Diesel prices - truck stops vs regular gas stations

Funny, I said said the very same thing in a post a while back telling another member that I wouldn't fill up at a truck stop unless I had to if I were him and most people said I was nuts.

Thanks for the feedback. Frustrating that the truck stops feel the need to gouge the everyday user. It's not like the regular gasoline stations are selling diesel fuel at a loss.

Yep - here in Oregon fuel seems to be a couple ticks higher at the big name truck stops right off the interstate. Yet the public islands are always full of folks probably thinking they are getting a good deal because it's a "truck stop". Aside from the high cost of fuel I'm not too fond of the meth heads sleeping in the restaurant booths and the hookers smoking out front.

I never used a OTR truck island at a travel center. Any of them we ever stopped at had islands for cars/RV's separate from the OTR pumps, but still had to wait on occasion and the diesel pumps were just as messy as the truck islands tend to be. Why is it diesel gets spilled all over but not gasoline?

patriotgrunt wrote:
You'd think that they would be cheaper due to bulk sales much like the Walmart model of business. But as you've mentioned, people will pay more when traveling for convenience.

It's not really about "Convenience". It is about the fact that class 8 trucks..Tractor Trailers and their drivers have few choices of where they can get fuel. Their payment systems for fuel are different from the usual gas or diesel customer and only truck stops offer to accept those.

In addition they need showers, scales, and other services. Only Truck Stops provide these.

This means that truck stops can charge more for Diesel fuel...and they do. The American Trucking industry is basically a "captive audience" for the big chain truck stops.

I avoid them and fuel where my Gas Buddy App tells me is the most economical station closest to my route. Often it is 10,20 and 30 cents LESS expensive across most of the country than the big truck stops.

As for Convenience...it almost always takes me more than twice as long to get in, fuel, pay and get out of a Pilot or Fly J than it does the average gas station selling diesel. Some are so congested with big rigs that you have to wait in line for a very long time. That is not convenience.

In my experience the Love's, Pilot's, Flying J's and TA's always more expensive than say convenience stores on the same interchange. But, often it's much easier to navigate the travel centers fuel islands than the convenience stores' pumps.

We full time and travel at least every two weeks. We have been in the majority of states. Truck stops are always more expensive. Average is 30 to 50 cents a gallon. I have pulled into many service stations with the fiver attached to get a good price. Sometimes I had to back out. For the last five years I have been running a 60gal aux. fuel tank. I only fill up when I have to. I fill up where I find the best price. When you buy 60 gals or more saving 30 to 50 cents a gal adds up fast. I fill up without the fiver attached makes it real simple.

We either fuel at Sam's Club where there's lots of room, the DW can do the grocery shopping while I fuel and their price is a lot cheaper than the truck stops.

Or we fuel a Kroger's / Fred Meyers. You 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 you buy in the store. Average month is $300 or 30 cents off per gallon.

We only fill up at a truck stop once or twice a year when we pull in to sleep.

Bill

Yes, its the same elsewhere. FlyJ is owned by Pilot... have not used either in six years as six blocks away it's 30+ cents less. In Tampa last week FlyJ was $2.75 but you could find $2.30-35... a 40+ savings. When you buy 100 gallons, guess where I buy fuel and in 15 years I have never not gotten any bad fuel at stations that do not pump as much fuel.

Last summer I was in 20 states using 1000 gallons of diesel. GasBuddy saved me $350+ Plus I spent the night at several without all the truck noises.

I was a truck driver about 15 years ago. I remember there being something different about the way tax was handled on diesel at the truck stops in Indiana. It was different than any other state I ran in.
I don't normally see that much difference in other states. Here in VA diesel at truck stops is often very similar to regular gas stations. Sometimes the truck stops are less by a few pennies, sometimes not.