The RV "Toilet Talk"
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- When first-time guests board an RV, puzzled looks often appear when the house tour reaches the bathroom. Anyone seeing an RV toilet for the first time probably needs a quick lesson on how to use it. Or, you can just have them watch this video and we'll give them the RV "Toilet Talk" for you!
This won't cover every type of RV toilet, but many of the most popular brands (Dometic/Sealand, Thetford, etc) work on the same basic principles. We'll also provide a brief introduction to a very Earth-friendly option: a composting toilet, which our friends Nikki & Jason Wynn use in their motorhome. To see the Wynns' excellent video about their cool toilet, click here:
• Composting Toilet - Wh...
And to view more information about RV toilets, check out our post on our website:
www.thervgeeks...
Hope this helps with your RV house tour the next time guests arrive!
The piano music is my own performance of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag from 1899.
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Being new to the RV world, after we ordered our Newmar, the reality of operating all the various systems hit home. We are very apprehensive about the "waste" systems, among 'other new to us' processes. Your light hearted and informative approach to discussing the waste processes of RV life have been incredibly useful.
We enjoy all your videos and have found them to be a wealth of information. Thank you.
Joe
Thanks Joe! Glad we’re able to help you get more comfortable in your RV. Congratulations on your new rig! Always great to hear from fellow owners!.😊👍
As usual, no nonsense down to earth and easy to understand. Thank you guys.
?11th ⁶
Thanks! Very helpful as usual. Loved your humor!!
I like the very tactfull way you addressed this delicate subject.
LMAO!! "Depends"...killing me!! Thank you for all your great RV instructional videos. I don't even have an RV yet and I'm binge watching because they're so interesting. Let me know if you ever need a place to park near Salt Lake City. My driveway is all yours.
Thanks so much for the kinds words and the invitation. Always great to hear we made someone laugh. :)
You are not only informative, but hilarious! I tend to be a bit on the ... um ... serious side, but I found myself grinning and -- dare I say it? -- smiling! So, good job on the video as a whole.
Thanks! Glad we made ya laugh! :)
This helped me out a lot! Thanks very much! I'm thinking about purchasing an older 80's model camper. The structure is perfectly fine. All it needs is cosmetic interior work and very little exterior work. I want to refit it with a new bathroom (so new toilet, shower, and sink basically).
+Joshua Amos Excellent! Happy shopping Joshua!
Thanks for the video and the shout out for the Wynn's. We too are leaning towards the composting toilet because of their video & explanation. The only hang up is the cost but hopefully it'll pay off in the long run. Cheers! ~M
We use our high tech device also as mentioned in the video. LOL The bigger the device the better.
Also can be used as a handy bidet, or for washing dishes after eating in the closet.
Thank you for the video. Blessings to you.
This is cool as solids
Mr Crapper would have been proud of the advancements made of his inventions I imagine huh ?LOL
LMAO i never noticed the "Depends" Easter egg! Thanks for making me bust out laughing at work, guys.
LOL! Excellent! Thanks for noticing, Henri. :)
"Solid" tutorial! My mother-in-law would certainly agree.
He said "solid" heh. heh. Nice one Brian! We're expecting lots of crappy comments on this one! lol
Fascinating video! A few questions. 1) If you are depositing both liquids and solids, do you still need water, or can your liquids serve as the water? 2) The toilet bowl looks rather shallow. Do you ever have problems with your deposited solids touching your butt when you sit on the toilet? 3) What is the capacity of the toilet in terms of how many times you can go before it fills up?
Hi Fern! 1) Unless you pee an awful lot.... and first... you'll need to add water, before going #2... and then again to flush, 2) Never happened. 3) We flush the toilet each time we go.... unless it's during the night and we're only peeing. Remember the old water-saving adage: "If it's yellow, let it mellow. It's it's brown, flush it down." ;-) Our bowl hold about a gallon, so how much it will hold before flushing depends on your bowl, and bladder sizes.
