House Toilet in Skoolie

birdiewren

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Lots of opinions on toilets in the community, but I’m interested in the possibility of adding a house toilet to my skoolie. Let me set the scene: lived in my bus for three+ years, have an RV toilet installed. I’m in the middle of a complete renovation to shake things up after a couple years. Fix things that irritate me. I’ve got a household water heater and previously had a standard sized household tub. So in my head… it’s doable. The bus doesn’t move, it’s been stationary for three years. I have the ability to move it but currently not in the plans. I’m about to move the location of the toilet already with the other renovations going on, so thought this would be as good a time as I’ll get to make any changes. The current rv toilet would need to be replaced due to some internal seal issues (unable to fix with parts) so it’s a loss.
I’m not interested in a composting toilet (just not my speed) and I’ve heard conflicting info on whether it’s possible to plumb a house toilet into a black tank (I’m okay to straight plumb into waste dump). So anyone who is experienced, give me the breakdown please! I have decent water pressure but was considering a water saving household toilet. Let me know if you anticipate any issues I haven’t thought of! Thanks in advance.
 
I have not done it but...if the bus is stationary, almost 100% of the time, there is no issue using a house toilet.... No water to splash anywhere....
The plumbing into black tank should be straightforward, just like in the house.

Again, i never done it but there does not seem to be anything special that says it can't be done.

Your gonna use much more water so if you are using a black tank, you'll be dumping alot more...

Straight plumb to a sewer, waste dump is the best option IMO.
 
I plan to have a mobile bus with house toilet. I will engineer the lid with a seal and front clamp to lock it down so water cannot leave the bowl. Same for the top lid.

A house toilet does need to have the top bowl extra secured however because that is where your flush water is stored and it's heavy and will break seals on the toilet from side to side driving so secure that bowl properly and seal the top lid as well.
 
With a house toilet, wouldn't the water down in the bowl, from movements, actually drain into the tank allowing smell to come up? Just curious... I got a nice extra house toilet.... Just bought a new Dometic 320 for $250...now wondering what would be better..
 
With a house toilet, wouldn't the water down in the bowl, from movements, actually drain into the tank allowing smell to come up? Just curious... I got a nice extra house toilet.... Just bought a new Dometic 320 for $250...now wondering what would be better..
Methinks there have been enough experiences with toilets in RV's & boats to splain why they don't go traveling around with tanks and bowls full of water.
 
I personally like the idea of a poop bucket with a bag in it. Pee in the shower. We all do it anyways.
 
With a house toilet, wouldn't the water down in the bowl, from movements, actually drain into the tank allowing smell to come up? Just curious... I got a nice extra house toilet.... Just bought a new Dometic 320 for $250...now wondering what would be better..
I'm gonna head this off with that I'm NOT a plumber so I don't know the official terms, but I know how this all works, and this is what I'm going to do.

Terms I don't know the official names to but understand intimately how they work.
"Stop" - The cap at the bottom that the chain pulls upwards and seals the water into the upper chamber.
"Float device" - The device where the water line screws into and fills the upper chamber with a float that stops the water fill.
"Upper Drain Pipe" - The backup pipe that is a certain height to drain water down into the bowl in the event the Float device fails and water were to keep filling up the bowl causing a catastrophy.


Upper Chamber Preparation:

Seal the top lid with a rubber liner, and install 2 clamps on both sides of the top lid to securely mount the lid to the upper chamber to prevent water from leaving the chamber and onto your floor.

The problem: Water drainage to the bottom chamber bowl in a bus causes two problems that must be addressed.

The water will splash back and forth, a lot. We solve the water leak problem with the rubber seal mentioned above, but this is still a problem for the float and the Upper Drain Pipe.

Answer:
1.) The simple fix is Build an accessible shut off valve. You could Cover the emergency Upper Drain Pipe. Seal it off. It's not needed except when the float fails and incoming water continues. If you do seal it off it will not add water to the lower chamber even with splashing because you cut the water off with the shut-off valve that is easily accessible. This requires some patience as you will need to turn the valve on to fill the bowl up and count to 30, then turn it off again. Or with this method you could leave the upper chamber empty and turn it on when you need it but the lower bowl will be empty and more cleanup will be required so best to have the water in already.

