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

[ShrimpBurrito]

I had to take out the toilet AGAIN recently because we had a small leak after traveling down a rough road. Since there seems to be so much interest in the toilet, and far fewer folks that are interested in taking it apart, I decided to take some pictures of the guts since I had it cleaned up. I let the toilet sit outside to dry out after I washed it, so the dirt you may see on the toilet is actually ash from all the fires we've been having out here in LA. That's also why the pics have sort of a yellow tint to them.

Note that the thing that looks like a plastic bag is the infamous Vinyl Skirt.

I have 3 major problems with the Thetford Electra Magic 80 toilet that annoy us every time we camp, the first 2 being the main problems:

1) bits of toilet paper, and occasionally solid waste, is recirculated into the bowl when flushing

2) we often have difficulty flushing solids, as they get caught in the vinyl skirt

3) there are 6 gallons of solid waste sitting above your floor, which can make for a nasty leak brought on by say, a rough road

Does any one else feel this way or encounter these problems?

I have called Thetford on 2 occasions, the last being just this morning, and the response is something to the effect of, "We've never heard of these problems before. I take 120 calls a day, every day, and this is the first I've heard of it." I asked to speak to a design engineer or someone perhaps with a bit more technical knowledge. Denied. "Engineers don't speak to customers", she replied tersely. Absolutely ZERO interest in solving the issues, and you could tell by the tone in her voice (on both instances, months apart) that she would much rather be doing something other than talking to me.

I don't like to bad mouth anyone, but between my personal experiences and what I've read online (like making the vinyl skirt available only through a ~$150 kit), they are not particularly interested in customer service. What a shame.

I feel #1 is a direct result of the filter screen not being attached to the bottom of the toilet. When you bump down the road, the screen goes up, and the solids slide underneath. That not only allows the solids to be recirculated, but it prevents the solids from being drained, as the drain hole is in the center of where the filter screen sits. I know this because when I have taken the toilet apart, I see bits of toilet paper, and occasionally bits of solid waste, on the bottom of the toilet OUTSIDE the filter screen. And time I found some nasty brown maggots. Maybe I should take pictures and email them to Thetford. The bowl sits in the screen, however, and is supposed to prevent the screen from going up. That's why the screen is cut on a slope at the top -- as you can see, the front of the bowl does not extend down as far as the back of the bowl.

I thought perhaps I would solve this problem by attaching the filter screen to the bottom of the toilet (not the bowl), but I'm not sure how to do it. I was thinking of using a silicone adhesive, like 3M 4200, but according to the MSDS sheet, Aquachem contains formaldehyde and methanol. I don't think the formaldehyde would be anything, but the methanol might dissolve the adhesive. I know from experience that JB Weld gets eaten up. Maybe RTV sealant?

#2 is a problem that I think can only be resolved by replacing the vinyl skirt with something else. I'm short on ideas here, as I can only think of something like a flap door, like found in aircraft toilets, but I'm not sure how to make one. I think it has to be spring loaded, perhaps attached with a zip tie.

#3 is only solved with a separate holding tank. I measured the space by the drain valve behind the tire.....that's the only possible place I see where a holding tank could fit, and it's boxed in by 3 non-movable sides: 2 frame members and the box for the shower plumbing. The space is 22 x 13 x 5, which comes out to 6.2 gallons. That means every inch of that space has to be utilized to hold a full toilet load, and I didn't find a tank with those dimensions through a brief search. The main problem is finding a tank with one side that's only 5 inches.

Any thoughts or comments?

Dave