Crazy Toilet problem

[Lee]

Hi,

I have a 2013 Cougar 21RBSWE and have a crazy issue with the toilet.

Before I get on the road I always turn the water pump OFF and then step on the toilet flush step to drain any standing water.

After driving ~50 miles the toilet bowl somehow will get water in it, and if I have driven down a bumpy road the water will have sloshed out covering the bathroom floor. I have verified that the water on the floor is definately coming out of the toilet as there are water drops all over the outside of the bowl.

Anyone else ever have this problem? and how do I prevent/fix it?

Thanks,
Lee

[hankpage]

Interesting ...... I have always kept water in the bowl to help the seal and never splashed any out. If you have ever been to the East coast you would be aware that our pot holes have been known to make some small cars disappear. My only suggestion is have your wheels balanced if they are not. Vibration would make water splash more than bumps. (I think) JM2¢, Hank

[x96mnn]

I have the same issue and do as you do. When I get to where I am going I almost always have water on the floor. For a bit I thought it may have been water dripping off the slide roof but really do not think that is the case.

[Lee]

is to seal the top of the bowl in Suran wrap. It doesn't completely stop the "water on the floor" problem but it helps.

I have also thought of putting an eyelet into the floor right next to the foot lever and using a bungee cord to slightly hold open the flush valve. BUT..... I hate to put a hole in the floor of a brand new TT.

Hopefully more folks will reply.

Lee

[Festus2]

Lee -
Having the toilet bowl with a small amount of water sitting in the bottom helps prevent odors from the holding tank from making their way up through the toilet and into your bathroom and beyond. It's important that this valve/seal sit properly against the bowl so that the water doesn't leak through and leave the bowl completely dry and "unsealed". Consequently, I'm not sure whether holding the flush valve/seal left in an open position would be a good idea.

I've never had any water splash out from the bowl onto the floor but have had some water drip onto the floor from the flush/water valve near the foot-operated pedal - not from the bowl itself.. Once this was fixed, no further dripping was noticed.

It would be very unusual for any water to splash out of the bowl onto the floor unless, of course, there was an excessive amount of water left standing in the bowl before driving off or had somehow found its way into the bowl while travelling. The amount of water left after flushing the toilet is quite small - not enough to splash out and make the floor completely wet.

A puzzle for sure.

[diugo]

How about putting some dry toilet paper in the bowl after you've emptied it of standing water? It might absorb enough liquid to keep the floor dry.

Another possibility is that the water is coming from the roof vent---maybe condensation from the roof is dripping in?

[Rick]

I had the exact same problem in my trailer. Water will accumulate in the bowl (2 or 3 inches above the slide valve) after flushing, then would spill out while in tow.

What I did to fix this is to do the same as you as in first turning off the water pump. Then, I depress the flush valve until the water line depressurizes and no water is coming into the bowl. Release the flush valve. Let things settle for a few minutes. Depress the flush valve again to dump the standing water, then release. Even after that, a little water will remain in the bowl...but only enough to keep the seal wet and the odors confined...not enough to splash out. When you get settled at your destination, turn the pump on and flush the toilet and enjoy your stay. Repeat when leaving.

Good luck!

Rick

[SAABDOCTOR]

LEE with your fix you will be sleeping alone in that trailer! you need to keep some water in the bowl to keep the oders from the black tank from fiiking the house!!!!!

[JRTJH]

The Cougar half ton 21RBSWE has the toilet along the back wall of the trailer. In any trailer, the back wall is the roughest riding part of the RV. Most fifth wheels have the toilet along the forward part of the trailer, usually over the basement storage area. Because of this, fifth wheels won't have splashing toilets. But, the rear kitchen fifth wheels have "broken dish syndrome" if you're not careful... (sort of a toilet splash replacement)

In the owner's manual for dometic toilets, it says that water may "seep" into the toilet bowl for up to 20 minutes after flushing. So, if you turn off the water pump, flush the toilet, then hit the road, you may get seepage for a while even though there's no water pressure. In your case, it seems that the seepage is enough to fill the toilet bowl high enough to splash out. Possibly, if you can find a plastic tub lid that fits somewhere around the middle of the toilet bowl, you could just drop that in place ??? Or, as suggested, several sheets of toilet paper to absorb the water (if it's not too much to absorb) Otherwise, possibly leave the cold water faucet turned on in the bathroom to help reduce the pressure and maybe stop the seepage????

