New to class C's as of last August. Not to ask too personal a question of complete strangers but...So far the onboard toilet has only seen the likes of #1.How many folks use it for all occasions shall we say?It would be convenient as we have a 13 yr old DD & 9 yr old DS. I am concerned that "stuff" won't fully break down based on our use. We are weekend warriors (Friday night - Sunday morning). If, say, it gets used on a Saturday night or Sunday morning I'm guessing there might not be enough break down time & the black piping might clog.Any thoughts would be appreciated.Thanks!

Use PLENTY of water and all will be fine. When you go to dump the black tank make sure there is plenty of water (over 2/3 or 3/4 full) to make sure things flow out. Add water to the black tank if not at the proper levels. DO NOT use any of those cleansing wipes, just normal TP paper the thinner the better. After you dump the black tank add a few gallons of water to it to keep a couple on inches of water in the bottom for the next time.

Poop in your toilet. That's what its for. The stuff is not supposed to "break down". It's not a septic system. Its a holding tank. Always keep some water in the tank and use plenty of water when flushing. When it comes time to dump the tank, all the sewer trout will just migrate downstream.

The solids don't need any breakdown time.The piping is of sufficient diameter to carry everything.As wildtoad said use plenty of water when flushing the tanks and keep water in the black tank.A more pressing problem is the build-up or "pyramid" of solids below the toilet that can happen if not enough water (and too much paper) is in the tank.We have a black tank flusher on our rig which I try and use whenever possible when dumping.As soon as we dump the black tank we add 3 or 4 gallons of water to the tank. Our black tank is only completely empty for a few minutes.

We've owned two travel trailers and now a motor home and we've always used the RV toilets exactly the same as our facilities at home. We even use Costco toilet paper both at home and in our RV. The differences are in flushing, adding chemicals, clearing the waste tank & maintenance. I've never thought about whether any solid waste has broken down before I dump the black tank. As many previous posters have noted, the secret of a good black tank experience is water and plenty of it.

wildtoad wrote:Use PLENTY of water and all will be fine. When you go to dump the black tank make sure there is plenty of water (over 2/3 or 3/4 full) to make sure things flow out. Add water to the black tank if not at the proper levels. DO NOT use any of those cleansing wipes, just normal TP paper the thinner the better. After you dump the black tank add a few gallons of water to it to keep a couple on inches of water in the bottom for the next time.Some RVs have the bathroom vanity plumbed to the black tank for this purpose, to add water to the mix.

Personal question about the toilet | Good Sam Community

Monaco_Montclai
Explorer
Jun 21, 2013
Now as a extra kick for the black water tank, put a bag of ice in the toilet, and dump at the next stop . Happy-camping
YC_1
Nomad
Jun 21, 2013
Just Jeff wrote:
ReneeG wrote:
YC 1 wrote:
Now for a suggestion that is a bit different.

Teach/tell all male occupants that it is a SIT down unit ONLY. No one wants to hear the water fall nor does anyone want to clean up the splash. Be a man and sit down or go somewhere else. Just as we tell friends this is a no smoking house it is a sit down house.

Is this a woman?

Haha. If my host tried to tell me how to use the bathroom, I would just go somewhere else. That's crossing the line of "my house, my rules," IMO. I don't think I'd ever tell another adult what to do in the bathroom unless I was their caretaker.

We do not allow smoking in our house so why not ask our Guests to respect our reasoning for the restroom. You would be amazed at how courteously the gentlemen respond to our request.

If you wish to go someplace else, please do if that makes you comfortable. You sit down to take care of the heavy work, why not just relax and readjust your boxers when peeing. No one wants to hear the golden flow either.

But - her house, her rules...so I'd politely suggest other locations for our future meetings.
YC_1
Nomad
Jun 21, 2013
ReneeG wrote:
YC 1 wrote:
Now for a suggestion that is a bit different.

Teach/tell all male occupants that it is a SIT down unit ONLY. No one wants to hear the water fall nor does anyone want to clean up the splash. Be a man and sit down or go somewhere else. Just as we tell friends this is a no smoking house it is a sit down house.

Is this a woman?

