Truck Stops verus Wal Mart for Fuel?

[jonhunt]

I'm about to embark on my first RV trip...Florida to Maine. It seems to me Wal-Marts with gas stations offer good pricing especially if you have their card or gift cards. Since you guys have the experience is that accurate or am I better off with truck stops. I'd rather not sign up for another credit card. Thanks.

[xPIXx]

I always get better mileage out of Loves truck stop fuel vs. everything else. Walmart has its tricks to cheapen products up why wouldn't their fuel be the same. They have some products made to Walmarts specs because they buy in very large quantities and they can muscle the producers of the products. I once made the mistake of buying Michelin tires from Sams Club they were the worst tires I have ever owned.

[DougE]

Thumperpull - for those that don't know, going the 400 miles from SA to Lubbock is also a gain of 2,750 feet of elevation so you got the best mileage on the uphill leg. The only issues left would be temperature and wind.

[sowego]

I agree that many WalMart and even some Sam's Club fuel stations are difficult for almost any RV to get in and out of safely. I rather suspect they did that on purpose to not have larger rigs tying up the area. Therefore we don't even try to get into any place but a Truck Stop.

[down_home]

Murphy oil is bottom of the barrel so to speak. Very little additive and the Ethanol content may be higher. I don't have any records but it does seem that the mileage is a bit less when we use them.

[Thumperpull]

Maybe not true for everyone but I recently drove from San Antonio to Lubbock and got 21 mpg on major brand fuel then filled up in Lubbock at Walmart and drove back. Got 18.5 mpg. You draw your own conclusions as you will.

[Pop-Pop_C]

Most Walmart/Murphy's are too small to,get a PU and FIVER IN. 35' or more.
Some don't have diesel. Getting a MH and a toad of any size is almost impossible.
IMO!

[Turner__P]

Some Wal-marts are not so easy to get in or out of. If you have a larger rig, fuel up at truck stops. I am always picky about this; always afraid I might get in and then have trouble getting out. Some people never consider that you might need some space and they get you boxed in.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We have a 33' Class A towing a Chevy Colorado pickup and we sometimes use Walmart Murphy stations for diesel. We have the Walmart Discover Credit Card. We get additional discounts and cash back. We pay the balance off every month. The Walmart Rand McNally Atlas has all the Walmart locations that have fuel. We always try to find one we can fit into as our first choice and then put a star by it in the atlas so we know we can fit next time. We've also found that if you go during the week during the day you have a better chance of getting in. Forget Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays! Next we pick Flying J, Pilot, Loves in the states they serve. We have the RV Plus charge card for Pilot Flying J and love it. At the RV pumps you don't have to go inside to start the pump and to get your discount. They also don't cut off the pump at $75 or $100 with that card. WE think it's worth it to have the card.

[down_home]

We use Wal Mart when we can. Save Quite a bit of money over time. There are not too many WalMarts that you can get a MH into. The one in Decatur Ind is fairly easy if there isn't too many cars. Don't want to block up things.
I don't think WalMart wants our MH fuel business though. Even in Decatur, a time or two they blocked up access, effectively with gardening supplies, mulch etc. When we do fuel up there or another one if we ever find one it takes a hunk of cash for both the coach and car. Filling both there we save, I calculated, one time, from down the road about 43.00.
It's their business decision not to be a big rig fuel stop but we appreciate the savings.

[DougE]

ol Bombero-JC.....Each company's (Shell, etc) additive package is added at the terminal where the tanker trucks are loaded.
BTW the refineries only make regular and premium. Midrange is blended at the pump.

[rockhillmanor]

skipnchar wrote:
It doesn't make any difference WHERE you purchase you fuel. Get the best price you can and use a station that you are comfortable with. I usually pull into the smaller station across the road from the truck stop and can fill and be gone before it would be my turn at the higher priced truck stop but it's a case by case issue with me. I can't even IMAGINE pre=planning where I will need gas. That's the kind of inflexible schedule that retirement has released me from 🙂

Ditto X10~

On the highway when it gets down to 1/4 tank whatever the next gas station is, is the winner!

On the back roads I play it safer with fueling up at 1/2 tank.

[doxiemom11]

We've used Walmart, but there are some that we cannot get into. We only use them if we happen to see one that we can get into. We do not use truck stops. Too many vehicles flying around, and we usually get better prices by using Gas Buddy. We have only had a couple of stations in 2 years that we could not get in/out of and passed by the good price to another station where we fit. We start looking for the best price on our route when we are about 1/2 tank, that way we can go quite awhile before it would be critical to get gas.

[skipnchar]

It doesn't make any difference WHERE you purchase you fuel. Get the best price you can and use a station that you are comfortable with. I usually pull into the smaller station across the road from the truck stop and can fill and be gone before it would be my turn at the higher priced truck stop but it's a case by case issue with me. I can't even IMAGINE pre=planning where I will need gas. That's the kind of inflexible schedule that retirement has released me from 🙂

[M_GO_BLUE1]

Murphy Oil is the company that runs Walmarts' fuel stops...and yes most of their stations are tight...

Don't worry that you can get in to a fuel station MAKE SURE you can get back out safely after fueling ip