General help needed for new Montana owner. - Montana Owners Club

xea · 03-01-2006, 07:56 PM

Hi everyone I am new to this forum so I hope I am placing this in the right area. My husband and I have inherited a new to us Montana. We are very excited and have read over all the manuals trying to get a feel for our new unit. Because of obvious reasons we were not shown how to operate our new Montana. Previously we had a very old truck camper with only a fresh water tank and a grey water outlet (no tank). Our main problem is we are unsure of where a lot of the fittings and things the manual refers to. For example we are told that in order to de-winterize our unit we have to open the low point drain. That seems easy enough until we look underneath and there seems to be at least 3, do they all go to the fresh water system? Also we see our sewer drain but cannot seem to locate the black tank drain handle. We do have a grey handle. This stuff probably seems simple to you and I am sure with some testing and patience we could figure it out but I thought since we are new to this unit and new to these types of units in general you guys could help us out faster then we could figure it out. What I was really hoping to find was a diagram showing the locations of valves, vents, etc. I have searched around but haven’t had any luck finding such a thing. I read the forum and hear things like someone forgetting to open the sink drain to the grey tank and wonder if we will ever know all the locations to these things. Sorry if these questions seem silly. We did just get our unit and are very excited about using it but are also very worried that we will know all the things we need to know.

I guess I should tell you that it is a 3685fl (I think that’s the correct number but it is definitely a 2004 36 ft front living room style)

Thanks in advance for your help, Tina

ronnilu · 03-01-2006, 08:09 PM

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of helpful folks here and no doubt someone with a unit like yours will come on before long and be able to tell you where a lot of things are and how to do them. We just recently took delivery of an '06 3295RK so I am hesitant to tell you where to look as our units can vary substantially from year to year and from model to model, & I'm not familiar with yours. I do know that when you learn how to operate things you will surely enjoy your Montana times. One possible thought, if you know someone in your area that already has a 5th wheel they may be able to help you to locate some of the basic controls. Good luck, happy exploring and don't be afraid to post any questions here. This is a very helpful group

xea · 03-01-2006, 08:23 PM

Wow I thought I was the only one awake at this hour. Thanks for the welcome and the quick reply

stiles watson · 03-01-2006, 09:30 PM

Ma'am, thar ain't one silly question on your post. Like the rest of us in the beginning, you seem to be like a deer caught in headlights, but that is ok. A few questions and some experience, then you will get to be a pro.

In many units, the gray and black water discharge valve handles are in the storage compartment and accessable from the same side as the waste water discharge line, but you have to open the storage area door to see the handles. Your galley tank handle is on the same side, but under the unit somewhere around the wheels.

If I may make a suggestion, it might be worth your while to take your unit to a dealer an pay a service technition to go throught the unit with you and point out the salient features and give you pointers about critical points or procedures. I think it might be an hour's labor charge well spent.

Oh, welcome to the forum too.

harleyrider · 03-01-2006, 10:17 PM

I too welcome to our forum.Lots of great people in here that can and will help you any way they can.Those 3 drains hoses you see undernesth are your low drain points.One is for hot the other for cold and the last one is for your fresh water drain.Stiles is probably right when her says your pull valves are located in your side storage compartment.Their should be a gray and black labeled handles.The other handle is on many betwwen your wheels on the same side.A little hard to find but its their.

kbr278 · 03-02-2006, 12:01 AM

WE HAVE AN 06 FRONT LIVINGROOM. I CAN TELL YOU WHERE OURS ARE LOCATED. THERE SHOULD NOT BE MUCH DIFFERENCE.

HOT AND COLD LOW DRAINS ARE UNDER THE UNIT IN BACK OF THE REAR STEPS

FRESH WATER TANK DRAIN IS LOCATED UNDER THE UNIT JUST BELOW THE REFRIGERATOR

GREY AND BLACK TANK VALVES ARE LOCATED IN SMALL COMPARTMENT JUST IN FRONT OF THE BEDROOM SLIDE

GALLEY TANK VALVE IS LOCATED UNDER THE DININGROOM SLIDE.

ANYTHING OTHER QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK

CountryGuy · 03-02-2006, 02:16 AM

Might want to consider finding a local camping club, great fun and all the members will be delighted to assist you in finding all the goodies and give you tons of hints.

Oh, and the archives here is a treasure of info.

Stiles idea of paying a tech for an hour might be good place to start to, creative idea.

Enjoy your unit!

ronstan · 03-02-2006, 03:01 AM

I think it might be a good idea if you post the model of your 5er. That way those who have that model can inform you better where everything is located. Some trailers are different than others. A lot depends on the length. What year and model. You will get a lot of help on it.

xea · 03-02-2006, 04:04 AM

Thanks everyone, Kevin and Denise, our unit seems the same as yours, we were able to find those in the same spot. That answered most of our questions to start with. I do think it is a good idea to find a montana dealer and get them to walk us through it. I never thought of it since we never bought our unit from one.

Our model number is 3685fl. I think that is the model number if you guys are looking for diferent info let me know.

