Camping outdoors and RVing comes with their own set of problems. As an RV owner, it is your job to tackle those issues and deal with them head-on. After all, that is all a part of living your life on the road!
But sometimes issues arise that are annoying to deal with and completely out of one’s control. We are talking about toilet problems in RVs. If you are a Dometic 320 owner, you must be very well aware of what we are talking about.
The Dometic 320 commode is an entry-level toilet for RVs, which has several reported faults. You should possibly stay away from this model. But if you have just installed one in your RV and have no choice, you should read the following article with all your attention. We will tell you how to catch and solve a Dometic 320 toilet issue as soon as it happens.
Water Leakage
Several users have reported water leaking from the base of their Dometic 320 toilet. On inspection, it turns out that there is a design flaw, which allows water to build up between the two ceramic pieces. There is a gasket in place between the ceramic ends and four bolts that hold the three pieces tightly together to prevent such an incident from taking place. Unfortunately, the gasket has leaks, where the water deposits and overflows, resulting in the leak to the floorboard. This not only leads to a lot of unnecessary mess but an unforgiving bad smell in the RV.
What’s interesting is that many Dometic 320 owners who complained about this issue to the company received a negative response. The brand’s representatives neither acknowledge their mistake nor provide any solutions to the toilet problem.
So, it is up to you to solve the problem by yourself. Here is how you can do that:
- You have to open up the four bolts and separate the three pieces (two ceramic ones and the gasket).
- Gently clean and dry the gasket and put it aside.
- Get a silicone-based sealant and apply it on both sides of the gasket.
- Apply some more of the sealant on the base ceramic piece and place the gasket on top.
- Follow up with more sealant on the top side of the gasket (the area which meets with the upper ceramic piece).
- Redo the four bolts and you should have no future water leaks.
Spreading Bad Odor
A common side-effect of dirty water leaking from the toilet is bad odor. We already know that the Dometic 320 toilet leaks like crazy, if it is not treated with a sealant. So, if you haven’t already fixed the commode, you should do it immediately. The bad smell should go away on its own once you have done the work.
However, if it doesn’t go away, it means the flush is not working, and the dirty water is staying within the bowl. It could also mean that the sewage lines on your RV are heavily clogged. You must ensure the blackwater and greywater tanks are emptied at a suitable location and that you are connected to the septic tank when stationary.
If you take care of all these things, you shouldn’t face any bad odor problems in your RV.
Restricted Water Flow
When you have done your business in the toilet, it is time to flush the contents out of the bowl and into the wastewater tanks on your RV. But what if that system doesn’t work?!
For Dometic 320 users, that is a grave problem and one they have to deal with regularly. Several users have reported a water flow issue, which is a cause for concern. Unfortunately, there is no concrete fix for this problem as there is no solid way to stop a clogging valve screen.
You can only deal with it by being on top of RV maintenance. We are talking about cleaning the main water tanks, the water inlet valves, and all the other filters regularly. If you follow a strict maintenance schedule, you should never experience such an issue in your Dometic 320 toilet or your RV.
Unavailability of Parts
It’s common for companies to make cheap entry-level products to woo customers in their direction. Dometic does the same with their 300 series toilets for RVs. But they should also focus on providing necessary spare parts for their models. After all, not everyone can discard a toilet and buy a new one once it poses problems. Some people are out there to make things last a lifetime.
Unfortunately, parts for Dometic toilets are scarce and plentiful for their competitors. You can easily find spare parts for Thetford toilets in multiple RV markets. However, for Dometic, you need to contact the company and ask for parts directly from them.
For an RV owner, the unavailability of parts can be a huge problem, especially since you move around a lot.
The only way you can get out of this situation is by purchasing spare parts beforehand. So, when you need them, they are readily available.
Lack of Swirl Action
The Dometic 320 comes advertised as having a definitive swirl action. But users have reported the opposite. The commode lacks a swirl, which could be due to an undersized plumbing line going to the wastewater tank or, because of low water pressure.
But since the 320 has problems with water flow, it’s possible that that could be causing a lack of swirl action. You should, therefore, check the inlet and outlet water flow valves and clean them thoroughly to solve the swirl problem.
Free Flowing Water
Some people say their Dometic 320 has problems with water flowing into the bowl, while others complain that the water flows too freely.
When you flush the toilet, the dirty water should swirl away, and the clean water, coming from the tank should stop automatically. But that doesn’t happen in some 320 toilets. This is usually due to a faulty valve.
Luckily, it is easy to clean the valve or replace it with a new one. You should do a maintenance check every few months to ensure the water inlet valve is in top shape, and your Dometic 320 should never have such an issue.
Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by travel. I inherited this passion from my parents. Since my college years and to this day, I have had a passion for traveling in a motorhome. I am here to share my experiences with you.
