Fueling at truck stops

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
John97031

John97031

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Posts
59
Location
Hood River OR
Now that I made the change from a gas MH to a diesel TV/TT I' m wondering about fueling up. Not really crazy about pulling into the gas/diesel pumps with a longbed truck and 33ft TT. So what is the lowdown on using the truck lanes? I read that you can use them. Any experiences or tips for doing this?
 
You can use them but I avoided it, usually it took a couple of trips to the fuel desk to prepay and get the change.
I've just changed the other way so I'm back to looking for Gas.
 
You can use them.

One thing I would be looking at is the opening size of your tank inlet, and if the truck stop fuel nozzles will fit then
watch how fast the fuel goes in as many truck stops have High Speed (flow) rates because most truck tanks are much bigger then
car or pickup tanks.

You didn't say how big your fuel tank is but many stations (or credit cards) will limit the amount of fuel you can pump at one time.
But there is nothing saying that you can't run another transaction if you needed more.

I wouldn't be too concerned.  Try some truck stops and you'll know whether they are for you or not - my bet is you'll do fine. 

ONE more tip is I wear shoe covers and gloves, that way I don't track in oily diesel fuel or the smell into my MH.
 
I use them all the time and have never had a problem. You're not in the fuel lanes that long anyway. We have my wife run in to the counter before we pull in the lanes and she gives them our credit card. I then fill up and she pays. Then we move out of the way. The point about having foot coverings and gloves is very valid and highly recommended. Happy traveling.
 
I think I?m in the minority here but I avoid truck stops. I find you?re usually in the way of truckers on the clock who figure you?re on vacation and shouldn?t be using ?their? pumps. Also, as RedandSilver points out, there?s much more grease and oil (and spilled diesel) around the truck islands. Finally, the truck stops charge more. On our most recent trip I found truck stops charged 5-20 cents more per gallon (typically 10-15) sometimes as compared to stations right next to them.
 
I found that you can download a document from Flying J that shows all of the locations of all of their stations as well as what amenities are included with each station.  You can easily use that to find the fuel stations that have specific RV lanes.  Those are definitely easier to use than traditional spots and you don't have to deal with the truck drivers either.

https://pilotflyingj.com/media/36701/rv-travel-guide-16.pdf
 
We've driven our DP for >55,000 miles in the past ~7 years and have filled at lots of places.  We used to use the major truck stops all the time and still use them when they are the most convenient option, but with the use of the TruckerPath app on my Android smartphone we can now easily identify hundreds of independent truck stops as well as simply gas stations with truck diesel pumps. 

We find that these smaller facilities, when available, are the best options without question IMO.  They usually don't have lines; even if you have to go inside it's usually a short walk.  More and more of them are accepting VISA/MC at the pump.  And the prices are usually better than the major truck stop chains. 

Since I know roughly when in a day I will want to buy fuel, I often, the night before, use Google maps in conjunction with TruckerPath to scope out a couple of stations on our planned route.  That way I can see what they look like with street view and can evaluate entrance and exit options, etc.

What I don't like doing is pulling off the road into a small, unknown station unless I have some way of knowing what access to its diesel pumps will be.  I've encountered situations in which I had to unhook my toad in order to get out of a station and that is something I try to avoid, if at all possible.  With the approach I've outlined, I've not had that problem occur in the last couple of years.
 
I use truck stops all the time. If I use the "J" I may use RV pumps, but even those are getting small for me. I use truck pumps especially if I need DEF now that my rig has the DEF fill on the drivers side. Trucks used to be intimidating, but not any more. The trucking culture has changed so much, and so have the drivers.

Unfortunately many are new, inexperienced drivers that are just figuring it out themselves. My rig and my fuel purchase are just as important to the dealership as the trucker next to me. I don't waste time, but I sure don't let them intimidate me either.

The benefit of using a truck stop is that the fuel is always fresh because of the constant turnover. Getting old or contaminated diesel fuel at a lightly used station is not a deal either. Your call.
 
I use truck stops all the time whenever I am pulling my 5ver also. Like Sarge was saying don't worry about the truckers. Your money is just as good as their's.  I am also a truck driver myself and would have no problem with an rver getting fuel while I am alongside getting fuel in my big rig. So just fuel away.........
 
Depends on your state mind..er...fueling.

SOME STATES (political comments deleted by poster) you pay more for fuel at the truck lanes UNLESS you go inside and they adjust the tax rate to the RV rate.. Some states it does not matter.

Some stations will accept your Master Card/Visa and your loyality card (if any) at the pump.. Some will not.

All varies state to state and station to station.

 
Sun2Retire said:
I think I?m in the minority here but I avoid truck stops. I find you?re usually in the way of truckers on the clock who figure you?re on vacation and shouldn?t be using ?their? pumps. Also, as RedandSilver points out, there?s much more grease and oil (and spilled diesel) around the truck islands. Finally, the truck stops charge more. On our most recent trip I found truck stops charged 5-20 cents more per gallon (typically 10-15) sometimes as compared to stations right next to them.
Click to expand...

I agree. Will only use a truck stop as a last resort. I try to use Walmart diesel primarily.
 
Everyone has what works for them. No doubt you have to be concerned about entering and exiting smaller stations, and it?s true one would probably want to avoid low volume stations that could have stale and/or contaminated fuel. My experience has been sneaking in to ?regular? stations and paying at the pump beats queueing behind a couple trucks and paying inside. Just my experience, I know I?m in the minority. My routine is also to fuel shortly before the overnight stop and there isn?t always a truck stop around.
 
I try to use truck stops when we're on the road. There is one unwritten rule though, when you are done fueling, pull forward so that the truck behind you can pull up and start fueling.

Also, most of them have cheaper prices when paying with cash. I try to estimate how much money I'm going to spend in fuel for a trip and bring that much cash with me. If it's a longer trip, I will pull cash out every couple of days.  Often the price difference is 7-10 cents per gallon.
 
I always use truck stops mainly for the ease of getting in and out. I also pull up out of the way when I'm done fueling then I go in and pay. I've never had any issues with truckers. I think you'll find that most of them are going to park and rest for a few hours so they're not in that big of a hurry.
 
Usually have to go inside to pay, but no big deal for us. Normally need a potty break anyway. I like the truckers. Have chit-chatted with them often while fueling and they are usually friendly and I admire what they do. I also vacate the lane after fueling as a courtesy for the next person.
 
I prefer to get to camp and then go out to fill the truck without trailer attached. That's been our usual M.O. and it's worked well. Makes it much easier to get in and out of stations. When we've had to fill up with trailer attached we've used everything from a little mom and pop station all the way to truck stops. No problems with any of them except it was a bit fun getting out of the mom and pop station. Prices seem to be all over the map regardless of where you stop so I wouldn't let pricing stop you from using a truck stop.
 
Boonieman said:
Usually have to go inside to pay, but no big deal for us.
Click to expand...

We have a Flying J/Pilot/Good Sam account and can use pay at the pump on the truck diesel lanes.  Don't have to go inside either before or after.
 
We use the Truck Stops most of the time and go through the truck lanes. I do not like to get into situations where I may have to unhook the toad. At Flying J I pay at the pumps with no problem. I avoid Love's for the very reason I cannot pay at the pump. Sometimes I will pull into a independent truck stop, it all depends on where I am at. I don't let the truckers intimidate me nor do I worry about them, I try to be courteous and pull forward where space permits after fueling. There are way too many things in life to worry about than fueling a RV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 699 (members: 6, guests: 693)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,929
Posts
1,387,651
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom