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Jamster's avatar
Jamster
Explorer
Feb 21, 2023

Filing up DEF

I've got a 2016 Fleetwood Excursion and the DEF fill is on the passenger side. When pulling into truck stops the DEF fill is always on the driver side. I've seen that people will pull in the opposite direction at truck stops, but that can be tricky to do in the real world when it's always really busy there. My tank is inset and hard to fill directly from the DEF refill canisters without spilling. I ordered a battery pump to assist in filling from these refill canisters, but found I have to hold the canister higher than the fill point for the pump to work, and it's really slow and I still spilled. Why do manufacturers put DEF fill on the passenger side? What am I missing here? Any help would be much appreciated !
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11 Replies

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  • LMHS's avatar
    LMHS
    Explorer II
    Feb 23, 2023
    Could you not just go buy a jerry can with a long nozzle, label it as "DEF ONLY" and use that? If the nozzle still isn't long enough, could you buy a clear flexible vinyl tube that fits over the end of the nozzle and fits into the DEF fill? Just wondering. I don't think that there is anything magical about the factory DEF containers. But I may be wrong.
  • Jamster's avatar
    Jamster
    Explorer
    Feb 23, 2023
    Thanks Ed - have several long neck funnels, but I think with the deep position of the fill position I need a can with a long spout attached to prevent spilling.

    Joe - I'm going to try your method.

    Thanks guys for your comments !
  • RedRollingRoadb's avatar
    RedRollingRoadb
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2023
    time2roll wrote:
    To help prevent DEF in the fuel and fuel in the DEF. I am sure you would be fine and professional drivers... but we are talking about the general public here.


    Don't be so sure about the "Professional drivers." I worked for a large LTL truck line. One of the alleged professional drivers topped the fuel tank with DEF. Truck only had about 50K miles on it, toasted the engine. Last I heard it was recommended that he seek other employment.
  • JoeH's avatar
    JoeH
    Explorer III
    Feb 22, 2023
    AllegroD wrote:
    We carry jugs, fill the DEF and then fill the tanks.


    That's what I've been doing for the past 10 yrs. I have 2, 1 gallon jugs that fit nicely into my pegboard bay. I fill them with DEF after fueling and then when I'm at the next nights stop ( or when I stop for the next fuel up) I empty the jugs into the DEF tank. I have reasonable long flex spouts on the DEF jugs to facilitate putting into the DEF tank
  • Jamster's avatar
    Jamster
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2023
    Thanks Time2Roll -

    Yep, that makes sense. Makes it much harder on all us "more smarter" people - ha ha

    thanks for your comment.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Feb 22, 2023
    Jamster wrote:
    Why do manufacturers put DEF fill on the passenger side? What am I missing here? Any help would be much appreciated !
    To help prevent DEF in the fuel and fuel in the DEF. I am sure you would be fine and professional drivers... but we are talking about the general public here.
  • Jamster's avatar
    Jamster
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2023
    Thanks AllegroD -

    That's an idea. Not sure if you have the same problem as I with the inset tank, but I need to find a long neck jug to fill up DEF from the pump. I have long neck funnels but hard to keep from spilling.

    Appreciate your comment !

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