refueling

To help clarify here is several examples of gas station layouts..



The pix with the big check mark under it is the layout that is most "friendly" for folks with trailers..

The pix with the red X is not friendly for trailers, that is what you need to pass on if you don't feel comfortable with backing out of the station..

If you can fill up at a Murphy Oil, you have passed the test and now have a graduate degree in dealing with fubar gas station designs.

;)

KD4UPL wrote:
Truck stops do sell gas. They usually have regular "car" gas pumps and a few for RVs. These are typically located in the front; not out back in the big truck diesel lanes. There's normally no gas back there.
As for "smaller" gas stations; keep in mind that pretty much all of them get their gas delivered in tractor-trailer tanker trucks. If an 18 wheeler can get in there to unload you should be able to get in too.

I cringe every time I see this extremely bad "advice".

Just because a "18 wheeler" can get into a small station it DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN A TRAVEL TRAILER CAN ACCESS THE PUMPS EASILY OR GET IN/OUT OF THE STATION EASILY.

Tankers when filling the station tanks do not use the pump lanes at all. The tanks are typically off to the side away from the pumps..

Not to mention tankers have one heck of a lot of clearance between to ground and tank (tankers don't "high center" as easily as a TT), in other words tankers can hop curbs and "ford" deep drain ditches/skirts that some stations have at the entrance/exits.

Over the years I have severely scraped on the tongue jack AND the rear "skids" at the same time on my 26ft TT, sometimes going it, sometimes going out and a few both ways.. Tankers don't have that problem.

As far as getting to a pump, best thing to forget about any station which has the pump lanes pointed at the store.. This causes you to have to either back out or make multiple attempts pulling back and forth to make the tight turn in front of the store to get out.. And add in all the other customers who park in front of the store to get their coffee fix you can spend a lot of time messing around..

I prefer to pick the stores which have the fuel lanes parallel to the store.. This means all the pump traffic enters/exits left and right of the store.. This layout tends to have a lot more room for TTs to move in and out.

One of the best pieces of advice I have seen is to not let yourself get extremely low on fuel before seeking a station.. 1/4 tank mark gives me about 60 miles until empty.. So I start actively looking for stations that are easy access (no large dips in the entrance/exit, parallel pump lanes to the store, ect). This allows me to pass on any station that is too small or tight.

Makes for much less stress..

Opie431 wrote:
We keep a copy of The Next Exit so I can let my husband know when we are getting to truck stops. I write notes in it so we remember which ones that are good and which ones we would rather not stop at again.
If we are camping and run into town for something I do the same thing. Some gas stations are fine to stop and some are not.
And of course, some go out of business or get a major remodeling after the Next Exit comes out.

going to google the Next Exit thing, never heard of it......sounds handy

Get over worrying about the guy behind you. You gotta do what you gotta do and too bad if they can't find a little bit of patience for you, that's their problem, not yours. I have had a few tight cases where I needed to maneuver a little bit and no one else was considerate for me in my situation. I just waited for them the dilly dally around and finally get back in their car and go. I quit worrying about the "other guy" when I continually found no consideration for me, and that didn't take long.

Generally gas stations with pump access oriented parallel to the office/store are easier to maneuver than when the pump access is perpendicular to the buildings.

We keep a copy of The Next Exit so I can let my husband know when we are getting to truck stops. I write notes in it so we remember which ones that are good and which ones we would rather not stop at again.
If we are camping and run into town for something I do the same thing. Some gas stations are fine to stop and some are not.
And of course, some go out of business or get a major remodeling after the Next Exit comes out.

anyone know if those RV GPS units are worth while or not....as far as RV friendly gas stations & height clearances?

Thanks for the advice everyone, just trying to gauge whats out there. Here in Northern Virginia if you are'nt out of someones way in 5 seconds or less the birds and horns fly lol. So efficient refueling options is something i think about often. We are planing a camping trip from Virginia to Toledo to see family. This will be our longest trip towing, looking forward to it

I like the RV pumps at the truck stops. They are rare but growing and a nice touch to the RVs.

When we need gas we figure out the best approach for exiting. You get better at that over time.

Maneuvering a TT is not a test, it does not go on you permanent record from high school. It makes no difference whether it takes you 8 tries to park, maneuver or pull you rig where you want it; or you get it on the first try.

No one is counting or cares except you. After a while, you just do it.