Thetford Porta Potti 335 - Portable Camping Toilet - 2.6 Gallon Tank - Hand-Pump Flush

Video Transcript for Thetford Manufacturer Spotlight - RV Toilets

Hello neighbors, it's Brad here from etrailer and today I have Stacy from Thetford Norcold. And today we're gonna be breaking down something that you may have in your RV, which is gonna be a toilet, a very important thing that you may not think of until it's broken. And we're gonna be breaking down the different types and also a little bit of maintenance that goes involved to making sure that your toilet lasts. So first thing, there's three different types of toilets that you all offer, correct Correct, we have the permanent toilets, which basically come within our RV. We have cassettes which are great for van life, all of that. And then we have the Porta Potties, which you can use for many things including tent camping.

So we'll start with the permanent style. So obviously that's gonna be one that's installed into your RV. And what are the different styles that you have within that permanent style We carry quite a few different permanent styles. We have our Style II. We have our A-M Sixes.

Those are probably the most popular ones. We offer them in high and low versions, as well as white and bone. Within the different versions, what do they offer one over the other as far as tiers I think one of the biggest things, we do offer porcelain bowls as well as polypropylene. And then, the difference between the two styles, or, we have a front pedal and then we have a side pedal as well. So is that basically just set it up, based on the space that you have Correct.

And then porcelain versus polypropylene, why would someone go with a porcelain over poly and vice versa Well that's pretty much, you know, up to preference. A lot of people feel more comfortable having the ceramic bowl. You know, it's a little bit more similar to a residential type toilet. The polypropylene is a lot lighter. So, just depending on a person's preference, we offer both styles.

