Six Easy Steps to RV Toilet Installation

Toilet

Six Easy Steps to RV Toilet Installation

One of the best parts of RVing is the convenience that comes along with having a bathroom to use anytime – when you’re in route from location to location, when you’re at a campsite, and much more. So when your toilet is not working, it’s important to complete RV toilet installation as soon as you can! Luckily, that doesn’t have to mean spending a lot of money on a costly professional for repairs or installation. If you know how to install an RV toilet, you can complete the task in a few hours with just some simple tools!

Items Needed for RV Toilet Replacement:

  • New RV Toilet including installation kit – the most popular RV toilet is the Dometic Brand
  • Screw driver
  • Wrench
  • Rags
  • Old Towels & Newspaper

Measurements

You’ll first want to look at how the RV toilet is mounted and make notes of the dimensions and sizes. This is best done at a point in the RV toilet installation when the old toilet has been removed. Take notes of all the information about the mounting – did the toilet utilize a floor flange? It’s also important to take dimension information about the toilet hole, and write down exact measurements. Typically, standard RV holes are around 3”, but they can be much smaller.

Purchasing a New Toilet

Once you know all the information about your existing RV toilet, you’re ready to start the next step in a RV toilet install – picking out a new one! First, make sure that the new toilet has the right measurements and specifications to fit into the spot where your existing toilet is. Trust us, it will make RV toilet installation much easier!

Features

Next, make sure to look at all the features of each RV toilet. There are a wide variety of options, so it’s important to think about what makes sense for your lifestyle and how you use your RV. You may also just want to save the guesswork and go with exactly the toilet style and model that you currently have, and that’s just fine, too!

If you’re going to purchase an RV toilet with different features, some of the options include: antimicrobial, low water, composting, ones with bidets or spray units attached and much more. You’ll also want to know if you’d like to use gravity, electricity or air to power the flushing system. Keep in mind that the size of the waste hole will often times dictate the answer to this question – those with a larger hole have more options. You also want to know how you’d like to flush the RV toilet. Some of the options include a foot pedal, slide handle, hand-held handle, and electric push-button. 

Some of the other, potentially less important questions to answer include:

  •   Color
  •   Style
  •   Shape and size
  •   Materials – plastic, china or a hybrid
  •   The brand of toilet – Thetford and Dometic are popular RV toilet brands

Keep in mind that you may have to order the toilet you’ve selected, which can take up to a few weeks. 

Once you’ve selected your new RV toilet and have received it, it’s time to put your how to install an RV toilet knowledge to use and get to work!

Here are the 6 steps to install an RV toilet: 

1.) Make sure your water is off 

Clean around your toilet and remove stuff that’s in the way. This will make the job easier,  since as we know space is at a premium in an RV. Then, turn off the water pump and flush the toilet to remove all the pressure and water in your water lines and toilet bowl. Use some rags to dry out the bowl.

2.) Remove your old toilet

Once that is complete, you’re ready to remove the old toilet. Look for a plastic cover on the bottom of the toilet. It could be on either side of the toilet, or even be wrapped around the bottom of it. Pull it up. If it seems stuck, pull it towards you. You should now see nuts and bolts that are holding the toilet down. Go ahead and unscrew each of the nuts and bolts holding it down.

Next, lean over the toilet and look at the back of it, you should see a hose connected to the toilet. Unscrew any nuts and bolts that are there. You want to disconnect the hose. Get those old towels or newspapers ready. Lift the toilet straight up to remove it, rocking if it is hard to pull.

You should find a place to put the toilet once you remove it from its mounting – either right where you’re going to dispose of it, or on top of old newspapers, rags, or towels. 

3.) Drain your tank

Drain your RV waste tank completely, as you don’t want to remove any old plumbing connections with the waste tank full. You’ll want to wear rubber gloves for your safety during this step, and make sure not to touch your eyes or mouth. Once you remove the gloves, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly.

4.) Remove the old gasket & install the new one

Next, remove the rubber, cone-shaped gasket that seals the RV toilet to the floor. If it’s stubborn, you may need to pry it off with a screwdriver. Once it’s removed, you can clean up any gunk still left on the floor, and then install the new gasket (which should have come with your new RV toilet).

5.) Install your new toilet

Now is the time for the actual RV toilet install! Carefully place the new RV toilet on top of the gasket ring, making sure to line up the mounting holes so that the new bolts fit into the old holes. Once it’s placed, use the wrench and tighten the nuts over the bolts, taking care not to overtighten. Then check to make sure the toilet is snug by sitting on it and making sure it doesn’t wobble.

6.) Reattach your hose

Next, it’s time to attach the hose behind the toilet, again making sure not to overtighten it. Once that is attached, it’s time to check your work and find out if you really know how to install an RV toilet! Turn the RV water pump on and flush a few times, checking thoroughly for leaks. If you spot a leak, go back through the steps and check your work again, tightening bolts and the hose without going too tight.

And that’s it! Now you can boast to friends and family you know how to install an RV toilet, and you can assure everyone that it’s much easier than it seems. (;

Still have work to do on your rig? For more How Tos and Tips from RVshare, click here!

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