Propane fill station locations

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Len and Jo

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Apr 25, 2005
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Is there such a thing as a list of RV propane refill stations by state? Or better yet an interactive map showing locations??
 
Good bet you'll find something on the google that will work but I wouldn't consider it the final word. Google does not show the place I've gotten my grill tanks and RV filled for years. Sometimes just knowing the usual suspects that carry propane like Costco, UHaul and such can get you by. I've seen point of interest files for GPS units that show propane stations but like any static data they're subject to getting stale. I carry an extend a stay hose and in a pinch I can run off a grill tank from wally world or wherever if I had to.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
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I'd be interested to know, too. It's not always easy finding propane with good access! Here's what we usually do:

1. When we need fuel, and also need to fill with propane, we try to find one with an outdoor propane tank visible that might be in a location where we can easy-in and easy-out. There's a good place near my home, so we try to leave home with a full tank. On the road, this can mean some driving around between fueling stations at an exit advertising multiple spots to stop and fill up.

2. On the road, I've used Google Maps. Searching "Propane near me" or an upcoming town on our route, and allowing the app to use your current location should bring up a list. Sort through the list to weed out the residential suppliers. I use street view to see if access will be easy or not. This is the last resort and the most work, but has produced useful results.

3. Sometimes you just come up on a glory-hole of a fueling station that's easy in/out, well-lit, and has a huge "PROPANE" sign beckoning your attention with adequate signal and braking distance before the entrance. Those are the best!!
 
I've never found a comprehensive list - there are just too many local tank filling locations and propane equipment & gas suppliers. You have a lot of choices if your RV has portable LP "bottles", the DOT-spec propane tank you can carry in. If you have a motorhome with fixed (ASME-spec) tanks and you have to drive the coach up to the filling station, your choices are much more limited.

The complexity of finding a propane service is highlighted by the instructions in the Allstays RV app for finding propane locations. See Finding All Propane Locations
 
there is this:
But how often they update their database may take away some usefulness.
I did a search for my current location, and it shows nothing within a hundred miles, but I know of two locations about 20 minutes away.

As SeilerBird said, Google search will give you fairly up-to-date info. IT is not infallible, either.
A lot of truckstops have Propane, and usually it is in an area easy to get to for RVs
 
Alstays lists lots of them, but many are propane bulk suppliers that don't fill cylinders or MH tanks. You have to check using satellite view or street view.

Many Love's truck stops have bulk propane filling, but some of them are situated such that it would be difficult if not impossible to get a MH to them. Go to the Love's website and search locations and amenities.

Lots of KOA parks fill propane tanks.

Tractor Supply fills tanks but they're usually set up impossible for a MH or TT to get to; they're really intended for portable tanks.
 
I rely on checking for local Loves, Tractor Supply, and ACE hardwares, but I call them before going there. They can often fill tanks in RVs. Tractor Supply locations sometimes require you to pull into or back into their storage areas, but I have not had problems getting my motorhome into any so far.
 
Another possible place to get propane is equipment rental places (from power saws to forklifts) and farm stores that might sell feed and other farm supplies, not JUST the national chains, but local small stores too. I've used both.
 
Thanks for the many replies. I do have Tracker Supply, U Haul, Menards, Ace Hardware, etc. I did get a list via "Michigan Propane Refueling Stations Map and Information". Just looking at it though I knew that the 70 they listed had to be incomplete. Just hoping since so many RV's use propane. Thanks again
 
Google led us to a Tractor Supply last week that had propane. VERY tight and on a slope. Would have had to disconnect tow to even get close. Before doing that I checked our Garmin RV GPS which has a search for propane feature. Found out that there was a Love's a quarter mile away with easy in & out.

I don't expect the Garmin will be foolproof but it is the first thing I'll try next time.
 
Two words…Flying J.

Done.
Potential problem with FJs is that the last two I stopped at had the propane tank, but no propane. Acted almost like the didn't want to be bothered.

Always pays to call ahead of course as my experiences might not be the norm.
 
