Anyone else have fresh water tank problems?

[Eundercoffler]

I recently purchased a used 2009 Fusion 302. After my first dry camping trip with it I realized that there was a leak in the fresh water tank. I pulled the tank and found a huge crack all the way along the front side (about 5 feet). I took it to a local plastic welder who told me on the phone that as long as the plastic was in good condition that he should be able to fix it. Well I thought, why wouldn't it be in good condition, it's been under a camper for 9 years with zero sun exposure.
Anyway, I meet with this guy who takes one look at the tank and starts pressing on it only for it to start snapping and cracking all over the place. He tells me that the plastic (polyethylene actually) is bad and he can't fix it. He also tells me that he has seen PE tanks twice as old that have been in direct sun their entire life that are in better condition than this.
So here's my question, anyone else have fresh water tank problems with their Keystone rigs (my tank was actually made by Ameri-Kart)? Is this a thing with Keystone, or was I just unlucky enough to get a random bad tank?

Thanks,
Eric

P.S. I love the camper otherwise.

[JRTJH]

I just went to the Ameri-Kart website and the first sentence on their home page is: "Ameri-Kart is the Recreational Vehicle market's leading manufacturer of RV parts and tanks." http://www.ameri-kart.com/RV-Products.aspx

They provide tanks, fender skirts, sinks and many other plastic components for the entire RV industry. Their tanks are found in many more than just Keystone RV's. That said, I haven't heard of an increase in water tank or holding tank failures over the normal "one or two a year" that are posted on the forum.

I've said a number of times in previous posts that dumping chlorine bleach "straight from the bottle" into any plastic tank is not good for the "essential plastics" of the tank. In the past I've seen some extremely "nasty" fresh water tanks that have grown black mold from not being properly cared for. Some of the extreme measures to clean those tanks have included acids, bleach, detergents and even mechanical scrubbing, none of which would be considered "good for the tank's longevity"....

That said, you might want to talk to the previous owner (if you know who it is) and see if there is any history of chemical cleaning of the tank. Hopefully the previous owner will be honest in his response.

Again, I don't know of any "broad problem" with roto-cast plastic tanks from any of the manufacturers. There are always "isolated problems" but nothing of any magnitude.