I Broke Up With My Black Tank

Camper toilets always remind me of port-o-potties

I always knew when I got my camper, I would not be using the black tank. Why you ask, the mess and smell of having one and since it’s just me camping, I decided to get a separating (composting) toilet, needless to say I ended up with two as the first one I purchased was to big for the space to make it easily used.

I hadn’t really expected to do the necessary modifications so soon before my first excursion, but as I was looking at it, I decided to make it happen and in truth it wasn’t so bad. I think the big issue I had was really not planning on paper, I kind of made it up as I went along, thank god for all the wood working projects I created as a kid in my dad’s shop, so I did know my way around saws and projects.

The tools I used were: Wrenches, circular saw, jig saw, drill, scissors and a knife. Also double sided tape, glue and something to cover the plywood base and paper/cardboard to create a pattern. I am sure I am missing something, but those were the basics. Another thanks to god, all the tools I purchased over the years whether I used them or not.

I did this over a weeks time just due to my schedule and there were times I needed to let glue dry. I suspect if do better prep planning this could be done in a few days.

The Water Connection

First. I removed the water hose from the water outlet and capped it off. I initially didn’t measure the size needed so when I went to Home Depot, I bought a few different caps in different sizes.

They weren’t expensive so I didn’t mind and you never know maybe in the future I’ll use them for another project. 1/2 inch seemed to do it. Phew one step down, many more to go.

The Screws

I then removed the caps that cover the screws that held the toilet down. It wasn’t difficult, but the one on the right side under the foot pump did take a bit longer, tight space an all. I felt for other bolts on the back thinking this couldn’t be all, but I know toilets usually just have two.

I got the bolts off and pulled the toilet up and off. What I didn’t expect was for the toilet to be so light. All made of plastic, it made it so much easier to maneuver around and out of the camper.

At this point I was thinking, “no going back now”.

The Flange

What was staring me in the face was the flange (I think that is what they call it.) with the two bolts sticking up. I thought I was going to need to remove the flange, but on closer inspection, I was able to get the bolts out by wiggling them back and forth and as they came out, so did a bunch of the goo (caulk), wear gloves that black stuff was sticky.

Something I didn’t anticipate was the flange being @1/4 inch high making putting the new toilet on the flat surface impossible. I also needed a plug that would plug the hole to the black tank. I suspect I could had pulled the flange off, but with all that black caulk, I think the mess would have been impossible to deal with. Also I at some point if I decide to sell, at least the new owners could put a toilet back on and use the black tank…but why?

I laid a piece of paper down and attempted to create a pattern, took the measurement for the hole and off to Home Depot to get the things I needed to create the new base. Plywood, glue, edging and something to finish the base off. I found the right size plywood 3/4 inch think which should be just high enough to be above the flange when I cut the hole.

I went home for the evening. When I laid the pattern down on the plywood, something felt off so I didn’t cut it that night and glad I didn’t. The next day I went back to the camper and re-did the pattern and took better measurements. I plugged the hole and covered the flange with a piece of cardboard so the goo wouldn’t’ get on to the plywood as I went through the cutting ceremony.

When I inserted the plug, the screw handle of the plug was too high, so I expanded the plug to where I could put it in upside down, but it would still be snug enough to hold in place, but someone later could pull out with pliers.

I started to cut the plywood to the dimensions I would need. It took me a couple cuts on the back edge where it angles down. After each cut I would lay the base down to ensure it fit correctly. Remember measure a lot and don’t think you remember anything.

I would need to make a drill hole where the center of the flange was so I could make a round marking for cutting out. To find where I needed to make my first drill hole, with the base down, I got on the floor and just eyeballed where the center of the flange was; I was pretty close. Once the first hole was drilled, I used a piece of string, or in my case because I didn’t have string, I used an iphone charger cable, but hey do what you need to. I attached a pencil to one end and the other to the drill and drew a circle the dimensions necessary for the flange to sit inside with a bit of room so the plywood didn’t come in contact with the goo.

Using a jigsaw, I cut around the circle, and this mess became the first step for the base for the new toilet to sit on.

Attaching The Tile

While at Home Depot I looked for a variety of options to cover the plywood. Initially I had paint in my cart, but then looked at tile, it dawned on me, I had a lot the stick on tile I hadn’t used. So to save money, I would use that to cover the base. And since the toilet would be covering most of the base, I think it would be fine.

Even though the tile were stick on, I used glue also. I thought they would stick better to wood using the glue. I glued the tile to the base, leaving the enough to hang over the edges which I would cut off later.

I covered the hole with the tile which left that area a bit flimsy, but I put a piece of cardboard under later on to help with that. If I were to do it again, I would lay another thin piece of plywood down to cover this base so the cutout would be solidly covered. The toilet covers this area so it should be fine for now.

Letting It Dry

After all the tiles were glued in place I flipped it over and put it on a piece of cardboard then added heavy items for weight to keep the pressure down on the tiles.

I left this for a day to dry.

You can see the circle cardboard inside the cutout to help with support.

Cleaning Up The Edges

I found edging and thought it would look nice. It came in a role making it easy to cut to size. The edging was meant to be ironed down, but that wouldn’t work so I glued and used the painters tape to keep it in place.

I cut the excess tile off, glued the edging down and let it set for another day. Don’t look too closely, you’ll see the problems, but two sides will never been seen.

It’s now Thursday night and I leave the next day. I went back over to the camper. Pulled off the painters tape, oh yea that was something I forgot to mention above, painters tape came in really handy. Inspected the edges, they all seem ok, though I am sure I could have re-glued in a few places, but who had time.

So you ask “how am I going to attach the base to the camper”? I could had used liquid nails or really strong glue which I think would had been better, but I did want to be able to remove it if something needed repairing or like i said above I sold the camper. In the end I used two sided Gorilla tape. It really only needs to not slide around. When you sit on the toilet you are positioned over the camper base, not the edge so it’s good there. I used quite a bit of tape and stuck it down. I thought of doing the same for the toilet, but the tiles are a bit tacky so the toilet doesn’t slide around.

During the drive the toilet didn’t move at all. As you can see this original new toilet was a bit tight in the space and with the distance from the floor to the seat, I had to stretch to sit on it. I realized I should had waited until I got the camper, then did measurements for better size.

I’m a big guy so sitting on it in the corner was not the best, but it did it’s job in the middle of the night. I realized I needed a different one, and yes it was going to be a costly change, but I felt it was the right thing to do for the long term. I ended up getting the Trelino medium and it definitely fits much better in the space. I will need to put a support under the front left corner so it doesn’t tip forward and will do some more “cleanup” so it looks finished off.

The first toilet above was the Cuddy Composting Closet. There is nothing wrong with this option except for the size. There are more features to it it than the Trelino, but I needed something to fit the space.

There is enough space to stand and shower still. In fact the original toilet did hang out almost to the same place as the left corner. I haven’t tried taking a shower yet, but I will be doing that soon with my next trip.

This is my first modification and though it’s not perfect, I moved beyond the fear of doing it and in truth it wasn’t so bad. Watch out, maybe I’ll add a second floor to my camper next…