Replacing and raising a toilet.

[joanfenn]

We have a travel trailer that we have to raise and move the toilet back about four inches.  The PO's used the cheapest toilet possible when they replaced it for whatever reason and it sits too far forward because of the drain in to the tank.  The drain is 15 inches from the back wall and the toilet sits about 6-8 inches from the back so your knees are about three inches from the front wall.  Not convenient at all.


Thought of replacing toilet and building a platform for toilet so we can put in a four or six inch slanted down to the hole and gaining the room in the front. Has anyone ever done this before?  Or is this a trailer designed for munchkins Hm?

[Stripe]

Not sure if what I saw was a project or just a pic, but I am sure I saw something about a raised toilet in photos..

CMM500


EDIT:  I just did some research for ya and this is what I found...  Click on the link, I think you may be pleasantly surprised and pleased..

http://rv-living-magazine.com/rv-toilet-replacement.html

[Oz]

One thing that's really great about these vintage RVs... just about anything you can imagine... you can do.  Sometimes it takes quite a bit of creativity but, it's not like you're tearing into a new, $275,000 RV!

[joanfenn]

Yes thanks coachmanm500, I saw it, will be checking that out.  Mark it is in the TT we own.  The motorhome is perfect but the trailer is a little cramped.  It is a 98 Tahoe so it is a long way off from being a classic.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Dometic has a really nice toilet out now with a full china bowl and the ball valve seal is replacable without disassembling the toilet...for around 210 bucks.  Its probably higher than what you have now.  They also sell a retrofit kit so you can use it in RVs with the old Galaxy Starlite type toilets where the closet bolts aren't sitting at 3 and 9 o'clock but are set at a weird bolt pattern...which is what we are going to buy for ours soon, since our flange is glued into the tank and can't be turned.  The retrofit kit raises it about another inch.

Kev

[joanfenn]

The real issue is not the toilet itself, even though it is a hand flush model and we both want a foot flush.  The problem will will to move it back the four inches we need.  From what I read, the hole in the floor going into the black tank should be only 11 inches center from the back wall and this one is 15 inches center.  So either the trailer manufacturer messed up or they used a model that had the hole more to the front of the toilet.  If you get what I trying to say.  We thought if we could build a stable platform for the toilet with a slanted pipe going to the existing drain hole in the floor, we could get both the height and the knee room that we need. i??

[Oz]

It sounds like, if you at least have the room to move the toilet back, you can change the under-floor drain pipe to the length you need.  Of course, you have to secure the old opening and only a 4" move is going to make it a bit more of a challenge.  If necessary, you can build a stable, raised platform which is higher and will cover the old opening as well.  Narrower side-to-side and a little longer to the front.  Without seeing the area you are working in, it's hard to tell what you have to work with.


I think the more challenging part is how to route a drain tube to the holding tank which is both shorter horizontally and longer vertically so that it clears anything under the floor & trailer frame.  If you have room to work with down there, that will make it much easier.


If you could post a photo of the toilet area and maybe under the trailer, that may help with ideas.

[joanfenn]

We took the trailer out this past weekend and had a really good look at the toilet and the tank underneath.  We cant move the tank because it fits between the two steel frames on the trailer.  And discovered that in the toilet there is a 90 degree bend at the bottom of the pipe in the holding tank.  So I was thinking that instead of spending 300.00+ on a toilet and materials to raise it and move it back possibly creating another problem with drainage or blockage, a composting toilet sounds great.  One of the pros I am really excited about is that you can dump the bags either in your compost or toss the whole thing into a pit toilet.  And from what I know around here, there are a lot of campgrounds and not as many sani-dumps.  Any body out there ever try this in their RV yet?  Sounds like a great idea to me.  What haven't I thought of yet?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

The biggest problems with composting and incinerator type toilets is how large they are.  RV bathrooms are pretty small, and composting toilets are quite a bit larger than the RV toilets.  Incinerator toilets are even bigger, with the need to put in a flue as well.  We thought long and hard about the options since we boondock a lot, and, at least as of a couple of years ago, the size of the other types of toilets was the issue...who knows, they might have started making them smaller by now?

