The Gas Station Challenge

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systemcat

systemcat

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Feb 9, 2017
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I can't wait to start driving my recently purchased C-Class but know it will have to haul my sedan behind it. It has a hitch nob on it's back which means all I have to do is buy the tow dolly. So here's the question:

I've driven 10-15 foot U-Haul trucks before with car tow dollies on them. I consider gas stations a nightmare of navigating because of these experiences. Can a C-Class with car tow dolly go into a Mac Truck pull through at a gas station?
 
We use the normal gas lanes at most stations with our 34' Class A towing our RAV4. The key is to plan your exit before you enter the station. End island pumps are usually the easiest, or if you can find one, a station with the pump islands parallel to the road. If there's a Flying J around, most of them have designated RV lanes that are usually easier to navigate. Do not go to the diesel truck lanes at truck stops, etc., they do not have regular gas pumps. Start looking for fuel stops before you really need them, so you can pick and chose the better access ones. Oh. and make sure your RV can handle the weight of the dolly and the car you plan to haul around. Some Class C's have a 3500 lb limit.
 
Well, there is typically no Gasoline available in the commercial truck lanes so no point in trying to avoid the normal car areas when buying Gas.

If you are buying diesel you can use those lanes but they have their own challenges. Credit cards typically require walking in and prepaying on the truck lanes.

Learning to navigate tight spots is a rite of passage, embrace it. Understand that there is no shame in stopping and getting out to make sure you aren't crashing in slow motion. Asking a traveling companion to guide you is good too.
 
NY_Dutch said:
We use the normal gas lanes at most stations with our 34' Class A towing our RAV4. The key is to plan your exit before you enter the station. End island pumps are usually the easiest, or if you can find one, a station with the pump islands parallel to the road. If there's a Flying J around, most of them have designated RV lanes that are usually easier to navigate. Do not go to the diesel truck lanes at truck stops, etc., they do not have regular gas pumps. Start looking for fuel stops before you really need them, so you can pick and chose the better access ones. Oh. and make sure your RV can handle the weight of the dolly and the car you plan to haul around. Some Class C's have a 3500 lb limit.
Click to expand...

X2.  Could not have said it better myself NY Dutch.  Our 35 foot motorhome and toad have never failed to fit in at the gas pumps but planning is critical.  Dutch hit the high points very well.

Bill
 
NY_Dutch, that sounds like good advice. Also now I'm remembering something which occurred to me third day of travel last time I drove a U-Haul. I'm an extreme early riser which makes for a problem if guidance is needed at a gas station from it's staff. About half the time I've not hit stations that are manned 24 hours. To this I say ( do bare in mind I haven't done this trick yet ).

Carry a large container of gasoline ready for those morning drives that happen before dawn. Just find a safe place to pull over and give it a drink. Sound good?
 
It's not really a nightmare. Relax. You will learn your rig with a little time.
As far as fueling, experience and proper etiquette is all that is needed. Simple as that. 
 
no doubt gas stations are a challenge especially newer ones that have the pumps/island laid out perpendicular to the store.  I spend a lot of time when we are driving in our car traveling looking at gas stations/truck stops.  I only have a 32ft Class C and will have a toad this summer.  Luckily I have TWO gas stations in my city that I can pull in (out of 70 or 80 in the area).  My normal driving procedure in our MH, is to look for gas at the 1/2 tank level...
 
systemcat said:
NY_Dutch, that sounds like good advice. Also now I'm remembering something which occurred to me third day of travel last time I drove a U-Haul. I'm an extreme early riser which makes for a problem if guidance is needed at a gas station from it's staff. About half the time I've not hit stations that are manned 24 hours. To this I say ( do bare in mind I haven't done this trick yet ).

Carry a large container of gasoline ready for those morning drives that happen before dawn. Just find a safe place to pull over and give it a drink. Sound good?
Click to expand...
I've never had any guidance maneuvering through a fuel stop. Well, except for one fellow that was giving me all sorts of hand signals so I wouldn't hit his new Corvette even though I was 7-8 feet away from it. I thanked him just to make him feel better... :)

If the rig is getting low on fuel, I almost always gas up before settling into a park for the night. It shouldn't be necessary to carry extra fuel on board in most parts of the country.
 
Start looking for gas stations before you hit a half tank.

Many new stations are huge these days. You may have to wait a few minutes to get the easy ones on the end, but it's worth the wait.

 
At a quarter of a tank, our coach has about 150 mile range left, more than enough to find a usable fuel stop nearly everywhere. If we're running the generator though, for A/C, etc. then I'll stop a bit sooner so it'll keep running.
 
NY_Dutch & DearMissMermaid

Fueling before I turn in for the night is something I try to do. That's something I made sure to do third day of travel when that little extra gas can idea occurred to me a few hours into the day's drive. I located the nearest gas station before the KOA I was due at and fueled it so at what by mistake became 5am the next morning I didn't have to worry. The half tank rule is something I use universal between vehicles.

.... Uh, not related to my new mini home. NY_Dutch your comment on the person's Corvette. My one mistake ever and this is forever what drives the fear in me. The 15 foot truck wasn't damaged and neither was the tow dolly. What got damaged was my sedan's front bumper by a cement poll. Mistake in distance judging. Wide wide turn that apparently wasn't enough. :-[
 
That's where experience driving your RV will come in. The more you drive it, the better you'll become at knowing where it will and won't fit. With a temporary rental truck, you don't really get that opportunity.
 
This may sound anal, but it keeps me out of trouble a lot. Before we take off in the morning when on the road, I plot out at least three stations where I think I'm going to want to get my gas, and then find them on Google Maps, look at the satellite map that shows the actual ingress and egress and determine if I'll have room in the lot of each. I have found that many Sam's Clubs that you would think would have plenty of room, don't, and I found several Pilots on my last cross country trip that were little more than convenience stores with small lots. Almost got stuck in one and had to wait for two cars in front of the store to leave before I could make my swing out and avoid taking out the pumps. So don't always trust truck stops to be large enough for a big rig on the auto side of the stop.

Always remember that just because you can get in to the pump doesn't mean you're going to get out.
 
The Pilot app on my phone lets me see what amenities each PFJ location has along with current fuel prices. It will even take me to a Google map satellite view of the station so I can assess the layout. Not all Pilot stations are corporate owned, and the independent stations are not always up to the standards of the corporate travel centers. The independents don't always honor the PFJ discount cards either.
 
The Gas Buddy app shows photos of most listed stations that give you a pretty good idea if they are approachable for RVs.
 
So aside from Pilot a.k.a Flying J, what is another reliable gas station chain?

I downloaded the App. after reading the comment about them and learned something a little sad. See I spent 14 years in Maryland and felt because of that, Flying J was a common sight but it turns out they tend to cluster together in certain areas of the country other than that they're spread out. To test out the App. I laid out wanting to visit a place near Philly and learned of how few stations there were between where I am and there. Now I did read even else where on this site about Sam's Clubs, but I'm not a member and doubt that will ever change.
 
There's no guarantee that any station, chain or not, will be a good choice for larger RV's in any given location. The only way to to be relatively sure if a station will be accessible when you get there is to see it in person and plan your exit before you enter. Google's satellite view will give a good idea of the layout, but it won't show you the truck that parked in front of the store to unload 5 minutes before you got there, or the three cars parked in the fire lane. Over time, your judgement will get better about where your rig will fit and where you can't. There's no substitute for that...
 
It can be tough but don't worry too much.  Other assistance is out there, Truckers Friend, RV'ers Friend are available as well.  I just bought the 2017 edition of the RV'ers friend but haven't seen it yet so I can talk to that one specifically.  Start looking at half tank, that will give you lots of time and options.  You're in an RV so you're not likely burning up the highway anyway, a bit more time is just part of the deal.  I carry some gas with me, "just in case".  10 gallons gets me 80 miles 'ish. and I have room.  Something else to consider if you want.  If it's on a route you drive a lot, it'll become common knowledge to you, but otherwise you'll figure it out.  Just watch your height clearance.

JT

2014 Dodge Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi
2017 Coachmen Adrenaline
 
Simple answer...
Get comfortable with what you're driving. Learn the proper protocol at the fuel island. Not rocket science.
We all learn by doing. Experience is the best teacher. Don't get upset if you mess up the first few times. Even after you get to the point where you think you're a pro, believe me, you may still look like a rookie to someone at times. That's just the way it is.

Just do your best. That is all anyone can ask.
 
14 gas stops over 4 days....only 6 gas stations had lanes capable of driving my 32ft class C straight into a fill lane. The other 8 stops I had to find way to back into a pump.  Flying J had the most room to pull this trick off. Love and Pilot not so much.  Of the 6 that I was able to pull straight in, one station had dedicated RV fill islands>>>3 of them. For gas or diesel and a LPG fill station located there to.  Really rethinking whether to get a toad or not as I would have had to disconnect  the toad 8 times.
 
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