No, I am the married for 38 years and counting husband that respects my wife doing the bathroom cleaning. She should not have to clean splatter from walls and on seats. No issues with leaving the seat down either.
Mocoondo
Explorer II
Jun 21, 2013
ReneeG wrote:

Isn't that going to leave an oily residue in the bowl and water? Not that it matters considering what goes into a black tank, but what about what it looks like in between?

I've had no issues at all with that. It just flushes right down. Granted, I've not examined the bowl *that* closely post-evacuation, but if the choices are a light sheen on the bowl or a big skid mark that looks like a runaway Freightliner came through, I'll take the former. :)
ReneeG
Explorer
Jun 21, 2013
Mocoondo wrote:
ReneeG wrote:
Just Jeff wrote:
Two ways to handle poo in the toilet so you don't get skid marks.

1 - Car wax the bowl. Makes it slipperier so everything slides right down.
2 - Lay some toilet paper across the bottom before you make your deposit, and your deposit will go down easier...and not leave marks. We did that in Iraq b/c for some reason those toilets had inspection plates that retained a record of all previous users for you to see if they didn't lay down the paper first.

We do the second one...might try the first at some point but #2 has been good enough for #2 so far.

Great idea on the wax. On the second, we tried that, but doesn't help since the TP "melts" in the little water in the bowl. They make a product for this that covers the entire bottom, but just don't feel the dieing need to order it.

Pam cooking spray is worth it's weight in gold for this purpose.

Isn't that going to leave an oily residue in the bowl and water? Not that it matters considering what goes into a black tank, but what about what it looks like in between?
Mocoondo
Explorer II
Jun 21, 2013
ReneeG wrote:
Just Jeff wrote:
Two ways to handle poo in the toilet so you don't get skid marks.

1 - Car wax the bowl. Makes it slipperier so everything slides right down.
2 - Lay some toilet paper across the bottom before you make your deposit, and your deposit will go down easier...and not leave marks. We did that in Iraq b/c for some reason those toilets had inspection plates that retained a record of all previous users for you to see if they didn't lay down the paper first.

We do the second one...might try the first at some point but #2 has been good enough for #2 so far.

Great idea on the wax. On the second, we tried that, but doesn't help since the TP "melts" in the little water in the bowl. They make a product for this that covers the entire bottom, but just don't feel the dieing need to order it.

Pam cooking spray is worth it's weight in gold for this purpose.
F1bNorm
Explorer
Jun 20, 2013
ron.dittmer wrote:
Everytime I comment on what we practice, I get hammered from you good people. :) so I will keep quiet.

Ron-
I look forward to your posts! I find them thoughtful and helpful, based on fact and experience.

- Norm
Mocoondo
Explorer II
Jun 20, 2013
polish al wrote:
amen to that!!!!!!!!!!! we dry camp on the beach every weekend so water is a big issue. when I get home the first thing I do is fill up the black tank with water and the rest is history!!!

About 10 years ago or so, we had a couple of friends along with us for an extended holiday weekend. Despite being thoroughly briefed on the expectations, his wife deposited a full weekends worth of very large feminine napkins into the loo, which naturally, I did not find out about until I got home and attempted, without success, to dump the tanks.

I ended up having to "fish" out about 8 maxi pads from the black tank, one at a time, with a coat hanger.

***NEVER, EVER, EVER*** again.
polish_al
Explorer
Jun 20, 2013
Mocoondo wrote:
I dispatch the morning mud musket in the RV toilet as if it were religion. I just have a preference to do that function in a clean, well lighted place that is personally comfortable and familiar. As to #1, I go wherever it happens to be convenient. "As others have stated, no flushable wipes ever, and all women on board are thoroughly briefed that the price they pay for dropping a cotton horse down the hole is that they walk home"
amen to that!!!!!!!!!!! we dry camp on the beach every weekend so water is a big issue. when I get home the first thing I do is fill up the black tank with water and the rest is history!!!
ReneeG
Explorer
Jun 20, 2013
We too pre-fill our black tank with at least 5 gallons of water - two big buckets and a holding tank deodorizer. No tinkle paper goes in.

Forum Discussion

Personal question about the toilet

About Motorhome Group

Related Content

Toilet question for Host Mammoth owner

Toilet usage

Personal experience??

4 person sleeping

Toilets