Black water holding tank

Tom_Diane wrote:
Yep, I was told once that you should never travel with a full or nearly full black tank over the road because of the support straps are not sufficient! Also very minimal water in the fresh tank for the same reason and followed by " Why take the chance?" To use the rest room in an RV, you have to stop. so why not stop at a rest area or truck stop to take care of necessary stops? And why carry the extra weight if you don't have to?
But most of all, what is accomplished by filling the black tank for the purpose of cleaning? It's just not necessary! Go camping with it, fill it, drain it, flush it go home or the next camp site!

Why call it a TRAVEL trailer then? If all systems aren't up to the task, then why do we accept this junk?

Yep, I was told once that you should never travel with a full or nearly full black tank over the road because of the support straps are not sufficient! Also very minimal water in the fresh tank for the same reason and followed by " Why take the chance?" To use the rest room in an RV, you have to stop. so why not stop at a rest area or truck stop to take care of necessary stops? And why carry the extra weight if you don't have to?
But most of all, what is accomplished by filling the black tank for the purpose of cleaning? It's just not necessary! Go camping with it, fill it, drain it, flush it go home or the next camp site!

I'll just add what they told me about letting a sewer truck drain your black tanks.

I do a lot of sporting events where a residential sewer truck comes around to drain your tanks.

Most will take a bucket and put your sewer hose in it and add their big suction hose to the bucket. Their suction is higher than the sewer hose and it works just fine. It is frightening to watch the first time you see it done that way though!

One event the sewer truck guy had an adapter and was sucking it straight from the tank. Thank god my neighbor was the RV mobile repair on site.

He said NOT to allow them to drain the tanks. The suction from those commercial trucks will collapse an RV black tank.

westend wrote:
Yes, there was a thread on the Forum of a member filling his tank through the tank flusher and ruptured his tank. It may be that the vent was blocked so when the tank reached full, the pressure from the hose was too much for the tank.

Oh! Pick me, pick me!!! I posted last year about doing this. It was my fault. I used a Flush King and an extra waste gate to back flush, since our black tank flush stopped working. i usually only back flushed for a minute or so, but someone started talking to me and I totally forgot about it. Long story short, tank filled up, I think the vent became blocked, and it ruptured the tank seam at the waste gate. A $500 mistake and lesson learned...I did get Keystone to pick up part of the tab...

Cale

Hi, I once had a grey tank burst, it was also at the top. It sure made a mess. I had to drop the bottom and replace all the insulation.
BobQ :(

Now that seems entirely plausible. My tank is held on like that, and I've wondered a couple of times in passing if it was enough. Did the reports in other forums say what kind of straps should be used? Seems like an easy preventable fix.

No, most of the discussion was how to replace the tanks, what model number, the cost of replacement, whether the failures were manufacturing defects, warranty coverage, how to get the tanks out, etc. Although I didn't see any posts directly addressing adding straps as a preventive measure, the difficulty of replacement indicates that because the tanks were installed during manufacture, a retrofit of the straps would be difficult.

After reviewing the posts again, it seems like that problem is also with older rigs, not just within the last couple of years. There is one member with a 2006 model that has had multiple tank failures with both his black and gray tanks.

The discussion is on the Montana Owners Club forum under "Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help". You can't see the forums unless you join the site.

Did the tank actually rupture or simply "burp" ? Before we got the new rig with the vacu flush, hearing a burp was a key indicator of a nearly full tank.

Also have to ask why to fill that much for a cleaning? You'll actually get more churning/cleaning action if you don't fill that much.

Hiking Hunter wrote:
There have been reports on other forums about this. Seems some manufacturers are not supporting tanks with straps like the tank manufacturers recommend. Keystone is one of them. The problem has shown up in units made in the past two years or so. Apparently the tanks are supported only by the molded flanges and fail at the center seam when loaded heavily.

Now that seems entirely plausible. My tank is held on like that, and I've wondered a couple of times in passing if it was enough. Did the reports in other forums say what kind of straps should be used? Seems like an easy preventable fix.

There have been reports on other forums about this. Seems some manufacturers are not supporting tanks with straps like the tank manufacturers recommend. Keystone is one of them. The problem has shown up in units made in the past two years or so. Apparently the tanks are supported only by the molded flanges and fail at the center seam when loaded heavily.

I've filled my black tank many times without it going pop, and I don't think it should.
If he is suggesting it's to be expected for a tank to fail just because it's full then he's full of black tank stuff himself.
That is patently untrue.