New Toilet?

[prairieschooner]

The PO installed a Thetford Bravuara toilet in our coach but then it sat for a while before we got it. Anyway the seal is leaking and so the bowl will not hold water. I haven't been able to find just the seal so I am looking at new toilets as well.
Dose someone have knowledge about the Sealand Dometic 310? It looks like a good toilet at an inexpensive price. Supposedly the seal can be changed without taking the toilet apart. The toilet is a little taller than the Bravura and has a nicer look to it.
Looking for advice, thanks in advance.

[prairieschooner]

The DOMETIC 310 went in without a hitch. It is a much better looking toilet having a ceramic bowl and I cannot wait to use it............!

[chockwald]

Glad to hear it Steve! Looking forward to hearing about how you like the new toilet.

[folivier]

Break it in gently........

[prairieschooner]

Yes Tricia has put me on a diet!
The new toilet with the ceramic bowl does look much better in there except it does have a smaller footprint.

[chockwald]

Steve, you're not supposed to stand on the toilet!

[prairieschooner]

how else does someone aim?
PS It is a really nice toilet and with the hand sprayer............

[chockwald]

Steve, did you need the mounting kit to install your new Dometic 310?

[prairieschooner]

No,
There is a Flange that our Toilets mount to and that was in good condition. The Thetford was on a slight angle and I simply used the new gasket and studs that came with the Dometic.
I found that Richardson's Rv in had the best price at about $140.00 and it came with everything needed except a new hose barb. Ask for Mike he helped me and was a nice guy, but CJ was good as well.

[chockwald]

I ordered one from Camping World today for $149 with free shipping. Thanks for the quick reply! Ours is working well, but Elaine likes the idea of a porcelain bowl being easier to keep clean. Plastic just seems to absorb odors, and over time becomes harder to keep clean. What spot are you in at Rincon?

[prairieschooner]

88. Came back last night from visiting with family and we were all alone! everyone around us had left. Pretty cool it has been overcast the last few days but this am it is clear.
Got Lobsters yesterday so BBQ latter.

[chockwald]

So, is 88 closer to Faria, or Hobson?

[prairieschooner]

about in the middle, its getting cold though because we are in Yuma tonight. Got in a little after 4:00 this afternoon. Nice drive from Ventura.

[chockwald]

We'll be in Ventura Monday afternoon...weather forecast is temps in the high 60's, and no clouds! Got the Dometic toilet today, and will install tomorrow....there will be pictures....if I'm successful...lol.

[chockwald]

OK.....I bought the same Dometic toilet that Steve just bought. I didn't buy it because our toilet was worn out, although it has gotten a lot of use since January 31st of this year. We just liked the idea of a porcelain bowl being easier to keep clean. The old plastic just didn't clean well, and never looked clean. So, today is the day I decided I would do the "quick" change out....shouldn't take more than an hour, right? Well, Mr. Murphy must have been lookin' over my shoulder, because when I pulled the old toilet out I discovered that the water supply had been leaking behind the toilet on to the carpeting for a while. Naturally, I always assume the worst, and expected I would be ripping wood out and a four, or five day job, instead of a 1 hour job. After I got the carpet pulled I decided to give my good friend Steve a call (Prarieschooner) and get some advice. You see, I couldn't figure out how to get the flange off so I could demo the raised wood platform the toilet sits on. He kind of slowed me down by asking a few questions. Was the wood soft? Did it appear saturated, etc. Well, it wasn't soft, and wasn't saturated as far as I could tell, so he suggested I run the small electric portable heater I have, close the door and let the heat do it's magic. As it turns out the wood dried out rather quickly, and there were still no soft spots, so after about 5 hours I decided the wood was pretty dry and installed the new toilet without putting any carpeting back down. We'll let the wood continue to dry out for the next week, and then put in some new carpeting on the platform. The toilet went in easily, and in about 30 minutes I was hooked up (I installed a new water supply line that is not leaking). The toilet is so much easier to operate, and looks 1000% better.

The good news is that our desire to go with a newer, more serviceable toilet helped us avoid major water damage. Steve's change out got us to thinking we should replace ours before it needed to be replaced. I figure the water supply line had only been leaking a week, or so based on the condition of the plywood platform. It looks like the carpet absorbed most of the water. We wanted to replace the ugly peach colored carpeting anyway, so it turns out to be a win, win.

So, thank you Steve for posting about your replacement Dometic toilet, because it got us off the dime to replace ours, and in the end, saved us having to replace damaged plywood, and having to hoof it over to the restrooms every time we needed to relieve ourselves for the next week, or so. This is what is so great about this owners forum. You just never know when someone else's post will spur you to some action that will save you time, and a lot of grief!

[prairieschooner]

glad to hear that it went well, agreed on letting it air out for a while before recovering it. I replaced the fitting to a plastic ype that makes the seal with a flange on the inside of the fitting very similar or like the ones that are used to connect to a SHURFO water pump. This appears to make a better seal.
As a side note, check to be sure that your Pressure Regulator is working, check the water pressure.

[chockwald]

Well, we were finally able to button up the toilet replacement project. The plywood platform dried out well...it's been about 11 days. I put two coats of wood sealer on the platform before we installed new carpeting and quarter round trim on the floor. Here is a picture of the final installation. Elaine made a paper pattern which we applied to the carpet piece. She did a great job as you can see.

The old toilet was installed on top of the old peach carpeting, and as a result the toilet had a little "wobble" when the weight of a body was applied. The new toilet sits squarely on the wood platform and the carpet was cut around the toilet. This makes the new toilet much more stable.