Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Monday, March 09, 2015

Major RV repair and a little acrobatics

One morning while we were at the Skinnie Winnie rally, we awoke to find the foot pedal of our two year old Thedford Style II  toilet had fallen off overnight.  At first, I thought this would be no problem and tried to put it back on.  However, the tension spring that allows the handle to return to the closed position had also come loose and was sitting on the shaft  freely. Since I was unable to reset the spring, I removed it and put the handle back on.  This allowed us to continue to use this appliance for the rest of the rally.  It required the user to manually return the pedal to its upright and stowed position when the desired effect had been reached.  My first mistake in this drama was to suggest that I could live with it like that.

When we returned home, I was able to determine the reason the spring had come loose. The small plastic molded piece that was designed to hold it in its place had broken off.  Since it was not practical to replace the whole lower plastic shroud combined with the firm decision not to live with it, there was no choice but to get a new toilet.  After some research, we decided on the Dometic Revolution 310 which their site claims can be installed in 15 minutes.  After downloading the  manuals and specs, it looked like it would fit in our small rig-just barely.



The old unit came out with no fuss and we got the new unit in place easily, but it soon became clear that just barely, in this case, what not good enough.  The water inlet fitting was much lower than the old unit and since we had a small "step" in front of the wall, it was impossible to connect the water fill connection.  So out came the new toilet and back to Camping World.  After some discussion, they graciously agreed to take the 310 back.





Looking at the available other options, there were not many on hand that would meet our needs.  I told the manager what we had in the unit to start with and he thought he might have one of those in the back, a Thedford Aqua Magic Style II.  Sure enough, he produced a  new toilet of the model we had just removed.  While we really did not want another item that had failed in two years, we  needed one now, as this was a major problem for an upcoming rally in a few days. The new Thedford slid right in.  So in the end- two toilets were installed and two removed.



Sometimes, we are in the right place at the right time.  We happened to be at our daughter's house after she returned from a shopping trip with a supply of paper towels.  Now for most of us, this is a non event, but for Nico it was a great adventure and skill developing exercise.





12 comments:

Kevin Read said...

Ha...no need to buy any toys for that little guy!

www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

Travels with Emma said...

I thought maybe it was going to be three packages of TP! ;)

Paul and Marsha Weaver OCT. 17, 2009 said...

Good job with the toilet.

HAHAHA...Nico is a riot!

Sherry said...

I love the way you combined your toilet story with Nico's TP climb. Too funny. But I do hope this one works longer than 2 years. We just replaced our 10 year old toilet and the new one is just not as nice. Don't think it will last as long either.

Wanderin' said...

We had to replace our toilet in the parking lot of the Visitor's Center at Anthony, Texas last year. The Camping World was just across the road and getting ready to close when we walked on. It was definitely an emergency repair.

Little ones sure don't need someone to entertain them. They entertain us. How cute!

Laura said...

well done with your repairs. It is satisfying to have a job well done. Maybe you could have used Nico's expertise!

Gail Houle said...

I dread the day our toilet gives up the ship. It's one of those heavy, porcelain electric deals and I think it's going to be a royal pain in the you know what!

Gypsy said...

Fortunately the toilet in my RV held out long enough that I never had any trouble. When reading your attempted repair I thought, "I'd just be running to the 'outhouse' because I wouldn't have a clue where to start!

Isn't it amazing how kids can have fun with ordinary household items? Nico's look is like he just scaled Mt. Everest!

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

I wanted to overhaul my RV toilet as it's getting a little long in the tooth and not operating smoothly. Preventive maintenance before it leaves me high and dry.

The parts cost more than a new toilet. This may be a no brainer for me.

PS: Nice DC work you done did there! :c)

Bob and Jo said...

Aren't all toilet repairs an emergency?

our awesome travels said...

Nice that you got the toilet replaced in time and hope this will last longer than the other one.

Sweet Meanderings said...

I don't know how many times my hubby has taken off our toilet for some kind of repair - a necessary evil! Glad you got yours repaired. I enjoyed the pictures of the toilet paper acrobatics too!
Candy