I wish they still made the black water incinerators they used to make way back in the day...they would leach your blackwater into a furnace under the RV while you were driving and sprinkle the ash behind you on the road.

Kev

[joanfenn]

Hello Kevin:  They are a lot smaller now.  We are going to order one that is actually made for boats.  The size is 20 in high and 18 in deep and 18 in wide.  These are called the Natures Head Composting toilets.  Made in the states.  It separates the liquids from the solids and doesn't require being hooked up to anything.  We will remove the old toilet and seal off the hole to the black water tank.  So if we decide to ever get a new trailer we can re-install the RV toilet and install the Natures Head in a new RV.  Hubby is looking forward to not having to look for a dumping station when we are out camping.  Will be able to stay longer in a spot and not have to worry about how full the tank is getting.  They are a bit pricey but should save a lot in the long run.  Plus we get more room in the bathroom so that solves that problem also.  Oh yes and it is almost 6 inches higher then the old toilet.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Wow!  That is awesome!  Patti and I went and looked at the Nature's Head website, and you know what?  We might get one too now!  875.00 is pretty steep, but we do a LOT of boondocking.  If we got a composting toilet, we wouldn't have to worry about black water ever again, or pay for a honey wagon, or pay to dump at a dump station...it would pay itself off pretty quick for us!

On top of that, I would then be able to replumb my black water tank and connect it to the grey water tank, more than doubling my grey water holding capacity...AWESOME!

I'm so glad you posted this!  Thanks!

Kev

[joanfenn]

I am glad that I was looking for alternative solutions for the crappy crapper we had W% .  I thought that it is a great solution and with all the time and money that will be saved over the long run plus we can always use it in any future RVs that we might have,  I am looking forward to installing it.  First time that I ever got so excited over a toilet.  And it is great that you think that it is a good idea also.  Who knows maybe it will catch on with the group and there will be more installed in members RVs. Y!

[joanfenn]

Sorry one more-----------maybe we should start a movement


Couldn't help myself...................

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I'll still have to do a little more research on it and read some more reviews, but it definitely looks like its a darn good idea for fulltimers that boondock as much as we do!  Might have to buy an extra base and lid though from what I've read so far...the longer you let it compost the less nasty it gets...lol!

Kev

[jbmhotmail]

The following YouTube website has a lot of hits on "Nature's Head":http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nature%27s+head+composting+toilet&oq=Nature%27s+Head&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l3.2909.2909.0.7283.1.1.0.0.0.0.162.162.0j1.1.0...0.0...1ac.2.yhxKE6zFVX0

[cosmic]

man. i thought emptying my black water tank was nasty. That compost stuff is horrible.  careful don't spill that shoot on your feet.. NASTY.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

On the contrary, Cosmic...they work incredibly well, and don't smell at all...smells like peat moss when you empty it after 1 whole month!

We've been using a Nature's Head for a long while now, and if someone else is complaining about their performance, its user error, not the toilet design.

Emptying it is a cinch...a 13 gallon kitchen garbage bag fits tightly over the opening, you turn it upside down, pound the sides like a drum, turn it back over, everything is in the garbage bag, to tie it up, and throw it in a dumpster...or your ornamental gardens if you have them.

Realistically, from our fulltime usage, we have found that with two adults you need to empty the bin every 3 weeks or the handle gets really hard to turn.  3 weeks seems to be perfect for our usage.

If you get sick like I did in San Antonio from mild food poisoning, and you have a bad case of the squirts, you may need to change it out after only 2 weeks...I had them BAD!  But 3 weeks is perfect in most situations.

Don't make the peat moss too wet to begin with.  Trial and error for us showed that 4 cups of water mixed into 2 gallons of peat moss was the perfect mix.

Lastly, you have to remember that the composting process only works in temps over 45 degrees, and above 50 degrees is ideal.  Your bathroom doesn't have to be above those temps, since the composting process produces its own small amount of heat...but if the temp stays consistently below 45, the composting process stops, and so does its own heat generation.  If at all possible, keep your bathroom door open so the heat in your RV warms the bathroom, or add a little heater like we did and keep it plugged in in the bathroom when its very cold outside.

Kev