Thetford toilet problem/complaint

[booster]

Our Thetford toilet quit adding water during flushing on our last trip. I ordered a new water valve and put it in while on the road. It worked OK for a while, but would stick open sometimes. It got better over time but then started to put in very little water. No issue as the flapper still worked so we lived with it until we got home.


I looked at the toilet when I got home and got the model number of it of 31650 which identified it as an AquaMagic V, low, probably a style II because of the 9.5" rough in dimension.


We just figured we would replace the toilet as the flush valve is also 15 years old and no longer available and best to start out fresh. The only thing that looked to be able to fit was the AquaMagic VI, low, with the 9.5 rough in. The overall height was shown as 12" to the top of the bowl, with about an inch above that for overall. Our existing V is 13.25" high with the seat down so all looked fine.


Ordered one and put it in, having a tough time with the pex connection in the rear which seemed to be in a different place or height. Got it in and straight and ready to test and went to shut the door and it wouldn't shut. The door has a bump out for the toilet and it was hitting, but OK with the seat up.



I measured the toilet height and the dimension they list at 12" is really at 13.25" which is just about how much it hits the door.


There really is no reason for this kind of stuff to happen IMO when they can't even get their dimension specs correct. Those are critical for fit in many RV situations.


I tried to contact Thetford and the contact form wouldn't send and said us chat. Chat button came up and said only open a couple of hours a day eastern time in the morning. Phone didn't ever get answered for the number given. Great service, I guess times are changing.


It appears that my only way out is to rehang the bathroom door higher by about 1.25" as there is enough room to do that. It isn't a particularly easy thing as it on a continuous hinge with a million screws holding it on and the latches will have to move.


20 minute job turns into 2 days, you can sure tell it is an RV.....

[jjrbus]

All my 20 minute jobs take at least a week! I made a small notch in the door to accommodate the new Aqua magic. Normally I would do a nice job but was ready to leave so just hacked a chunk out, not happy about that but door is usually closed.

I remember customer service from back in the good old days.

[KurtFranz]

just a thought but probably too late, wonder if there is a way to shave anything off the toilet bottom to reduce the height? You probably considered that though.

[GeorgeRa]

Recently Thetford was purchased by Capital Partners investment folks, God help Thetford.

[GallenH]

Always a hassle, isn't it. I remember Interblog's dealing with size/fitting issues in replacing her Thetford with a Dometic of supposed similar size. I think hers was an issue with the seat (obviously I don't "remember" quite as well as I used to).