailboat the service always does a "boat show" to acquaint you with the systems. They suggest putting a few squares of TP in the head before use to make solids flush more easily. They also suggest flushing twice, once to remove the waste and the second to dispose of TP. Both of these work equally well in the TM. Solid waste or TP does tend to hang up at the exit from the bowl and "pulsing" the button sometimes disposes of that blockage better than a protracted flush. It goes without saying that only RV or Marine TP should be used.

Lastly, you asked about experience with the Thetford, and except for the little problem set forth above, and one incident of splashing when the unit was almost full and we traveled about 30 miles down a rough gravel road, we have no complaints about the Thetford. We follow the forum advice about using both one Potty Toddy tablet and the Thetford chemical containing formaldehyde and have no odor problems. Thanks for posting the photos - I never quite realized how the unit worked until I viewed them. - camp2canoe

I lived on my sailboat for 14 years. SOP on boats is to have a separate container (with a sealed lid) for toilet paper to be placed in. That keeps the paper out of the holding tank. The same could be done in the TM toilet. However, I have not initiated that because we haven't had a problem. For those that have a problem with their toilet, you could make that an option.

One other thing that I wanted to mention. I was down in the camper yesterday and I checked our toilet (this thread was on my mind). Ours does not have that little plastic baggy thingy on it. I'm not sure what that is meant to accomplish but our toilet works fine without it. I have never towed the trailer with the toilet full, that may be what that is supposed to be there for. I don't think that it would be very effective in odor control. I think if someone has an odor problem it can be cured with chemicals.

Thanks again for the pics. I actually printed them and put the pictures in my manual.

The skirt is intended to block the opening and keep fumes in the tank. Unfortunately the metal screen interferes with it's shape and opening ability. A solid door would definitely require cutting from the top of the screen to allow full movement of the door.

Interesting post. The pictures are helpful. I have been having a problem with my toilet leaking down sometimes. The liquid in it leaks down into the drain pipe. My thought is that material gets stuck in the floor drain valve and won't let it close all the way.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you fix it. My toilet is still under warranty so if it is a major fix I would have Thetford fix it.

Bad slide valve seal. I have the same issue. The seal gets jammed and dislocates and then leaks.

[Leslie & Nick]

Originally Posted by freein05

Interesting post. The pictures are helpful. I have been having a problem with my toilet leaking down sometimes. The liquid in it leaks down into the drain pipe. My thought is that material gets stuck in the floor drain valve and won't let it close all the way.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you fix it. My toilet is still under warranty so if it is a major fix I would have Thetford fix it.

Sounds like what might be happening is the gasket in the EZ Slide Valve has gotten crumpled and is not allowing the valve's blade mechanism to completely close (or something is indeed lodged in the valve). I had the exact same problem (crumpled gasket), as have others.

The first signal that something's wrong is that you no longer hear that 'swooshing' noise when you first pull the 'T' handle to empty the toilet. What's happening is the liquids are already filling the large black drain pipe beneath the trailer - thus you don't hear the sudden discharge of the water dropping. If it's the gasket, the fix is to remove the toilet, remove the valve and replace the gasket. If still under warranty let dealer repair it, as pulling the toilet is not the easiest thing in the world If you had to make the repair yourself, Thetford does sell a set of replacement gaskets instead of having to buy a whole new valve mechanism.

Thanks for the help. I will try to see or feel if anything is blocking the slide valve. I have emailed Thetford to see if I can take it to a repair shop near me. The dealer I bought it from is a 6 hour drive and there are authorized dealers about 1 1/2 hour drive from my home.

[Wavery]

You might try "Back-flushing" the toilet. We have this tool:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ush-king/20522


I use it every time that we dump. It keeps the entire system a lot cleaner and free of debris. If you don't back-flush, you stand the possibility of toilet paper getting suck in the valve and hardening while in storage. The next time that you close the valve, you may damage the seal or at least not be able to close the valve all the way.

[ShrimpBurrito]

The problem with relying on back flushing after dumping comes back to the design flaws with the toilet. Since the filter cone, i.e. screen, isn't fastened to the bottom of the toilet, solids and TP move outside the cone during transit. So you can back flush all day long, but my guess is that the material that moved outside the cone will not make its way back inside the cone, and thus, down the drain.

Maybe we can do some experiments! How exciting!

Dave