Folks:There are times each of us has nearly run out of fuel on a trip. Has anyone carried a 5 gallon can of fuel as a spare "just in case"?

I have a portable generator--so I do carry some fuel for it. I've never needed to use it for the RV tank. I start looking for fuel at 50% and at 12.5% I'll pay a high price to get the fuel.If worst came to worst I could siphon fuel from the genny, but I'd really rather not.

I too have carried gas for the generator. But we will be taking a cross country trip next year so I'm planning to carry more than 2 gallons.Wish I had a diesel so I could add an auxilary tank.

I don't. I like to have a plan for my trips and part of that is identifying the best places to stop for fuel along my route so I don't run out.

I used to worry about running out of gas when we pulled to yuma but I found out there are plenty of gas stations to stop at before that even became an issue. I make it a habit to plan ahead and if I think it's going to be an issue, I will stop and gas up when I get close to the half empty mark

Nope......not since my 'rock crawling' days

Do you carry? | Good Sam Community

80 Replies

malexander
Explorer
Sep 29, 2017
tdiller wrote:
malexander wrote:
I REALLY can't figure out how folks run out of fuel. With todays technology, road maps, fuel gages, trip meters, etc, it's beyond my comprehension. But that's just me.

I don't carry extra fuel.

If you have all that tech I can see not running out.And that's all good in an rv but I have a motorcycle too and it does not have a gas gauge. It does have a trip meter and I usually reset that after each fill up and know I need to fill up once it gets to about 130 miles. I once stretched it to 159 but had to flip over to reserve and just barely made it to the gas station. If you want to mess up a biker reset his trip meter if he has no gas gauge.

Yeah, I've got a VTX 1300R. It doesn't have a fuel gage. 129 miles, you go to reserve.:)
malexander
Explorer
Sep 29, 2017
jplante4 wrote:
malexander wrote:
jplante4 wrote:
malexander wrote:
I REALLY can't figure out how folks run out of fuel. With todays technology, road maps, fuel gages, trip meters, etc, it's beyond my comprehension. But that's just me.

I don't carry extra fuel.

New to me coach +
fuel gauge off by 1/4 tank +
wasn't getting a full fillup due to a loop in the tank vent line =

running out of fuel on I-10.

Thanks Coach-Net

I thought a lot about this today. I can see how it could happen...........once. lol

I've often thought of putting a 5 gal can of gas in the back of my pickup, and intentionally running it out. Just to see exactly how much it takes to fill up.

New to you coach. Just asking, absolutely NO FLAME intended, because I don't know all your "particulars" but how did you not notice 1/4 tank gage difference? Were there no clues?

Propagation of errors. Because I had a loop in the tank vent, I was never getting a full tank. That lead a miscalculation of the mileage, but not enough to be unbelievable (8 vs 9 MPG). . That skewed my "number of miles to go before I need fuel" number (600 vs. 750) and over the period of 3 months eventually got me down to a quarter tank. Thinking I still had 100 miles in the tank, I was stretching for Alabama to save a few cents a gallon.

At 1/2 on the gauge or 600 miles since last fillup, I'm looking for fuel.
stickdog
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
I did carry extra diesel fuel when we went to Alaska and did need it on our return. Drove through a town in BC and after your out of the town there was a sign 86km to next services. Looked at the guage and thought I can make that. Well the road was very hilly and curvey made it to the services and they were closed. Only open on the weekend. Just about then a woman with two young kids pulled in from the opposite direction needing gas. I only had diesel had 3/4 gallon of genarator gas. There was a campground sign that pointed down behind the fuel station so I walked down the hill and found the camphost. They said once school was back in session the owners were only there on the weekend because business slacked off. Since this was on a lake and there were several seasonals there with boats she would ask if any had gas they were willing to part with. One of them had 5 gal they would let the woman have. We desided to spend the night as it was closing in on cocktail hour.
ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Sep 28, 2017
azdryheat wrote:
I've got 91 gallons in the bed.

Hope "the bed" is covered (evaporation) and sealed (leaks) and
the 91 gallons has baffles to prevent sloshing..:R

~
Bobbo
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2017
With a 36 gallon fuel tank, no. (At least, gasoline)
Grit_dog
Navigator II
Sep 28, 2017
If I had a gasser pulling a big trailer drinkin gas like it was free I would west of the Mississippi.
Only time I carried gas was going to AK with a gasser pickup pulling a whopping 8 mpg and I used that can of gas once and thought I would a couple more times.
Diesel I've never carried, but would consider it too. Came close last year in eastern MT. Hauling camper, hauling @ss with a bad head wind and trying to make time and not stop.
My next truck will get a Titan tank. Sooo sick of having to stop more for fuel than to pee. Even my kids can outlast a tank sometimes!

Hope the other 2 copy Ford with a big tank in the HD pickups. Ford knock d it out of the park offering a 48 gal tank now!

Would love to drive 1000 miles and stop at 3 rest areas or quiet spots vs 3 truck stops!
toedtoes
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2017
If I were doing a trip where one closed station could be a problem, I'd carry. To me that makes sense. But for most of my trips that I take now, carrying just isn't necessary.

If I don't plan right, I might pay more for my gas, but it won't be "I can't find a gas station in time" (unless of course, the GPS sends me off roading again).
jplante4
Explorer II
Sep 28, 2017
malexander wrote:
jplante4 wrote:
malexander wrote:
I REALLY can't figure out how folks run out of fuel. With todays technology, road maps, fuel gages, trip meters, etc, it's beyond my comprehension. But that's just me.

I don't carry extra fuel.

New to me coach +
fuel gauge off by 1/4 tank +
wasn't getting a full fillup due to a loop in the tank vent line =

running out of fuel on I-10.

Thanks Coach-Net

I've often thought of putting a 5 gal can of gas in the back of my pickup, and intentionally running it out. Just to see exactly how much it takes to fill up.

New to you coach. Just asking, absolutely NO FLAME intended, because I don't know all your "particulars" but how did you not notice 1/4 tank gage difference? Were there no clues?

Propagation of errors. Because I had a loop in the tank vent, I was never getting a full tank. That lead a miscalculation of the mileage, but not enough to be unbelievable (8 vs 9 MPG). . That skewed my "number of miles to go before I need fuel" number (600 vs. 750) and over the period of 3 months eventually got me down to a quarter tank. Thinking I still had 100 miles in the tank, I was stretching for Alabama to save a few cents a gallon.

At 1/2 on the gauge or 600 miles since last fillup, I'm looking for fuel.
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 28, 2017
Extra gas? Only a 2 gal can when I used to carry a generator.
Even then I used it more to help another vehicle out of fuel.
And my truck is lucky to go 200 miles on a tank when towing.

Have not carried gas or generator since the solar went on in 2012.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2017
Despite my previous snarky comment about carrying a handgun (which I always do), I do carry (fuel) but not much. 2 fully able to seal fuel packs. One for unmixed gasoline for the generator and one with pre-mix for the chainsaw.

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Do you carry?

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