Gas Stations for big rigs

[Cardinals Fan]

Hi All - I'm new to this forum.  My wife and I have been RV'ing for the past 6 years.  We currently have a 40 foot Cedar Creek 5th wheel that we pull with our diesel truck.  We love it... but the one frustration is knowing ahead of time where to find gas stations big enough to conveniently/safely get to the pumps.  I've looked around at apps Does anyone know of an app or mapping system that provides RV compatible gas stations - that also includes prices at the pumps?  Right now we are maneuvering between 2-3 apps to find the best price for diesel fuel and big enough to accommodate us.  Thanks for any help.

 

[shorts]

We primarily use TSD RV Fuel Program (this is also a Facebook group that has instructions on how to apply). It?s a discount diesel fuel program that gives you a card to use at the diesel truck pumps at various truck stops. You do have to link the card to a checking or savings account. Some people will open a separate account just for this purpose but we have used the program for two years with our regular checking account and have had no problems. Discounts can range anywhere from 10 cents a gallon to over 50 cents a gallon. Love?s truck stops are usually 16 cents where TA?s are generally 40 cents or more. There is an app that shows the location and current price. As these are all truck stops, there are no problems getting in and out.

We also use GasBuddy and have their card which offers a small discount. Again, it is linked to an account. However, as these are regular gas stations, unless you look them up on google earth, you really don?t know ahead of time if you can easily get in and out with your RV. We take a chance on stations near interstates as they are usually larger and we can at least drive by to see or will plan on filling up after we have arrived somewhere and disconnected the RV.

Hope this helps. Oh and welcome to the forum.
Vicki

 

[Lou Schneider]

Gas Buddy shows the price and location of gas and diesel around the country.  When I find a station I'm interested in, I enter it's address in Google Maps and use the Satellite View to see if there's good access to the pumps.

 

[skydivemark]

Since our rig is gas and we have a toad (can't back up). When planning our route I just go to an internet satellight map (usually google) and guess about when & where we'll be down to 1/2 tank or so and need to stop, then look at gas stations in that area including street view to find places that don't appear to be too difficult to get in and out. So far it's worked well for me.
Once I've been to places that are easy to access I make a note in my little book. Lou's idea of enterring it in the GPS is also good.
On google maps, if you click on gas stations a lot will show their prices but I don't mind paying a few extra cents per gallon for easy access, to me it outweighs the hassle of disconnecting & reconnecting.

 

[TonyL]

We primarily use TSD RV Fuel Program (this is also a Facebook group that has instructions on how to apply). It?s a discount diesel fuel program that gives you a card to use at the diesel truck pumps at various truck stops. You do have to link the card to a checking or savings account. Some people will open a separate account just for this purpose but we have used the program for two years with our regular checking account and have had no problems. Discounts can range anywhere from 10 cents a gallon to over 50 cents a gallon. Love?s truck stops are usually 16 cents where TA?s are generally 40 cents or more. There is an app that shows the location and current price. As these are all truck stops, there are no problems getting in and out.

We also use GasBuddy and have their card which offers a small discount. Again, it is linked to an account. However, as these are regular gas stations, unless you look them up on google earth, you really don?t know ahead of time if you can easily get in and out with your RV. We take a chance on stations near interstates as they are usually larger and we can at least drive by to see or will plan on filling up after we have arrived somewhere and disconnected the RV.

Hope this helps. Oh and welcome to the forum.
Vicki

X2, couldn't have put it better, exactly what we do.
TonyL

 

[Cardinals Fan]

Thank you all - I will be looking into the TSD RV Fuel Program - I've been in some precarious situations!   No accidents though

 

[John From Detroit]

Interesting that you have a Ceder Creek 5th wheel (story follows)
Most Loves, T/As, Pilots and flying J's (get the apps) can fuel you without incident provided you know how long the rig is.

For other stations... Well Normally you can find a Truck Stop while on the road.. But for local trips visit with the Tow Vehicle or a runabout Sans the Trailer... That works best. Then note which you can refule at without problems

The story.. i was chatting with a fellow RVer and a service tech in a Loves about the damage to his converted 5er (Converted to a gooseneck) and what was wrong with the design of the converter when another RVer pulling a Cedar creek 5er, about 38 40 foot. pulled out and turned about 1 foot too fast. Tore the rear cap off the rig.

Did he stop and duct tape it back. NO
Did he tell management (He did not damage the station) NO
He just headed down the road rear cap flapping in the breeze. .

I fueled a 38' Class A with towed at that same station. No problems.  many times/

 

[scottydl]

We primarily use TSD RV Fuel Program... Love?s truck stops are usually 16 cents where TA?s are generally 40 cents or more.

I guess that explains why their non-discount diesel prices are typically 40 cents higher than everywhere else. I like using truck stops for my diesel pickup because I know the fuel is fresh/circulated/treated properly, but the price hikes have scared me away in the past.

I've used the GasBuddy card for awhile now, and I like it but the typical discount is 5 cents and max 12-13 cents if I get lucky. The TSD program sounds even better considering the discounts offered. I see they have a referral bonus program, so feel free to send me a link for that (private message) and I'll enroll that way. Might as well give back to the person who told me about it.

 

[TonyL]

I'll leave that to those that replied first.
TonyL

 

[grassy]

We used to run a  Sport Chassis..  we use a Loves App.

