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jeromep's avatar
jeromep
Explorer II
Aug 27, 2020

Toilet replacement 1995 Bounder 35, not finding a fit

I recently acquired a pretty clean 95 bounder 35 on a Ford F53 chassis. 66000 miles and a good price. Owner took good care of her, not perfect, but for the price a great way to start RVing.

Toilet is original, a Thetford Aqua-Magic Galaxy/Starlight. Works ok, but looks 25 years old. I thought replacing it would be easy, but this toilet sits on an 8" carpeted box, and the toilet itself is about 9" high, so a total height of about 17".

I figured that a new toilet would be a bolt on, but my local service provider says the shortest they can find is an Aqua-Magic Bravura low profile. The low-profile is 13" high. If we do a bolt on swap that means that the toilet's sitting height is now 21 inches. It will also block a drawer that opens from the vanity across the top of the toilet.

What do we do? Is there a manufacturer that is selling shorter toilets for this application? Anything that is 9-11 inches high would be ideal.

Can the box be removed, toilet drain pipe shortened, a new flange applied, and a modern toilet installed? Has anyone actually done a toilet swap on one of these Bounders that has the 8 inch high box under the toilet?

I appreciate any insights or advice.
Class A
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Oct 07, 2020
    Do you really need that drawer,
    My 97 36S also has the riser, No drawer,
    I installed a new Aqua Magic Bravura 13" and like the new higher sitting height, 21 inches seems much better than 17 inches, who wants to sit there with their knees in their face when using a really low toilet
  • jeromep's avatar
    jeromep
    Explorer II
    Oct 07, 2020
    RLS7201 wrote:


    If your 35(?) looks like this, you have a 35U

    Richard


    I appreciate the feedback.

    I actually found that video on my own a few days back. This isn't my RV's layout. Mine has a galley kitchen on the curb side with a standard dinette on the driver's side and no 3 tall windows. In the video the bathroom has a pocket door on the hallway and separates the bathroom from the hallway. Mine has a pocket door that separates the bedroom from the bathroom, sliding behind the shower to the driver's side, but the bathroom is closed off by the swing door to the kitchen and the pocket door to the bedroom. When the two doors are closed you have a bathroom that is the full width of the coach, hanging storage and drawers on the curb side and rest of bathroom on driver's side. It is quite spacious for an RV bathroom on a rig with no slideouts.

    I think it is a 35, because the state says so, and my insurance says so based on the VIN, but it could be that one that I see in NADA which is listed as 34'6". So, maybe it is a 34J on a Ford chassis? Maybe I answered my own question, but I'm still in the dark.
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Oct 07, 2020
    jeromep wrote:
    Wow, how did I miss your reply till now!

    So, I should find a way to attach a photo, but mine is a 35, something or other. I don’t know the initial, not sure where to find it. But I have a walk through bathroom, swing door to the kitchen and a pocket door to the back bedroom. With the two closed the bathroom is the full width of the coach with closet space on the right side and bathroom on the left. If anyone knows what letter, that is, I’d love to know because I can’t find it on any of the documentation that came with the rig.

    Anyway, I flashed a light down the open drain on the toilet and it seems like the drain doglegs to the right, and then I presume down. So, the hole to the black tank isn’t straight underneath the commode. I could be very wrong. Maybe I didn’t see it right when I had the drain open and was flashing my light down there.

    I appreciate your great description. I’ll keep this in mind if the toilet really does biff it. So far, some elbow grease and some bleach water and the previous owner’s detritus is now gone. We’ve used the toilet many times now and it seems solid, even if it is aged.


    If your 35(?) looks like this, you have a 35U

    Richard
  • jeromep's avatar
    jeromep
    Explorer II
    Oct 07, 2020
    Wow, how did I miss your reply till now!

    So, I should find a way to attach a photo, but mine is a 35, something or other. I don’t know the initial, not sure where to find it. But I have a walk through bathroom, swing door to the kitchen and a pocket door to the back bedroom. With the two closed the bathroom is the full width of the coach with closet space on the right side and bathroom on the left. If anyone knows what letter, that is, I’d love to know because I can’t find it on any of the documentation that came with the rig.

    Anyway, I flashed a light down the open drain on the toilet and it seems like the drain doglegs to the right, and then I presume down. So, the hole to the black tank isn’t straight underneath the commode. I could be very wrong. Maybe I didn’t see it right when I had the drain open and was flashing my light down there.

