Stopping for fuel with 29' TT

Lots of good food for thought in this thread.

I actually aim for the outside pumps and prefer to position my rig for an easy escape. That way I'm doing my thinking/maneuvering while I'm still in "driving mode." My mind tends to wander while stretching, paying, visiting the restroom, etc. So I plan accordingly.

I am also biased towards filling the truck anytime I'm unhitched and have the chance. Even if I'm paying a little more per gallon it is worth it to me. If I was full-timing, then I might watch the budget a little more closely.

RDMueller wrote:
Wow, amazing response to this thread! I appreciate all the input, definitely gives me a lot to think about. In the beginning, I'm going to stick with the truck stops until I get more confident maneuvering in tight spaces. As I gain experience I will start to use regular gas stations as needed. Definitely a lot of really good advice!

The real downside to most of the truck stops is that it takes so long to get through the process. Most want you to pre-pay which means standing in a possibly very long slow line before you even pump, then coming back to repeat the process. To my mind Flying J's, because of their popularity and size, can be the worst. When the Diesel Fuel Lanes are full of big trucks, trucks are on the scale, and guys are lined up getting showers there is inevitably ONE person behind the counter. It's for this reason I tend to limit my use of the Flying J's and some others and find the smaller non-truck-stops better. And since I can never get my promised Flying J discount there is no incentive to put up with their generally slower service.

Dennis M M wrote:
NEVER turn in anywhere - gas station, restaurant, store, etc. - until you have planned out your exit route. Saves a lot of hair pulling!

If you do the above you will be ok. It takes practice but eventually you will be driving down the street surveying gas stations for easy exit even when you are not pulling.

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
I think others already alluded to this idea, but it just struck me that my biggest "OH NO! Will it fit?!" moments towing the TT have NOT been gas stations, but rather stuff like the one lane steel trestle bridge with a sharp right turn to negotiate immediately at the far end...by myself with no option for a spotter and traffic waiting for me to get out of the way (nothing like the pressure of onlookers waiting for you to screw up to give you confidence!).....made it without a scratch, thankfully.

:E

Fortunately I have never had that issue.. yet.

I think others already alluded to this idea, but it just struck me that my biggest "OH NO! Will it fit?!" moments towing the TT have NOT been gas stations, but rather stuff like the one lane steel trestle bridge with a sharp right turn to negotiate immediately at the far end...by myself with no option for a spotter and traffic waiting for me to get out of the way (nothing like the pressure of onlookers waiting for you to screw up to give you confidence!).....made it without a scratch, thankfully.

Gdetrailer wrote:

6.7 tow rig wrote:
My truck is about 20ft and the trailer is 37 ft long. So at 57 feet I have never run into an issue getting fuel. I do not pre plan stops and refuse to use truck stops. I agree with the post above about the fuel being delivered by semis. If they can get in so can you. Get comfortable pulling your rig and use a spotter if necessary. Its not difficult and should not be a concern for you in your travels.

Not true about "semis" in many cases.

Most gas stations have the fuel tanks some distance away from the actual pump islands. The semis MAY have enough room to maneuver but a vehicle towing a long trailer might not..

Not to mention Semis also have considerably MORE ground clearance than a vehicle towing a trailer and will be able to get across some of the steep skirts that many gas stations seam to always have.

Just because a semi delivers fuel to the station does not ALWAYS mean a RV can get in there also..

We carefully look over how a station is laid out, how much angle the stations entrance/exits have from the road, any curbs and other possible obstructions before we attempt..

Layout is critical, many stations seem to be setup with the islands directing the traffic towards the building.. This setup is very bad for RVs since you point your vehicle right at the building AND they ALWAYS have parking spaces at the front of the building.. A few of these stations may have a road around the building but more often than not there is no road behind the building..

The result is when you need to leave, you have to either pull forward and make an extremely tight turn (often takes a few backups) or you end up just backing out..

The better layout and the one I prefer puts the pump islands (and traffic) in parallel with the building (traffic is not flowing towards the building).. This layout makes for less maneuvering and generally requires no jockeying around to get in and out..

