Isata 5 Fuel Fill Vent?

[bclemens]

I used to have the same issue at the Denver airport gas station. Rental Chevy Impala would NEVER fill properly by setting the fill stop (auto). You had to just sit there and feather it. Eventually I found out it would on the other side of the island. For whatever reason that little bit of slope to the fill side caused issues. When I went to the other side of the island it was a slight slope the other way.

[Ctoth11]

I will try that. Filled up at a auto pump yesterday and same issue. Stayed there 25 min and I got about 20 gallons in tank

[A32Deuce]

I see you guys never drove an early ups car with the fill behind the license plate! Shower time if you went too fast!

[A32Deuce]

60s car. Darn spell check!

[_jeff]

We tried 2 different stations on the trip home yesterday. At both, we tried the big truck pumps again. While we were not able to click on and step away, we were able to hand pump. Albeit really, really slowly.

Now that were home, I have several minor things for the dealer to address. Hopefully there will be something that can be done to address the issue through the dealer. If not, this has to be something that Dynamax can engineer a solution for. This is a real pain point and as we're discovering, it's not just mine.

I remember the filler behind the license plate. I also remember my dad was probably smoking a cig as he was bent over fueling up the family vehicle. AndI wasn't in a seat belt either. I was laying up in the rear package tray in the back window.

[A32Deuce]

Those were the days! Seeing the troubles you guys were having filling up made me laugh only because I have to jump through those hoops to put gas in my Falcon. New gas pumps are so fast, it pump, stop, pump, just like you have to do. New it should not happen to!

[Rrzasa]

Funny, can some Isata 5's have this problem and not others? I've only had that issue once at a Pilot station on I95. The high pressure pump was too much, I put about $ 2.00 in it, went across the street to the BP station and filled up without any issues. My local Sheets is where I fill up without an problems at all. I can actually use the highest setting on the nozzle and I can fill up in about 15 minutes (that's topping it off). One time, I actually got 55 gallons into the back tank but I typically put 52/53 gallons into the back tank without issues. Now the front tank will never show full, it usually shows about 7/8 full once I tire of feathering the nozzle.

[bclemens]

Yes...its just a rubber hose connected to the tank and a metal support at the fill. If someone pushed some insulation in there or something and it flexed/kinked the line it could restrict flow. I'll have to go look at one on line and see how its routed. We don't do anything with it, other than cut the hole in the sidewall.

[bclemens]

OK...well this seems to be the only repeated issue I have seen on the fill so I went out to check one on the line. On the bright side...its about as easy to get to as any unit I have seen. With the depth of the rear cap..just crawl underneath the unit and see if a line is kinked somehow or there is not enough slope. Its a rubber connector from the fill to the main metal run to the tank...should be able to lower the elbow if you need more slope. BUT, make sure the back end of the unit is not low...thats a long run to the tank and if your back end is low you're pushing the fuel uphill...which could be your issue.

[_jeff]

Will take a look this weekend when I've got some free time. Thanks for the photos.

[Juniorj]

I've had this issue as well. I've also had my inverter crap out, but that's another story. Although when talking with Derrick at Dynamax (I believe that's his name) about the inverter, he said this is a known issue. Seems that when the units are built, the straps that hold the fuel line/pipe in place are sometimes left loose. This happens because other items are also running through the straps, and they forget to go back and tighten them. Although even though I did go underneath and tighten them, I'm still having the issue...

Yesterday after returning home from another trip with 30+ minute fuel stops, I went to examine the issue event further. It appears that where the rubber hose comes out of the tank, has a small dip in it. This somewhat acts as a p-trap. Which could be the cause of the slow flow. I made some additional tweaks to mine to limit the amount of dip in the hose to see if this helps. I'll keep you posted. She goes in tomorrow to have the inverter fixed, so with any luck I may be able to use it again next weekend. (fingers crossed)

Aside from the fueling issue, inverter, and one ridiculous rattle I had to fix in the bunk area, this is an amazing unit! I'll post up something about the rattle on the forum. Just in case others have the same issue.

[sitivene]

Not having the fueling problem. Make sure your generator is off when refueling otherwise , i am told, you have frothing problems.

[Juniorj]

This is a great point! I have fueled up a few times with only a small issue, and even at a truck stop. I attributed it to being pointed slightly down hill, although now that you mention it, I definitely had the generator off. The last two times, when it was the worst, I had the generator on. Hopefully between your advice, and the line being dip free, this will go away.

Thanks sitivene!

[bclemens]

The entire fuel line is pretty easy to see under there. Its a fairly long run, so make sure the back end is level or higher.

[Juniorj]

I've got a small amount of pitch to it, and yesterday addressed the dip. With that, as well as shutting the generator off, I hope we're fixed. Worse case, I see another approach that would work very well, although it will require much more work, but would gain quite a bit more pitch. I'll cross that bridge when/if I get there.

Bclemens, I really appreciate your time and effort on the forum. It speaks volumes for you and Dynamax!