Road debris fuel leak

DSurette · 09-02-2021, 05:26 PM

On the second day of our trip to Michigan we were headed north on I75 traveling through a heavy rainstorm in southern Kentucky when apparently we hit some debris in the road because we heard a thunk. Couldn't see anything in the mirrors and all gauges read normal. We continued on for about 50 miles when I noticed that my brake controller had lost communications. I pulled into the first exit that I came to and parked in the Kentucky Artisan Center parking lot in Berea, KY.

I found that the umbilical cord disconnected from the RV and was completely destroyed. Went back into the RV to make some phone calls to see if I could find one locally. I was on my second call when we smelled a strong odor of gasoline. I went out and saw gasoline running out from a hole in the tank.

We travel with three cats so we quickly put the cats in their carriers and into the toad. Disconnected the toad and drove it away from the RV. I dialed 911 and reported the incident and in about 5 minutes a fire engine shows up. They used an absorbent material (cat litter) to try to contain the flow and that worked somewhat. But the gas was still leaking out. The fireman in charge called in for a heavy duty wrecker and a hazmat crew.

They arrived, pumped out what fuel was remaining in the tank, about 60 gallons, disconnected the driveshaft, hooked up the RV and towed it to their facility. Keep in mind that this was a Sunday.

This is the unbelievable part. On Monday morning they dropped the tank, sent it out to be welded, got it back in and it was ready to drive at 5 that afternoon. We had already booked a room for a second night so we didn't leave until Tuesday morning.

Total cost for the hazmat team, towing, tank repair and even 20 gallons of gas was about $2950.00.

All of this took place in Berea, KY and the truck repair and towing was done by THROUGHTRUCK. I can't speak highly enough of them and of course the crew from Engine 5 of the Berea Fire Department.

I have no idea how the umbilical came disconnected but I'm thankful that it did, otherwise we might not have stopped where we did. DW had to drive the toad behind the RV all the way to Batavia, OH for us to get a replacement.

D W · 09-02-2021, 06:15 PM

Because of situations like this I've always carried around a JB Weld Fuel Tank repair stick in my tool box for the past 40 years. Only had to use it once on my K5 Blazer. It works great! it's a two part stick that you knead with you fingers. It forms a chemical reaction (gets a little warm), and you slap it on the puncture. It's gas, diesel, oil and antifreeze resistant and stops the leak immediately. Sets up in 5 minutes and cures rock hard in an hour. Only has a shelf life of 2 years, but it's cheap insurance, $6. Certainly cheaper than a tow and a HAZWOPER Fee!

DSurette · 09-03-2021, 09:36 AM

By the time we discovered the leak and got our pets and toad in a safe position took a few minutes. Add to that finding the JB Weld, mixing it up and crawling under to find the leak and plug it up would still require hazmat to clean up all the lost gasoline. And in our case, the fire department did initially try to stop the leak with their leak kit. They couldn't do it.
The tow company said that the hazmat charge, which was $400 will be covered by my insurance. I'll be calling my insurance company, State Farm, and find out what of all this is covered.

More to follow.

upflying · 09-03-2021, 09:55 AM

Thanks for reminding me to buy a fuel tank patch product.
https://www.newpig.com/pig-plug-n-se...3fdbd55b83056a

D W · 09-03-2021, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSurette

By the time we discovered the leak and got our pets and toad in a safe position took a few minutes. Add to that finding the JB Weld, mixing it up and crawling under to find the leak and plug it up would still require hazmat to clean up all the lost gasoline. And in our case, the fire department did initially try to stop the leak with their leak kit. They couldn't do it.
The tow company said that the hazmat charge, which was $400 will be covered by my insurance. I'll be calling my insurance company, State Farm, and find out what of all this is covered.

More to follow.

Understood. Where I live, once you leave the metro areas and head into the interior to camp, you lose cell service and if you do manage to contact a ham radio operator on an FRS/GMRS emergency channel, a fire truck, AKDOT or Trooper may be an hour away. You're on your own, and you just have to get after it.

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