Black tank collapse

[Fuzionfulltimer]

Our rear black tank… fell out while parked. Woke up to , well you can guess what we woke up to!
The tank when built was held in place ONLY by 2 manufacturers installed nylon straps! Warranty company only replaces the tank and plumbing. Leaving us $1,000 out of pocket.
So time for questions:
1. No other support other than nylon straps for securing tanks in place? (We HD tech install cross bars)
2. Defect, lazy build, etc? Does anyone know if Keystone should reimburse or have any experience with this?
Thanks.

 

[jxnbbl]

Personally think this is a manufactures defect. From some other posts the straps are to just hold their position but the weight supported by cross members that the tank sits into.

 

[flybouy]

How old is your trailer? Citing a "Warranty Company" I'm guessing it's over 1 year old.

 

[chuckster57]

All the water/waste tanks are held in place by supports at opposite sides. As a rule one support is welded in place and the other is screwed to the frame from the inside. Nylon straps usually run from one support to the other to stop the tank from drooping.

I would be looking at the supports, did the screws fail? Did they not get installed?

 

[Fuzionfulltimer]

How old is your trailer? Citing a "Warranty Company" I'm guessing it's over 1 year old.

2022 Fuzion 419. We bought it “used” in 2024. Still had stickers on all the TV’s, 12 hours on generator, paid for full inspection prior to purchase.

 

[Fuzionfulltimer]

All the water/waste tanks are held in place by supports at opposite sides. As a rule one support is welded in place and the other is screwed to the frame from the inside. Nylon straps usually run from one support to the other to stop the tank from drooping.

I would be looking at the supports, did the screws fail? Did they not get installed?

No supports installed! Either one. We had tech fabricate and install.

 

[chuckster57]

That’s a first for me in 15 years of working on RVs.

 

[JRTJH]

2022 Fuzion 419. We bought it “used” in 2024. Still had stickers on all the TV’s, 12 hours on generator, paid for full inspection prior to purchase.

If you are the second owner, I'd urge you to read the Keystone warranty document very carefully. It's easy to get caught in the trap between "what you think the warranty states" and what is documented in the exclusions. If you filled out the "transfer of remaining warranty" forms, then Keystone should have processed the remaining part of the 1 year warranty and the 3 year structural warranty to your ownership. But, they won't have informed all the component suppliers of that change. So, as an example, if you have a 3 year warranty on your furnace, Keystone will process any repairs during the first year. After that, it's up to your dealer or up to you to process any repair payment/reimbursement. If, for example, your furnace fails at 2 years, when you or the dealer seeks reimbursement for any repair, it will be denied because you are not the owner of that unit (in their records)... All of those component warranties were filed with each company as a part of the sales and transfer of ownership by the dealer who sold the trailer to the first purchaser. If you bought from a private seller, it's almost certain that none of those "warranty forms" were ever transferred to your name. So, if something fails, there's no record that you own the trailer and anything repaired under your name will be denied by the component manufacturer (after Keystone's first year of processing the claims).....

Also, Alpha Systems, the TPO roof membrane manufacturer specifically restricts the "lifetime warranty" or the "12 year warranty" on the roof membrane "To the original owner and it can not be transferred to any other owner"....

You can read the Keystone warranty document here: Keystone RV Warranty: Your Assurance for Peace of Mind Click on the "LEARN MORE" tab to open further discussion.

If you have an aftermarket warranty, I'd read it carefully. Each of them has different requirements to transfer ownership and/or to process claims for a second owner.

 

[Fuzionfulltimer]

Thanks, well put and accurate.
We made sure paperwork was transferred, documentation being gathered prior to contacting Keystone.
At this point, repairs completed by tech out of pocket $1,000. Essentially gonna see what if any we can get.
Thanks for your informative reply, as the whole point of my post was to let others know this can happen! Missing cross members BOTH the welded and screwed. Straps were installed- so how many folks on the line and QC folks failed to notice this.
We came into this lifestyle eyes wide open- and take comfort in knowings we had such an unusual failure! Not.
Another lesson learned in all this : many techs want no part of black tank repairs. Tip your tech - that person is like your BEST person on your phone.

