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Cispook · 10-03-2016, 02:05 PM

Not much of a topic line ... I was wandering how many folks turn off the toilet water valve and empty the basin prior to towing? Avoiding the inevitable splash splash that comes with not doing so.
Pro and con always welcome
Regards

2017 27FB FC

mfrez · 10-03-2016, 02:08 PM

The toilet seal need liquid on it at all times, otherwise it drys out. The little amount thats left in the bowl never splashes in mine. And it's another step once I stop.

There is already enough work

Naper · 10-03-2016, 02:18 PM

I always leave a little water in the bowl, I do however turn the pump off and release the pressure buy turning on a tap.

AWCHIEF · 10-03-2016, 02:27 PM

My water pump is usualy turned off when not using, definitely powered off on the road. I always try to keep a little water in all the drain traps and some in the commode. Seems to help keep unwanted odors down.

xrvr · 10-03-2016, 02:32 PM

Turning the valve off is not something I would do. We stop,often to use the toilet and having to turn the valve on each time would be impractical. We do turn the water pump off. Close the lid on the toilet.

Lumatic · 10-03-2016, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfrez

The toilet seal need liquid on it at all times, otherwise it drys out.

I have never heard of that, never done it with multiple trailers and never had a problem. I am curious what is this based on?

McDave · 10-03-2016, 03:11 PM

After flushing, my toilet bowl is almost empty. Never had anything splash out. At least nothing has splashed out due to trailer movement. Men will be men, after all. I do turn off the pump whenever the trailer is moving.

**moosetags** · 10-03-2016, 04:16 PM

We always leave about an inch of water in Lucy's toilet bowl with a splash of Pine Sol while underway. This has worked well for us over the years in keeping black tank odor at bay. In over 160,000 miles of towing, we have not had any trouble with water jumping out of the bowl.

We also make sure that water is always in the drain traps. We also keep the rubber plug in the shower drain while underway.

Brian

Wayne&Sam · 10-03-2016, 04:28 PM

What Naper said.

HiJoeSilver · 10-03-2016, 04:39 PM

Yep. Had the problem. Pump off before leaving then I would flush the toilet to drain the water in it as well as depressurize the system. Found that water would slosh out of the rim when starting towing, so I now stop after moving a few hundred feet to flush the water again. After that no more sloshing out.

nvestysly · 10-03-2016, 05:12 PM

Our trailer has had two different toilets over the years and we had a Class B van with a toilet and none of these had a splashing/sloshing problem. It's difficult for me to imagine what's going on with your "loo" that you need to take these preventive measures.

After I flush the toilet there are only a few ounces of water remaining. That small amount of water has never caused a problem. Do you have more water than that in the toilet after flushing? If so, maybe that's the problem.

As others have said, we do make it a point to turn off the water pump when we're not in the trailer. We don't relieve the pressure in any way. Similarly, when at a campground, we turn off city water when we leave the trailer for more than just a few minutes. We do this to avoid what might happen if something developed a leak while we're not in the trailer. This really doesn't have anything to do with how much water remains in the toilet after flushing.

AIRHEDS · 10-03-2016, 06:40 PM

Dangit... I learn something new here every day. Need to pour some water into my bowl now while in storage ...

Farmer Dan · 10-03-2016, 07:45 PM

Lumatic, my '89 Excella would not hold water in the toilet bowl. A couple years ago when this first occurred, I read (maybe on this forum) that cooking oil in the bowl would soften the seal. When in storage that winter, I poured some cooking oil into the bowl. Later, that was gone so I added more oil. In the spring with warmer temps I added more oil. Ever since then - the bowl holds water like it should!!!! I have a friend that used silicone grease on the seal at the end of the season. This, too, will keep the seal soft and waterproof.

Dan

Cispook · 10-04-2016, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

We always leave about an inch of water in Lucy's toilet bowl with a splash of Pine Sol while underway. This has worked well for us over the years in keeping black tank odor at bay. In over 160,000 miles of towing, we have not had any trouble with water jumping out of the bowl.

We also make sure that water is always in the drain traps. We also keep the rubber plug in the shower drain while underway.

Brian

My wife is going to start with the pine sol this coming week on our trip. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

2017 27FB FC

mfrez · 10-04-2016, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lumatic

I have never heard of that, never done it with multiple trailers and never had a problem. I am curious what is this based on?

Airstream Guide to Maintenance that I bought discusses this. As another poster suggested, you can grease the seal when you aren't using the trailer, or as I do leave water in the bowl during the summer and RV antifreeze in it over the winter.

Jacob D · 10-04-2016, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farmer Dan

Lumatic, my '89 Excella would not hold water in the toilet bowl. A couple years ago when this first occurred, I read (maybe on this forum) that cooking oil in the bowl would soften the seal. When in storage that winter, I poured some cooking oil into the bowl. Later, that was gone so I added more oil. In the spring with warmer temps I added more oil. Ever since then - the bowl holds water like it should!!!! I have a friend that used silicone grease on the seal at the end of the season. This, too, will keep the seal soft and waterproof.

Dan

Well said. Never use any grease other than silicone on a toilet bowl seal as regular grease and vaseline will damage the seal. As to water splashing, some toilets leave more water in the bowl after flushing than others. We have had several different ones over the years and have found it necessary with some to flush the extra out after turning the pump off. Vegetable oil in the bowl for winter storage is good practice.

drairstream · 10-04-2016, 03:04 PM

oil might break down the seal over time. Silicone sounds better

Ted S. · 10-04-2016, 03:51 PM

Depends on the toilet. Ours has a 'dry flush' feature specifically for flushing the bowl empty prior to towing. It's made to do that. It's a macerator toilet.

Our old camper had a ball valve, had to leave fluid in it.

NWRVR · 10-04-2016, 04:14 PM

We leave approx. an inch of water at the bottom of the bowl, never had a problem. We always turn off the pump when towing, except four days ago forgot to do so after stopping in Ft. Bragg, CA. By the time we got to HWY 101 at Leggett we found the sink faucet had turned on and off due to the incredibly rough and switchback road for 22 miles plus the sink stopper had set itself allowing the sink to fill with water. According to the fresh water tank level the sink dumped about five gallons of water onto the floor. Now where did I put that check list.....

cazual6 · 10-04-2016, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfrez

The toilet seal need liquid on it at all times, otherwise it drys out. The little amount thats left in the bowl never splashes in mine. And it's another step once I stop.

There is already enough work

I think mine dried out because it does not maintain the water fill. How do I fix?