    I appreciate your great description. I’ll keep this in mind if the toilet really does biff it. So far, some elbow grease and some bleach water and the previous owner’s detritus is now gone. We’ve used the toilet many times now and it seems solid, even if it is aged.

    RLS7201 wrote:
    I had the exact same issue with my 95 32H Bounder. The riser serves no other purpose other than to elevate the commode. The riser is OEM. All of the black tank is under the floor.
    I removed the commode, removed the nasty carpeting on the riser, removed the flange, took off the wood cover and shortened the supports. The 3" ABS plumbing will slide out of the rubber bushing in the black tank. Shorten or replace the ABS as necessary. Adjust length of the freshwater supply. Reassemble and replace the old carpet with vinyl. Add trim as necessary.
    I suggest you adjust the new commode height just high enough to allow your feet to be flat on the floor or measure the commode in your sticks and bricks.
    I would be glad to talk your through the process, if you like.

    Richard
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Aug 28, 2020
    I had the exact same issue with my 95 32H Bounder. The riser serves no other purpose other than to elevate the commode. The riser is OEM. All of the black tank is under the floor.
    I removed the commode, removed the nasty carpeting on the riser, removed the flange, took off the wood cover and shortened the supports. The 3" ABS plumbing will slide out of the rubber bushing in the black tank. Shorten or replace the ABS as necessary. Adjust length of the freshwater supply. Reassemble and replace the old carpet with vinyl. Add trim as necessary.
    I suggest you adjust the new commode height just high enough to allow your feet to be flat on the floor or measure the commode in your sticks and bricks.
    I would be glad to talk your through the process, if you like.

    Richard
  • jeromep's avatar
    jeromep
    Explorer II
    Aug 28, 2020
    Matt_Colie wrote:
    Jeromep,
    If it just looks old, well, it is old. So is the rest of the RV. If you want it to look new, get so plastic cleaner and go at it. If you want it to look newer, wax it.
    The box under the pot is usually because they had to make more room for the black tank, so there is not much you can do about that.

    Matt

    I see the GMC motorhome in your sigline. I would have purchased one of those GMC motorhomes in a heartbeat, but I kind of needed a (mostly) turnkey vehicle. Plus, in my area they are kind of hard to find, especially ready to roll.

    I've been looking under the floor and have really great access and clear shot of the black tank from the basement and service hatch, I'm not really seeing the black tank go up into the house through the floor. I see a riser pipe where I suspect the toilet is located, so I'm kind of assuming that it is just a riser pipe through the floor, shrouded by the box and to the toilet.

    Thanks for the suggestions. It's about all I can do, for now.
  • Matt_Colie's avatar
    Matt_Colie
    Explorer II
    Aug 28, 2020
    Jeromep,
    If it just looks old, well, it is old. So is the rest of the RV. If you want it to look new, get so plastic cleaner and go at it. If you want it to look newer, wax it.
    The box under the pot is usually because they had to make more room for the black tank, so there is not much you can do about that.

    Matt
  • jeromep's avatar
    jeromep
    Explorer II
    Aug 27, 2020
    dougrainer wrote:
    This is as close as you can get, you select the 14 inch. remember, the 14 inch is to top of lid. Back when your RV was made, it was not uncommon to remove the existing toilet and install that wood riser because the original toilet was to LOW. So, it is possible to remove the toilet and if there is nothing under the existing wood base but the down pipe, you can install a shorten 3 inch down pipe and mount a toilet to the main floor. Doug


    ***Link Removed***


    I see your additional comments. This box looks factory to me. I guess to change this we are talking about exploratory surgery.
  • jeromep's avatar
    jeromep
    Explorer II
    Aug 27, 2020
    dougrainer wrote:
    ***Link Removed***

    I appreciate the suggestion, but that is 14" high, add 8" and the sitting height is 22", even higher than the Bravura and would totally block the drawer that sits to the left of the toilet in the vanity. Any other suggestions? I'm going to try to post some pictures, too.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Aug 27, 2020
    This is as close as you can get, you select the 14 inch. remember, the 14 inch is to top of lid. Back when your RV was made, it was not uncommon to remove the existing toilet and install that wood riser because the original toilet was to LOW. So, it is possible to remove the toilet and if there is nothing under the existing wood base but the down pipe, you can install a shorten 3 inch down pipe and mount a toilet to the main floor. Doug


    https://www.campingworld.com/aqua-magic-style-ii-high-profile-white-17-12-35653.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI14XRj8W86wIVEfDACh1HDQp4EAQYBCABEgKhrfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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