Need input on a couple issues

kerin_o · 04-29-2016, 08:51 AM

Hi everyone!

So I've been busy cleaning up my 2006 T-2363 and I'm so impressed with the quality of this camper. I replaced one of the vent lids and also replaced the floor seal on the toilet (Sealand 210), only to find out that wasn't the issue.

I pulled the toilet completely out, took it apart, cleaned everything and put back together. It didn't leak, but also didn't hold water in the bowl. So I went to the local rv supply store and mortgaged my house to purchase the seal kit.
When I pulled the toilet back apart, I realized I had the original seals in the wrong order, so I put them the correct way and put back together. It held water! Unfortunately, it didn't hold the water overnight. I took the new seal kit back and I'm wondering if I should just leave it as is, or is it an issue that it doesn't hold water overnight? I don't mind replacing the seals (it's an easy job), but I'll order them online where they're half the price. Thoughts?

The only other issue I've come across in this unit is that the speakers are not working. It doesn't matter if I have it on radio or put a cd in it, there's no sound. I've pulled the unit out, checked wiring in the back, made sure the plug was together tight, checked the fuse and all seems fine. Aside from ripping all the wiring out, which I don't want to do and don't think is necessary, what could I be missing?

Last item, battery seems to be shot. Advice as to the least expensive, but reliable battery?

Thank you for any suggestions. I'm looking forward to packing this baby up and hitting the woods!

k~

j52wf · 04-29-2016, 10:22 AM

The water in the bowl keeps out the odor from the tank. Make sure radio is not on mute. If not, try and locate a used replacement OEM radio. I got a decent deep cycle battery at a good price from Batteries+. Have them fully charge it first. My advice is to stay away from big box stores like BJs. Their own associate told me those batteries are not reliable. I bought one and had to return it. Would not hold charge overnight. There were 3 other batteries on the return cart.

**JohnB** · 04-30-2016, 09:36 PM

Hi K,

As j52wf said, the water seal in the toilet needs to seal. And when right, it will hold for days and weeks until the water evaporates.

"Normally" what happens is sometime water minerals in the seal build up and that prevents a tight seal. Any kind of contamination can do this too. The flush ball will not hold if the rubber is not 100% against it.

Sealand use to sell and give you a cleaning brush with some paste. The cleaning brush looked like a tongue depressor with little bristles. And the cleaning paste looked like Softscrub cleanser you use in the house. Heck, it may even be Softscub or a generic brand.

Looks like this. I do not think they even make them any more. But any flat thin plastic piece will work. If you cannot read the instructions, let me know

I have had a leak and cleaned it and it did go away. I think I had to do this twice since Nov 2003. Not often but I filter all the water that goes in my camper.

Hope this helps

John

kerin_o · 05-04-2016, 01:56 PM

Thank you both. Do you recommend any kind of lubricant on the seal before replacing? I've seen that somewhere, but not sure if it's true or what to use. Thanks again!

j52wf · 05-04-2016, 03:00 PM

Personally, I have never used any lubricant on the seal.

**JohnB** · 05-04-2016, 08:55 PM

Lube on the toilet seal? H'mm no, not that I know of or have ever used or heard of. The water lubes it.

Did you mean "lube" put in the black and gray tank to help lube the slider dump valves? Yes, that area, the slider dump valves can benefit from a silicone spray on lube to get the O rings between the sliding blade to move. And some have coconut oil added in the tank treatment to lube the dump valve. But again this is the dump valves, not the toilet valve.

mainah · 05-05-2016, 07:44 AM

It's kind of unlikely all of the speaker are bad.

kerin_o · 05-06-2016, 08:42 AM

There's a You Tube video in which the guy is replacing a toilet gasket and uses a plumbers grease on it. But if y'all are saying it's not necessary then I won't waste my money and time on it. I've cleaned it all up thoroughly, so I guess I need to put new gaskets in. Not a problem, I've become a pro at taking it apart!

The stereo/speakers. I realized the other day I was getting 'white noise' from the speakers with the unit on. I plugged in my headphones and still had no sound, so I believe the problem is in the stereo unit itself. The mute is not on. I'm not savvy on electronics/wiring/soldering, so that may have to be a new purchase as well. I may let my nephew tinker with it first...

Honestly, if these are the only issues on a 10 year old camper, I'm considering myself pretty damned lucky! Now I just have to put a plate on it and decide where to go!
Thank you all for your help!

k~

j52wf · 05-06-2016, 10:31 AM

There is a difference between the toilet gasket (which is between the toilet and the floor), and the seal (which is between the toilet and the flush ball). I can understand greasing the gasket, although I did not use any when replacing my old toilet with a taller one.

kerin_o · 05-06-2016, 12:35 PM

I apologize, I said gasket but meant seal. I already replaced the gasket on the floor, which probably didn't need to be replaced, but it is now. I'll just go ahead and order the seal kit and go from there.

j52wf · 05-06-2016, 04:02 PM

Once you pull the toilet, it's best to replace the gasket anyway.

Digmenow · 05-10-2018, 03:55 AM

Resurrecting an old thread...

The seal in the 1950's toilet would not hold water in the bowl for more than a couple of minutes. On investigation on the internet into how to resolve the issue, I saw plenty of videos showing how to remove the toilet and replace the seal along with a recommendation to try the plumber's grease. I got a small tube from the big box hardware store in the plumbing section that has all of the faucet repair valves and washers. I applied it liberally to the seal with my (rubber gloved) finger.