2.) More complex but better solution. Get a PD Meter which can shut off water flowing after a measured amount passes through. Say 2.5 gallons for an upper chamber. Set the meter to this. It's installed in-line, when 2.5 gallons passes through, it shuts off your water to the upper bowl. Do your business, flush, and Press a button and 2.5 more gallons can pass through. You remove the float entirely, just rig a fitting to the lower fill port where the float would normally be installed and have the PD Meter push the 2.5 gallons of water into it. No float required.

In either case seal off the upper drain pipe because it will just leak water into the lower bowl prematurely wasting water.

And

Problem 2:
Potential for the stop to open causing an unintentional flush.

Answer:
This is not really a problem as one would suspect. The stop won't be affected unless the air in the chamber hits the stop which is unlikely as the upper chamber is often filled 70% water/ 30% air. It shouldn't splash enough back and forth to cause the stop to lift and cause a premature flush. The stop would have to be exposed to air and it won't splash that low to open the stop. So not really a problem, just heading this off in case someone says "Well what about the stop?!"



Lower Chamber Preparation:

Add a seal under the lid that sticks to the lid but seals with the lip of the lower bowl. You'll need two sets of seals, one for upper lid, one for lower seat lid, or you could permanently set it so the inner lid never opens, use a sealant, and only use a rubber seal for the upper lid. Use a similar clamp used on the top lid for the Upper Chamber, but at the very front of the lid that clamps down to the lower bowl tightly. That's it.
 
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If you seal the tank, how will the water escape to flush? It will need a vent.
I think RV toilets exist for a reason. A house toilet would work if the bus is not moving.
But as you move the bus, water will slosh out of the bowl and uncover the trap built into the toilet, thus allowing stink from the tank to exit thru the toilet bowl.
Why try to re-invent the toilet?
 
Yeah, I mean, I **** like god intended: hanging my ass out the front door on the highway

Gets rid of tailgators real quick
 
If you seal the tank, how will the water escape to flush? It will need a vent.
I think RV toilets exist for a reason. A house toilet would work if the bus is not moving.
But as you move the bus, water will slosh out of the bowl and uncover the trap built into the toilet, thus allowing stink from the tank to exit thru the toilet bowl.
Why try to re-invent the toilet?
May have to add a vent on the top lid then tall enough to not splash. Could even add a whistle to the vent top to let others know you've finished your business ;)

I want to re-invent the toilet so I can have a toilet on my Bus. Can't really call those composting toilet a toilet if there's no water involved. It's just a can.

Define: Toilet
An apparatus for defecation and urination, usually consisting of a bowl fitted with a hinged seat and connected to a waste pipe and a flushing apparatus.

That means flowing water is required to be a real toilet.

Composting toilet is a misnomer.
 
i have a house toilet in my big bus.
turn the water off and flush toilet to get rid of most of the water before you hit the road and your good and if you are scared of it wrap a bungee cord arounr the tank to keep the lid from bouncing off.
 
I plan to have a mobile bus with house toilet. I will engineer the lid with a seal and front clamp to lock it down so water cannot leave the bowl. Same for the top lid.

A house toilet does need to have the top bowl extra secured however because that is where your flush water is stored and it's heavy and will break seals on the toilet from side to side driving so secure that bowl properly and seal the top lid as well.
I don't have a bus yet but I do have a one-piece toilet in my house...the bowl and the tank is one piece. It's one of those push button flush toilets and seems the lid on the tank part would stay on better. Glacier Bay - McClure 12 inch Rough In One-Piece 1.1 GPF/1.6 GPF Dual Flush from home depot
 
Just get a submarine toilet … stainless steel with a big 4” ball valve at the bottom of the bowl… skip the tank pressurization part…

(not sure what I’m talking about?…google “how does a submarine toilet work”)…
 
I'll look into both of those and report back. :)

I've only thus far looked into converting a house toilet. I did look into P valve meters too and set them to 2 gallons, after 2 gallons of water passes through them it enables a check valve. (For filling up the top tank after flushing)
 

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