Card Lock Stations

[gmctoyman]

How do they work ? Regular Visa, Master Cards ?

[dave_smith1]

Let me add this:

5) I feel PP or other card-lock systems are more comfortable for people who accept the fact that fuel costs money & the gas companies are going to exact their pound of flesh no matter how much they try to convince you "they're on your side"! RVing is clearly not a cheap activity so I just don't worry about saving a few cents per gallon - it's just not worth the hassle to drive around looking to save the equivalent of a bean burrito from Taco Bell on a tank of fuel. PP prices their fuel competitively & closely follows the spot market...that's good enough for me! If you're uncomfortable with ceding that level of control perhaps buying from the chains is the way to go.

[dave_smith1]

adondo wrote:
Another Pacific Pride user here.

Add me to the list of satisfied Pacific Pride customers! I second (third?) all these points adondo made & can add a few more:

1) Each month I get a detailed statement about 5 days prior to them withdrawing the $$$ from our checking account. It lists the dates, amount of fuel purchased, & cost based on their current prices (which fluctuate a lot BTW).

2) For the more anal travelers - which I am a card-carrying member - they calculate my MPG because I opted to require the mileage be entered when I fill up.

3) I used to faithfully print out a receipt every time I filled up to make sure "they weren't ripping me off" but in three years I've never found an error other than minor volume differences (the pump reads to 1/10 gal, but their electronic system is accurate to 1/100 gal). Now I just note the date, mileage & gals. purchased on a notepad for later entry into the MPG spreadsheet I keep for all our vehicles. Ok, maybe that's only slightly less anal...

4) You can't say enough about the convenience of being able to pump your own fuel in gas-backwards Oregon. Hard to believe there is actually another state (NJ) with this moronic law still on the books! Nuff said.

[dons2346]

sh410 wrote:
At the local card lock station, you don't get a receipt nor does the pump show how much the purchase was on the number of gallons you pumped.

All of them I have been to does. You have to reinsert your card but it spits out a receipt showing how many gallons you bought.

Before I use PP, I call them and get the price for the station I am thinking about using. Can't call on the weekends because the office is closed but you can call on Friday, the price remains the same through the weekend.

[sh410]

At the local card lock station, you don't get a receipt nor does the pump show how much the purchase was on the number of gallons you pumped.

[adondo]

nevadanick wrote:
A bathroom shouldn't be an issue as you brought one with you.

True. :B

Then again, someone might have a TT like what I used to have - one with a slide that blocked the bathroom door. There was no getting in there unless the slide was partway run out.

Having "the runs" with that rig was something you wouldn't want to deal with.

As for bathrooms, if I'm traveling somewhere in just the Jeep, then it's nice to have one. I get fuel at card locks in the Jeep or car for the same reasons I listed.

[nevadanick]

A bathroom shouldnt be an issue as you brought one with you.

[adondo]

Another Pacific Pride user here. The cost difference isn't all that much per tank, and the convenience factor is priceless when you consider that...

A) no silly $50 or $70 credit card limits, you need 150 gallons, you get 150 gallons. The pump runs until you're full.

B) No prepay stupidity. There's nothing quite like standing in line TWICE while people buy lotto tickets, Twinkies and beer. Once to get the pump going, then AGAIN, after filling. And, when you're filling it, who knows what it's going to take, so you have to over-figure what to hand them in cash so it doesn't cut off too soon. (Car's little tank, no problem, but sometimes upper two or three digits in gallons for a MH?)

C) In Oregon, no waiting for the "fuel jockey" to come out and fill it, or having a screaming madman come running out if you forget about it after crossing the state border. (No kidding, you'd think you just broke a federal law or something, and the guy must be an off duty SWAT member)

D) Just about always very UN-busy. Ontario Oregon is a perfect example. Every time I'm heading East, I stop there because I can go on into Salt Lake City for the next fuel stop. The public truck stop (Pilot I think) across the road's a complete jam-pack every time I've seen it, but the Pacific Pride site 50 yards away is abandoned. I can fuel up, let the dog out, and move on in less than 10 minutes. Trucks, MH's, whatever haven't moved yet, but I'm already done and heading out.

E) They're commercial fueling sites, designed for trucks, so lots of room. Generally speaking anyway, some are card lock pumps behind public gas stations, but most have large parking areas. They're not a bad place to overnight either. (If your rig is quiet, trucks come and go all night)

As for bathrooms? I've seen plenty with portables, but some have regular facilities. You use the card and enter a certain pump number to open the door, so they're not too bad. (No card for access? No going potty, vandalizing, homeless camping out)

It's easy to apply, and despite what their website might say, you don't need to buy hundreds of gallons a month.
Pacific Pride

I have my account set up as a ACH, and that adds a discount. It comes out of the bank account twice a month.

[dons2346]

nevadanick wrote:
Other than room for big rigs my experiance with cardlocks is the price is generally higher than you can get at high volume stations.

Not in all cases. I was just in Newport,OR where the diesel at regular stations ranged from 3.93 to 4.09. The price at the Pacific Pride site was 3.71.

In OR, you are not allowed to pump regular gas at these sites unless you have some sort of training from the state. Same thing at a regular gas station, you can't pump your own gas.

[Caveman_Charlie]

They have both type around here. The ones where you can use a standard credit card and the type where you have to purchase a card. There is one of the purchase a card ones in a small town not far from me. I never use it. The last thing I need is another bill showing up at the end of the month. I drive a little further to the closest place where I can use cash.

[Johnny_G1]

The best part of a cardlock is that you don't usualy have to fight with a bunch of 4 wheelers that are usualy blocking the pumps why they shoot the breeze in a store, have had a card for 42 yrs from Chevron and never a problem to this day, and the cardlock is open 24/7 year round, also an Esso card that is good all across Canada. Chevron is also good in the US western states.

[DarthMuffin]

Cardlock stations in the NW US use a private card from the company. Look up whomever you see the stations for that you want to use and ask them for an application. You don't need to be a business. It's just a simple credit check, then they send a bill periodically.

I use Pacific Pride a lot. In addition to frequently not having ethanol gas, in Oregon I get to pump my own gas and not be dependent on finding a station open at 9PM on a Sunday (in more rural parts of OR this is a legitimate concern)...

[gmctoyman]

Well, I posted this in the Canada section, cause that's what I was interested in. Guess the Moderator felt I needed wider coverage.

[nevadanick]

Other than room for big rigs my experiance with cardlocks is the price is generally higher than you can get at high volume stations.

[buzzard616]

Can't speak to Texas or anywhere else except Western Canada. At the advice of several friends who are retired farmers, I took out a membership in the local Coop and got a fuel card allowing access to every Coop cardlock station from the lakehead to the West coast (in Canada).

I don't use cardlock stations for luxury amenities. I use them because I don't have to worry about finding a station where I can get in and out with 50' of truck and trailer and I get a bit of a discount besides. My card comes with both an online and hard copy guide book that lists all the stations complete with map and GPS coordinates.

Other fuel companies probably work the same way. You may want to research WHERE the various companies have stations open and get a card from a company that best suits the routes you regularly travel.

Stu

[Murphsmom]

The card lock station where we used to live required a card from the dealer. There were three stations in various locations where we could fuel up, but only those with a dealer-issued card and pin code could use them.