Fuel tanks reject fuel, can't fill

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Hilltopr76

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Posts
15
Location
Tulsa, OK
Weird! On the way back to home base today I could not fill my diesel tank with fuel. It is half empty, based on miles driven since last fill up and my computer and gas gauge. Yet you can not force feed it any fuel on either side of the coach. Opened both caps and still no go. Acts like it is full of fuel and spews diesel out if you try to force it. Have called Freightliner, and my local chassis/engine service dept. and no one can give me an answer. I have an appointment to take it in next Monday for a look see. Have a quarter tank left to get around until then. Anybody experience this issue and have a clue as to what is going on?
 
Usually that means an air blockage, i.e. the tank cannot vent air to allow more fuel in. Odd that it still happens with both filler caps off, though. Wonder if the two fillers maybe join at a Tee before entering the tank proper? If so, a blockage there, air or fuel, would prevent filling.  They re probably going to have to tear into it to see.
 
I stopped at two different auto diesel pumps and even a high volume truck pump. Same result. A call to Freightliner suggested a vent blockage or twisted hose leading to tank. But since it's the same on both sides of the coach I'm leaning towards the vent blockage. I'll let you know what they find next week.
 
My coach is a gas rig,  but coming home from Arizona last week, I had one station I stopped at that I couldn't fill the coach full.  I knew by the gauge that it should take at least 60 gal, but no matter what I did, including holding the pump handle and just letting the gas trickle into the tank I couldn't get more than 50 gal. in the tank.
The gauge confirmed this when I started the coach and the gauge, which normally will go above the full mark rested at about 7/8 tank.
The very next stop, it was back to normal.
Thought about it and I believe, at the first station, the grade was such that the coach was high in the front.  The next station, the coach was definitely higher in the back. 
My filler hose is fairly long from the opening to the tank, and a good portion of it is nearly horizontal.  I just figured that at the first station, because of the angle of the coach, the tank couldn't vent properly.
 
Just goes to show that even new MH's can have problems.

I was under mine once and looked at the fuel tank and there appears to be a vent tube for the tank.

I don't know if you have any interest in getting under your coach - but if there is a blocked tube - maybe something built a nest in the tube -
it might save you a trip to get something simple done.  Of course if you have any other problems then I would let them work on it.

The only problem I have had with fuel is I filled my tank up fully and only drive 6 miles to home.  I parked in the driveway
and fuel leaked out.  I assume it expanded the next day in the heat of the day and went out the vent tube.  Now I only fill it fully
when I'm traveling because I know I will burn off some before it expands and don't think I will have a problem.  If I know I'm going to
park not far from where I fueled it I will stop the fist time the pump kicks out and not slowly add another 5-10 gallons like I can when traveling.
 
Here's what I've been told so far. Freightliner dealer here says it is a Thor issue. So I call Camping World and they say it is a chassis issue, take it back to Freightliner. So I call Thor helpline and Thor says that it is their issue and covered by warranty. The problem seems to be that Thor specs too long a hose from the filler cap to the fuel tank. So the assembly line uses it and tucks it up so you can fuel the coach until the hose falls down and loops or crimps and doesn't allow fuel to enter the tank. Simple fix (they say) to cut the hose length and reattach to the filler cap. Getting that done is a problem in Tulsa. No one seems interested in fixing it in less that two weeks. I've got about a quarter tank so I can get it to a service center but I can't drive it around until someone with a sharp knife and a screwdriver and about 30 minutes can get to me. Do I sound frustrated? Maybe!
 
FIXED! I'm mobile again! Wade's RV SuperCenter was the only Thor approved dealer in Tulsa area that would even look at it for me on a "work in" basis. They said the hoses that run from the filler cap to the tank on both sides of the coach had to be re-routed so that they did not have a huge dip in their lines. Didn't take an hour of work but someone had to be willing to work me in. Thanks to Wade's RV I am full of diesel and ready to head out first of the week! Thanks for your input on this thread. If you know anyone with my issue pass along the solution.
 
Here is an easy fix if the problem should reappear anytime in the future. I used it on my last 2 coaches.  I purchased a piece of 1/2" rebar at a home center. A 4' piece is usually plenty long. I bent it into a curve to match the arc of the filler hose.  Then laying the rebar either on top or underneath (either will work) the filler hose, use 4-6 4" hose  clamps to clamp the rebar onto the filler hose.  This gives the filler hose a perfectly flat smooth transition from the fill spout to tank entry.  It increased the amount of fuel I could get into my tank by 10-15 gallons without backing up.  The whole cost was less than $10 and took about 30 minutes to do.  Just an FYI for later if you need it. 
 

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