Chinook RV

Have looked at both the RV Forum and the RV Owners Forum (yahoo) and have not seen anything about replacing the toilet (not tech person). Mine was badly stained when I purchased the 2002 Destiny. (Any way to get rid of the stains?) I was thinking about a 18 inch Thetford. I called County RV (Santee CA) and the service manager gave me a date a month out to look at it to see if it was feasible. I'm sure there must be lots of knowledge out there. Please let me know 1. if there is something already on the websites, 2. if it's feasible, and 3. if there are downsides to a different toilet. It would reduce weight. Thanks in advance.

There is a reason Chinook used Sealand toilets and other brands used Thetford. A stained Sealand is so much better than a Thetford toilet. If it is lighter, then it is plastic and that is even worse. Just my opinion of course.

Thanks. Appreciate your response.

With porcelain toilets, you can use a pumice stone to get stains off. I have VERY rusty water and it works like a charm even if it does use some elbow grease.

With porcelain toilets, you can use a pumice stone to get stains off

Good tip. I use mechanic's hand cleaner containing pumice in a MicroGel with a kitchen sponge that works well, too. One brand is ‘Fast Orange’ that auto parts stores carry.

If you are buying a new toilet, there are various considerations for quality and features. The porcelain of the Sealand is nice, but according to a friend (who had the same model and replaced it after some years with a different model) it's a bit of a pain to replace certain parts having to do with the ball/seal. (I haven't done that so no direct experience.) The flushing pattern on his new one is also better. But on the other hand, the new one is not quite as hefty seeming. Also, it has no inner rim. I guess this is supposed to be a feature ("never clean under the rim!"), but..... if you aren't careful things can "go" right up over the top (several reviews mentioned it, and yep.... it's true). Non-porcelain is lighter; porcelain is quality. Etc. etc. So (now why does this sound funny?) I'd say judge each toilet on its variety of features, how easy it is to maintain, how well it flushes (friend of mine's Sealand had a flat spot on the bottom of the bowl - sheesh), etc.

But anyway, what I really started out to mention is a couple of things to be aware of:

1) Our toilet sits on a pedestal molded into the shower floor. So unless you want a really high "throne," you will want a low profile toilet (this is a thing so a number of toilets come this way).

2) We have a "regular" bowl. Elongated bowls are now all the rage. But, if you put one in the Chinook bathroom, then there would be even less room to stand at the sink, shower, etc. So if it were me I'd look for the non-elongated bowl.

3) There is a bolt pattern on the bottom of every toilet. On some RV's it can be a pain to change patterns; it may not be on the Chinook but I have never removed the toilet so I can't say for sure.

Now doesn't just getting the stains out sound easy?

Sealand is now part of Dometic.
https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/rebranded/sealand

The Sealand in our 2002 was also badly stained. I scrubbed and scrubbed using the Sealand bowl cleaner and a brush. I worked at in for several days.

We also noticed that the toilet ball wouldn't seal, so water drained out, adding to the hard water/rust problem. Eventually, my husband decided to change the ball seal and floor gasket. It was a gross job, but now it works like new. We hope we won't encounter such hard water like the previous owners endured. I still am not satisfied with my cleanup of the Corian sinks. I wish they were stainless steel.