Update - Diesel lane tips/advice

[roscott]

Picked up the rig and have had an issue free trip so far. I used the advice provided during my truck stop fueling...thank you all, it made everything a bit less intimidating. Just dropped off my copilot in Austin (My Brother came along to help drive) and will finish my journey to Houston in the morning.

================================================================
OK, flying out on Thursday to pick up my 1st Diesel Pusher. I will be driving from Phoenix back to the Houston area. I've read the comments from other posts regarding truck stop/diesel lane etiquette, as well as downloaded some material from other sites. Just thought I'd come on here one more time and see if anyone in the community has any additional advice that might help mitigate the 'rookie factor' when I have to stop. The last thing I want to do is tick someone off...especially a trucker. I've heard a lot about Flying J and thought I'd try them for my stops, if possible. I've owned a class C and have rented a couple of 35' + Class A's in the past, so not too worried about driving and maneuvering...until I get to the diesel lanes anyway.

Thanks in advance!

[roscott]

Thanks again all, for the advice and encouragement! Currently at 30,000 ft somewhere over west Texas. Will update on the rig and journey when I return.

[Monaco_Montclai]

I always pick the fuel stops that will be to my likeing. Size, room, most 18wheeler places will be good, don't even put the thought in your head bout ticking some body off. U like me have already done that. It's you're money,muse it when u want it, and enjoy it. Now my friend it's all happy-camping

[John___Angela]

Just be expeditious and get the job done. We avoid truck stops and instead head for travel centres like Flying J, Loves, Travel America etc. You have as much right to be there as anyone else. If you are checking fluids etc, do it after you are through the line.

[B_s_Bunch]

67Cutlass wrote:

Executive wrote:
Get yourself the RV Swipe and Save card from Good Sam. If you already have the RV rewards card, use that until you can get the new card(s).

1. Pick a truck lane and pull up to the pump. Note the pump number.
2. Swipe your RV card. Pick tractor fuel. You won't need DEF or reefer fuel.
3. Pump will authorize. Pump fuel. Remember these are 40 Gal/min pumps.
4. When finished fueling, return hose to pump and pull your coach forward to the yellow line.
5. Go inside and pay.

It's even simpler if you get RV PLUS Charge Card.

1. Use the truck lane pumps - using the RV Lanes does not guarantee the discount
2. Swipe your card and fill up
3. When done just leave - nothing else to do.

If you want a receipt go inside and swipe your card at the Kiosk and print your receipt. No lines, no waiting.

On top of that you can get up to and additional 9 cents a gallon discount off of the cash price. That's 15 cents off of the credit card price.

This is not a revolving charge card. The balance must be paid off monthly.

X2 X3 x4

[obgraham]

Make sure that your rig's fuel port will accept the high flow nozzle, which is bigger. Mine will not. So I have to find the "auto diesel" pump, usually at one end of the pump island at a truck stop. And a few truck stops don't have an auto diesel pump.

[mccsix]

My experience with the truckers at the pump is that they will pull forward when done fueling then go inside for whatever and not come back for up to an hour! I've had this happen so often I will not pull into an empty pump if there is a truck in front of it.

[JimM68]

Good advice above.

I haven't broughtmy DP through a flying J RV lane since they started charging to dump!

One thing I dint see mentioned is the slave pumps. Truck lanes will have a second pump on the passenger side, with no display or anything, just a hose. Since our monaco has fillers on both sides, I always use them both, goes twice as fast!!!

[JamesBr]

I rarely if ever see cheaper diesel at smaller stations aimed at autos. Maybe off the major interstate highways in the central and western US this is different. But at least from NY to FL on the east coast, up and down all the major routes including US 15, the truck stops are the same price cash as the smaller stations. The only thing I can think of is comparing the truck stop credit prices to the prices at smaller stations which are usually cash or credit. But I already know how to get the cash price at the bigger stops and use a rewards visa, so now I am at the same cost, sometimes a few pennies lower, plus the rewards of 4% on the purchase. Couple that with easier ingress/egress, and even without pump start its actually equal to the smaller stations where I have to go in anyway to pre-auth for more then the $75 limit is.

