Thetford @##&%$#@

08-23-2011, 03:28 PM

HELP......Ok, guys, I have been initiated. On my very first day of a two week trip, I had a "Blow-Out" on my 2720. And it was a doozie. It not only tore out and tore up the piddly little Fender skirt, it did a complete remodel of the plumbing. It even knocked that wonderful Thetford off its mounting, and transported the "Grey Water" dump valve into another jurisdiction.

Now I can't find anyone who has the parts to fix any of it. I do not want to have to rely on a shallow hole in the woods to compensate for the loss of that magical appliance.

Any suggestions? I am in the western portion of Florida, hopefully enroute to several areas in Alabama. I did talk to someone from Alabama. He suggested that I purchase this cute little house, with a cresent moon cut-out on the door to mount or tow behind the trailer on a 200' chain.

I am open for other suggestions.

ELM-JLM · 08-23-2011, 03:42 PM

We are in west Florida and have a porta potty you can use! It has a flush valve and a seperate holding tank!

08-23-2011, 04:33 PM

Are you close to Montgomery, Alabama? The closest Trailmanor dealer may be:

Bankston Motor Homes Montgomery
701 North Eastern Blvd
Montgomery, AL 36117

Toll-Free: 800-641-5995 Local: 334-279-2062

08-23-2011, 07:14 PM

I am not sure of the sizes but they always appeared to be black piping. I would think you could get the parts at some RV supply stores.

Have you tried call TM? TM is pretty good about getting parts out to people on the road...

08-24-2011, 10:17 AM

What's the chances of going up to the TM factory in Tennessee?

As to the parts, the piping is just standard plumbing pipe avail from RV stores and Lowes and Home Depot ..... The grey water dump valve (and the black valve also) I just recently saw at the local Walmart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OffToDaRaces

HELP......Ok, guys, I have been initiated. On my very first day of a two week trip, I had a "Blow-Out" on my 2720. And it was a doozie. It not only tore out and tore up the piddly little Fender skirt, it did a complete remodel of the plumbing. It even knocked that wonderful Thetford off its mounting, and transported the "Grey Water" dump valve into another jurisdiction.

Now I can't find anyone who has the parts to fix any of it. I do not want to have to rely on a shallow hole in the woods to compensate for the loss of that magical appliance.

Any suggestions? I am in the western portion of Florida, hopefully enroute to several areas in Alabama. I did talk to someone from Alabama. He suggested that I purchase this cute little house, with a cresent moon cut-out on the door to mount or tow behind the trailer on a 200' chain.

I am open for other suggestions.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 08-25-2011, 08:27 AM

OTDR - You've gotten some good replies, but if you post some pics of the damage you want specific feedback on, you might get some even more helpful suggestions.

Dave

09-09-2011, 07:59 PM

I wish to thank everyone who provided feedback about my Thetford dilema. I have finally (almost) fixed all of the damage. Waiting for fender skirts from TM. Still trying to remount the toilet on the alleged "Easy Slide" mount. The little whiteangled slides keep falling out of the track while I try to set the Thetford down on the closet flange. My hands are too big to get into the tiny area where the slides are located.

I stopped at several dealers, got no help, cept to tell me that I would have to make an appointment for sometime in the next decade.

Re the response about Bankston, in Montgomery Alabama. I went there, they had 2 TM's for sale, one new, one preowned. I showed the technician just what I needed to do to set the Thetford in place, he told me that he had not ever worked on the thetford product, and did not have an idea how to approach the issue. BTW, the 2011 TM that tthey had fors sale was equipped with 225R 70x 15 tires. I replaced two wheels on my TM when the one tire blew. That tire dealer told me that the 225 tires would not fit on my 2720. He was wrong. TM advised that the wheel well assembly is the same on all TM's. I ended up with 205r7015. I hope I get a reasonable usage from them.

I will try again to position the Thetford after I get home. If not I will try local RV dealers.

Thanks again.

**Bill** · 09-10-2011, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OffToDaRaces

Still trying to remount the toilet on the alleged "Easy Slide" mount. The little whiteangled slides keep falling out of the track while I try to set the Thetford down on the closet flange.

You are trying to do things in the wrong order. And there is no EZ Slide mount.

Take the white nylon wedges out and set them aside. Adjust the nuts on the flange bolts to the proper height as specified in the instructions. Now get the foam donut in place, lift the toilet a couple inches over the closet flange, and lower it carefully, straight down, so that the flange bolts protrude up through the brass-colored tracks. Try to do this in one pass - if you set the toilet down in the wrong place, and then lift it to realign it, it will likely pull the donut off the flange, and when you move it and set it down again, the donut will be in the wrong place and you will get leaks. In other words, if you have to lift the toilet, even a little, lift it all the way off and start again.

Once the toilet is solidly on the floor, and the flange bolts are protruding correctly, it is time to slide the wedges into place. It is relatively easy to snap them home, because you will be pushing them, using a big screwdriver or something similar. No need for small hands. But they should be hard to push, and should snap home with a solid thump. If they slide on easily, then the nuts on the flange bolts are too high, and you must start again.

Good luck.

Bill

09-10-2011, 10:40 AM

Thank you Bill, for your information. Unfortunately, you are misinformed.

First incorrect information: There is no EZ slide valve.

There is in fact an alleged "EZ-slide" valve assembly (see owners installation manual).

Second, you seem to have made a assumption that when I mentioned that I had tried to "set" the Thetford on the closet flange, that I had not done the other installation steps, ie, install closet flange, studs, seal collar etc. I also followed the recommendation, In the Owners manual, that the white plastic wedges be installed in the track, in a full forward position. Those things were done. The problem came when lowering the toilet onto the flange studs. One plastic piece insisted on moving when ever I tried to position the toilet. The other remained where I originally placed it and I could get that one to slide and lock into position. However, I could not reposition the plastic wedge to slide (hence, I guess, the justification for the "EZ Slide" phraseology) into place. Even using small straight tools to try to manipulate the wedge, and secure it first, before securing the proper acting slide wedge, I was not successful.

However, with your message in tow, and my bloodpressure slightly increased, I will remove the toilet from its present sittin place and secure lightly, the wedges into their respective Tracks, and try again

**Bill** · 09-11-2011, 08:10 AM

OffToDaRaces wrote

Quote:

Still trying to remount the toilet on the alleged "Easy Slide" mount.

and then wrote

Quote:

Unfortunately, you are misinformed.There is in fact an alleged "EZ-slide" valve assembly (see owners installation manual)

Of course there is a Slide EZ valve - have you read any of the tutorials re the toilet, where the EZ Side valve is discussed at length? But there is no Slide EZ mount, so you can't mount the toilet on the EZ-Slide mount. And the Slide EZ valve has nothing to do with mounting the toilet.

Forgive me for trying to help you. I'll make sure not to do it again.

Bill