A big lesson is that I should not have left so many of my tools in my storage locker. I brought a minimal amount of tools with me, basically screwdrivers, a couple of wrenches, and a hammer, which was not enough. I am going to dig them out and bring them with me when I get to Ohio.
My toilet is on a platform and is in two pieces--a pedestal and the bowl part. It would not have been difficult to dissemble if the first screw not been stripped and I had had more space to work in. Not being able to kneel on my replaced knees made it a lot harder also. (I had to sit or stand and getting up is not easy.) In addition, the two pieces are held together by two plastic pieces that are held in place by a band with a screw mechanism, which of course was way in the back of the toilet.
On a positive note, I turned the water off, but did not even have to remove any of the water hoses. (There are two--one to fill the bowl and another for the rise hose.) In addition, the bowl was not really heavy. I just slid it over and laid it on its side between the vanity and the pedestal. This video was pretty clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3TRivsNlQ . In addition, there are instructions on the seal package. I took pictures most of the way through so I would know how to put things back together.
I had to run into the nearby small-town hardware to buy a small socket set because the screwdriver was not working well on undoing the band. I was dripping wet by then. I also was able to clean off the old hard water scale by scraping with a screwdriver and scrubbing the ball flush thing with CLR and an old toothbrush. I also did some much needed cleaning with bleach and soap behind the toilet and of the plastic shield that goes around the toilet. It was easy to put the seals on and move the bowl back into place. (Next time I will put some silicon stuff around the ceramic of the bowl onto the seal.) I put everything back together and Voila! It flushed and held water. However, as I discovered a couple of hours later, it was leaking around the seal and between the bowl and the pedestal. A lot. I was beat and just decided to use the water from the tank overnight, and just sop it all up.
This morning I called Dometic and discovered that I had not put the two plastic pieces back so that they were touching in front and with a gap in the back. Lady said no matter what I did it would leak unless I made sure they were locked together in front. I also realized that the package said the strap had to be tightened to 65 torque pounds. I had tried to use the screwdriver, but I don't think that was tight enough. So it was easy to remove the band, slide the plastic bands around and latch it in the front, and then retighten the strap, except this time used my new ratchet. Yea! So far no leaks.
The strap that needed tightening looks sort of like this: http://www.flagpro.com/store/mounting-straps.html The screw end has both a screwdriver slot on the bolt, and it also fits into a socket from my 1/4 inch drive set. The screwdriver tightened it part way, but I really, really needed that socket and drive handle to get it tight enough. I don't know how you are supposed to have a torque wrench handy that would fit into that tiny space behind the toilet!
Anyway, it took me about three hours, and I saved at least $200 doing it myself. It will be a lot faster next time.
