DEF question...

thirdktm · 08-01-2017, 03:37 PM

How quickly does a fill-up of DEF last?

The container that the DEF comes in is cumbersome. Seems it would make sense to pour some into a quart or half-gallon bottle, and carry it on board, making a fill-up easier and less messy................

Bookemdanno · 08-01-2017, 03:45 PM

The answer is...It depends on whether you are towing or not?? I've got about 4k miles on my Ram 3500 now and just filled up the def tank for the 1st time since I've owned it. We just got back from a trip to FL. It was down to 1/4 of a tank of def, so I filled it up at a QT gas station that had it in bulk (at the pump). It's cheaper and easier than buying at Walmart and filling it up in the parking lot. But Walmart does sell def in (I believe) liter bottle sizes. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Robbbyr · 08-01-2017, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thirdktm

How quickly does a fill-up of DEF last?

The container that the DEF comes in is cumbersome. Seems it would make sense to pour some into a quart or half-gallon bottle, and carry it on board, making a fill-up easier and less messy................

I see in your profile you have a Melbourne. You might want to edit your signature so it displays your unit. I bet other Melbourne owners will chime in and give you more applicable numbers. Every type of diesel different, so consumption and capacity also different.

Grumpy · 08-01-2017, 05:44 PM

Most truck stops carry 1 gal as well as 2 1/2 gal containers as does Wal-Mart and most places that sell Diesel. I've been told approximately a gal for every 1,000 miles for most med duty diesels.

Pfflyer · 08-01-2017, 05:47 PM

I top mine off every trip or so verses waiting for the light to come on. But like stated above it depends on your driving style and towing. My 2500 Sprinter Cargo has gone 7,000 miles before the light came on. The Jayco 3500 chassis I only let it get down low enough for the light once and that was around 5000 miles if I remember correctly. Since then I will top it off every 1000 miles or so and it takes maybe a 1/2 gallon. I think the 3500 chassis DEF tank is smaller than the 2500 as well. DEf can get contaminated and has a shelf life as well. Buy a gallon verses the 2-1/2 gallon container from a store that sells a lot. I don't know of any cases but I worry DEF in bulk can get contaminated too easily but it sure is convenient . It is pricey but Mercedes sells smaller containers that have a "no spill" spout. Never used it but heard it is easy to use.

Tunce the traveler · 08-01-2017, 06:07 PM

My Touareg comes with a no spill funnel that screws onto the tank and you fill the funnel then press down to reliese the fluid, any extra you just add it back to the container using the no spill procedure. A full tank lasts 10,000 miles.

Ela1948 · 08-01-2017, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Most truck stops carry 1 gal as well as 2 1/2 gal containers as does Wal-Mart and most places that sell Diesel. I've been told approximately a gal for every 1,000 miles for most med duty diesels.

In my experience, thats dead on!!!

rdlouks · 08-01-2017, 06:43 PM

With 23,000+ miles on my 2016 Ford F-350, nearest I can figure is I have gone through about 7 to 8 gallons of DEF. Like other stated depending on how your vehicle is used determines the amount of DEF used. (The more Fuel burnt, the more DEF consumed)
Ford has a spill proof nozzle available that seals in the filler neck and stops the flow when full without overflowing. It works with Ford containers as well as Peak Blue DEF Containers.

jkaras7 · 08-01-2017, 07:34 PM

Not sure which Jayco vehicle you have, in our 2017 Melbourne 24L the DEF fluid capacity of the Mercedes Sprinter 3500 chassis is 4.7 gallons (pg 280 of users manual). The warning light comes on when you drop below 1.5 gallons. At this point in time, you have approximately 1200 miles or 16 restarts left (pg 187 of users manual). If you have a different RV your data will be different. Hope this is helpful.

As a sidebar, we always have a one gallon container of DEF fluid and use a long neck funnel to fill the DEF fluid container.

repacs0103 · 08-01-2017, 08:01 PM

I tow a lot, drive about 45k per year and have a heavy right foot- I work my 6.7 Ford hard and she's still going strong at 197,000. I burn a 5 gal tank of DEF in 3500-4000 miles, so I buy it in a 55 gallon drum and it lasts me about a year. It's about 30% of the cost of buying in 2.5 gallon containers.