Ok, still never had a problem from Michigan to Florida. Maybe gas stations are different in other parts of the country Ive not been to.

6.7 tow rig wrote:
My truck is about 20ft and the trailer is 37 ft long. So at 57 feet I have never run into an issue getting fuel. I do not pre plan stops and refuse to use truck stops. I agree with the post above about the fuel being delivered by semis. If they can get in so can you. Get comfortable pulling your rig and use a spotter if necessary. Its not difficult and should not be a concern for you in your travels.

Not true about "semis" in many cases.

Most gas stations have the fuel tanks some distance away from the actual pump islands. The semis MAY have enough room to maneuver but a vehicle towing a long trailer might not..

Not to mention Semis also have considerably MORE ground clearance than a vehicle towing a trailer and will be able to get across some of the steep skirts that many gas stations seam to always have.

Just because a semi delivers fuel to the station does not ALWAYS mean a RV can get in there also..

We carefully look over how a station is laid out, how much angle the stations entrance/exits have from the road, any curbs and other possible obstructions before we attempt..

Layout is critical, many stations seem to be setup with the islands directing the traffic towards the building.. This setup is very bad for RVs since you point your vehicle right at the building AND they ALWAYS have parking spaces at the front of the building.. A few of these stations may have a road around the building but more often than not there is no road behind the building..

The result is when you need to leave, you have to either pull forward and make an extremely tight turn (often takes a few backups) or you end up just backing out..

The better layout and the one I prefer puts the pump islands (and traffic) in parallel with the building (traffic is not flowing towards the building).. This layout makes for less maneuvering and generally requires no jockeying around to get in and out..

We've gone from a 19ft TT to a 26ft 5th wheel, a 32ft 5th wheel and now a 30ft 5th wheel. Never had more than a oh boy is this going to work thought when navigating gas stations. I've found travel trailers track better forward when squeezing through tight spots. We're about ready to go back to a 30ft TT. No concerns about fuel stations.

My truck is about 20ft and the trailer is 37 ft long. So at 57 feet I have never run into an issue getting fuel. I do not pre plan stops and refuse to use truck stops. I agree with the post above about the fuel being delivered by semis. If they can get in so can you. Get comfortable pulling your rig and use a spotter if necessary. Its not difficult and should not be a concern for you in your travels.

KD4UPL wrote:
If you can't get that rig in and out of most modern gas stations you'll have trouble getting in and out of most campgrounds. I'm about 44' and pull into just about any station I feel like. Just use a little sense when positioning.
Keep in mind that just about every station in the country has their gas delivered by an 18 wheeler. The underground tanks are usually buried right there in the pavement around the pumps. If an 18 wheeler can get in and out you should be able too.

I don't know were in the world you will find a lot of "modern" gas stations..

I have been as far north as VT and down into SC on the East Coast.. I HAVE passed through VA.. I find more "less modern stations" than new modern ones, that's for sure..

With a 26ft TT and a super cab F250 short bed I have done some rather interest acrobatics getting in and more often getting out of even some of those newer stations..

I have gotten into some OK, but getting out resulted in nearly high centering the trailer, scraping hard on the tongue jack and the rear drag bars.. Resulted in smashing my spare tire carrier which was located behind the front jack..

More than once I have been forced to back out of a station, just no way I was going to be able to clear the cars parking in front of the building in order to make the turn.. Happens a lot at busy gas stations..

Once I had to nearly jack knife the truck and trailer in order to get the rear of the trailer off the road.. this resulted in my truck sitting 6+ft away from the pump.. Had to pull the hose taught and hold it in the tank filler while squinting at the readout on the pump..

More than once we have also been treated to one of those real backwoods town gas stations.. You know, the ones that are located 10 miles down a one and half lane tar and chip road from a busy interstate.. Yep.. had one heck of a time trying to find even a place big enough to turn the rig around :M

While our newest truck has a 35 gallon tank, we decided to add a 15 gallon tank in the bed of the truck so now we can easily buzz by those less than friendly stations..