What kind of toilet is this?

[smiggy]

Any information including pros/cons would be appreciated !

 

[Bill]

That's the Thetford Electra Magic recirculating flush toilet. Trail Manor used it as their OEM (and only) toilet for several decades, until Thetford stopped making it. Most owners liked it - a few hated it, and were very vocal. Some of those who hated it removed it and substituted a different toilet, usually with a great deal of effort and considerable expense - but most who made the switch expressed satisfaction. Most of the original Thetfords are still in use.

I notice that in the back left corner or your unit, there is an open hole. That hole must be plugged - if you don't have the original rubber plug, find another that will fit. The white lever near the floor is the dump mechanism, pulled out to the "dump" position. Push it back in for the "normal operation" position.

There is more detail, including an owner/operator manual, elsewhere on this Forum, in the TM owner's manual, and from the Thetford web site. If you have the famous TM Blue Binder, it is in there, too. A Forum search on terms like "recirculating" and "Thetford" will turn up a lot of discussion. You might start with these threads in the Technical Library, but there are many more.

The TM's recirculating toilet

Q: Tell me everything about the recirculating toilet. How does it work, how long does it last, how much water does it use, does it smell, etc. A: Trail Manor and their dealers will tell you that "the recirculating toilet is just like the toilets on an airplane!" This isn't necessarily...

www.trailmanorowners.com

AND

Hints on Thetford toilet operation

Since Trailmanor trailers first became available in 1983 or so, they have been equipped with the Thetford recirculating toilet. For years, owners were happy with the toilet, and there were few complaints. But not long ago, a few users began to complain that the toilet smelled, and a "cute" but...

www.trailmanorowners.com

 

[smiggy]

Thanks much for the reply. Reading some of the links you mentioned has deterred me from buying this RV as we've had the traditional flush toilets in the past. As what I'm looking at is a 2021 I guess we need a 2022 or newer model then, correct?

 

[Bill]

You should understand that a Trail Manor does not have a traditional black water tank - there is nothing under the floor, as you would find on most trailers. This means that the waste must be contained somewhere in the toilet itself. There are various means of containing the waste. The most common is an above-floor black tank that is either on the floor below the toilet, or part of the body of the the toilet, and which can be drained when needed through a slinky hose into the campground's sewer connection. The Thetford Electra-Magic, and the most popular replacement, the Dometic Sealand M-28, both use this method. Other options include plastic bag liners/catchers, and removable carry-out cassettes, with cassettes currently increasing in popularity.
. . The big difference between the Electra-Magic and the M-28 is that the M-28 flushes with fresh water, like your home toilet, while the ElectraMagic loosely filters the water in the black tank and flushes/rinses the bowl with that, using no fresh water. If you camp in a campground with plenty of fresh water and a sewer hookup available, the M-28 retrofit works well. If you will be boondocking (camping without hookups), the fact that the Electra-Magic uses no water other than an initial gallon pre-charge can be important.
. . TrailManor has begun offering their new units with a regular flush toilet as standard equipment (I don't know what kind - help me out, folks - but probably similar to an M28 ) and a cassette toilet as an option.

 

[smiggy]

Thank you very much Bill for the education on this topic. I noticed a black tank sewer hose label so does this mean as long as you are at a campsite with the hose attached then this would operate similar to what we are used to, i.e. regular flush toilet, as long as you leave it open to drain. As we would be staying at these types of campgrounds 95% of the time then it doesn't seem to be an issue, correct? Thanks again for your help.

 

[Bill]

Yes and no. Your toilet will operate similar the flush toilet at home, but you must NOT leave the toilet's drain valve open. If you do, the liquids in the waste will immediately drain off, leaving the solids stranded on the floor of the tank. The solids then harden into what is called "the black cone", a hard mass which is very difficult to remove. A better idea is to let the waste, both liquid and solid, accumulate in the black tank. Then, when the tank gets near full and you open the drain valve, the whole thing empties with one big "whoosh", leaving a more-or-less clean tank. In fact, when dump time arrives, it is a good idea to fill the black tank with extra water, to increase the force of the "whoosh".
. . Some folks avoid the black cone by never adding solids to the tank, preferring to use the campground outhouses/toilets. Nothing wrong with that, but it seems to defeat the reason for having a toilet in the first place.
. . As an added note, after you drain the black tank, it is a good idea to immediately drain the gray tank right behind it. The water from the gray tank cleans out the dump hose and fittings.

 

[Kidkraz]

To add to Bills comments. Leaving the drain valve open, will allow sewer gasses to come back into your camper.