Your usage will totally depend on miles towing or being worked hard.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rgolding · 08-02-2017, 06:10 AM

We buy all our DEF at Love's Truck Stops. Pay around $2.75 per gallon. I think our DEF tank on the Seneca is around 5 gallons. I usually top it up when I have 2 of the 4 lights out and have never put in more than $8.00 worth. Usually around 1000 miles to a gallon, but never really pay much attention to that.

Work at not stressing over the small stuff.

RyRoRyan · 08-02-2017, 07:15 AM

My 37FS does not fair as well as his. Granted, I am in higher elevation (I normally travel between 5000 and 10000 feet). Also half the time, I am towing about 9k lbs behind it. I have 7500 miles on it right now and I can tell you that I have put in about 15-20 gallons so far. I am thinking that I can get about 300 or so on average MPG on def. Your melborne will get MUCH more than that.

Side note: Hello from Albuquerque!

TWP723 · 08-02-2017, 07:51 AM

5000 miles per tank of DEF is average.

thirdktm · 08-02-2017, 08:13 AM

RyRoRyan: We purchased as Camping World.........Mixed feelings so far about it......Any opinions??..........We just hope and are crossing our fingers that the Melbourne treats us as well as our 2002 Tioga did............Planing our first outing next week......Cheers, from Albuquerque.............Jim

namusmc65 · 08-02-2017, 08:37 AM

Depends on your miles driven. I fill mine up at Pilot in the trucker's lane and it will last me for several months. I tried the bottle routine and it is not for me.

SloPoke · 08-02-2017, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyRoRyan

My 37FS does not fair as well as his. Granted, I am in higher elevation (I normally travel between 5000 and 10000 feet). Also half the time, I am towing about 9k lbs behind it. I have 7500 miles on it right now and I can tell you that I have put in about 15-20 gallons so far. I am thinking that I can get about 300 or so on average MPG on def. Your melborne will get MUCH more than that.

Side note: Hello from Albuquerque!

Well for comparison with ours... you are using a little less than we are.
We have put about 8500 miles on ours this year, and our trip to Texas and back we were towing 8k with a total combined weight at 32,500 Lbs. We averaged 319 miles per gallon of DEF on that trip.

memphis02 · 08-02-2017, 10:16 AM

The Seneca's numbers seem to be pretty consistent with what I'm seeing on my 37FS. Towing: 310-325 Not Towing: 340-360
My Father's '16 F-350 uses about 1/3 that of my Seneca. On our trip to Yellowstone, he filled his DEF before departing and is still running on what he left with. I bought, I believe 7-8 gallons during the trip and am already through half of when I topped off 300mi from home.

RyRoRyan · 08-02-2017, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thirdktm

RyRoRyan: We purchased as Camping World.........Mixed feelings so far about it......Any opinions??..........We just hope and are crossing our fingers that the Melbourne treats us as well as our 2002 Tioga did............Planing our first outing next week......Cheers, from Albuquerque.............Jim

I bought mine in Austin TX, as camping world did not have the color combination my wife liked. That and I was able to save about $10,000 going to Austin vs buying here. As for service, I have had some mixed reviews. Erica the advisor is really nice and tries to help as much as possible. The actual repairs are kinda half assed depending on what they are doing. Some things are done right and some things are done wrong...dont have them fix your bauer door lock nor have them look at the mud flaps for example. I could go into more detail but that would take a while so it might be better to talk over the phone or something about that.

When you bring it to them for service one the questions you will get asked is "When do you need it back?" Even if all you want done is for them to change the handle out in the bathroom under warranty, if you gave them a date 6 weeks in the future, dont expect for them to have it done until 6 weeks in the future. They will put it on the back burner to get other rigs done first if you do that.

thirdktm · 08-13-2017, 02:16 PM

Just returned from our first extended stay in the new 24M...Went well.
As for DEF use, we drove about 400 miles, and twice, I added just less than a quart of DEF to the reservoir.
So, I figure that driving 45-65 mph, the engine consumes almost 1 quart every 200 miles. And the reservoir holds 4.7 gallons. That's lots of miles before empty...But I will carry a quart each time we depart, just in case..........

javamon · 08-13-2017, 02:43 PM

Just finished a 4800 mile trip. No tow. I was consistently close to 1:50 (2%) - 1 gallon of DEF to 50 gallon of diesel.

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