Tank Sensors

[dasmoeturhead]

The gray water tanks say full even after I pump. Is there a simple fix?

[DQDick]

Not really. You can fill the tank with a tank cleaning additive in it and let it set for a while. Doing that a couple of times will sometimes clear it. Others have gone under their rig and found wires loose running to the sensors. Several companies sell systems that measure the tank contents from the outside and eliminate the problem (even camping world sells them), but most of us have just learned our usage and know when the tanks should be full and seldom if ever try to consult the useless gauges.

[JandC]

X2 what Dick said. My black tank sensor quit working within the first month. One of the grays never did work right. It has probably been over 6 months since I have even checked them.

[dasmoeturhead]

Ok, thats pretty much how our's have been also. I use the chemicals in the tanks, but that really hasn't done anything except keep the stink down. I wish the gray tanks had a flush system. That might help.

Im sure the after market sensor system would work, but I'm sure getting tired of having to upgrade a system every time something goes haywire. I mean why dont they just build a 75K 5th wheel better. I appreicate your help, and Im not disregarding what you are saying,but I'm getting real tired of hearing, well if you upgrade to this or that it will solve the problem ? When did the Montana brand lose its quality? Simple things like no entrance way door latch to keep the door from blowing off when you want to keep it open. Dump valves that aren't underneth the slides, cabinet door supports or lack of them,poor instalation of propane lines (sheet metal screws rubbing on hose),cheap tires,light switches in locations that make no sense,wood grain tape on trim instead of real lightweight wood, doors that wont stay closed, or shut properly, outside awning led light strip shriveld up like a pretzel, toilet never held water, hydraulic stabalizer that wont go all the way up. I could go on and on. I have been back to the dealer already twice. They (TRIPLE A RV IN MEDFORD OREGON) is the worst place ever. I scheduled a time six weeks out for tbem to order parts, so when I got there from 1700 miles away the parts would be there and we would be set. We got there 6 weeks later, and the day before we got there they called me and said the parts werent in, and it would be 3 more weeks. That was 6 weeks ago. Tbe only thing that came in was the 2nd A/C we ordered. Funny how that worked out.

Sorry about the rant, but this is how its been. We are also full-time,and down time due to poor craftmenship, and probably cheap labor, doesnt make it easy to just drop your rig off and go live somewhere else for who knows how long. People see us in this new rig and have questions about it, and I dont sugar coat it. Thats not very good PR for Montana.

[Phil P]

Hi

You will probably find the sensor probes were installed while the tank was upside down and the full ones are in the bottom of the tank.

Phil P

[DonandBonnie]

We agree with all of the above. The last time that our sensors appeared to be correct was the day that we pulled the new rig off the dealers lot. Understanding your usage will not take too long to understand. We rarely wait long enough for the tanks to fill before dumping and regardless of time, we always dump before moving.

[swanny]

quote:Originally posted by Phil P

Hi

You will probably find the sensor probes were installed while the tank was upside down and the full ones are in the bottom of the tank.

Phil P

then it would be the wiring not sensors

[swanny]

quote:Originally posted by dasmoeturhead

Ok, thats pretty much how our's have been also. I use the chemicals in the tanks, but that really hasn't done anything except keep the stink down. I wish the gray tanks had a flush system. That might help.

Im sure the after market sensor system would work, but I'm sure getting tired of having to upgrade a system every time something goes haywire. I mean why dont they just build a 75K 5th wheel better. I appreicate your help, and Im not disregarding what you are saying,but I'm getting real tired of hearing, well if you upgrade to this or that it will solve the problem ? When did the Montana brand lose its quality? Simple things like no entrance way door latch to keep the door from blowing off when you want to keep it open. Dump valves that aren't underneth the slides, cabinet door supports or lack of them,poor instalation of propane lines (sheet metal screws rubbing on hose),cheap tires,light switches in locations that make no sense,wood grain tape on trim instead of real lightweight wood, doors that wont stay closed, or shut properly, outside awning led light strip shriveld up like a pretzel, toilet never held water, hydraulic stabalizer that wont go all the way up. I could go on and on. I have been back to the dealer already twice. They (TRIPLE A RV IN MEDFORD OREGON) is the worst place ever. I scheduled a time six weeks out for tbem to order parts, so when I got there from 1700 miles away the parts would be there and we would be set. We got there 6 weeks later, and the day before we got there they called me and said the parts werent in, and it would be 3 more weeks. That was 6 weeks ago. Tbe only thing that came in was the 2nd A/C we ordered. Funny how that worked out.

Sorry about the rant, but this is how its been. We are also full-time,and down time due to poor craftmenship, and probably cheap labor, doesnt make it easy to just drop your rig off and go live somewhere else for who knows how long. People see us in this new rig and have questions about it, and I dont sugar coat it. Thats not very good PR for Montana.

You are 100% right! it is sad we continue to buy these things pay good money and need to dump more money into it to keep it going.

[bigskyjimmy]

I do agree there needs to be better quality control with ALL brands but When did Montana lose their Quality??? they never have for me 3 of them for me a 2003,2012 and my new 2015 with minimal problems, right now I am parked next to a couple with a 2013 and they have had minimal problems as well, sorry you have had some issue's and so have some other folks but there are many more of us that have not,I know a lot of people with SOB's and it is the same story, some horror stories but lots of good as well

quote:Originally posted by dasmoeturhead

Ok, thats pretty much how our's have been also. I use the chemicals in the tanks, but that really hasn't done anything except keep the stink down. I wish the gray tanks had a flush system. That might help.

