Gas stations for Class A gassers with space

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The trick is to set a tank level, say down to 1/4 tank, and then stop at the first station that has room for you to pull in. Usually this is an end pump but depending on the stations layout, sometimes we have used an inner pump.
If you wait until you are close to empty, not only could you damage your "in tank" fuel pump, but you could also minimize your chances of finding a station to fill up. Flying J and the other major truck stops are usually the most expensive places to refuel while some of the outlying stations may be quite a bit less expensive. We very seldom will fill up at a major truck stop unless we have other things that we need there, that we cannot get elsewhere.

I see the claim the FJ is "the most expensive", many times here. On a recent return from snowbird season (FL to PA), I decided to see if I was failing to pay attention to high prices, since I typically refuel at FJ. I used a smartphone app to look ahead at current pricing, several stops down the road, when deciding to fuel at FJ, or find another nearby location that was, according to forum members, going to be "dramatically cheaper". Bottom line, in a 1200 mile trip? I found ONE example of an overpriced FJ. It was alone at an exit, and dozens of miles away from the competition. As for any significant savings at all from nearby competitors, it just didn't exist.

Now, I did have the opportunity to head into a town off the exit, deal with the chance of trying to get a 34' Gas class A and toad into a tight old, urban station, and save a few pennies a gallon. Once you calculate the frustration, good chance of failure, and no real savings involved when driving a few miles off the highway in a rig that gets 6-7MPG, it is almost never worth the effort.

You may have a totally different experience, but for me, I just don't see the big payday, avoiding FJ, or most other large, easily accessible highway interchange stations.