Tips on picking, entering, and leaving gas stations

[ClearCreekRanch]

Ok, so yesterday in route to a horse show in Texas from Kentucky, I had an argument with a post in a Valero station. The post won and I returned home, sadly. It was one of those stations with slanted pumps and a McDonalds, i.e., too many people, not enough room. I should have known better, right. Well in my defense, I have only taken 2 short trips in my Winnebago Aspect and have owned it for only 3 months. I will never make THAT same mistake again. But my question is, how do you find the right gas station when you need it? And are there any tips that you can give me to help my confidence? I really like my motor home, but I am seriously doubting my abilities. I do fine changing lanes and driving in general, it's just the gas station thing. Another example is today, on the way to the dealership, I had gotten gas at a Pilot station(that I have used a few times) and a couple of dip sticks parked in the middle of the parking lot, only way out. So I walked over and checked it out and then went soooooooo slow between the two. I was nervous but I made it.:)

[Old-Biscuit]

powderman426 wrote:
I am opposite of many here. I avoid the truck stops like the plague. They tend to be over priced and filthy, not to mention the lot lizards and panhandlers. Especially the diesel pumps. I have yet to find a station I couldn't get in or out of But I do prefer that the lanes be parallel to the road.

You aren't alone!

If it's has a diesel pump I will use it.
Been in many stations across the USA with my longbed quad cab truck and 5vr. Ain't found one I couldn't get in and out of yet.

I've been in tougher CGs then any station

[Bednarski1]

I try to use Pilot/Flying J. Lots of room, big lots and if you are a Good Sam member 3 cents a gallon off the price. Like the others have said also take your time and if you have to wait then just wait.

[marly]

Wash your hands!

[DutchmenSport]

Get the App "gasbuddy.com" on your I-phone. It's priceless. Pull up the map and you can zoom right in and get a feel for the layout before you get there. Gasbuddy.com = priceless!

[Dick_B]

It's a challenge most every time except at truck stops. Sometimes I will drive around the building to get the end pump facing out. Makes it much easier to drive away.

[dbbls]

As I approach a station I go very slow to analyze the ingress and egress. If it is questionable I go on.

[powderman426]

I am opposite of many here. I avoid the truck stops like the plague. They tend to be over priced and filthy, not to mention the lot lizards and panhandlers. Especially the diesel pumps. I have yet to find a station I couldn't get in or out of But I do prefer that the lanes be parallel to the road.

[rvten]

Flying J when I can find one. Truck stops and use outside island. Stations where the pumps run parallel to the road. Station you can pull in and go around the building to exit.

[past-MIdirector]

A lot of people bad mouth Flying J and Pilot but they have some of the biggest swing around to the pumps. Also the RV and truck lanes are great.

[grampscamper]

I try to use truck stops whenever possible. I have a Garmin GPS. Garmin has free software that you can download for your computer called BaseCamp. I use it to plot my routes and find gas stations along the way. I make waypoints for fuel stops to transfer to my GPS. I also use Google Maps & street view to see how accessible the gas stations are. Once you make a waypoint you can cut & paste the coordinates into Google Maps for a street view.

[obgraham]

My routine: Stop before I enter the service station. Get out and walk over, check the space requirements. In my case I have to find a diesel pump which has the small "automobile" nozzle, not the high speed truck nozzle. At truck stops it is more likely to be on the end of the row.

[PghBob]

I always try to get the end pump island, so I have more room to turn and (usually) have more clearance for the rear-end swing. When on main highways, I usually try to use truck stops. Like posted earlier, when we find a good stop we write it down in our trip log.

Bob

[yrusoslo]

That's why I like truck stops!!!

[Capt_Storm]

Swing wide and always take your time..others can wait if they have to.

[lots2seeinmyrv]

Before our trip I use findfuelstops.com

Put in starting point City, ST...then I put in a City on our route about 300 miles from there. (we start looking for fuel at 150 miles around a half tank).

findfuelstops will post each gas station on your route, how many miles to it, and you can pull up the "satellite" view of the gas station to see how to get in and out of there.

A lot of times...we find that a lot of them we can't get in and out easily so this has been helpful for me to do for my DH.

I write the stations and exit numbers down in my spiral notebook and it works for us.