Extremely slow putting diesel in our Aria 3401

Toni.gene2022

New Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2024
Messages
7
Location
Richmond
Due to diesel foaming and fuel backing up into the pump nozzle it takes a long time to fill the fuel tank on our 2023 Aria 3401 we bought new the end of February. Fuel just refuses to flow down into the tank!
So I looked under the left wheel well and found the vent tube folded in half, closed off. Not only that but the filler tubes (both sides) have a "S" curve up and back down before entering the tank. This creates a P trap in the filler tube. Opening the opposite side fuel cap does not help this.
After many emails to Thor Customer Service and Freightliner, I finally received a CAS # and told to take it into a Thor Dealer. Then the issue became finding a Thor Dealer that would do warranty work on a motorhome they did not sell. (We are hundreds of miles from Houston TX in Ronan MT). It appears they can refuse to do warranty work cause they said if I wanted to pay, I could bring it in.
I tried repairing the problem myself, but did not realize the filler tube would be full of trapped diesel. I made a mess. I also determined I could not move the filler tube high enough to get the S curve out. There is too much spray foam insulation below the fuel cap/nozzle to access the hose & clamps.
Does anyone else have this problem with their Aria 3401? How do you get authorized dealers to honor the warranty? Any suggestions?
 

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Extremely Slow

Here is a better view from the opposite side filler
 

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Call Thor customer service again and ask them if you can get a mobile tech, a local repair facility or if they will reimburse you to fix the issue since none of the dealers around you want to take on the warranty work. Explain to them that you are 100's of miles away from where you purchased the coach.

Paul
 
Mine is gas. I have to fill it on the slowest click. The fill port and fill tube are almost level to the entry point on the tank. There is no drop, similar to yours. I crawled under it and pondered, “what would the Duck do?”. 😊 I have yet to have that vision. I usually don’t go below 1/2 tank. Occasionally to 1/3 tank ( yes DK, 1/3 tank). When I fill at the pump, I set it. Then go clean the windshield. Check straps on tow dolly. Eyeball stuff to make sure it’s still there. Use the bathroom. Sometimes make a sammich. 45 minutes later, after having met my gas pump neighbors, we’re filled and on the road again. I would either have to raise the filler port. Or lower the tank. Neither of which I’m willing to do. So we live with it.
 
Due to diesel foaming and fuel backing up into the pump nozzle it takes a long time to fill the fuel tank on our 2023 Aria 3401 we bought new the end of February. Fuel just refuses to flow down into the tank!
So I looked under the left wheel well and found the vent tube folded in half, closed off. Not only that but the filler tubes (both sides) have a "S" curve up and back down before entering the tank. This creates a P trap in the filler tube. Opening the opposite side fuel cap does not help this.
After many emails to Thor Customer Service and Freightliner, I finally received a CAS # and told to take it into a Thor Dealer. Then the issue became finding a Thor Dealer that would do warranty work on a motorhome they did not sell. (We are hundreds of miles from Houston TX in Ronan MT). It appears they can refuse to do warranty work cause they said if I wanted to pay, I could bring it in.
I tried repairing the problem myself, but did not realize the filler tube would be full of trapped diesel. I made a mess. I also determined I could not move the filler tube high enough to get the S curve out. There is too much spray foam insulation below the fuel cap/nozzle to access the hose & clamps.
Does anyone else have this problem with their Aria 3401? How do you get authorized dealers to honor the warranty? Any suggestions?

If near billings, call kurts rv repair and mention George
He will fix

Also in billings is reasonable Jim & Traci truck repair
FAST
good luck
 
That's just a razor knife, two cuts and a rigid elbow and two clamps to fix IF you can get to it to do the repair.
But better:
There's a 'no cut' way to do it.
Buy thin wire, the stainless picture hanger kind will do. Start about an inch from one end of the kink and start wrapping TIGHT toward and beyond the kink. It will deform/reform the kink to round.
I've done it 4 or more times and if Beau weren't an aircooled guy he'd have also done it on collapsing radiator hoses.

Since there's no pressure on that hose you can reform it with a pair of vicegrips. Once it's round, just leave them on the hose to make it stay in shape. I did this recently on a garden hose that was very cold and badly kinked.


I wish I had a picture of the fuel cell vent on the corvette I sold, but I don't.
The vent is a triple loop(think coiled garden hose)and the outlet is higher than the tank.
No amount of 1g cornering can slosh fuel through all three loops.

Do we know if acetone melts that foam insulation as fast as I suspect it does?
Give the Insulation a spray and it should retract very quickly.

I also might try a check valve and shorten that tube.

But first,
Get a mobile tech to try under warranty.

The next thor service center you approach take a load of tacos or burgers in advance, apologize for past thor turd-type owners and tell them you're not one of those guys.
It did me so good to do that....
 
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I have a 2017 Thor Aria 3601, and had similar issues with fuel filling, as well as noted poor routing of vent and fill hoses. I have found I can improve filling rate by loosening the fuel fill cap on the opposite side (dual fill points). I don’t remove the fill cap completely to prevent the potential of spewing fuel if the ‘venting’ side happens to be slightly lower than the ‘filling’ side.
 
A Friend of mine has a tapered block of wood 6 in x 12 in x 24 in, he puts it under rear tire and drives up on it.
 
Blockage

I had the same problem with my def port. It turns out they now make this neat fiber optic gizmo you can snake down your diesel port in your case and see what’s blocking the flow. It’s kind of like giving your RV a colonoscopy. In my case one of those little cardboard wafers on the spout of the def container had slipped off and was halfway down the filler hose on the RV. I would pour and any more than a trickle and it would come right back up. So I got one of those springenmeisters that has claws on a long wire and snagged it. It was kind of like a thrombectomy but in this case more like a waferectomy. Now great flow. I wish I could say that about my personal plumbing but I’m pushing 80 and well…..
 

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