NHTSA Complaint #11703377 — 2022 THOR MOTOR COACH SCOPE

This is a Thor Scope RV built on the Promaster 1500 platform. The incident involves the Onan gasoline powered generator, which is directly connected to the fuel tank. Next to the generator in the fuel line, there is a small white inline fuel filter connected by the fuel hose going over a nipple on the filter and reinforced by a hose clamp. In my case, the hose clamp was not installed sufficiently over the nipple (far enough back on the fuel hose that it did not completely engage the nipple), and presumably from vibration associated with the generator operation and driving, the hose fully detached from the nipple and spilled fuel in an uncontrolled manner until I smelled/noticed it coming out from under the vehicle. There was certainly sufficient fuel to have started a major fire if it had reached an ignition source. Fortunately, I was able to get under the vehicle and push the parts back together once the problem was noticed. But, this would not have been possible if there were any ignition sources nearby. Fortunately, the vehicle was parked and off when the spill occurred. Had I not been able to stop the leak, it is my understanding that 3/4 of the tank would have drained since I've been told that the intake is located at the 1/4 full level of the tank to prevent the generator from running the vehicle completely out of fuel. Photos attached show the part after I pushed the hose back on and tried to reposition the hose clamp closer to the center of the filter. This was very difficult to do while laying on the ground under the vehicle, so I didn't get it on as far as I would have preferred until I was able to get the vehicle to a place where I could elevate it and get better access.