Deposit the liquids outside on the tree!!! Plastic units that come on lower priced units are junk. Spend the few extra dollars and go with a Dometic porcelin throne. If the coach is new and unused the dealer can swap out for less.
Expanding on our video about RV toilets, Danny from the UK has shared with us details about using his Thetford cassette toilet system. SO different than what we're used to in North America! czcams.com/video/47bj87IcJqg/video.html Thanks Danny!
RVgeeks
Great video. I have a very speculation about the electric rv toilets. How do you flush it without any electric energy at all? I ask because the rv has lost 100% of energy from batteries etc and no hook-up available.
Yikes! We have never lost all battery power, but it has occurred to us that without any 12V power, our electric toilet wouldn’t flush. The best thing we can suggest is getting the house batteries charged or replaced as quickly as possible.
@@RVgeeks fair enough! Thank you so much for replying. The electric system got destroyed by Ian, that’s why I can’t just charge up dc system.
The mystery . . . solved! I am time-travelling back in your video stream.
Thanks Scott! Hope you've having fun and enjoying popcorn along the way! 😁
@@RVgeeks Not popcorn . . . dark chocolate almonds! 😉
I just read your comment to John, and he said “Oooohhhhh!” I think we’re going to need to pick some of those up tomorrow! 😂
Thank you SO much for this!!!
Grest informative videos, thanks!
Very good video
The easiest cleanest way to use these toilets for solids is to time the drop as you open the valve.
there is a little piece of pipe from your toilet to your blank tank .well there is stuff (poo) that gets on the inside wall there of that pipe.how do you get and keep clean?
Hi Patricia! We reach right down into there with the toilet brush, while wearing rubber gloves: czcams.com/video/I6sv4d3PsTo/video.html
So I hope to receive a response from someone soon as I wasn't clear about the whole boondocking thing.
On Tuesday December 18, 2018 I leave my full hook-ups camp site to go visit family in Arizona.
I will be out in the "back yard" using my trailer as a senior retreat from an active household. I'm not certain if I will be sleeping inside the house or not as I'm not certain about the overnight temps and my propane tank heaters.
My question is this:
I get up in the night to "liquid". I get up in the morning to "liquid". BEFORE I flush, I hit the "pump" switch to flush? Or before I "sit"?
It would make sense to turn on the switch and then flush after I've "sat". But I don't want to burn up my pump motor either.
Thanks in advance for your help
Hi Gal! Hope we understand your question correctly. You can turn on the water pump at any time, as it will only actually run when water is needed, since it is an on demand system. You cannot burn up your pump motor, since it will only run when it senses that water flow is needed. When you turn on the pump you will hear it run momentarily to pressurize the system, and then it will shut off. Then when you flush the toilet the pump will run again until you’re done washing, and then shut off automatically. If we didn’t understand your question correctly, please let us know and we will do our best to help. Have a great trip!
that was a great video..i learned a lot Thanks
+bill g Thanks, Bill! Great to hear. 😊
I am a senior lady ALONE with a 2000 Fleetwood Bounder. I presently have a Thetford Toilet that was newly installed about 4 years ago (figures warranty only good for 3 years) . Where are the valves located on these. The water keeps rising and spilling over into the floor when I hook up the city water. I am at wits end. I have replaced the sewage hose and all outside with a pressure regulator, beginning to think it is the toilet valve. How do I tell, when it does this and I flush it water goes down fine, but as soon as water is turned on in the rig, it does this again. Should I just get a new toilet and do you have a video on how to install. Should I get a Dometic or another Thetford?
Hopefully when you said that the water keeps rising, you were referring to the fresh water coming into the toilet, and not sewage rising up out of the black tank! Keeping in mind that we are not professional technicians, we think it sounds like your toilet valve is stuck in the open position. If you are a handy do-it-yourselfer, this might be something you can fix yourself. We'd suggest that posting your question on the user forums at iRV2.com will elicit help from many RVers (and even technicians) with much more expertise in this area that we have. If you're not confident working on plumbing, then we'd suggest you'll be needing professional help with it.