Thanks for all the help, Tina

DHenry · 03-02-2006, 04:13 AM

xea, welcome to the forum. Another idea is to post the area you live in and I would bet there is another MOC member close by that would love to help you out. Just a thought

tweir · 03-02-2006, 04:50 AM

Hi Tina...!
Welcome...! The FL model really suits our needs. Kevin & Denise gave you the correct "coordinates" for your drain handles. I'm sure you found the sewer hose compartment. The fresh water service connections are on the street side just forward of the dining room slide behind a little lockable door. The exterior hose bib connection is for the black tank flush and should be labeled accordingly. If you have the fireplace---which you probably do, the "remote" switch is located on the rear wall of the dining room slide adjacent to the "hallway"/lavatory. This is a nice feature as you can turn the unit on/off without going up the stairs. The larger wide flat switch is for the fan & light unit (I think---trying to remember sitting here). I'm sure you know about the water heater controls---the gas selector is next to the monitor panel in the kitchen. If your H2O heater does not work on electricity, go outside & open the square perforated door on the curb side just behind the kitchen window. On the left hand side of the heater down towrds the bottom is a little rocker switch with a circlip pin running through it. Remove the clip and move the rocker switch downwards. Make sure your H2O heater has water in it before you turn on the power or the heating element will "fry". When we prepare the unit for the road, we always turn off the rocker switch & replace the clip just so we don't do an "ooops" thing...!If you have problems trying to figure out the TV antenna stuff, don't worry. The green cable is for the bedroom. May have to invest in a 'splitter" doo-dad (technician-talk)so you can have both the living room TV & bedroom TV "hot" unless they changed the wiring in the '06 model. The white cable running out from under the TV goes to the antenna jack. We use satellite mostly, and its really easy to set-up and the wiring is a bit different. If you have any other questions, please feel free to either post them here and someone will try to answer them or you could send me an e-mail. Hope you enjoy your Montana as much as we do.
Safe travels to you....

Parrothead · 03-02-2006, 05:43 AM

Another thought is to come to the rally in May at Mt. Shasta. I can assure you you will receive a lot of help from the members attending.
Happy trails........................

xea · 03-02-2006, 06:18 AM

Wow I can't believe how helpful you guys are! I actually have a 04 Thomas so ours is probably exactly the same as yours. You guys have given us a lot to start with and I am excited to get out there and try it all out. Of course it's raining

I think I passed the first test today I drove it myself to DMV to get the plates taken care of. Our driveway is long but the entrance is a tight fit, after some embarrassment and a couple of tries I was able to figure out the proper angle to get it in

A little about myself; we are a fairly young family I am 33 we have two kids who are 5 and 7. We have done a lot of camping in our old camper and are looking forward to having more room for all of us. We live in Sherwood Or (Portland for those that don't know the area). We have recently moved from Reno where we used to love to do a lot of Rock hounding, If anyone knows good spots in Oregon or Washington we would love to hear them. Really I just love to camp, I spent the first 10 years of my life living in first a Volkswagen van then a converted bus to finally the motorhome my dad built. So I guess they instilled the wanderlust I seem to have. I know the general things you have to do to the black tank and stuff but I am quickly finding out that being aware of parents taking care of that stuff and figuring out how to do it yourself is a little different

Anyway I have started to run on but you can see I am excited and I am glad to have found such a good group of helpful people.

Tina

Garin1 · 03-02-2006, 08:52 PM

xea, welcome to the moc family

. You have certainly come to the right place to ask questions about your Monty.

Stiles has a good idea about going to a dealer to check the unit. But don't go in the parts department.

You may come accross something there you just can't live without

Fordzilla · 03-03-2006, 02:11 AM

Welcome Tina, we have the exact same trailer and we love ours. Our kids are a little older but when they both go along with us it's great to put them up above and let them do the play station thing or watch DVD's while we sit at the table and BS. Everything that has been said is great information so far. Feel free to ask questions all day and night, you will get many answers and they are all great ideas.

xea · 03-03-2006, 03:49 AM

Ok I had two new questions. Several posts above stated that the pulls for the black and grey tanks should be in a storage compartment with another grey tank pull under the unit? What I have found in my unit is a blank handled pull in a storage compartment labeled grey tank with a piece of sticky tape. This seems to be centered over the big outlet pipe. Then under the fifth wheel there is a grey handle that has the word valtera on it, would that be the black tank pull? It seems counter intuitive to me but thought I would check. My other question is that grey pull under the fifth wheel is bent, it is bent right at the point of coming out of the underbelly, I wasn't sure if this was normal so it would be at a good angle or if we should be worried about it.

We are going to take it in and get someone to do a walk through with us, problem is we won't be able to do it for a couple of weeks due to our schedule and can't help but to try to figure things out now that it's home. You are so right Garin1 about finding things we can't live without, even before it was home when we knew we were getting it we made a trip to camping world just to do a look see

Tina

richfaa · 03-03-2006, 04:15 AM

valtera is a companys that makes sewer valves. Use the old food dye in the tank trick to see which is which.Put red dye in the black tank then pull handles till the red dye comes out(use any color dye) The larger pipe is USUALLY the black tank..

xea · 03-03-2006, 05:03 AM

Great idea about the dye, I was sitting here trying to think of how I could figure out which was which before it was used for it's purpose lol

Tina

tweir · 03-03-2006, 05:09 AM

Ok---there are three pull handles on this model and one discharge pipe. Inside the "cubby" on the street side of the unit are two pull handles: the left pull handle is the for the black tank (toilet) and the right handle is for the grey tank (shower/lav). The third handle that sits at an angle coming out of the belly is the galley pull handle. The underbelly "bent" handle sits at that angle due to the position of the actual valve in the piping. It would have made sense for those production folks to use a black handle for the black tank pull handle and a grey handle for the grey water tank---that sticky tape is not a better idea...! If you only have two handles; one inside the "cubby" and the one exterior pull handle, we have a problem.

xea · 03-03-2006, 07:04 AM

Figures our first problem and we havn't even taken it out yet, there are only two handles one in the "cubby" and one under the belly.

Thanks tweir.

eta: ok I went outside again to have one last look, I have no idea why but I decided to look in the wheel well, sure enough right tight to the outside of that storage compartment and inside the wheel well is the black tank pull. I figure they must have drilled the hole in the wrong place or something because it is a very inconvient spot to reach into, I can barely fit my hand over the wheel under the molding. I can't wait to have to do that after a muddy drive!

Tina

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