I was talking to the service guy at a local big RV dealer today. We were interrupted by a phone call from a customer, which I only heard one side of. I was puzzled by his comment that they had a wiring problem keeping them from getting power to the toilet... Huh?
Ater getting off the phone, he explained... some big-$$ RV's have push-button toilets! This means that there's a solenoid to work the flapper valve, and another to work the water valve. No need to get all sweaty working a foot pedal or two . The valve assembly costs about $250, just for parts. He was recommending that the customer replace the whole thing with a regular foot-flush unit, at about the same cost, but with much greater reliability.
The rest of the story _may_ be urban legend... but he went on to tell me of the guy traveling alone in a $300K unit who had the power fail to the solenoids, unnoticed, as he flushed and hit the road. It pumped out the whole 100 gallon fresh water supply. Once the black tank filled, the rest went, via the toilet, onto the floor....
Like I said, _maybe_ that story's just urban legend... but I still wouldn't want a toilet that wouldn't flush when there was an electrical problem .
I'll stick to simple RV's, thanks...
Jim, "I know what you're thinking, and you should be ashamed of yourself."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
My 1985 class B has a factory-installed "One Touch" push-button electric toilet. It's supposed to use half the water of a regular RV toilet. I've never had a problem with it in the 12 years I've owned it so I'd say the reliability is about equal to any other toilet. With flat house batteries it wouldn't work, but I don't let the batteries get totally depleted.
On the last two trips I made this month, eight days to north central Arkansas and four days to Hannibal MO, I didn't use water in the toilet anyway but used wag bags instead. I guess my wife finally sold me on the convenience of dumping black waste in any garbage can even if it does cost a dollar a day. Dropping a plastic bag in a trash can is much simpler than dumping a black water tank.
Bonanza Traveler XL
Kayla - occasional wife, Snickers - full-time dog (four pounds)
Map this class B only — 47 states and all provinces in other RVs
Quote: Dropping a plastic bag in a trash can is much simpler than dumping a black water tank.
I would be careful with this; I bet it isn't legal in some places...
There is nothing like a Porta-Potti. I use a little water softener (Calgon) and liquid laundry detergent, and sometimes in worm weather, a little Clorox, and never an odor; just dump it in any toilet and no need to be waiting at a dump station. I am somewhat disabled but have no trouble with dumping it.
If you use the blue stuff that contains chemical, you must dump at a dump station, as it can kill a septic system, that depends on bacteria for breakdown.
re: dumping black waste in bag in trash can:
can someone fill in on legality/etiquette....
is this not the same as soiled (bathroom run No. 2) baby (adult) diapers,
i commonly would put soiled baby diapers in plastic grocery bags and dump at the first opportunity when trash can is present along with other household/rv garbage..
Here's another vote for Wag-Bags. See our Web site at http://www.fergusthemagicbus.com/Boondocking1.shtml . There's a great deal of difference between black waste in a Wag-Bag and black waste in a regular plastic bag ....
Supposedly the National Forest Service endorses Wag-Bags. I would strongly recommend that all RV-ers buy a smaller pack of the bags and keep them in their RV. Particularly here in Texas, with hurricane season about to arrive, there is nothing to compare with the serenity of knowing that, in a pinch, you can poop in your van using a Wag-Bag and a bucket ....
Ok, In addition to my last comment (now that my
jaw is back up where is suppose to be) I bought
my TT so that i'd have a functional bathroom. Why
would I want to do the "2" in a zip lock baggy???
ejbleendreeble wrote: ...there is nothing to compare with the serenity of knowing that, in a pinch, you can poop in your van using a Wag-Bag and a bucket
My vote for the best quote I've ever read on the CVC Forum...
Re legality: Wag bags meet federal and state requirements for disposal in any landfill. They have been officially approved by the US Forest Service and in fact the Forest Service sells them as a pollution control measure. They're acceptable in national parks and recommended by the BLM. Various environmental groups encourage their use and some have set up dispensers for them at various public parks and campgrounds. They're far more sanitary than average diaper or feminine hygiene product disposal. Wag bags disintegrate in six to eight months when deposited in landfills. Wag bag disposal is certainly legal anywhere dirty diapers can be deposited. Fifteen states, mostly in the west, have issued formal letters of approval and none have ever disapproved.
Montana State University cooperates with Phillips Environmental Products, Inc., the maker of wag bags, on research to improve "Poop Powder" which is mostly natural fungi (M. albus and Fusarium) proved not only to encapsulate waste but also to reduce or eliminate dangerous bacteria as well as greatly reducing the VOLUME of waste. Flush toilets create several times more waste than the original product.
Re Porta-Potti: I've used Porta-Pottis for more than twenty years and have one in my truck camper but I no longer use water in it. I use wag bags instead.
As to why a zip lock bag (with a deodorizer and an instant gelling agent that encapsulates the solid matter) I didn't buy an RV with a bathroom to become a sewer worker. I want the least mess and fuss possible. I'll take dropping a plastic bag in the trash over dumping a black water tank any day.
In addition to the environmental advantages of wag bags, for me there's often a significant time savings. I never stay in campgrounds with sewer hookups so I have to find and sometimes make a detour to a dump station. Dump stations are scarce in some parts of the country but trash cans are everywhere. In New England especially, I've had to go an hour out of my way to get to a dump station burning three or four gallons of gasoline in the process and sometimes having to pay a $2-5 dump fee. A convenient free garbage can isn't hard to find.
. The valve assembly costs about $250, just for parts. He was recommending that the customer replace the whole thing with a regular foot-flush unit, at about the same cost, but with much greater reliability. 
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