Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > MOC Technical Forums > Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-22-2019, 02:36 PM   #1
CT Wanderer
Seasoned Camper
 
CT Wanderer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: GLASTONBURY
Posts: 71
M.O.C. #19250
Sewer Gas Odor

Our 305RL is three years old now. This year I noticed a sewer smell, (gray water?, according to my nose). Seems to come and go. When tanks are empty smell mostly goes away. But I have detected the odor even with the tanks empty in our yard. Tried deodorizer in the gray tanks without success. I just start using Happy Campers Holding Tank Treatment this year but can't say if I noticed the problem before I used up my old treatment. Decided to investigate further. Dropped the Coroplast and found water between the Coroplast and the silver bubble wrap "insulation". The water had no smell. Suspect this is coming in when driving down the road in a rain. There was no water on top of the silver layer so nothing was leaking from above. Checked piping thinking I may have a sewer gas leak there. Everything looks ok but hard to tell if any of the joints are leaking, they all look good. Got it all open and I can still detect the smell all be it very faint.
Has anyone had this experience and found the problem/solution?
 
__________________
2016 Montana HC 305RL
2013 GMC 3500HD Denali SRW
CT Wanderer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2019, 03:43 PM   #2
jsb5717
Montana Master
 
jsb5717's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Milwaukie, OR
Posts: 1,455
M.O.C. #23668
I've had some similar experience with previous 5ers. In one it was the gray tank getting full but that's not your issue. In another we actually had a poopoo pyriamid from the previous owner that needed to be cleaned out. We had a short trip coming up so I put about 15 gallons in the black tank and a couple of the TST Max Drop ins (these are what I keep on hand to keep our black tank smelling citrusy fresh). I let the solution slosh around on the short trip to the campground. At the end of the weekend I emptied the tanks and the problem was solved.

Kind of a long story to ask if you're sure your black tank is clean.

TST Max here. These seem to work well to break it all down:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BUQOEK?ref_=ams_ad_dp_ttl
__________________
Jeff & Sandi (and Teddy - 7lb Schnorkie)
2018 Montana HC 305RL / HW Progressive EMS
2015 RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 DRW / Demco Recon Hitch on RAM Puck Ball
jsb5717 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2019, 04:25 PM   #3
jcurtis934
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pensacola (mail forward service)
Posts: 3,198
M.O.C. #13740
If you have vents in the sink outlets (bath sink, kitchen sink), it could be these are letting odor from a tank. Also, if you have a top vent open, you may get oder from a tank into the rv via the tank air vents. And battery overcharging can lead to a hard to identify smell as well as stagnant water in washer lines or uncapped drain water vent. Happy hunting.
__________________
2012 F350 6.7 L dually, 2013 3800RE with 6 pt leveling, Sumitomo 17.5" load range h tires, Samsung 18 cu ft residential fridge, 8k Morryde I.S. with disc brakes. Full timing since 2012.
jcurtis934 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2019, 04:58 PM   #4
CT Wanderer
Seasoned Camper
 
CT Wanderer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: GLASTONBURY
Posts: 71
M.O.C. #19250
Good suggestions. As for the vents under the sink, have one in the galley but there is no odor there. The bathroom gray tank is vented through the roof. Starting to suspect the tank treatment not doing its job. I'll give TST Max a try and see what happens. In the mean time I am showering in the camper parked in my yard to see if I get more odor from using just the bathroom gray tank and not the Black tank.
__________________
2016 Montana HC 305RL
2013 GMC 3500HD Denali SRW
CT Wanderer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2019, 05:24 PM   #5
speedster100
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: owen sound
Posts: 491
M.O.C. #17566
Sounds like you have a valve leaking into the coroplast or a crack in the tank... Took almost 2 yrs and a couple trips to the dealer that were useless as they didn't find the problem just changed valve seals twice.

I found the problem being the grey tank not having the vent pipe properly welded to the tank from day one. Took mirrors & lights to get up in there and find it after filling the tank right to the top and by the top I had two inchs of water in the shower floor area to ensure full... fixed it myself by sanding, proper prep using acetone then using permatech plastic weld 2 part epoxy... no smell anymore... Finally !
speedster100 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2019, 06:31 PM   #6
beeje
Montana Master
 
beeje's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: westminster md
Posts: 2,318
M.O.C. #17894
Cant speak for the sewer smell, but go up front (under the unit ) and seal the seam across the trailer in the very front. Driving in the rain can dump water into the under belly. I also carefully drilled 1/4" holes in the under belly low spots to let any water that may get in there drain out.
__________________
2018 Chevy 3500 LTZ Dually Diesel 4x4 CCLB
2011 Montana 3455 SA. 6 point level up. Disc brakes. Curt Q24 Hitch. 5 step glow steps
Progressive EMS. Valterra tank valves. Sailun G637 tires. ARP fridge control. All led lighting. Mor Ryde IS
beeje is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2019, 06:29 AM   #7
kjmcdowell77
Established Member
 
kjmcdowell77's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Omaha
Posts: 47
M.O.C. #22739
Happy Camper Treatment

I treat all three of my tanks with "Happy Camper" brand holding tank treatment. I was having bad sewer smell trouble from my toilet and stale rank smell from my two grey tanks. I bought some "Happy Camper" on recommendation from one of the forums and within a day or so, all odors went away. The stuff is amazing and if it doesn't work, they guarantee your money back.
__________________
Kelly McDowell
Omaha NE
2018 High Country 321MK
2017 Silverado 2500HD Duramax Diesel
kjmcdowell77 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:15 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.