Im sure the after market sensor system would work, but I'm sure getting tired of having to upgrade a system every time something goes haywire. I mean why dont they just build a 75K 5th wheel better. I appreicate your help, and Im not disregarding what you are saying,but I'm getting real tired of hearing, well if you upgrade to this or that it will solve the problem ? When did the Montana brand lose its quality? Simple things like no entrance way door latch to keep the door from blowing off when you want to keep it open. Dump valves that aren't underneth the slides, cabinet door supports or lack of them,poor instalation of propane lines (sheet metal screws rubbing on hose),cheap tires,light switches in locations that make no sense,wood grain tape on trim instead of real lightweight wood, doors that wont stay closed, or shut properly, outside awning led light strip shriveld up like a pretzel, toilet never held water, hydraulic stabalizer that wont go all the way up. I could go on and on. I have been back to the dealer already twice. They (TRIPLE A RV IN MEDFORD OREGON) is the worst place ever. I scheduled a time six weeks out for tbem to order parts, so when I got there from 1700 miles away the parts would be there and we would be set. We got there 6 weeks later, and the day before we got there they called me and said the parts werent in, and it would be 3 more weeks. That was 6 weeks ago. Tbe only thing that came in was the 2nd A/C we ordered. Funny how that worked out.

Sorry about the rant, but this is how its been. We are also full-time,and down time due to poor craftmenship, and probably cheap labor, doesnt make it easy to just drop your rig off and go live somewhere else for who knows how long. People see us in this new rig and have questions about it, and I dont sugar coat it. Thats not very good PR for Montana.

[1retired06]

Bottom line, not reliable. When the toilet burbs, likely time to dump. No draining gray side, time to dump.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep it is that simple ,I don't even use my gauges and never have,as far as I am concerned they might as well not even have them

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

Bottom line, not reliable. When the toilet burbs, likely time to dump. No draining gray side, time to dump.

[davidaf]

Both my gray tanks were doing the same thing. I closed the knife valves and used them like I do the black (allow to fill then dump) for a couple weeks and now my sensors are showing "correct" readings. I've given up on the black sensors. I really only care about the gray anyway. We use far more gray water than black and it's nice to know when I'll need to bust out the blue boy, which is only used for gray water, when we don't have full hookups.

[dasmoeturhead]

Thanks for the help guys. I see Im not the Lone Stranger here with with these sensors. We love our Montana, but sometimes it does get to me. We havent been at it very long, so Im sure I'll learn more.

[mhs4771]

Just an FYI: A friend of ours has a $200K plus 40' Winnebago DP with the external tank sensors, guess what-after a couple of years they no longer will read empty either. Maybe we need access ports for each tank so we can insert a yard stick or something, you know like the gas stations use.

[DQDick]

quote:Originally posted by mhs4771

Just an FYI: A friend of ours has a $200K plus 40' Winnebago DP with the external tank sensors, guess what-after a couple of years they no longer will read empty either. Maybe we need access ports for each tank so we can insert a yard stick or something, you know like the gas stations use.

You have an access port on the black tank. Turn off the water, step on the pedal and stick your yard stick down the hole. I don't really want to know the exact measurement that badly

[K0LCB]

I agree with Dick, I don't think I care how much is in the tank, I use a flashlight to look if I suspect it's getting close to full

[Phil P]

quote:Originally posted by swanny



then it would be the wiring not sensors

Think about that for a minute.

If the tank was upside down when they installed the probes then the common probe and the 1/3 full probe are only 1 inch from the bottom of the tank when they should be 1/3 of the way up from the bottom and the full probe is 1/3 of the way from the top of the tank.

This results in having to install 3 additional probes to get them to work properly.

You have to put the common and 1/3 full probes 1/3 of the way up from the bottom and put one 1 inch down from the top of the tank.

That makes them work correctly, and then you need to clean the tanks about once or twice a year to keep them working.



In my case the common and the 1/3 probe were so close to the bottom that they were in the curve of the tank where the side and the bottom come together.

The only tank that they were installed correctly in was the fresh water tank.


Phil P

[richfaa]

Our black tank read 1/4 full new out of the dealership. We pay no attention to them never have on this 13 and our 06 .We dump every three days. We have also had minimal problems about 28 of them on this 13 Big Sky. We should probably have a definition of "Minimal" To me a problem is a problem and no problem is minimal. Like the door stop on the entrance door just fell off last week found it laying on the ground. It is just sticky taped on , easy fix, sticky tape it back on. The point is it just fell off like the sconce over the kitchen slide fell off. Easy fix nail it back on. Point is it just fell off. Three of our four valves on our rims were defective causing loss of air, trip interruption and cost to repair. TPMS saved the day each time. Easy fix just aggravation lost time, money. The point is they were defective out of the factory. However we love our Montana here we sit in Florida sunshine and warmth and find that the less we move it the less things fail. is all part of Rv'ing.

[dasmoeturhead]

;^^^^, Im glad you have it figured out. Thats pretty much how I do my tanks. I do see however that you are sitting for long periods of time, and that is easier on the 5er than travelling a lot. I see that you have covered most of the country, and Im sure you have paid your dues. We've only done 10 states so far in a little over 3 months. We have a long way to go, and Im sure we will have some wear and tear,and repairs. Just wish I didnt have to deal with lack of quality control.

When I asked the dealer if they fixed the doors, he said the technicians ( and I use that word loosly) he said they tried, but you k ow the doors are cheap. I told him I didnt pay cheap. JEEZ!

[7.3Ford]

I had SeeLevel II Tank Monitor on my old Montana, works very will, never gives false reading:

http://www.bestconverter.com/709-4-S...l#.VHykiTHF98F