294rl loses water out vent

[Donbar]

Hello,
I'm new to the forum and looking forward to what it has to offer. My first question has to do with water coming out of the fresh water tank vent on our 294rl. It happens going down the road. We did a 300 mile trip and lost 2/3 of a tank of water. A friend traveling behind us said every time I made a right hand turn water came pouring out. Been told by the dealer that the vent is too low so water is sloshing out the vent. This makes sense to me because the location of the vent is low. The dealer said Keystone is having them move the vent higher which means they have to come up through a cabinet and replace the lower metal trim that the vent is attached too. Every 294rl I've looked at has the vent in the same location. Is anyone else having this problem?
Thanks in advance for any input.

[Daryles]

I have heard some put a plug in for traveling to keep the water in, especially if you are going boondocking.
However, if you forget to remove the plug and you go to fill your water tank through the City water/Fill port you will blow up your freshwater tank (over pressurize it).

[Dam Worker]

My 3160 loses water mainly on right hand corners especially going uphill. You can see it pouring out. That is just emergency water in my tank, maybe about a third full. If this tank was full it would be way worse. The plug idea sounds like the best fix unless Keystone wants to do major fixes.

Tom Marty

[Fishin2dMax]

I had the exact same issue on my 305 RL. On some trips here in the Rocky mountains, I would lose up to 1/2 a tank of freshwater through the side vent. At one point, I decided to change the side vent to a gravity feed inlet to fill the tank and just close the cap while traveling; however, that method was way too slow to fill the tank, so I now use a 12 volt portable water pump to fill the freshwater when boondocking. I also decided against closing the cap on the vent tank since the risk is too high of forgetting to open it and blowing the tank while filling.

To reduce the water splash issue from the side vent when traveling, I added more vent tubing and raised the tank vent line up to the floor level and back down to the skirt side vent / inlet (make sure line is straight sloped for drainage and doesn't trap water). To do this, remove the few screws holding the side skirt at the bottom and rear of skirt and you will have just enough access to add approx. 6" of hose to reach the bottom of floor (use a PVC pipe mount) and slope back line down to side vent in the skirt. This rise of approx 6" will make a difference in the amount of water that is lost through the rear vent while traveling (won't totally eliminate on hard turns). You may be able to stretch the existing vent hose line up to the floor level, and back down, but I didn't want to risk breaking the line.

Another fresh water tank issue that I, and others, are experiencing is not being to access a significant portion of the water of the tank from the water pump. I still have 12 to 13 gallons of water left in the tank after the water pump can't pull anymore out? I'm still looking for a solution to this issue.

[Donbar]

Fishin2dMax, Thanks for the reply. The dealer and Keystone came up with something similar to what you did but a little more labor intensive. They are going to route a new vent line from the tank up through the floor into the hollow space under the shelf next to the couch and mount the vent in a higher location. To do this will leave a hole where the vent used to be so they will be putting on a new metal panel. I think this work fine, I just don't like a new trailer having panels replaced. Why they haven't figured this out and rectified it at the factory is beyond me.

[Fishin2dMax]

I'm glad you found a solution. It's Too bad the dealer didn't think it through before raising the vent. They could have left the vent where it is was and simply looped the hose up in the cabinet (to get more height) and then back down to side vent. It would still vent just fine where it was originally. The worthless rear couch side table / cabinet is in the same location as yours. Your fix gives my idea. I will two holes below the cabinet and route my vent lines up and back down to the side vent to stop all the slash loss. FYI - using an inspection camera, I found a ton (1/2") of sealant soft putty on the inside of the vent line connection to the tank and in the water tank as well. This explains why I found some of this same material clogging my pump filter. The factory attention to quality is sorely lacking in many areas!

[dfb]

Find the fill hose, put a pet valve in the hose.. After filling, close the valve..

[Jester]

I have a 2020 294rl as well. I do not have any water coming out the vent.

[Enaud]

Yep same thing here 2019 295RL. Taking it back the winter for warranty work. Curious to see what they will do to fix it. At least it shouldn't be a surprise to them that water is sloshing out.

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by Enaud

.... At least it shouldn't be a surprise to them that water is sloshing out.....

Wanna bet?

[Enaud]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

Wanna bet?

Givin them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully my dealer and service dept will do the right thing.

[Reset19]

Isn’t this vent the prescribed way to add Chlorine to sanitize the fresh water tank? Will need gravity fill unless some other way is used.

[Creeker]

I simply cut a short strip of weather stripping. Rolled it up with sticky side on the inside of the roll. Made it just a little larger diameter than the vent hole. Slip off the vent cover and insert the small roll (like a plug) into the vent. Its soft and doesn't seal completely air tight but does stop the water from siphoning out the vent.

We shouldn't have to do such things on a new camper. Montana should be ashamed for letting this go on for several years now.

[Champ]

My 2018 3120 had this problem. Dealer told me the hose was too short and did not have a loop in it. They replaced it with a longer hose so that it now has a loop in it. No more water siphoning out.

[basinheating]

I recently purchased the 294 RL and on the first trip last week lost water during 4.5 hours of travel. Started with a full tank had 1/3 upon arrival at the camp spot also noticed when I turned on the water pump it acted as if the tank was empty, the pump would not pressurize the panel said there was 1/3 tank left. Pretty disappointed in my purchase of a Montana. The on board water system is worthless, I guess they figure most people go only to RV parks with full hook ups, I do not!

[Fishin2dMax]

I had/have the same exact water problems on my 305 RL. I solved the water leaking out of the vent by raising the vent hose higher up and making a gradual loop. What I haven't solved yet is not being able to access the last remaining 13 gallons in the water tank via the pump. Using an inspection scope through the vent line into the tank, I could see the top of tank water pick-up tube is bent and doesn't extend to the very bottom of tank? I'm dreading having to drop the tank and remove underbelly material to add a longer pick-up tube in tank. Very frustrating as this is clearly a factory design issue. The pickup tube is likely bent by water sloshing around, but that should have been considered in the design. It also explains why the issue has gotten worse over time.

[basinheating]

I always thought that a Montana meant the highest level of quality of which I could not afford, sad to say that simply isn't true. I decided to spend the extra money and buy the Montana thinking it would be worth the extra cost to enjoy during my Golden years. I am using a large chunk of my pension to make the trailer payment for the next 20 years, not happy. The trailer works well in an RV park as long as you have full hook ups, maybe they figured most would be doing that instead of boondocking, 90% of my camping is boondocking. I will try a couple of ideas to stop the water loss but I'll be damned if I will drop the water tank to address the pickup tube issue. I plan on starting a warranty claim immediately on these items and will stay on Keystone until a solution is found. If there is a problem that is not solved in three attempts within the first year the lemon law can be invoked and they can buy this HOJ back! A claim can be initiated under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and provides financial support to consumers who have had to cope with defective vehicles. A log of evidence is crucial for presenting a case and keep all correspondence. The manufacturer has to pay reasonable attorney's fees if the plaintiff wins the case.

[Creeker]

You could do all that and waste money and time or you could take 2 minutes and roll up some foam weather stripping and plug the vent while traveling.

I did this the first trip with ours thinking it would be a temporary fix until I figured out something better. It works so well I've never touched it again in over two years. The foam weather stripping will allow air to pass, if not made to fit too tight, but stops the siphoning. Problem solved for less than a dollar and two minutes.