Toilet change out question

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KandT

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My bathroom is tile which raises the floor up more than linoleum.  The old toilet was on a pedestal which I did not want so I disassembled it.  This left the flange pipe too long so I cut 1.5 inches off of that.  No my flange was tight to the floor which left me with the new worry that the flange and gasket wouldn't make contact.

I ended up shimming the flange up with some 3/8 inch plywood so it would come near level with the floor.

My question is - Does the gasket need to be really "squished down" to prevent black water from exiting the tank during drive.  When I put the toilet on it felt like the gasket was just making contact with the flange as I tried to pull or push it north, east, south and west.  I tightened it down pretty good and despite it feeling quite sturdy I have to wonder what it looks like in there in terms of did the gasket make contact the whole way around.

Any ideas?  Am I being overly paranoid?

IF I didn't do this correctly any ideas for a reasonably easy fix?

Thanks!
 
Would a product like this https://www.danco.com/product/perfect-seal-toilet-wax-ring/ be worth the effort?

Not specific for RV's and not sure a domestic 320 would fit it????
 
They make and sell three different wax gaskets.  Single 1-1/2 and double.  Simply install a double gasket.  Not a big deal and common practice.
 
I've removed wax rings from a number of RV's over the years because of leak complaints. The normal vibrations while underway displace the wax, and since it doesn't have the resilience of the foam gaskets, the wax stays displaced allowing fluids to leak. On a couple of occasions after floor replacements, I've doubled up foam gaskets to get a tighter seal. To keep the second gasket in place during installation, I loosely tied the two gaskets together in 3-4 places with nylon thread or light fish line.
 
Just go to Home Depot and pick up 2 waxed ring and stack them up then squash them down with the toilet. I think you'll be fine as long as the toilet is bolted down tight to the floor.
 
  The last time I changed out our toilet bowl seal will indeed be the last time. Instead of using the conventional wax or soft foam seal that is on the market, I custom made one from polyethylene foam packaging. It is the packing that comes in many shipping boxes like amazon uses and was the correct height and stiffness. Coating it with bowl seal wax helps it squeeze down as the bolts are tightened .
       
Not that I am cheap but more like I was wanting something that lasts longer and better than what is on the market. I also made a new toilet ball seal from the plastic top of a coffee container. It also works better than what was provided by the manufacturer. That one I did because I am cheap
 
I'm with NY Dutch - rubber is generally superior for RV toilet seals.  If the trailer frame has good rigidity and the floor doesn't flex much, a wax ring is fine (just like at home), but smaller or "lite" trailers and low-end models may have a lot of flex and rubber does better. The rubber compresses and expands, while the wax only gets squished once. A toilet that rocks a bit or a floor that flexes is going to leak sooner or later if a wax ring is used.

That said, if I was re-setting a toilet and the local hardware store only had wax rings, I would have few qualms about using one. However, these days most stores have at least a foam/plastic alternative to wax, sometimes labeled as a "reusable" toilet seal.

RV toilets typically come with a rubber gasket rather than a wax ring for installation.
 
one of my next projects is to replace our seat with a taller one.
I gather from this conversation that basically the installation is pretty much like a regular "brick and mortar" home toilet, as far as how it mounts to the floor.

The difference is how the water feed the thing.
Am I correct in that assumption?
 
The first part is correct, most RV toilet installations are very similar to residential toilet installations, albeit with a foam rubber gasket instead of a wax ring.

The second part about the water connection is a bit off though, since both RV and residential toilets have a water supply connection to a water control valve. The difference is how the water valve functions as part of the flush system. A residential toilet flushes and cleans the bowl using the stored water in the tank, with the water inlet valve controlled by a float that shuts off the water when the tank has refilled. A typical RV toilet on the other hand, mechanically opens the water valve along with opening the flush valve, and uses the incoming water pressure to provide the flushing/bowl cleaning action as long as the flush control is held open. From an installation standpoint, there's basically no difference.
 

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