Fuel Tank

[laca5858]

We recently purchase our first deisel Class A motor home. We are new RV's too. The manufacturer specs say that we have a 100 gallon fuel tank. The computer was set for the same however the fuel guage read 3/4 full. On our first trip out we called the manufacturer to ask if we should trust the guage or the computer. Without hesitation he said the computer so we did and ran out of fuel when the computer said we had fuel left. We were only able to put 80 gallons of fuel in the tank after this happened. Now the manufacturer is saying the we have a 100 gallon tank but we can only use 80 of it the rest sits in the bottom of the tank to collect the sludge. This doesn't make sense to us. Any advise will be appreciated.

[fixit]

Most fuel tanks of any type engine will ALWAYS leave a cetain amount in the bottem of the tank that is unusable due to the placement of the fuel pick up pipe, This prevents all the sludge/rust /water etc from being ingested into the engine/filters etc and helps to prevent engine damage. I realy try to not let my fuel level drop below one qtr. tank and I have learned a long time ago to never trust a fuel gage. They are used to give me a general idea of when to stop. I determine my MPG and plan on fuel stops based on MPG,checked by the fuel gage. Have never had a computer device so can't comment on those,:D
safe travels
fixit

[fixit]

to simplify my last post.
If your vehicle gets 10 mpg and you have a 50 gal tank, you will very likley runout out of usable fuel at 460 miles, so a fuel stop should be planed for 400 miles. very few RV's get 10 mpg or better on average. Mine gets 8 (on average) with a 75 gal tank and I fuel after 440-470 miles. Have had three fuel floats go bad on us and have had to average fuel several times untill I could replace that $2.00 plastic fuel float. And that is another can of worms with labour rates running around $100 an hour.
safe travels
fixit

[beaver]

We have had two motorhomes with 100 gallon fuel tank in the builders specifications. We completely drained the first one because of algae in the diesel and refilled and it held 106 gallons. We have run our current MH's fuel low enough to have the diesel generator quit as its pick up is higher than the one for the chassis engine. We filled with 97 gallons of fuel and had not ran out. I feel most tank capacities are understated and you may have been underfilled by several gallons of fuel (not uncommon in a MH). You will probably find the chassis fuel pick up about an inch or less off the tank bottom leaving only a few gallons of unusable fuel. Ask your coach builder and be sure to provide your MH serial number when you ask.


Our fuel gauge stays on full for quite a while after a fill before moving and seems to move fastser as it nears empty. Trust your fuel gauge if yours is like ours it is not accurate as to fuel level but right on when low.:rolleyes:

[geothom]

I don't trust my fuel gauge I watch my trip odometer & try to drive off the top half of the tank at about 300 - 350 miles on the trip odometer I,m looking for a fuel stop that I can get in & out of with jeep in tow