Black tank valve leaking

[bandit]

We're half way thru our 4 month stay in our 2015 3611RL and I'm noticing when I empty the black tank it's very difficult to pull the handle and very little comes out. I complained to the dealership while under warranty and was told stiff pull handles were normal. I capped the 3" line while closing the black tank valve and confirmed the leak by waiting several days and removing the cap while the black tank valve was closed. Is this a dealership repair or are there some things I might can do to fix this mess? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

[Carl n Susan]

The POS valves used by Keystone don't tend to last long. Replacing the valve with a Valterra one is relatively easy and only takes a couple of hours. Do a Search on "black tank valve" and you should get lots of hits. There was a discussion on this subject just last month.

Additionally, install a Valtera gate valve on the end of you sewer pipe and avoid any future surprises.

[PeteandJoan]

Originally Posted by bandit

We're half way thru our 4 month stay in our 2015 3611RL and I'm noticing when I empty the black tank it's very difficult to pull the handle and very little comes out. I complained to the dealership while under warranty and was told stiff pull handles were normal. I capped the 3" line while closing the black tank valve and confirmed the leak by waiting several days and removing the cap while the black tank valve was closed. Is this a dealership repair or are there some things I might can do to fix this mess? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

I have the same model & year as you and had the same problem after several months. Had both black and gray tank valves replaced with Valterra valves and all is good now....better than when new. Dealer won't even talk about fixing it . He will blame it on toilet paper.

[trustymopars]

I put two new Valterras on our unit yesterday. Man what a difference! They operate so easy, and after filling with water and setting for three hours, no drip out of the drain pipe. JT.

[andylparish]

I did the valterra electric valves on mine. Posted pictures in the addition and improvement section under crappy valves.

[RKassl]

Part of the problem is many of the Montana's use a cable system to open and close the valves, just poor engineering. After 4 warranty visits my dealer converted both the black and gray to solid rods to a set of new valves. Never felt or worked better.

[Overlord]

I hard plumbed a Valterra valve on the end of my dump pipe instead of using a twist on bayonet type that most people use. It works a treat, no more "surprises" when I take the cap off of the end of my hose. Added bonus for hard plumbing is that nobody can steal it in a second or two.

Although, one time while at a restaurant stop, someone thought that they would play a dirty trick and pulled the handle out on it. But, the inboard valves saved the day, as they probably didn't know about the handles in the convenience center (which was locked anyway), so there was no messy gush as they had hoped for.

[Army Nurse]

Originally Posted by carl n susan

Additionally, install a Valtera gate valve on the end of you sewer pipe and avoid any future surprises.

Yep, I did that as well. The factory valves are definitely not good. The valve on my black tank was actually replaced under warranty due to leaking, but I had to complain a good bit first.

Originally Posted by andylparish

I did the valterra electric valves on mine. Posted pictures in the addition and improvement section under crappy valves.

Thanks for posting that, Andy. It was an excellent write-up. I really like that idea, and I'm planning to do it in the future.

[speedster100]

When I changed my valves I discovered that they only closed about 2/3rds of the way, the factory obviously didn't install the cable pulls correctly from the start.

The job of changing them is relatively easy and IMO worth the couple hundred bucks for the new Valterra's ...... they operate smoothly and won't leave you jammed with a broken cable and a full tank like the originals did as a result.

The issue isn't exclusive to just Montana's BTW as several friends have had the same issues with other brands of trailers.

Takes about 2hrs to change them out, make sure you drive up on blocks so you can lower your front end of the trailer before loosening off the bolts on the valves or you're in for a nasty surprize...........good luck.

[Loneoak]

We had a leaky black valve on our last (SOB) trailer and fixed the problem with a Valterra valve at the end of the dump pipe. This protects against gray tanks leaking too. When we bought our new Monty and started to make it "ours", we added a Valterra valve right away. This is just as a precaution.

[speedster100]

I have the extra valve at the cap but we boon dock alot camping in open fields at Bluegrass Festivals and similar where you can let the grey water go so having a leaking black water valve is not kosher... Thus fixing it Right was/is the way to go, having the extra valve at the cap saves any drips etc from escaping... Its too damn bad they just took an extra couple minutes to actually adjust the cable correctly at the factory and we wouldn't have to mess around as we do... too much to ask though I imagine !