Broken holding tank handle - Montana Owners Club

Montana_3380 · 11-03-2006, 10:37 AM

Hi there all you terrific answer people. We hope you can answer this one for us.
The cotter pin?? broke out of the pull-handle for our black tank. Fortunately it opened first! We have a second valve on the drain pipe so it won't spill but we sure need to be able to close the valve at the tank opening. We would like to cut a trap door in the bottom of the basement so we can get to these cotter pins, at the end of the pull handles, from the top. The holes where the handles (black and gray tanks) enter are too small to see much and we're not sure we wouldn't cut into the tops of the holding tanks.
At our age, rolling around underneath and pulling belly metal down is pretty much out of the question. This is a 2001, 3255RL, arctic pack, Montana and we're full-timers. We've been putting up with the problem while we considered possible fixes but it's a real nuisance.
Suggestions will certainly be appreciated.
Jim and Jin
Seven Points, Texas (for the moment)

noneck · 11-03-2006, 11:23 AM

Hi Jim, You really should go in from underneath. Trying to cut through for overhead is risky, from the side is not advised as this goes through the I beam which should not have an enlarged hole as it reduces structural integrity. I have pulled a series of screws from the wrap around aluminum and found it was enough to gain access to this area. My case I was running 6awg wiring to some switches mid-coach. Maybe others have better ideas....
Chuck

HamRad · 11-03-2006, 01:54 PM

Jim and Jin,
I agree with Chuck. Go in from underneath. It is just a matter of a whole bunch of screws! But that then will open up so you can get to the necessary fixes. We've had to apply a patch to the area where handle goes into the tank that is how we know about getting into the area.

There have been several discussions on this subject over the past few years. You can try doing a search if you'd like to read some of the previous discussions.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

Dennis

dsprik · 11-03-2006, 02:58 PM

I have a 2007 and my grey tank handle (not galley tank) pulled out of it's screw. It remains open. I equalize anyway between grey tanks.

I spent some time asking questions on this forum, and then crawled and poked around under the handle area before deciding that a dealership will handle anything and everything above that particular belly panel. Money will not be an issue...

richfaa · 11-03-2006, 03:18 PM

I just know that is is a matter of time till some or all of our dump handles break or pull loose. The Grey handle was bent and the black handle did not fit through the hole in the compartment. Can't believe they would put something that breaks so easy in a place that is so hard to get to.. another design by the office of diabolical engineering.Has anyone done any kind of a mod that makes the handles easier to get to...we have the 3400. Although we have had no major problems we have spent many hours correcting all those "little workmanship things" and have not got to "fix the stupid dump handle" issue yet.

richfaa · 11-04-2006, 05:25 AM

Dave You gave me a great idea..We are going to have T&C install our W/D and take care of a few little things before we head SouthWest. Think I will ask them if they can improve the dump handle issue. Strengthen it or something...In the meantime I think I will call "team Montana' and raise &*^%$##@.I have been mellowing as of late..

nailbender · 11-04-2006, 08:41 AM

I have not had any problems with the waste handles yet. But if I do, I might consider install electric waste valves. Has anybody used these or know anything about them?

ols1932 · 11-04-2006, 08:53 AM

A friend of mine installed electric valves in his motor home septics and swears by them. He had had previous failures of the mechanical ones and was tired of having to have them worked on.

Orv

dsprik · 11-04-2006, 09:19 AM

Rich, let me know if you come up with a fix. I have no problem with the manual handles (except maybe the galley handle on my 3400). I can't imagine that the cost of installing electric valves would be worth the effort??? Maybe...

Cat320 · 11-04-2006, 09:34 AM

IMHO, electric valves would not be worth the trouble and expense of installation vs the benefit gained...and more things likely to break. How much trouble is it to pull three handles?

richfaa · 11-04-2006, 10:14 AM

Pulling the handles is no problem..Getting to the handles and fixing them when they break is. There has got to be a easy fix We just have not looked in there but when we do we are sure we can improve on it. Not a geneer or anything but I thinks the people who designed that system were not either..

Montana_3380 · 11-04-2006, 10:27 AM

Thanks everybody. I think we're going to go ahead and have the friendly neighborhood mobile RV guy come fix it. Once he gets it undone we can see what's what in the space at the top of the tanks. It seems like an easy thing to do to cut through a 3/4" basement floor without cutting into anything. The only foreseeable problem might be hangers or clips holding the tanks up against the floor. The trap door would then be available to reach in and fix anything else that might "foul" up in there.

This time it's gonna cost us!
Please don't anybody complain to Keystone on our account. Those folks have been so wonderful to help us out. We had the dreaded crack below the bedroom slide and elected to take Monty to Goshen for the fix. Gotta go somewhere when you got wheels, right?
We got the tour and terrific treatment. Monty came out good as new and in record time. We love our Montana and don't think there's a better built rig on the road!
Jim and Jin

Cat320 · 11-04-2006, 11:22 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

Pulling the handles is no problem..Getting to the handles and fixing them when they break is. There has got to be a easy fix We just have not looked in there but when we do we are sure we can improve on it. Not a geneer or anything but I thinks the people who designed that system were not either..

That was the point I was trying to make...imagine electrical valves that break...darn near impossible to get to, plus you could have 12v problems, too.

richfaa · 11-04-2006, 12:31 PM

Keystone is not alone in that design. It is common throughout the industry. We noticed that early on when shopping for the latest Rv. The term "user friendly" has little meaning in the Rv industry and the dump valve design are a fine example.

faeb and genb · 11-06-2006, 03:14 PM

My galley tank handle broke in basement area I unscrewed it & got a 12in piece of 1/4 in all thread & put it thru hohe & found where it screwed in & put handle on the other end it has been working like that a yr or so.
Gene

faeb and genb · 11-06-2006, 03:15 PM

My galley tank handle broke in basement area I unscrewed it & got a 12in piece of 1/4 in all thread & put it thru hohe & found where it screwed in & put handle on the other end it has been working like that a yr or so.
Gene

MuddyPaws · 11-09-2006, 06:06 AM

We bought a failsafe for ours at Camping World. It's basically another valve that goes on the output connection. It was something like $7.95. Cheap insurance!

drhowell · 11-10-2006, 03:13 AM

I had the black tank handle problem and repaired it from the underside. It wasn't that big of a job actually. The valve is only about 16" from the handle. I just pulled a few screws along the frame side and one or two across the floor joists. The belly cover just dropped down 4 or 5 inches and I could reach the valve easy. Actually I didn't have to crawl under but just at the edge. I removed the two piece rod, cleaned up the holes in the plywood to better align with the frame hole and put it back together. I used a double nut lock setup on the valve end so it won't come off again. I HOPE! The handle pulls much smoother and easier now. The whole job only took about 30 minutes.

Montana_3380 · 11-10-2006, 04:31 AM

OK, it's getting fixed as we speak. Jim took pics of the opened up underside if anyone wants to see them. RV repair guy pulled the belly pan down from the front rather than the side because of the piping, etc. It wasn't necessary to open it up very far.
There is indeed a reason not to cut through the basement. There's a big Y joint right in the way. Down from the top wouldn't work, at least on the 3255 it won't. We also had decided that allthread was a better material than the hollow tube setup it has now.
Gonna cost us about 2 hours, at $80 an hour.

Many thanks for all comments and advice.
Jin

snfexpress · 11-10-2006, 06:48 AM

Please post the pics, and I'm glad you're bck together.

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