Fueling

[Jerry Emert]

Another newbie question, actually two.  1. How long can I get away with newbie questions until everybody thinks I'm a dumb a--?
2. (Real Question) Last time out I went to the truck lanes at a Flying J.  Been to the truck lanes once before.  This time the fuel came out so quick that I had to stand there and keep pulling the handle over and over like stuffing gas in a full tank on a car.  Was it a bad valve or something on the pump or is there something I'm doing wrong?  Should I open the other fuel fill as a vent?
Thanks
Jerry

[Bob Jae]

The truck lanes have high flow/high speed nozzles.  I am looking for a solution also.

[Steven Link]

Jerry,
Ok no one here will ever think you are a dumb a__? I had an 04 Marquis and I had the same problem. Beaver designed the fill tube  to the tank poorly I could usually find a sweet spot where the fuel nozzle would not shut off. You just have to play with it a bit. In--out--up--down you get the idea.   Had a friend that said " It's kinda like fueling an A6 on a flight deck in 30 ft seas...D*&! hard" Master Chief Jack Nix.
Steven Link

[Roy C Tyler]

I would not recommend opening the other side as it will spill out there when it gets full and you could have a real mess.

[Steve Huber]

Jerry,
Opening the other side won't help and you can get spillage as Chuck noted above. I'm not sure about the Roadmaster chassis but the SMC Magnum design had the fuel hose from the fill port to the tank running almost parallel to the deck and it enters the tank about 2/3 of the way to the top. Neither is conducive to handling high volume flow. As noted above, you  pretty much need to play with the flow control to find a sweet spot.
Steve

[Jerry Emert]

Thanks for all replies.  I have a Magnum Chassis also (I'm 90% sure), so that explains that.  I tried the in and out up and down routine and it was not helping.  At one point I thought I had more fuel on me than in the tank.  I do like the room of the truck pumps as I'm still getting comfortable with this 40 ft beast.  I've driven 400 ft Frigates that were easier to back up.  Of course most of the time there wasn't much to run in to and the Captain never let anyone go pier side without him hovering right behind them.  Kind of like a wife!  Anyway I digress, thanks again for your help.
Jerry

[Roy Warren Co-Admin]

Jerry,
I have found that you really have to hold the handle so it doesn't give you so much fuel.  I made a piece of wood with notches in it so I could leave the pump and do other things while it is refueling.  One side angles down and I have notches about 3/16" wide, 1/8" high starting about 1/2" from the bottom and going to the top of a 3" piece of wood.  I put this in the pump handle at the back and it is well short of the first stop on the pump so the flow is a lot less.  It doesn't refuel fast, but it doesn't stop until full either.  Normally the back flow near the end of refueling  will settle down in 15 seconds or so and I can always add about 10 more gallons.  Good luck, just remember you can't use high flow and must reduce the flow either by holding it or using something to hold the handle at a much lower flow.
Roy

[David T. Richelderfer]

I found that sometimes - not always, but SOMETIMES - I could get the diesel nozzle to catch on the slowest auto-fill notch if I turned (twisted) the nozzle so that it pointed forward and down at about a 45 degree angle.  It also helped when I pulled the nozzle out a few inches such that the nozzle wasn't all the way down into the hole.  Many times I could get the nozzle to catch on the notch to fill hands free, but sometimes I had to hold the nozzle at that 45 degree angle because it would not hold at the angle on its own.  Tinker around with it and you might get it to fill hands free, but I never got to far away from it.  I have rarely been able to get a high volume nozzle to fill to full without babysitting it.

I see we're at war again, or still, or... whatever.

[Joel Ashley]

Truckers fill comparatively simple saddlebag tanks with minimal fill neck to constrict flow.  Our coaches have tubes that the fuel must first negotiate.  You are usually best off using standard fill pumps rather than high speed ones.  Even at my preferred Pacific Pride stations they have both types since many commercial vehicles are buses, vans, or diesel pickups that need standard speed pumps.  Even then sometimes foamback can be an issue.  

If I sometimes end up at a truck pump for some reason, I have some modicum of control practicing what others here describe, and/or holding the trigger to a closely monitored minimal flow as the nozzle will allow.  But standard pumps make for the happier camper.

Joel

[Dick Simonis]

I've had the same problem but found the high flow pumps worked better by fueling on the passenger side and, as been stated, rotate the handle ~45 degrees back with minimal insertion.  sometimes I can even get it to rest in the first notch.

[Stan Simpson]

The same as Dick Simonis said for me. Before discovering that, I had to tinker around with it as others have mentioned.

Stan

[Bill Sprague]

I did like Roy, but mine is a simple triangle cut from 1/4" plywood.  If I can get the pump to flow at the first notch, I don't use it.  If I can't I wedge it into the back of the pump handle at what ever point keeps the fuel flowing.  I normally fill both sides at once to keep station time to a minimum.  

I think my record is 11 minutes at a Pacific Pride near Toledo, WA.  Fuzzy the dog barely had time to pee.  

[Bob Jae]

Bill can you post a picture or provide the dimensions.

[Bill Sprague]

Bill can you post a picture or provide the dimensions.

I would be happy to.  But, it may be a day or two before I get to visit the motorhome.   I made two and both were a guess.  One was too long and skinny so I nipped the pointy end off with sidecutters.   Almost anything works.   When you see the pictures, you will be disappointed by the lack of  any sophistication.  

They are roughly the size of a credit card, cut on a diagonal.  

[Bob Jae]

I found this on line called the Gas Widget, Might be able to modify it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwYJX9XbOYQ