Labor day weekend trip too much labor..

[Wayne M]

Wow! So many "fiery" responses. Do you know the worse part of posting on a forum, sending email, etc? The person reading it cannot see the facial expressions, intonations, and other body language that set the saying apart from being rude to being funny to being inquisitive.

Stop and smell the flowers for crying out loud.

To the ORIGINAL POSTER. Some of the older model RV toilets had week springs and Sealand was one we had and the manufacturer put out a kit to replace the mechanism giving the "ball" a tighter fit when closed. You may want to check into your specific model toilet and see if there have been any retrofits that may preclude flooding in the future. You are absolutely correct in letting the foot pedal snap back on it's own. If you are unable to resolve the problem, put a note in the bathroom for guests when you have them stating the instructions. Another thing that helps close it tight it to place the toe underneath and just pull up "slightly," to get the good close.

Happy trails and good luck.

[JudyH]

OK This reminds me of wasting SO MUCH TIME on the stinking TV. It just started bugging me that I couldn't get it to work. I tried and tried and got So frustrated that when we got home, I got out the book for the receiver. And right there in black and white was the solution. Doh! Forgot to do the "check switch"! There is a difference between the dish at home and the one I had set up. So I don't know if you had the same lapse, or if it was some other simple thing, but I suggest you check the book. By the way we bought a carryout sat dish, but we still have to check switch even now.

[anotherone]

Originally Posted by Nitrohorse

I'm the guy in my neighborhood who will offer help....if it's wanted. I like to think that I'm halfway smart enough to assess whether someone wants that help. I just can't see trying to impose the way I do things on others. Most times my way isn't the quickest or prettiest, but it half-arsed works.

My wife and I were camping this Labor Day weekend. The couple behind us had an old pop-up. Saturday night I was starting a fire and noticed that the husband was sitting outside on one of those old aluminum, nylon webbed folding chairs. He has a very small tube TV with him and was watching the NASCAR race in front of a small fire. I thought to my self that he doesn't have the newest or largest, but he's probably the happiest guy in the CG. I asked him if he needed any firewood as I usually bring a medium sized Ash tree with me. He told me that he can't haul much with his Durango and usually can only bring a few pieces of wood. I grabbed my old milk crates and gave him enough wood to have a good sized fire for the rest of the weekend. That was the best part of the trip.......

It feels good to do that ; I wish I did that more often but I often dont like to but in. My wife usually volunteers me

[TysonTDW]

Our camping trip went great until we pulled out to go home. I ran over the dam fire pit, so I put it in reverse to back out of it and it hugged my tire and wedged it self all up in my wheel well. Pushed my bumper up and slightly bent my wheel well. Did I mention this is my Brand new 2012 tundra that's about 2 months Old. Had to UN bolt a scissor jack from the trailer to lift the front end off the ground and make clearance to remove the fire pit with least damage. I finally got it off with the help of a hammer and perseverance. Laughed as we were leaving that I left mark at the camp site. I was more disapointed that my phone was dead and I did't get any pictures. This was a private RV resort so I stopped and told an employee I damaged the fire pit. They said not to worry as I was the 3rd person to have the same issue. So ya my has a little damage but it comes with the terriroty I guess.

[Bigblue12v]

Ok sorry this reply is somewhat disorganized and not very thorough, I can only access the forum on my iPhone app so it's hard to see/thoroughly reply to everyone at once as I can't do multi quotes so I forget what I wanted to say in reply to everyone. I'll try to sum it up.

No offense was taken on my part from RanCarr. We hadn't previously taken the dish due to having better weather and many activities planned. In fact we normally wouldn't take it. This was a last ditch attempt trip to get out of the S&B quick and cheap despite the bad weather forecast. I hate, no I DESPISE! Hotels, not that a reservation would have been available last minute on holiday weekend anyway. We were lucky this campground doesn't do reservations so we were able to get a spot. All other campgrounds were booked. Knowing it may rain a lot we took the dish to try to have some indoor entertainment during inclement weather. also wanted to try it out and see how it worked so as mentioned, there wouldn't be any last minute surprises when we had better justification to use it.
To the other poster, yea we did the check switch stuff and a zillion other tests per tech support's instruction. They seem to think there is something wrong with the dish itself or my aiming job. I swear I had the coordinates all correct. Anyway I'm putting that on the back burner.


The toilet is a Thetford Aqua Magic and is hand flush model. The tank didn't back up, the flush valve simply didn't close 100%. I've caught it doing it once before but corrected it before it got very much in the bowl. I'll have to replace the valve.

We are looking forward to the cooler fall weather camping trips! This summer has been so miserably hot and fall is my favorite time of year by far!

Sorry if I missed other replies that I intended to reply to.