[davidjsimons]

The water is clean and hopefully your head is as well, just keep an old towel under the vanity and place it on the floor when you travel. I've had it happen and just wiped it up. Dropping a plastic lid in the head may work though.


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[MikeES]

The toilet valve is leaking, we also have this problem with our Sprinter. Our pump even cycles during the night, as the toilet slowly fills up. Our old camper (Rockwood)did not have this problem (different brand of toilet).
We turn off the pump, flush the toilet and hold the flush down or open a faucet for a few seconds to relieve all water pressure.

[audio1der]

That must be a fairly significant amount of water to slosh out like that!
Leaving our last site a good portion of the ice I put down the toilet clumped up and didn't make it down so instead of fighting with it I just left it. It melted down by the time we got home but we had no water on the floor- I just flushed it away.
Knowing this, I can't imagine how rough the roads must be, or how much water must be accumulating in the bowl??

[JRTJH]

audio1der,

I'm not sure what type of RV toilets you're familiar with, but there are a number of different toilet bowl configurations. Some have a lip around the top of the bowl that would help divert any splashes back into the bowl while there are some that have no lip and would allow the contents of the toilet bowl to continue sloshing until they finally end up on the floor.

Dometic's ceramic toilets are "rimless" and any liquid contents will slosh out easily. Thetford's plastic "Aquaflush" toilets have a rim and the contents will not slosh out.

Depending on the type of toilet bowl, wet floors could be a significant problem even with an inch or two of water above the flapper valve.

[audio1der]

Ahhh- I see. I wasn't aware of that design difference.
I was wondering what you were doping to that poor RV to shake the water out of the bowl :ROFL:

[gkainz]

I've done some pretty rough washboard roads and not have this happen, but what you could do, after draining the bowl (again) is drop a ziplock sandwich baggie full of water over the seal, to seal out odors. Just don't forget and step on the flush pedal while it's in there ...

[Western Traveler]

Love the search feature and our new 21RBSWE!

Did anyone come up with a solution yet? This is what I have been doing:
Clean toilet, flush, then place a few paper towels in the bottom of the bowl.
Fish out the towels at our destination. It has contained most of the water but I am still looking for a better way.
Yes it is a rimless toilet with the water injected all around the top of the bowl so a beach ball held in place by the lid is out

I might try the saran wrap thing next.

[tileman]

Must have luck on my side
with our fuzion I just leave about 2" of water in the toilet and have never had it on the floor and that's after a 1,200 mile one way trip

[JRTJH]

About the only solution I can come up with is to flush before leaving, turn the water pump off, flush again so there's little or no water in the lines to keep leaking into the toilet. If you step on the pedal again right before locking the trailer door, you might reduce the level in the bowl and subsequently on the floor.

Your "toilet splash" is much like my "kitchen cabinet shakes"... with any RV, the "roughest riding part" is along the back wall. With mine, it's the kitchen cabinets, with yours it's the toilet. So naturally, anything mounted along the rear will have a bigger "splash/break" potential than things near the axles or up front where the tow vehicle's shocks help dampen the bouncing.

I really think that if you turn off the water pump, flush, let it refill while you're finishing the hookup, then flush once again just before leaving, you shouldn't get very much leakage around the rim, if any at all.....

Good luck.

[Lee]

.... for the replies.

Here is what I have diagnosed and my remidy.

I believe that the source of the water comes from up around the top of the bowl where the "jets" are. After flushing, there is still a good amount of water sitting in the cavity there. As soon as the RV starts "rock'un" this water is sloshed out the jets into the bowel and since the bowl is the "rimless" design the water soon sloshes over the top of the bowl onto the floor.

What I do is turn off the pump and then drain the bowl by steping on the flush lever. I then seal the top of the bowl as best I can with Suran wrap. I then hit the road and after a few miles I stop, go back in the RV's toliet and flush again. There is always water in the bowl that has sloshed out from the accumalated rim.

Short of replacing the "head" with a "rimmed" style, this is my fix!

Lee

[007stiggs]

Maybe installing an in-line shutoff valve in the supply line going to your toilet would do the trick.