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Ok Guys,
I just got off the phone with Amy at Travel star. UPS is charging her between $130 - $170 shipping and when tanks arrive damaged there is a bunch of grief getting it taken care of. Because of that she refuses to ship directly. Amy said to call Keystone at 574-535-2100. Ask for customer service. Keystone gets a volume discount of $50.00 shipping. I asked what the tank would cost and she said around $80.00.
Then I asked Amy if she knew about the MOC. She said no. I explained how you could do a search on black tank and get a bunch of hits. Amy interrupted me and said she sells tanks to many RV manufacturers and the reason Montana’s have a problem is they refuse to follow installation instructions. Amy says they do factory audits and Montana consistently gets dinged for failing to strap the tanks per manufacturer instructions. Amy says the tanks are not designed to be suspended without bottom support. Next we talked about strapping. I expressed a concern that metal strapping might chafe through and asked if the strapping used to hold down loads on a 18-wheeler would work. Amy said sure she has even seen people use strips of carpet and it worked fine. One strap close to plumbing dump valves and the other 2/3 of the way toward the rear of the tank. Then surprise of surprises Amy asked me why I don’t repair it myself. I asked her how. Amy said get a bucket of water and pour some Oatey ABS cement into the water. Swirl the cement around in the water and make a ball. Squeeze out the water and form a putty ball. After cleaning the cracked area using MEK (Methyl Ethel Ketone) form the putty around the cracked area to finish the repair. 24 hours minimum before use and a few days is better. I asked exactly what the tank was made of and Amy replied ABS. So there you have it.
My plan is to first reinstall the muffler hangers to the sewer pipe and get everything in position where it normally lives. Then I am going to use carpet strips and support my gray and black tanks. Clean the cracked area and use the ABS putty fix. Before I button everything up it seems like putting some real insulation in there would be a good idea EXCEPT if the black tank failed again dealing with the extra insulation would be UGLY. Thoughts? I absolutely LOVE JB Weld. I have used it on so many things and it has NEVER once failed me. Because this looks like it is going to be a one-chance deal, and because it is suggested by the manufacturer I am going with that recommendation. Sorry Doug I’m hangin with Amy. Sure hope I’m not sorry in the future for not using JB Weld. Now, if Montana is intentionally installing these tanks improperly why are they not held accountable? Why should we have to pay for repairs and suffer inconvenience because they are only interested in saving a buck? Is a class action the answer?
John
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