 

[Fuzionfulltimer]

That’s a first for me in 15 years of working on RVs.

It’s nice to be special! Many of the long timers in our resort had same comment.

 

[Fuzionfulltimer]

All the water/waste tanks are held in place by supports at opposite sides. As a rule one support is welded in place and the other is screwed to the frame from the inside. Nylon straps usually run from one support to the other to stop the tank from drooping.

I would be looking at the supports, did the screws fail? Did they not get installed?

None installed!

 

[Cilrah72]

I’m new to travel trailers or even fifth wheels, my last RV was a diesel pusher. If the black tank fell out of that thing i would have to had to have bigger problems
We pick up our 2025 Cougar 29RLPWE TT tomorrow and I’m wondering, with the bottom side sealed for weather protection, how can you even look at your black tank?

 

[PRG]

Our rear black tank… fell out while parked. Woke up to , well you can guess what we woke up to!
The tank when built was held in place ONLY by 2 manufacturers installed nylon straps! Warranty company only replaces the tank and plumbing. Leaving us $1,000 out of pocket.
So time for questions:
1. No other support other than nylon straps for securing tanks in place? (We HD tech install cross bars)
2. Defect, lazy build, etc? Does anyone know if Keystone should reimburse or have any experience with this?
Thanks.

Hey! What year do you have.. it seems like anything over 2020 is total crap. Mine is falling apart and it’s a 2021. I hear other companies is also falling apart same age as mine. Unbelievable..no care what’s so ever

 

[PRG]

Hey! What year do you have.. it seems like anything over 2020 is total crap. Mine is falling apart and it’s a 2021. I hear other companies is also falling apart same age as mine. Unbelievable..no care what’s so ever

Complain complain complain to company. Write reviews.. also I’ve seen people in my RV park sell or trade new RVs for older. You know when they weren’t put together with bubblegum and tape. You might want to think about that

 

[Cilrah72]

Complain complain complain to company. Write reviews.. also I’ve seen people in my RV park sell or trade new RVs for older. You know when they weren’t put together with bubblegum and tape. You might want to think about that

Ya’ll are scaring me Now I’m thinking i should have bought something used as opposed to new

 

[PRG]

Ya’ll are scaring me Now I’m thinking i should have bought something used as opposed to new

Ya’ll are scaring me Now I’m thinking i should have bought something used as opposed to new

Ya’ll are scaring me Now I’m thinking i should have bought something used as opposed to new

I’m serious it’s the worst… it can’t hurt to go look around for better quality.. and def get an inspection. It’s worth the money..

 

[PRG]

I’m new to travel trailers or even fifth wheels, my last RV was a diesel pusher. If the black tank fell out of that thing i would have to had to have bigger problems
We pick up our 2025 Cougar 29RLPWE TT tomorrow and I’m wondering, with the bottom side sealed for weather protection, how can you even look at your black tank?

Also you should still be under warranty

 

[FordF350-KEY]

Unfortunately this is a common problem with the tanks on these rv trailers .
In this situation I would have a talk with the manufacturer about it and ask for reimbursement .
Also this is why I m not a fan of transporting the tanks with full tanks whether black , gray or fresh water . The straps weaken or break with road vibrations and poor support of the weight .
If anyone is a handy rv owner I would strongly suggest inspecting the straps and updating the supports or having a rv mechanic check them out and upgrade the straps and supports .

 

[chuckster57]

In 15 years of working on trailers/ motorhomes this is the first time I’ve heard of supports not being installed. Tanks falling out is not all that common at least not in my area.

 

[Rob 1204]

Our rear black tank… fell out while parked. Woke up to , well you can guess what we woke up to!
The tank when built was held in place ONLY by 2 manufacturers installed nylon straps! Warranty company only replaces the tank and plumbing. Leaving us $1,000 out of pocket.
So time for questions:
1. No other support other than nylon straps for securing tanks in place? (We HD tech install cross bars)
2. Defect, lazy build, etc? Does anyone know if Keystone should reimburse or have any experience with this?
Thanks.

We have a 2020 Raptor 413 that we bought new and we had the exact same thing happen to us when our camper was about a year and a half old and the dealer fixed everything under warranty and they said the tank was never installed correctly.