[67Cutlass]

Executive wrote:
Get yourself the RV Swipe and Save card from Good Sam. If you already have the RV rewards card, use that until you can get the new card(s).

1. Pick a truck lane and pull up to the pump. Note the pump number.
2. Swipe your RV card. Pick tractor fuel. You won't need DEF or reefer fuel.
3. Pump will authorize. Pump fuel. Remember these are 40 Gal/min pumps.
4. When finished fueling, return hose to pump and pull your coach forward to the yellow line.
5. Go inside and pay.

It's even simpler if you get RV PLUS Charge Card.

1. Use the truck lane pumps - using the RV Lanes does not guarantee the discount
2. Swipe your card and fill up
3. When done just leave - nothing else to do.

If you want a receipt go inside and swipe your card at the Kiosk and print your receipt. No lines, no waiting.

On top of that you can get up to and additional 9 cents a gallon discount off of the cash price. That's 15 cents off of the credit card price.

This is not a revolving charge card. The balance must be paid off monthly.

[DSDP_Don]

You may be worrying too much about this trip. It's 1200 miles from Phoenix to Houston. You'll probably only need fuel one time, maybe twice.

Now... everyone is giving advice on the big truck stops.....we don't use them. Half the time the RV lane is too close to the building even for a small RV to exit and the truck lanes are loaded with truckers taking their time.

We just completed a coast to coast trip across the US in October and used one Pilot near Lake Havasu that we know has cheap prices and easy RV access and one other truck stop on the route. Because this discussion always comes up on here about pricing and discount cards, I made a personal note of prices while on our trip. The average truck stop was 10 cents a gallon more for diesel than a local station such as a Chevron, Shell etc. A couple were 5 cents cheaper, one was the cheapest around and the rest ran about 15 cents more.

We use the PenFed credit card that pays a 5% discount when used at the pumps....5 percent, not 5 cents. At $4.00 a gallon for diesel, that's 20 cents off per gallon. It just doesn't pay to monkey around with these truck stop discounts.

Lastly, worse than some of the trucker lines at the big truck stops, are the RVer's themselves. I know we all consider ourselves courteous RVer's , but some will take a half hour shopping, washing windows, having Martha run in and out of the store several times because the discount card didn't work and so on. We're retired and not on a big hurry, but waiting a half hour behind someone who is inconsiderate at a fuel pump is aggravating.

Get comfortable with your new rig. Spend some time in a large parking lot and see how sharply it will turn and where it will fit, even with a tow car. This way you'll feel comfortable using most stations and won't be paralyzed by the fear of smaller stations.

[Altern]

YC 1 wrote:
Disposable paper booties. I don't care if they look funny and actually I have never even seen a glance at them. Put them on before going out and remove one at a time as you step back in. You will be surprised how dirty they are. I also use disposable gloves when pumping.

X2.
Just a bit of diesel on your shoes will stink up the coach for days so wear the booties and accept the winks from the truckers. Who knows you might even find a new friend - if you know what I mean..

[rr2254545]

I would look for a high volume truck stop to fuel. The one time I got water in the fuel was at a small so called truck stop. The high volume ones run through fuel so fast it does not have time to get water in it.

[steveownby]

You have gotten some excellent advise on this thread. As you approach the TS look for signage and watch where the trucks are queuing up. At most it's very obvious how to approach the pumps but some are not. The idea about looking at one of the sat views available is an excellent one. If you have one of the pad devices, I recommend the Allstays Camp and RV app. It shows the locations of campgrounds of course but also Truck Stops, Walmarts and many other spots of interest to RVers. It provides links to each location and phone numbers. It also links to review sites.

Don't get pushed by the traffic around you to go faster than your comfort level. Enjoy the experience.

[JamesBr]

Truck pumps are fast, so be aware of your fill tube as moving at full speed till the click may result in a burp of a decent amount of fuel. I used to be able to full speed pump about 40-50 gallons then slow it down to 1/3rd the flow or I would end up with a big mess to clean. That was on the Monaco, the truck is no issue as I am usually filling the transfer tank which takes the volume without problem.

I too keep a set of gloves around, be it auto pumps or the truck pumps, some people just make a mess of the diesel pump handles.