It's been 24 hours and the water level has remained steady. Someday, I will have to replace the seal but not THIS day.

It's also available from Amazon at this link.

Danco Silicone Grease $3.95

**Sunline Fan** · 05-10-2018, 07:50 AM

I bet that's good stuff, Dig. I had an issue with the valve in my '97 sticking, like it would almost break the handle trying to open it, and it wouldn't hold water very long. The bowl valve is discolored, so I think it sat for a long time with bad well water on it. After cleaning, I sprayed the seal with silicone lube spray, and it has worked fine and held water ever since. If I have any issues of it sticking since doing that last year, but I haven't tried after a winter now. If it sticks this year, I think I'll get some Thetford toilet valve lube and give that a shot.

ggrvguy · 05-10-2018, 12:42 PM

Sometimes on these sea land toilets there would be a scratch or nick on the plastic Ball shaped slide and we would have to replace that part to get them to hold water. Or you could sand it or buff it smooth with very fine paper. The plumbers grease does help as does silicone. Also if it has the large hose clamp holding the 2 halves of the toilet together, you can tighten the clamp while putting down pressure on the bowl to help tighten the seal. Just be careful you don't crack the plastic 1/2 round pieces. Sorry don't remember what they're called.
Gary G

**JohnB** · 05-11-2018, 09:50 PM

I'll add 2 things that can cause the bowl to not hold water.

1. This is fairly common. Debris of any type gets trapped between the black rubber seal and the flush ball. That allows a leak path past the rubber seal. In my Sealand toilet manual they gave me a tool and instructions on how to clean the seal.

Here is the kit. These are no longer sold I think.

And the instructions

And the tool they gave you. This is the size of a pop sickle stick

The tip of it. Little rounded bumps

The cleaning compound is like soft scrub you use in the kitchen sink etc. at home.

I have had to use this cleaning method a few times over the years. I used the soft scrub cleanser and the flexible cleaning tool. It solved the problem.

2. On the Sealand toilet valve, maybe other brands too, sometimes the foot lever return spring is a little weak or something has prevented the ball from 100% rotating back to the shut "off" position. By being 95% or 98% etc and not 100% closed the water leaks through the small crevice exposed by being very slightly open of the ball not under the rubber seal.

We had a friend stay in our camper last year and they had the bowl leak down about after every flush. H'mm, must be some debris in the seal. So I cleaned it out. This did not solve the problem for them like it always has for us. So I looked at it again and I had them show me how they flushed the toilet. Then it dawned on me. They were so gentle using the foot pedal the spring never would snap back the ball to the 100% closed position and it would leak down. I flushed it by doing it quick and letting my foot off the pedal and it returned back to 100% closed. And it works every time with a quick release of the foot pedal.

While this solved the leak down problem, I sense I am going to need to dig into the foot pedal/valve etc and figure out why it needs a hard snap back to spring 100% closed. Point being, make sure the ball is 100% closed.

Hope this helps

John

Janalee · 05-12-2018, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerin_o

Hi everyone!

So I've been busy cleaning up my 2006 T-2363 and I'm so impressed with the quality of this camper. I replaced one of the vent lids and also replaced the floor seal on the toilet (Sealand 210), only to find out that wasn't the issue.

I pulled the toilet completely out, took it apart, cleaned everything and put back together. It didn't leak, but also didn't hold water in the bowl. So I went to the local rv supply store and mortgaged my house to purchase the seal kit.
When I pulled the toilet back apart, I realized I had the original seals in the wrong order, so I put them the correct way and put back together. It held water! Unfortunately, it didn't hold the water overnight. I took the new seal kit back and I'm wondering if I should just leave it as is, or is it an issue that it doesn't hold water overnight? I don't mind replacing the seals (it's an easy job), but I'll order them online where they're half the price. Thoughts?

The only other issue I've come across in this unit is that the speakers are not working. It doesn't matter if I have it on radio or put a cd in it, there's no sound. I've pulled the unit out, checked wiring in the back, made sure the plug was together tight, checked the fuse and all seems fine. Aside from ripping all the wiring out, which I don't want to do and don't think is necessary, what could I be missing?

Last item, battery seems to be shot. Advice as to the least expensive, but reliable battery?

Thank you for any suggestions. I'm looking forward to packing this baby up and hitting the woods!

k~

I know this is going to open a barrage of advice but have to tell you I have owned 20 various kinds of campers and I can honestly tell you MOST of them did not hold water in the toilet bowl for very long..I do make sure I clean the "ring" using my bowl brush to clear debris as JohnB will tell you..But I have never been plagued with tank odors because of this!!..And--I don't use chemicals..!Sorry to say, that statement goes against the grain for many, but if you just calm down and wait to see if you have a problem and THEN fix it,you will enjoy this new experience more..Of course,this is JMHO!! Lol!

Relie · 05-12-2018, 02:55 PM

Sorry can't help with toilet problem, but have had similar radio issues. Make sure that you have the antena plugged in. Make sure the antena is in the upward position. If the unit is the original you problably need to replace it. I replaced mine with one from e bay for around $150. Had to do a little cutting to install it. Well worth the trouble as the original didn't have C/D and the new one did. The new ones all come with install instructions. Make sure you buy new not used. There are a bunch of them out there.
Battery....I bought a Deep Cycle (which is what you need) at Auto Zone for $125. Works out great and holds a charge a lot longer than conventional battery.

Hope this helps you.. Happy camping!
Dave