That's fair, so yeah, if you're really focusing on keeping the trailer light, maybe 'cause of your tow rig, going with the polypropylene makes a lot of sense. If you want all the comforts of home and a little bit more sturdy of a feel, I would imagine, when sitting down, you can go with the porcelain. Okay, that makes sense. Now you mentioned different heights, so you have a high version and a low version. What's, why would someone opt for one over the other I think the biggest differentiator is just space. Like, what type of RV are you putting that toilet in Some toilets are put up on a platform, so maybe you wanna low just to account for that. It's about comfort. One of the major high points of getting a high toilet though, is that they are all ADA-compliant. So they are, with the American Disabilities Act, that they can go ahead and accommodate those. So you have some additional things that you can add to the toilet. So the hand sprayer, what exactly would you use that for So all of our permanent toilets are able to be added with a hand sprayer model and that's very easy to go back to the back of the toilet. There is a little dongle that comes off that you clip the end off and the hand sprayer just fits on perfectly. So, the hands sprayer is available for purchase additionally to all of our permanent toilets. Something to be concerned about with water is leaks in a toilet and what's the best way to prolong the life of a toilet and potentially not run into issues. What should I do as the consumer to make sure that my toilet lasts as long as possible Definitely use lubrication on your toilet seals and you should always use a specific RV and marine approved toilet seal. By incorporating that into your daily routine, as you're going through and cleaning your bathroom, things like that, lubricate that toilet seal and it'll make it last a lot longer and prolong the life of the toilet. And as far as a winterization process, what would you do for something like that to make sure that it's thoroughly done Just make sure that all of the moisture is cleared out of the toilet. Any trapped moisture can affect the toilet very negatively, cause cracks and breaking, especially in the water modules, where you could see some leaking in the next season. With those specific cleaners, couldn't I just use, you know, some Vaseline or something to kind of seal that up No, we recommend using approved RV and marine type cleaners. Abrasives can destroy your bowls, things like that. They're made of different elements than your regular residential toilets. So yes, use the cleaners that are approved to go ahead and clean those, rather than using something from your house that could cause cracked seals. Abrasive toilet cleaners are not good for RV type toilets. As far as sanitation and treating tanks, you guys offer two solutions. Chemical based and enzyme. What's the difference and why would someone pick one over the other It really has to do with how long you're going to be out using your camper. It's approved for all three of our lines of toilets. So Cassette, Porta Potties and Permanent. An enzyme base takes a while to build up. To react, it takes 24 hours to really start digesting that waste material. So the enzymes work off of that digestion of the waste material and it takes a minute to add up. But then if you opt for a chemical cleaner, it reacts with the odor that comes out of your tank and so it acts instantly. So if you are looking to go away for a week, an enzyme is really going to be a powerful agent to act in your tank. If you're looking for just a weekend, I might opt with the chemical cleaner just because it'll act immediately. In your sanitation tanks, a lot of times there's gonna be a level reader that picks up on whatever's in there but it can get clogged. What do you recommend for making sure that that's clean and reading properly So we have level gauge cleaner which will go in there and kind of loosen all that gunk off of there and we do advise that you use that regularly, just to make sure that your level's reading properly. But using the right toilet paper makes a big difference, I would assume Makes all the difference in the world. You know, we recommend that you don't use household toilet paper or residential toilet paper, that you use a special marine and RV toilet paper. What that advantage is, it's going to dissolve quicker and avoid any clumps in your tank. And that's especially important when you go to dump your tank at the end of your trip. So we talked about the permanent style, you also offer a portable style and what's the purpose of a portable style Portable style is great. You can take it with you wherever you go. Of course it's great for temp camping and things like that, but also things like tailgating. Hmm. Toddler potty training (Stacy chuckles) as well as great on a boat. So if you're out and you just need somewhere to bring a toilet, you know you're gonna be gone all day, a Porta Potti is really a great solution for that. That's solves a lot of problems. Recently, out tailgating at the Chief's game, I noticed a bunch of small tents and I knew what they were, my wife did not. But not having to find a, you know, an actual standalone Porta Potti, you can bring your own, you have your own little comfort there and with boats it's huge. Even if you do have a small toilet that's already in your boat, a lot of times to clean that out, unless you're using your boat often, it becomes a big hassle. So this is a great way to kind of omit that. Many people I know with boats that have bathrooms don't use 'em because it is kind of a pain. That solves that problem. A cassette style, what does that offer that's different than a portable The Cassette is a semi-permanent type solution. We see a lot of people using it when they convert their vans into like the van life. A Cassette is a perfect option for that. And actually the tank just comes right off of the toilet and then you can carry that to your dump station and dump it that way. Yeah, and that's smart. You mentioned the van life. A lot of times as people start to build it out, they get their bed and their kitchen and then all of a sudden they go, "Oh no, well what do I do for a bathroom" And to add tanks to something, it's just not feasible. So great solution there, definitely solves the problem. Now, when it comes to dumping waste from your sanitation, you guys also offer hoses to be able to do that Yes, we offer tanks. We have different size tanks and different size hoses that go along with that, anywhere to five to 20 feet. Our hoses are especially important. We've really put a lot of time and energy into making an indestructible hose. So if you have a kid that rides a bike over the hose or back into it by accident, our hoses are great because we've really spent the time and investment into making sure that they're gonna last and they're durable. Yeah, and when it comes to dumping waste, you wanna make sure there's no leaks, you want it to go where it should go and not go everywhere else, so. Cracked hoses are not a great time. Not good. And the cool part with your guys is as far as stowing it, that'll fit in a bumper of an RV generally, won't it Yes, we designed it especially to be able to fit into that bumper of the RV. So you have a dedicated space for that. That's not mixed in with the rest of your camping gear. That's nice, yeah, kinda keep it outside and you know, let fumes or whatever maybe kinda air out from there instead of putting it in the basement. That's really nice, that's convenient. The hose is great if you can get to a dump site and get rid of everything, but if that's not the case, do you have other options as well Yeah, we have a full line of our Titan Totes and they come in a two wheel or a four wheel edition. We have 21, 27 and 35 gallon totes that can go along with your RV. Totes also fit on a ladder mount that we also sell and provide that can go onto the back of your RV. So learning about RV and camping toilets, you know, it's something that you may not think about until there's an issue and that can surely ruin a week of camping, you know, if your toilet's not working. So definitely taking care of your RV toilets is gonna be really important to make sure that long term they last. Plenty of different options for whatever your application may be from Thetford. Huge thanks to Stacy for breaking it all down for us and giving us some more information. Make sure that we have the best solution for our RV toilets. Thank you. Thanks.