I went to an Amerigas propane supplier in Arkansas one time. They were out of propane in the tank that had the pump on it to fill bottles, so they sent me to the Flying J. The tank at the Flying J had an Amerigas logo on it.
 
Potential problem with FJs is that the last two I stopped at had the propane tank, but no propane. Acted almost like the didn't want to be bothered.

Always pays to call ahead of course as my experiences might not be the norm.
On a trip back from Maine, we stopped at the FJ at Pembroke (East of Buffalo) , and they were out. The guy said it was like that on weekends the Bills were playing.
 
Yep, it is called a Google search.
I'm sure many if not all of us have tried using Google to find propane, but still, people often ask how to find propane. So Google isn't cutting it. And as someone noted, many of the results are for residential propane delivery, and Google is even less useful if you need a place that can fill an onboard tank.

Then again, the sites that actually claim to list propane places aren't all that great. I used to use an alternative fuels website that had propane locations with prices, including the date the price was updated (like Gas Buddy does); it had a "comments" section and when I put in a price, I'd note whether the location could fill onboard tanks on a motorhome. This would have been a GREAT site for RVers, but it had very little participation, even though I'd give a link to the site whenever I was posting about propane.

One thing worth noting--the OP mentioned Menard's (home improvement chain in the midwest). Some Menard's locations do self-service cylinder exchanges (like Blue Rhino or Amerigas), and some do propane fills (none of them do both).

However, if you're at a Menard's that does fills instead of cylinder exchanges, be aware that they charge a flat fee regardless of how much propane they put in, and they don't fill them all the way--they put 18.5 pounds in a tank that can hold 20 pounds. They put in more than Blue Rhino and Amerigas do on their propane exchanges (those have 15 pounds), but it's still not full. But if you're filling a tank on a motorhome, they charge by the gallon for however much they put in.

At the Menard's I went to not long ago, if you were filling an onboard propane tank, you paid $3.45/gallon. If you filled a dead empty 20-pound cylinder, it worked out to $4.36/gallon (and this would be even higher if there was any propane remaining in the tank).

That's one good thing I can say about Tractor Supply--I have yet to encounter one that fills cylinders for a flat fee. And since they have nothing to gain by not filling them all the way, you'll get a full tank, which means it'll last longer before needing to be refilled.

I've filled the onboard tank on my 40-foot motorhome quite a few times at Tractor Supply locations across the country. I always assume I'm going to have to unhook my toad, and sometimes do it before I even try to negotiate the Tractor Supply parking lot. I filled at a Love's not long ago, and was thrilled that I didn't have to unhook the toad--it felt like real luxury.
 
OP has a class B most likely with a small ASME tank under it. They don't have to remove it and lug it around, but that is a problem also. However their Class B Ford Transit is fairly maneuverable and can get to spots that larger motor homes would not.

Some Tractor Supply managers will not allow the filling of motor home tanks, some do. Virtually all are just inside their side yard gate and readily accessible to a vehicle pulling in.

U-haul corporate owned locations, the large ones that do trailer hitch installs, have storage rentals, etc., almost all have LP. Of course like many businesses they tend to park the place up with trucks and trailers so access may be impossible without them moving a bunch of stuff.

One place not mentioned is fireplace/yard stores that sell fireplaces, patio furniture, BBQ grills, pizza ovens, and the like. Of course the propane gas places many times will fill motor homes if are set up to fill them, however I have seen several of them that have put the pump and meter in a difficult or impossible location, I don't think it was a priority so not much thought went into where to put the equipment.

Loves and Flying J has propane but if like the local Loves, it is positioned in a corner of the property where you have to do some real maneuvering to get positioned where they can fill a MH, and these places tend to be short handed and not really interested in selling LP. In addition the persons using the LP fill equipment have to be properly trained and when they have one person and he is on an off day or vacation, you are out of luck. Corporate might have mandated it, but local management makes it difficult (and expensive) for the customer.

Allstays has the most listings I have seen but anything like this depends on input from the users to keep the listings updated.

Charles
 
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Gas Buddy shows different things when you click on "details" of a particular gas station you are interested in. Propane is shown if the gas station offers it.
 
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