New owner

[Luanneweaver]

Hi, my name is Lu Anne. My husband, David, and I recently purchased a 2011 Montana to live in while we build our new house. We are taking it on its maiden voyage this week to test everything out. Things went okay, until it was time to do the dreaded tank emptying. Seems like we have two gray water tanks. One shows it’s full (tank 1) and tank 2 was 1/3 full when we emptied. Tank Two seemed to empty fine, but tank 1 still shows it’s full. Is there another lever somewhere that we have not found? Or does the one lever handle both tanks?

[seasure1]

Lu Anne it would help if you listed more information about your RV. I am sure someone on the board has one just like it. I have two grey water tanks and two handles. Try looking underneath to start

[Luanneweaver]

It’s a 2012 (I thought 2011, hubby says 2012. Montana 3400.

[DutchmenSport]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on getting your Montana. Tank sensors very seldom work. You cannot depend upon them. If you have 2 grey tanks, you should have 2 pull handles for them to discharge the tanks. And then you should have 1 for the black tank.

The bathroom toilet and grey tanks may come together in out outlet. But, you'll still have 2 handles. Depending on the location of the kitchen, you probably have a separate tank for it. It will have its own pull handle and it's own outlet. Again, not knowing your model, it might be different.

Again, welcome and happy camping.

[mlh]

Welcome to MOC. Most of the time the second pull handle is in the wheel well just ahead of the front wheel. Hope that is where it is.
Lynwood

[mhs4771]

Or it could be between the wheels. Look for a handle coming out of the main frame

[twindman]

Important to dump black tank first - and rinse with the backflush hose. Careful to not leave it on with the valve closed for too long or it could break the tank apart. Then after closing that valve do the gray tank 1 and then 2. This washes out the junk from the black tank. Good luck

[Mikendebbie]

I watched a sales video for a 2012 3400RL. The salesman shows the convenience center with the gray and black tank dump valve pulls, and he says there is a galley tank dump pull under the near the sewer hose connection. The screen shot below is too dark to see the galley tank pull…but look around in that area.

Also - the tank sensors are notoriously inaccurate. I would venture to say 95% or more of the folks on this forum pay no attention to the sensor levels in the control panel. Most likely - they got coated with gunk 3 to 6 months after the original owner took possession and quit working correctly. The fresh water sensors might work ok - but not the black and gray tank sensors. There are aftermarket solutions for sensors…most folks just learn by experience to dump every couple of days based on personal use.

I do not travel with liquid in my tanks…well…not much liquid. It adds lots of weight to the tanks and I don’t trust the strength of the tank supports. I do travel with some water in the fresh water tank…but we do not dry camp, so there might be 5-10 gallons but not much.

Pure speculation on my part - but the 3rd screen shot is my guess for where your tanks are mounted in the frame. The black and gray tanks are below the floor in your basement.

[Luanneweaver]

Originally Posted by mlh

Welcome to MOC. Most of the time the second pull handle is in the wheel well just ahead of the front wheel. Hope that is where it is.
Lynwood

THANK YOU! We found it!

[Luanneweaver]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful for us newbies.

[chessera2527]

my handle for the kitchen sink tank is on the frame beside the slide out

[Kfinnert]

Good morning -

Welcome to the forums and the RVing community! I did see MikenDebbie mentioned the tank sensor readings are never accurate, and that is an accurate statement. There are other forums which discuss the sensor issues and I have yet to read where someone found the perfect fix. Over time, you will develop a sense about when you need o dump.

At least once a year I do treat my tanks with Thetford Tank Blaster. It cleans the gunk out of the tanks and at least once a year I get accurate readings from the sensors. I do highly recommend adding this treatment to your annual service of the RV. Keeping the tanks clean and serviceable saves you the nasty job of major repairs down the road!