Do u have black tank sensors that stick on the outside of the tank that attach to the wires that are there? thanks jerry
jerry beck You've got it Jerry. That's exactly what we have.
"Mother-in-law - No!" LOL!!!!!
what tank additives have you guys found to be the best? or do you not use any?
are there any you would definitely NOT use?
i see a lot of claims on the internet about "never use this product, its only safe to use our product for sale on our website"
but its hard to sift through thee.. uh... solids.
We've been using 2 ounces of Rid-X in our 45-gallon black tank for many years. It's a lot cheaper than "RV" products, and we're very happy with it. Anything specifically made for RVs (toilet paper is a great example) is usually at least twice the price, and sometimes inferior in quality. We prefer to find other solutions that work just as well or better, and cost less. Rid-X has been our go-to black tank treatment for as long as we can remember (most of our 11+ years on the road), and we're happy and odor-free. If you want to stick with an RV-specific black tank treatment, we used to use Pure Power Waste Digester, and we were vary happy with that also. But apparently not enough to stay with it. ;-)
well i am more than happy to just use ridx. i have some anyways for periodic maintenance as my house is on septic.
do you just use "septic safe" TP then as well rather than RV TP?
great lunch time convo.
Black70Fastback Don't waste your money on expensive "RV" toilet paper. That lousy stuff is an over-priced load of crap (sorry) lol. Our favorite TP is Kirkland brand, but lots of brands are RV safe. Here's how to tell: czcams.com/video/eDLXXRVe2pc/video.html
I like your.... Ummm... Sense of humour:-)
Not that many people know Jack "solid" about boondocking. Lol
I have a question for the masses. How did you guys (or did you) add the hand sprayer to the toilet? I have one from my old home and want to install it but having a hard time finding the right adapters. What is the RV toilet fitting type. The valve have is 7/8” BC on both sides, make and female. I’m assuming that is the “standard” residential size. What is the standard for RV’s? I have a 2017 Winnebago so shouldn’t be any outdated size. Thanks in advanced!
Hi Michael! We didn't actually add a sprayer to our toilet. As we mentioned at 2:57 in the video, our "high tech sprayer" is a plastic cup! LOL We're not sure it's even possible to add a sprayer into an RV toilet that doesn't already have one, as they are integral to the system/valve assembly that was built as part of the original toilet.
RVgeeks thanks for the reply! Not much on CZcams about it. The one I have taps into the supply line (if you have the right fittings 😂). I actually use it as a hand-held bidet. After using one for so many years it’s hard to part with. Perhaps I’ll do a video once I’ve figured it out so anyone else with the same question can benefit. Thank you!
how do you turn the water on, on your toilet for a 1989 tiffen allegro class a motorhome, 40 ft. I can't find the valve
Not sure if older RVs are different, but when you attach the water hose to the city water in a campsite, our entire RV has water everywhere. Same thing if we're running off the pump.... once it's on, there's water available everywhere.
If you're turning on the pump or connecting to water at a campground and the toilet isn't getting water, we'd suggest posting a question on the user forums at iRV2. There are tons of helpful people there, and it's free to sign up and post at irv2.com/forums. Try out the Tiffin forums there.
One other place that's Tiffin-specific might be even better: The Tiffin Owner's Network, which you can find here: www.tiffinrvnetwork.com
Sorry we couldn't be of more help on this one, Robert. Best of luck and please let us know how you make out.
being im on a permanent site, out went the rv toilet and in went a low flow house toilet. bolted right up.
