Finding Large Fueling Centers Ahead of Time

I spent most of my life being micro-managed. I'm not micro-managing my retirement. I realize some folks have to plan every pit stop, fuel stop, and know within 5 min of when they will be there. With the small tank in mine I have abt a 200 mi safe range. I carry a 5 gal can just in case, maybe 2 if going out west.

I'll be there when I get there, wherever there is....

bpounds wrote:


Or maybe fuel tank size is a factor.

Good point! Mine holds 34 gallons...no additional tank has been added.

In the situation I described, I missed a stop due to a phone call and could see that I'd make the next one, but not by much.

Just fwiw....I don't plan every move, I just have a table of all the stops and whats there, so I can quickly decide what to do/where to go if we wanna stop. Via my table, I don't hafta wait for cell service. And the Allstays app can take a little while to load when driving due to all the data.

I also drive with a Garmin trucker GPS for routing, but it doesn't have exit/fuel info.

Free App called Truckers Tools

d-mac1 wrote:
Someone commented earlier that they've never worried about fuel. My take is that they don't get far off interstates. We took 2 lane highways from northern CA to NV last year and there was a long stretch of no fuel. It was reassuring to know the next one was within range.

Or maybe fuel tank size is a factor. I've never seen a stretch between services where I could not easily make it. But there is one particular spot we like to camp in the Mojave NP. We can make it in and out, but if we do too much exploring, we could have an issue. The 38g tank is nice, bigger would be better. Still, all it takes is a few minutes looking at a map to see the distance between towns. Then research if it looks iffy.

But I know some folks like to plan their every move and stop, and if it gives you peace of mind, that's what you should do. Nothing wrong with that.

Where are these stations that are so tough to get into or out of? We have been back & forth across the country multiple times & never had a serious problem with access due to station design. Cars blocking access to the only diesel pump on an outer island with gas & diesel on the same pump is another issue not the fault of the station. This one is lazy thoughtless drivers.

Even in the center of old small towns we have fueled up. The supply trucks are bigger than us.

I like to go through my entire route before we leave home and have a list of where all the possible fuel stops will be (MM, restaurant name, truck parking). I've used All Stays Camp and RV for this.

In Allstays, you can also specify what clearance height is important to you and it'll give you a POI on the map showing where low spots are. In fact, there is a whole list of stuff you can have it show. It also works for non-interstate roads.

Someone commented earlier that they've never worried about fuel. My take is that they don't get far off interstates. We took 2 lane highways from northern CA to NV last year and there was a long stretch of no fuel. It was reassuring to know the next one was within range.

DKRITTER wrote:
But it's $.04 cheaper here.

https://youtu.be/A3jMt-OwTGs

Definitely a money saver!!

DKRITTER wrote:
My biggest problem is my bladder and my fuel tank are no where near the same size.

That's what Rest Areas are for. And if your on back roads, you can still stop at gas stations, but not have to worry about getting to the pumps.

But it's $.04 cheaper here.

https://youtu.be/A3jMt-OwTGs

Easy in and out and overhead clearance is worth quite a bit to me.