Clean, friendly and normally with a dog park.

A bit more expensive ?  who cares.. in the long term, it doesn't add up to much,,,

 

[Ex-Calif]

So far for me Flying Js seem roomier than Loves. However Loves has propane.

On this trip I stopped at a Loves for propane. A 5W doubled parked outside me and occupants disappeared. I was quite proud of myself to back 15 feet, execute a 90 degree turn, back another 45 feet and escape outta there. This was with the motorcycle trailer attached. My rear view camera rocks!

The Loves was over packed. There must have been 10 rigs over 50 feet. What a mess...

 

[TonyL]

Flying J only offer fuel discount via good Sam. Loves, TA petro use TSD fuel card.
TonyL

 

[LarsMac]

Hi All - I'm new to this forum.  My wife and I have been RV'ing for the past 6 years.  We currently have a 40 foot Cedar Creek 5th wheel that we pull with our diesel truck.  We love it... but the one frustration is knowing ahead of time where to find gas stations big enough to conveniently/safely get to the pumps.  I've looked around at apps Does anyone know of an app or mapping system that provides RV compatible gas stations - that also includes prices at the pumps?  Right now we are maneuvering between 2-3 apps to find the best price for diesel fuel and big enough to accommodate us.  Thanks for any help.

Gasbuddy has an RV Friendly site, which, so far has been pretty helpful.
It is dependent on customer input, though, so some areas are lacking in good info.

Love's has many "RV Friendly" locations, but don't count on them, particularly in and around towns.

Most FlyingJ/Pilot locations are good, especially for Diesel rigs.
For gassers, though, I've found a few that were not so good. We got stuck at the FlyingJ in Amarillo at the RV Gas pump when a car club tour group rolled in to refuel. It wasn't all bad. I spent the time wandering around looking at all the great Classics,

 

[decaturbob]

Since our rig is gas and we have a toad (can't back up). When planning our route I just go to an internet satellight map (usually google) and guess about when & where we'll be down to 1/2 tank or so and need to stop, then look at gas stations in that area including street view to find places that don't appear to be too difficult to get in and out. So far it's worked well for me.
Once I've been to places that are easy to access I make a note in my little book. Lou's idea of enterring it in the GPS is also good.
On google maps, if you click on gas stations a lot will show their prices but I don't mind paying a few extra cents per gallon for easy access, to me it outweighs the hassle of disconnecting & reconnecting.

I use google earth all the time as I have class C and tow an Escape.  I do KNOW Flying J's have RV only pumps and if my trip is in areas of Flying J's I plan my gas stops around them.  I also find Loves and Pilots can have enough room if you are at an outer pump to people to get out as well.  5 years and no issues

 

[ArdraF]

There are two excellent printed guides to use in finding fuel.  One is called the Next Exit which provides the names of businesses at freeway interchanges.  For example, it might tell you that there is a Flying J on the north side of the highway and Arby's and Denny's on the south side.  It's a very useful publication and we carry ours even when traveling by car.  The second publication is The RVer's Friend or it's companion The Trucker's Friend.  These two publications are arranged by state and town so you can find fuel stops in the area you're located.  They tell you how many parking spaces the business has which can be useful in determining if it is large enough to handle your RV.  The entries are in tabular format and tell you if there is a restaurant, diesel or gas, propane, and the like.  We also carry copies of the Flying J brochure that has a map showing all of their locations and the services they provide.  Some of the restaurant chains also have such brochures so you can find their establishments.

Ardra F

 

[touchracing]

Another thing to consider is adding fuel capacity. I added a 50 gallon auxiliary tank so I wouldn?t be forced to get fuel wile towing. This greatly expands accessible fuel stops.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

And for those who do everything via smartphone, The Next Exit is available as an app as well.

 

[scottydl]

We primarily use TSD RV Fuel Program (this is also a Facebook group that has instructions on how to apply).

Vicki, could you advise which FB group you are a part of? I see three of them that reference this program:

- TSD RV Fuel Program (10k members)
- TSD/EFS Card fuel savers group (2.6k members)
- TSD RV fuel program / EFS diesel fuel card user DISCUSSION GROUP (1.8k members)

If they all serve the same purpose, I might be inclined to simply join the biggest one for the most information... but I wasn't sure if one group was more official, or more highly recommended for some reason, than the others. Thanks!

 

[shorts]

Vicki, could you advise which FB group you are a part of? I see three of them that reference this program:

- TSD RV Fuel Program (10k members)
- TSD/EFS Card fuel savers group (2.6k members)
- TSD RV fuel program / EFS diesel fuel card user DISCUSSION GROUP (1.8k members)

If they all serve the same purpose, I might be inclined to simply join the biggest one for the most information... but I wasn't sure if one group was more official, or more highly recommended for some reason, than the others. Thanks!

Hi Scott,

The first one you listed, TSD RV Fuel Program, is the original, official FB page that is operated by the company. Originally, everyone could post to the page until the program/membership got too large. Now it serves as information and announcements from the company on any new things or problems. One time there was a temporary problem with the card readers or their servers or something. This page keeps everyone updated.

The other two are where users can discuss the program. Mark actually belongs to all three but doesn?t really post much and for the two discussion groups just gets highlights in his feed. He does follow the official page for any announcements so I would definitely join that one. The other two, you could check out and take it or leave it.

HTH - Vicki