Toilet Bowl mysteriously filled w/ water

[DonnaD]

We dewinterized and camped 2 weeks ago. At the end of the weekend, we did not drain the hot water heater knowing we were going again in 3 weeks. Went out to the trailer last night to load some things in, and found the toilet bowl filled to the brim with water and some on the floor.
My husband opened the drain for the hot water heater (since that's the only water we knew was in the camper) and nothing came out-it was empty. It did get pretty cold one night between the time we camped and now and thought maybe the line had burst and it drained into the toilet. So we tried filling the hot water tank and nothing leaked out. We even fired it up and the water got hot.
How do you think the toilet filled up? Where did that water come from? How come the hot water heater was dry? Everything seems to be working ok, but it's just really strange! Any insight??

[exjay1]

Odd but that's why I drain the lines after each trip. Just thinking out loud here but sounds like the HW tank somehow drained back into the lines or a stuck/leaky flush handle? FW tank full and drained back into the system (pump not sealing right)..No clue really.

After re-reading I will add MAYBE somethings up with your HW tank and had back flowed water in the cold water lines through your TT. It would be under pressure and your sinks/tub wouldn't show standing water (assuming the valves were open)unless it was plugged thus the large amt of water in the toilet. Not sure on the toilets water valve if they fail on high pressure. I'd hook the TT up to city water and test each water outlet thoroughly before the next trip that's for sure.

Others please chime in here..

[Boubou]

I read a story somewhere that the people came back to a flooded trailer. They left and came back to realize that the toilet foot flush failed and stucked into place and the water kept running in the toilet, the black tank filled up and the rest is a mess. We now turn the water off outside when we leave the campsite

[clutch]

It is either the foot valve is sticking or possibly if you are hooked to city water you may be low on pressure if your regulator is not working as it should. If you don't have enough pressure the foot valve won't close all the way or it may close slowly allowing more water to enter the bowl.

[cekkk]

If you find out what caused your problem, please update the post. Our bowl filled overnight from a constant drip, caught it just before it overflowed. May have been a good thing because now we gently lift the floor pedal with our toes, at least I do, and now always turn off the outside city water when leaving for more than a few minutes.

[eldermike]

We never leave the camper with water on, either city or pump. Saw water running out of a trailer this last weekend and called the camp host to let them know.

We run on pump at night and use the switch to turn on and then back off should someone need water in the night.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by cekkk

If you find out what caused your problem, please update the post......

X2

This one has me wondering

[arkhillbilly]

Logic would say that somewhere you have a hot water line connected to toilet and pressure from a pump or city water hookup forced water to a faulty toilet flush device. My toilet overflowed once by itself while hooked to city water. Never have figured that one out. City water off when tt is alone and pump at nite, always.

[rugerguy]

Did you leave the bypass valve at the water heater open when you winterized?
IMO.That would be the only way that hot water could get to the cold water side.
Make sure it is closed.
Then check for the toilet valve leaking.
Sometimes they leak so slightly that you cant see it.
Dry the bowl to bone dry,then lay a peice of toilet paper around the upper rim inside the bowl,pressurize the system and check the paper for dampness.
Valves are not hard to replace,there are lots of Youtube videos showing how to.

[DonnaD]

Thanks for all of the responses! To be a little more clear- We camped without problems, disconnected the water, drained the tanks (except for what was in the hot water heater), and pulled the trailer home. It sat in our driveway for 2 weeks, and when I went inside to get things ready for this weekend, I discovered the full toilet. The lid was up-which is why I noticed it. At first I thought maybe the ceiling fan had been left open right above it and rain came in, but it was closed without any sign that it had leaked at all. That's when my husband opened up the hot water heater to make sure it still had water in it, and it did not. So, that's why we thought maybe it drained into the toilet somehow. We could be totally off base, but don't know what else to think...

[eldermike]

I am not sure but here is a guess: Bypass closed and hot water heater electric left ON, pressure builds up and pushes the water back into the supply side, has to find a place to go so it finds the valve with the least resistance to holding it back. fills the bowl up. So look to see if the hot water heater is on electric, the switch is "ON" and look to see if the bypass valves are set to bypass. Otherwise there is no possible connection between the water heater and the toilet.

[DonnaD]

Thanks so much, I'll ask my husband what things were set at. I don't know all the technical stuff about switches and such. I really should learn all that.

[Jack in Alaska]

My Jayco Bungalow did the same thing last winter. We left it set for 5 weeks so I drained all (I thought) of the water, disconnected the park water supply and went home for 5 weeks.
Upon arriving back at the RV late in the evening we decided to use a jug of water for the night and I would reconnect in the morning.
Well now.........I used the toilet before bed, stepped on the flush pedal and went to bed. Several hours later I heard this blood curdling scream and the wife yelling "there is water everywhere and the toilet is full of cold water. She had set down on it in the dark. Make yourself a mental image of that scene. All of her "parts" were in the very cold water. I stepped on the pedal again and it drained the bowl but it was slowly refilling; remember still not hooked to RV park water, tank empty, pump off???????????
The HW heater is a conventional 20 gal. household model and it is mounted about 3' above the RV floor in a cabinet. THat has to be the only source of water and it had to have drained back into the bowl after my 1st pedal push down. But I had drained all that ?????? WT_ is going on.??? I stepped on the pedal again and stuck a toilet brush in the hole to keep it open for the remainder of the night.
After hooking up the park water and refilling the system it all worked fine for 4+ months. All of the drains are open and hopefully everything is empty as the RV is now setting for 6 months and I am 4200 miles away.
It has to be a seeping toilet valve allowing back flow and the HW tank must not have been empty as I thought.

[DonnaD]

I think our problem was that we tried rotating the HWH valve half way in an attempt to bring in less hot (more cold) water. (regulate the temp). That's probably why it leaked out. It seems fine now with the valve in the appropriate position. Have another new issue though, will start a new thread called "Oops, poked a hole in the exterior front panel". Ugh!

[Ron685]

Did u ever figure this out? Ours does the same thing in storage.

[Cosmik Debris]

Just wanted to add that, when we had a few issues with our original toilet, including the slow filling overnight, I installed a quarter turn shutoff behind the new replacement Thetford. I want to avoid a ruined trip just because of cheaply made toilet valves.

[Ron685]

Everything is turned off and nothing connected, elec or water. All tanks drained. Pressure is relieved in all water lines. Trailer put in covered storage. When we pick it up toilet is full of water!!! If we don't flush it before towing it slashes all over. I cannot figure out where it is coming from. The foot valve holds fine while hooked up and camping......it is not a bad foot valve or toilet would be filling under pressure. help.

[Subaru297]

It has to be a gravity drain (siphoning) from the hot water tank to the toilet. The toilet is probably the lowest point in the system and if the valve leaks water can drain from the hot water tank (If it is mounted higher than the toilet). Someone above mentioned that the toilet valve needs water pressure to close. If that is the case then it could work fine while hooked up and leak when not hooked up to water.