 

[Shane826]

Bill- TM was using the Dometic SeaLand Traveller 711-M28C but I think they are now using a different tank/base.

smiggy- If this camper is everything else that you want and it’s the right price, don’t let the toilet stop you. It isn’t all that difficult to upgrade to the new style freshwater flush toilet and there are a couple different ways to do it at varying cost. If you’re handy, it’s a weekend project at the most. Installing the SeaLand (or M28 as Bill calls it) is probably the single best upgrade I’ve done to my TrailManor. The installs that have been done by owners are sometimes even better than what TM does

 

[smiggy]

Thanks all for your previous replies and information. I have moved on from the 2021 model and am looking at a 2022 with the pic below. What's the deal with the hose from the sink as well as one running up the kitchen wall next to the bathroom? Is this a different toilet set up and if so what are the pros/cons to this one? Sorry for my ignorance but if this is closer to a regular flush toilet I'm happy.

 

[smiggy]

Here's the pic I'm referring to re hose.

 

[Shrimpburrito]

That's just a regular RV toilet sitting atop a black tank, and that hose going to the ceiling is a vent for the tank. It's required by RV building code (RVIA?), and also required if you don't want your tank to split under pressure. But some folks that do that modification just vent through the wall. That's not permitted under RVIA code though, and so a manufacturer cannot do that.

The Electra Magic didn't have such a hose because the waste tank is not air tight.

Dave

 

[smiggy]

So it's still a recirculating tank the same as the 2021 except with a vent hose? OR is it a regular flush toilet with a traditional black tank?

 

[Shrimpburrito]

It's a regular flush toilet with a traditional black tank that sits between the floor and the toilet. You can see the fresh water line going to it on the right of the tank, near the floor, up against the wall.

Dave

 

[Wavery]

So it's still a recirculating tank the same as the 2021 except with a vent hose? OR is it a regular flush toilet with a traditional black tank?

NO...... that is NOT a recirculating toilet. That is a fresh water flush toilet with a black tank, sealed underneath. It's just like any traditional RV toilet system except the black tank is above the floor instead of under the floor.

I'd recommend doing the vent modification that Dave (Shrimpborrito) mentioned. That long hose going into the galley is gross (IMO).

 

[Shane826]

That’s the Dometic SeaLand toilet. It’s a real, freshwater flush, porcelain toilet sitting on top of a ~10 gallon black tank that dumps/drains just like a regular camper. They’ve just enclosed the tank to make it look a little “nicer”.

There is a really easy mod to get rid of that hose and vent the toilet the way many of us have done when we’ve retrofitted older TMs with the SeaLand toilet. TM has to vent them that way to meet RVIA code but there is no harm in venting it through the wall.

 

[smiggy]

Thanks Shane and all for your comments. Shane, is there a link available for this modification? If so, I would appreciate you forwarding it to me. Also, does this also include removing the hose that's in the kitchen picture or are they one in the same?

 

[Bill]

As Shane mentioned, there seems to be no reason why an owner cannot remove the hose, and route a vent through the sidewall above the toilet. Building codes at that time required a through-the-roof vent, and the hose in your photo was the quick way they could continue building TMs. I'm not sure if there was a change to the code. The hose was unpopular - but it was used only for a short time.
. . If you change the vent, be sure the outlet is a covered vent (rain), with some height above the black tank (splash). It would also be good to space it away from the window to the extent possible, to prevent any exhaust from coming into the bathroom.

 

[Shane826]

I’ll see if I can find the write-up for the hose delete. I know it’s on TMF.

FlyboyTR (Travis)’s fan that Bill speaks of is pretty slick too. I’ve thought about adding something similar to my SeaLand toilet because every once in a great while we get a whiff of the tank when flushing the toilet if the tank is getting closer to full.

 

[Bill]

You're right, Shane. My memory was seeing Travis Raynor's invention on his own website TrickMyTrailmanor.co (later amended to TrickMyTrailmanor.com). He seems to have let his sites go dark - very sad. Jill Leinbaugh archived a lot of it, but I can't find the specific post I was talking about. If you find it, we would be grateful for a copy or a link here.

 

[Shane826]

YouTube-

Bill- Maaaaan that wasn’t Travis’s website! It was run by he-who-must-not-be-named, remember? I took the site over when he sold his TM, moved it to a TMF member’s server so as to not pay monthly hosting fees, and then he passed away and his server went dark shortly after.

Also if anyone is looking for a real nice TM I think Travis’s rig is still for sale.