gas islands
I pulled into a QT for gas and had a difficult time getting to the pump. Everyone drives all over the place. If you go to a truck stop, is gasoline available in the truck islands, or is it just die...
Forum Discussion
There are a lot of refueling options between QT (and similar convenience stores) and truck stops.
Most convenience store chains are designed to draw customers inside to buy high-margin drinks and snacks, and a high proportion of the traffic doesn't buy fuel. Fueling lanes are pointed toward the store because that's where they want you to go next. These layouts make the places a poor choice to get fuel, even with a fairly small vehicle. I try to pass them up, unless it is a time of day when the place is almost empty.
Many similar size stations with smaller store business either align pumps parallel to the store front, or better separate the pumps from the store parking areas. This is particularly the case in rural areas, where a higher proportion of the refueling traffic is expected to be towing. People don't drop their stock trailers or hay wagons to get gas, so the company wanting to sell fuel designs stations to handle the traffic.
I find it adequate to size up stations before pulling in, with the expectation that I might go on down the road if nothing fits at this stop. Part of the strategy for doing this means not getting desperate for fuel, not running tanks to empty.
Usually the "travel center" chains that handle a mix of truck and car traffic are roomier out front around the car pumps: Love's, T/A, sometimes Pilot (although Pilot owns a lot of small stations too). Flying J, and Pilot travel centers that were formerly Flying J, usually have RV pumps, configured like the pull through truck pumps.
Truck refueling centers in urban areas that are not full service truck stops are often a bad choice, even if you can use diesel. The pricing and taxing may be commercial, and I've found some that are "pull-in, back-out" to more efficiently use limited high-price urban real estate. This is OK for truckers, who know how to back up, but not for many RVers, who may not be prepared for the challenge of backing out of tight places.
For routes I frequently travel, I make it a point to remember my preferred refueling stops, just as I do with my overnight locations. Venturing into strange territory, it is more a matter of check it out on approach, drive past if it doesn't fit well.
Most convenience store chains are designed to draw customers inside to buy high-margin drinks and snacks, and a high proportion of the traffic doesn't buy fuel. Fueling lanes are pointed toward the store because that's where they want you to go next. These layouts make the places a poor choice to get fuel, even with a fairly small vehicle. I try to pass them up, unless it is a time of day when the place is almost empty.
Many similar size stations with smaller store business either align pumps parallel to the store front, or better separate the pumps from the store parking areas. This is particularly the case in rural areas, where a higher proportion of the refueling traffic is expected to be towing. People don't drop their stock trailers or hay wagons to get gas, so the company wanting to sell fuel designs stations to handle the traffic.
I find it adequate to size up stations before pulling in, with the expectation that I might go on down the road if nothing fits at this stop. Part of the strategy for doing this means not getting desperate for fuel, not running tanks to empty.
Usually the "travel center" chains that handle a mix of truck and car traffic are roomier out front around the car pumps: Love's, T/A, sometimes Pilot (although Pilot owns a lot of small stations too). Flying J, and Pilot travel centers that were formerly Flying J, usually have RV pumps, configured like the pull through truck pumps.
Truck refueling centers in urban areas that are not full service truck stops are often a bad choice, even if you can use diesel. The pricing and taxing may be commercial, and I've found some that are "pull-in, back-out" to more efficiently use limited high-price urban real estate. This is OK for truckers, who know how to back up, but not for many RVers, who may not be prepared for the challenge of backing out of tight places.
For routes I frequently travel, I make it a point to remember my preferred refueling stops, just as I do with my overnight locations. Venturing into strange territory, it is more a matter of check it out on approach, drive past if it doesn't fit well.
