Goodbye Thetford Hello Laveo

[Tee-roy]

I've removed the Thetford from my 27/20 and I have a brand spanking new Laveo waiting to be installed. I'm planning on mounting the Laveo on a thin plywood board or aluminum plate over the hole currently in the floor and sealing the hole from the top and bottom.

The problem is the pipe and floor flange. The flange seems really stuck into the pipe, I've unscrewed the flange from the floor.
So....
I crawl underneath the trailer and cut the pipe under the floor?
Then cap the pipe?
Or maybe remove the pipe closer to the valves used to dump the tanks?
Anybody have any experience with something similar?

[Bill]

I'm planning on mounting the Laveo on a thin plywood board or aluminum plate over the hole currently in the floor and sealing the hole from the top and bottom.

How about adding another plywood board on the floor, thick enough to accommodate the thickness of the flange, with a 4-inch hole cut in the center? Then glue/screw your planned plywood or aluminum on top of that? Easier to install than getting underneath and trying to cut the pipe, and it preserves the original setup in case you want to sell the trailer in the future. Believe it or not, the Thetford is the toilet of choice among most owners, and a buyer might be interested in putting it back.

Just my thought - bag toilets are not universally popular, especially at almost $2 per flush. Many/most reviews are not good, either, which would strengthen a buyer's insistence on a different toilet.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

I second Bill's suggestion, but for yet even another reason. The flange is an integral part of what secures that entire black pipe assembly outside. So if you cut off the flange, which is screwed to the floor, you'll have to find another way to secure that ABS assembly, which also goes to the grey water tank.

I've replaced my Thetford for other reasons, and put a cassette toilet in its place. I did exactly as Bill suggested to install the new toilet (new piece of plywood with 4"+ hole through which the flange goes).

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

And by the way, as to Bill's comment regarding resale value, count me as one who would not want a bag toilet in my camper.

Dave

[Tee-roy]

Probably going with the plywood idea, It makes sense to be able to go back to a wet system and my knees are telling me not to crawl around under the camper...
The Laveo is ideal for us, we can use in the camper and at our cottage, though my knee's also telling me not to haul toilets around.

[eddugo]

I covered the pipe with 3/4" plywood and used a router to remove 5/8" deep area a little larger then the pipe. This covered the pipe and left an about 1/8" to hold up the new flooring. I used vinyl stairway edging on the edge of the ply. The plywood covers about 20% of the floor. I then use a composting toilet that sits on the new ply.