Thanks
Eric

[Nitrohorse]

At least the overflowed water was clean. I don't know much about these toilets as I never had one apart, but I would guess there's a replacement part for the bad valve?
One of the wife and my favorite CG doesn't have wifi nor cable. I'm not a TV junkie, so I really don't miss it except for my ritual of watching the news before bed. I bought the Wingman add-on (name slips me) and that helped pull in channels. I have Directv at home and was often tempted to buy an additional dish to try at the site. Problem is that the site is heavily shaded and I really don't have a clear line of sight to the southern sky. Even if I did, I'm sure I'd be inventing new cuss words trying to get it lined up. If something can go wrong, I'm usually the designated candidate for it to happen. We had a little Sunline T2070 that we camped with and sold it back in August. I could have that set up in 30-40 minutes. We bought a 2013 Jayco in August and for some reason (mostly me), it takes me almost an hour to set it up. The reason I said this is that we try to fit in a camping trip every two weeks. We usually leave on a Friday and that makes it tough. What we do is head to our favorite CG which is only 50 miles away. It does limit our time camping, but we enjoy the new tt and spending time with the family. When we can grab a vacation day and extend the weekend, we look for a new CG to visit. I looked at your rebuild photos. You did a nice job refurbishing that tt. You can be proud of your work. I'm sure you will come up with a fix for the toilet. If you figure out the dish, please post it on here as I'm sure there are others on here who are slightly reluctant to pull the trigger on one without reading a success story....lol.

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by dogpatch

I think the point here RanCarr that made others question you, was that you came across as questioning the OP's reasons for wanting to watch his Satelite TV on a weekend. I don't feel it is up to any of us to question why someone does anything preferential with respects to their reasons for camping or the things they do.
I think our questions should relate to what circumstances lead to the reason the OP posted the question in order to understand their situation and to give advise if we are able.

Just my thoughts!

I see what you mean.

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by Nitrohorse

At least the overflowed water was clean. I don't know much about these toilets as I never had one apart, but I would guess there's a replacement part for the bad valve?

My husband found a valve for the old commode in the Class-C online.

One of the wife and my favorite CG doesn't have wifi nor cable. I'm not a TV junkie, so I really don't miss it except for my ritual of watching the news before bed.

We have Verizon mifi 4G and take it with us everywhere so we can use the laptop anywhere. We can also bring our home phone with us. Since most CGs don't have cable where we camp and travel, we bought the Winegard Satellite dish. We take the DirecTV box from home.

I bought the Wingman add-on (name slips me) and that helped pull in channels. I have Directv at home and was often tempted to buy an additional dish to try at the site. Problem is that the site is heavily shaded and I really don't have a clear line of sight to the southern sky. Even if I did, I'm sure I'd be inventing new cuss words trying to get it lined up. If something can go wrong, I'm usually the designated candidate for it to happen.

Don't think that way. They're not that difficult to line up with one person outside and one inside. Get a long cable and put the dish, if possible, where it has a direct view of the southern sky (as you already know). Even if that campground is heavily shaded, many are not.

[anotherone]

I put the sat box on the screen that gives the signal strength with sound and turn up the volume so I can hear it outside and then aim. Gotta make sure the mounting pole is absolutely level and plum. I am using a tri pod. Most of the time its quick but trees can be a challenge.

[tomwalt]

Originally Posted by Bigblue12v

Ok sorry this reply is somewhat disorganized and not very thorough, I can only access the forum on my iPhone app so it's hard to see/thoroughly reply to everyone at once as I can't do multi quotes so I forget what I wanted to say in reply to everyone. I'll try to sum it up.

No offense was taken on my part from RanCarr. We hadn't previously taken the dish due to having better weather and many activities planned. In fact we normally wouldn't take it. This was a last ditch attempt trip to get out of the S&B quick and cheap despite the bad weather forecast. I hate, no I DESPISE! Hotels, not that a reservation would have been available last minute on holiday weekend anyway. We were lucky this campground doesn't do reservations so we were able to get a spot. All other campgrounds were booked. Knowing it may rain a lot we took the dish to try to have some indoor entertainment during inclement weather. also wanted to try it out and see how it worked so as mentioned, there wouldn't be any last minute surprises when we had better justification to use it.
To the other poster, yea we did the check switch stuff and a zillion other tests per tech support's instruction. They seem to think there is something wrong with the dish itself or my aiming job. I swear I had the coordinates all correct. Anyway I'm putting that on the back burner.


The toilet is a Thetford Aqua Magic and is hand flush model. The tank didn't back up, the flush valve simply didn't close 100%. I've caught it doing it once before but corrected it before it got very much in the bowl. I'll have to replace the valve.

We are looking forward to the cooler fall weather camping trips! This summer has been so miserably hot and fall is my favorite time of year by far!

Sorry if I missed other replies that I intended to reply to.

Thanks
Eric

BigBlue, you might want to try lubricating the slide valve and seal with Plumbers lube - it is silicone based and found at Lowes or Home Depot.

[Nitrohorse]

Originally Posted by RanCarr

My husband found a valve for the old commode in the Class-C online.



We have Verizon mifi 4G and take it with us everywhere so we can use the laptop anywhere. We can also bring our home phone with us. Since most CGs don't have cable where we camp and travel, we bought the Winegard Satellite dish. We take the DirecTV box from home.



Don't think that way. They're not that difficult to line up with one person outside and one inside. Get a long cable and put the dish, if possible, where it has a direct view of the southern sky (as you already know). Even if that campground is heavily shaded, many are not.

I had T-Mobile Mifi and I was disappointed in their coverage, I guess it's either get Verizon or a satellite dish for those rainy periods. Thanks!

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by Nitrohorse

I had T-Mobile Mifi and I was disappointed in their coverage, I guess it's either get Verizon or a satellite dish for those rainy periods. Thanks!

We found Verizon has excellent coverage and they're adding towers every day. But we camp and travel east of TN. Out in the western states it may be different.

[RickO]

Folks, I have deleted or edited quite a number of posts for being rude, baiting, and/or off topic.

Please stay on topic and be nice.

thanks for your help.

Rick