Cool idea! One question though... do you still keep your black valve closed to prevent solids from piling up in the black tank, and then dump periodically?
used to do that. then we used lots of calgone and i forget the name but its a bio digester. after a year of that we dont have to close the valve anymore. its made a path and the digester keeps working to clear any other solids out. never had it clog up and can tell from our clear elbow that it flushes directly every time. If i re-do the foundation this summer (trailer is sagging due to poor ground) I will see about taking the whole tank out. We never wanted tanks but it came with them any ways. that or put a tank rinse device in.
How well do they work,do u sell it. so what is the cost. Jerry
jerry beck They work pretty well, but only show lights for empty, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full tank, not a specific percentage of tank capacity. They came with the RV from Newmar, so we don't sell them (we don't actually sell anything, since we're just a couple of RVers). lol If you're looking for an aftermarket tank monitoring system to install in your RV, we have heard good things about SeeLevel systems from Garnet. We have no personal experience with them, but if our systems ever fails (or if we just want to upgrade), we'll take a look at them. Here's their website: www.garnetinstruments.com/rv-shop/products/
Is there a knob or peddle to flush the toilet ?
Yup! All RV toilets have a pedal, handle or button to flush.
Adult Diapers...Depends! LOL! That's great!! XD
+Hilla Skrilla 2006 Glad you liked that one! 😉
Rather than having to rely on a "kitchen sprayer" to finish the job properly, why don't RVs just use regular toilets? Now that they use a maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush (and some use as little as 1.28 gpf), there's no reason not to use them.
I think there are likely still at least a couple of reasons. One is that 1.6 gallons of water is still a lot. Flushing an RV toilet generally takes a lot less than that, and 1.6 gallons would likely fill most people's black tanks in just 15 or 20 flushes, depending on the size of their tank of course. Also, I'd guess that the water sitting in the toilet tank would be likely to slosh out somewhat while driving. There's also the issue of the water seal that prevents odors from coming up out of the black tank into the RV. The tight seal and small amount of water in an RV toilet do the job, but I'm guessing that a regular toilet, which just uses gravity to hold water at the bottom, would allow at least some of that water to spill down the drain while driving, leaving an air gap that would allow tank odor up and into the entire RV.
does the on board water tank have to be full of water before water before it pumps water to the toilet, because the on board water tank has two wires connected to the outside of the water tank,, maybe it has a sensor to tell that the tanks full and then automatically turns the pump on so it can run water to the toilet, any takers?
+Robert White the water tank can be at any level other than completely empty, as the pickup tube is at the bottom of he tank. The pump is turned on and off manually with a switch, and if it pumps water to any faucet on the rig, it should be pumping it to the toilet as well.
That's what we should have named this video. lol
3:22 Adult diapers...Depends LOL brilliant!
My wife and I are fixing to embark into the nomadic life, just want to see if we can live cheaper and enjoy more, so I am scouring the videos learning all I can, and I will have to say so far this is the most disappointing, I think I am gonna really miss a regular toilet, funny how this is what I think is gonna bother me the most about living on the go, I would have thought they would have came up with something less involving than this.
+Richard Rathman Don't let the toilet stop you Richard! It's really not that bad. 😉
+RVgeeks Yea you re right, I won't let it stop us, I was really just glad to see that even some of the more unpleasant aspects of the life is here to be learned, glad you guys covered it.
Richard my thought as well. Think I'm going to have the hardest time with the toilet & draining. Or whatever is done when whatever is full lol. All new to me!
Not that bad Diana! Watch our Tank Dumping 1-2-3 video and always try to dump your black tank at a full hook-up campground (vs a dump station), and you’ll rarely, if ever, smell a thing!
Hey man, how bout you do me a solid?
Comment of the week!! LOL
Ah, I was wondering if you'd get to the composting end of things. The idea of using all that (usually potable in the case of a house) water to flush away human waste is becoming more and more of a boneheaded idea, the more I look "into" it. No pun intended.
You're right. Water is a precious resource. The Wynns are big proponents of composting toilets, and made a great video all about it.
EPIC.
