Gas challenged?

What's important is not to wait until you're on your last drop of gas. If the station isn't right, you can go to the next one. Another thought, top off the tank while you're out sightseeing in the TV.

If it really bothers you, use the gas station apps to pick a station and as mentioned, use Google street view, where you can actually see the pumps.

Norm

What's important is not to wait until you're on your last drop of gas. If the station isn't right, you can go to the next one. Top off the tank while you're out sightseeing in the TV. When on the highway, get off at the first off ramp to a town, again you will have more choices with out having to double back.

Norm

Go to a regular station . Yesterday the price difference between Flying J and a small station was sixty cents for fuel and fifty three cents for gas . I am over sixty feet long and will drive several miles to save fifteen dollars .

Well, thanks for all the answers. I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. That is stopping at stations that look usable to me. I've been stopping at about the half tank point. There have been times when I've pulled into a station and pulled right back out and goner to another one. Sounds like that's what everybody does. I've never had this problem before. This is the first trip that I'm not taking the trailer off the hitch at night. I'm moving from camp to camp every day, and just don't see the point of taking it off. Normally I stay longer at one site and fill my tank while I'm out and about exploring the area.

jjjandrbaker wrote:
I've been stopping at about the half tank point. There have been times when I've pulled into a station and pulled right back out and goner to another one.

Looking for fuel at the 1/2 tank mark gives you more options. Waiting to 1/4 tank can force you to have to deal with places you would rather not go into.

I have pulled up, then pulled right out of stations, and will continue to do so in the future if the layout is unsuitable.

I vastly prefer the end pumps on a station. Almost always easier to get into/ out of.

Just last Monday, I purchased gas at a station for $2.19, while the one across the road was $2.14, and the Murphy USA at Walmart a half block down was $2.09. Simply because the way the new Murphy USA was built, I could not get my rig into, nor the station across the street with less than 25 feet between the pumps and the front of the building.

I've learned to try to look at a prospective station on Google Maps/ Bing Maps satellite view. I also keep a list of RV friendly stations in my GPS.

We've pulled this TT over 20,000 miles in the past 2 1/2 years. Hooked up, I'm right at 60 feet long. Also, if I make a hard cut to turn, the back end of the TT will swing out almost four feet, something else I have to watch for when looking at a station for clearance.

The best news is that by the time you finish your trip, you will be able to look at almost any station from the street and know if your rig will fit. Practice is the best teacher.

x2 on most of this advice.
It is trial and error and learning by experience where you can fit your rig.
We've found it is usually when we are in urban areas that we have problems. They put gas stations on very small lots (probably due to the price of land) with no manuevering room.
When you are out in rural areas, there is often much more room to enter and exit.
Just make sure you've got enough gas left in the tank to pass one or two stations to find the one that can accomodate you.

And I am very pleased that your suspicions about people getting snarky with you didn't happen. It seems like all the responses have been kind and helpful. :)

I don't travel very far so I can get to my campground, unhook, and then go get gas.

I see some of you recommend getting gas at half a tank. I don't know about that. For me this would involve stopping every 100 miles or so. Not going to get very far that way.

When not towing and just driving around in my truck I know I need gas when the little red light next to the gas gauge pops on. When that happens I have about 20 miles to go.

I would not do that towing !! But, I think looking for gas at 1/4 tank would be what I would personally do. However, again, I don't travel far. There may be places in the country where the distance between gas stations is further apart then around here.

You'll get the knack for when and where to fill and what type of layout makes it simpler to get in and out when rig is attached while refueling. We are about 55' and have managed to get into some very small convenience store type gas stations, we normally plan ahead and for the most part are able to refuel without issue or duress.

Don't have a gas motor home but find similar problems with diesel.
I know of only one Wall Mart that we can get our motor home in, Decatur Ind, when they don't put thee piles of fertilizer etc too close to the fuel station. We saved 35.00 last time over the rest of the stations in the area and on up into Michigan.
Costco sells diesel and propane and is set up to fuel a mh but they have strategically placed islands etc so it is not possible for our mh to get to it nor into the fuel lanes where on occasion they have reasonable diesel prices.
Kinda odd since RVers when we do stop there end up spending usually a few hundred dollars in groceries, supplies like tp, water softener, black tank and gray tank aids and assorted things for an RV and gottahaveits.They don't want our business.
We saw diesel for 2.23 in Southern Indiana near Clarksville, but they have now configured the station so only pickups and the like can get in. We had fueled up there many times before.
FJ has two lanes usually but at every one you have to pull close to the building to get in or out of the tight lanes with big bolsters with lots of scars from trying to maneuever. If you get too close at one in Ky you can't open the door to get out to fuel up. If there are cars and especially vans or pickups parked at the building with our toad at 68 ft we have to wait until they come out and leave meanwhile RVs are backed up into the road wanting to get into the pumps.
Some stations /truck stops do have gas at their truck islands but I don't have a list.
Next Exit provides a lot of info on what is at the next exit. Perhaps it list gas at truck islands and so on. I don't know.

It can be challanging.. Most Flying-J stores have special dedicated RV pumps, Generally there are 3 "islands" perhaps only 2 pumps (The outiside "islands" re remotes for the center island pump.. I will leave it to others to explain if you can not figure it out)

I drive a 38' Class A and I find many J's it is hard to exit those islands. Easy to enter, but the exit is too tight for comfort (To date not too tight to exit, just too tight for COMFORT.

Most "Big Stations" (J's. Loves, Pilot, TA

These stations have very large AUTOMOTIVE islands.. PErhaps a dozen pumps or more

Pump #1, and Pump #N (Where N is the number of pumps) are on the OUTSIDE of the area. You can easily pull up to them and get out of there (in every case so far I've seen)

Smaller stations.. here you have to be selective.. Some are simple. Some not so. Example.. On Telegraph RD in Redford TWP, MI, is a Shell. there is not enough room to get to/from the pumps due to curb placement (They have made improvements from what I under stand) but at Grand River and 7 Mile in Detroit is another Shell.. I can (if the pump is free pull off Grand River into the station to the pump farthest from the station 1/2 turn off G.R. Gas up, then exit straight ahead onto 7 mile again making a partial turn to go east, Then I can return to Telegraph and go where I need to go.

(yes I'm from Detroit and useing these statiosn as an example.. GOOGLE maps will show you the stations if you wish The Station in Redford is on the west side of Telegraph SOUTH of the freeway. (I-96) not sure howe far.

The Marathon at Telegraph and 7.. Can be a witch with the Class A.

But Most Wal Mart (MURPHY USA) are not tribble at all.

Look for a station where you basically need not turn till you are FULLY clear of the pumps.