To reduce the size of "solids" or "#2" chew your food thoroughly and drink plenty of liquid with your meal. The density of "#2's" will be greater for any given size relative to "#2's" from not chewing your food thoroughly. Additionally, you will use less bio-paper, which as you know is pretty expensive compared to regular household toilet paper. Trust me, I can now pack the bowls in any toilet pretty good.
Well now. You have definitely earned your moniker. That was SO wrong. lol Your last sentence was, shall we say, TMI (as in Too Much Intestinal detail). lol By the way, don't waste your money on special RV toilet paper. Here's our video about checking to see if your favorite brand is RV-safe: czcams.com/video/eDLXXRVe2pc/video.html
...but the designers were *wrong* ! (so very, very wrong)
:(
What kind of toilets were those?
Our electric toilet is a Thetford Aria, and the composting toilet is by Natures Head. Not sure about the others.
I can't find the pedal to flush only the one to add water and there is no one to ask
Have you tried stepping down on the pedal?
RVgeeks there's no pedal you have to pull harder from the add water position but I am always aware that too much force can break things. Thanks so much for the prompt reply!
LMBO..... Mother in laws
just get a Cinderella Incineration Toilet no water
how did i get here
all motorhomes toilet design like this ? S type design is a big no for motorhome ?
S-type design wouldn't work in an RV. The motion and vibration from driving down the road would empty the water out of the S!
What a crappy subject to make a video of.
It's currently our #1 video, but if it gets too many thumbs down, it could go to #2. :-P
Always good to have good movements on both numbers.
This made me laugh so hard lol oh lol hahahahaha xD!
HOLY SHIT!
No Loose change, Baby diapers, Adult diapers, Mother-in-law, Small pets, or Unruly pets..... How would some of those even fit? LMAO!!!
TIP.. I thought I'd add a tip we use here in Ohio. Before flushing, we add four squares of toilet paper crossed at the bottom to keep the toilet and gasket clean.
...
When I get my RV I'm going Waterless.
The Wynns do indeed love their composting toilet.
I used to own a Rv but it blew up luckily my whole family survived
Solids ??? I call it dropping the kids off at the pool
That's what John's sister always says! 😂
Liking the videos, but that music at beginning and end is really annoying
So glad you like our videos! Sorry you're not a ragtime music fan. Since that's me playing the piano in the intro, having Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag as our theme was a very personal way to brand our videos. We get a lot of positive feedback, but of course there are a wide range of musical tastes out there and I can only play ragtime! ;-) You almost certainly wouldn't care for me playing the entire piece. ;-) czcams.com/video/jkk7W_jM1iI/video.html
Did not mean to come off rude or anything. Hope I didn't offend. I give you props for being able to play an instrument in the first place.
jezeski2011 No worries! I know that ragtime is a little obscure. I'm happy that you've been watching our videos so much that you're tired of the music! :) I hope you'll like this afternoon's upcoming video release, which is all about LED lights, and includes a contest where someone will win $250 worth of free LEDs. Stay tuned. ;-)
***** Sorry guys. We know we can't please everyone, but we appreciate your you watching, and your comments and input, too! :) We're always evolving and fine tuning our videos, so who knows where we'll fine tune next? ;-) By the way Mick, what instrument(s) and type(s) of music do you play?
***** Okay Mick! Your input was taken seriously, and in record time! I was finishing up a new video when you wrote this afternoon, and decided that the 10 seconds of Maple Leaf Rag at the beginning of each video was enough. So from now on, our videos will simply end with whatever background music was playing throughout the video. As a matter of fact, we just posted a brand new video with that ending in place. Thanks for your input and support!
By the way, the new video has not yet been released on CZcams. It is currently only available on our video blog, but since you inspired the change that we made, we'll announce it here to you directly. It's all about a cool trick for being able to run water freely when fully-hooked up, without worrying about odors from the campground coming up through the sewer hose. Check it out here: howtorvgeeks.com.
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