Fuel - Truck stops or Gas station

[gboyle]

I have been stopping at gas stations to buy my gas, E450. I have access issues in and out ( 30' FR Lexington) as well as blocking other pumps. So I was wondering what is it like to get fuel at a truck plaza? Are prices better, worse or about equal to gas stations? How about services? Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and knowledge.

[GreenImp]

My observations...

prices are about equal.

Truck stop pro's...space is far more plentiful, larger diesel nozzles, amenities are better (windshield washers, water hose, sometimes disposable gloves), basic automotive parts & accessories available, most have restaurants if your into that

Truck stop con's...generally dirtier, some stops may make some wives a little nervous, store likely to be further away from pump (making RV less visible while away), lock your stuff! (should be doing this anyway)

I find Pilot/Flying J's a little more RV friendly and therefore prefer them. (I think I saw that Good Sam members get a discount?)

[Jjsav]

I use truck stops. They are more big rig friendly. I think prices are about the same. I look for T/A and Flying J's. They seem to be clean and big.

We also use the book "The Next Exit" and the new edition will tell you what gas stations are RV Friendly.

[OutlawAdventurer]

We use fly J/Pilot.....my truck is 20 feet and trailer is 39'11" so I feel your room issue....generally even at the auto lanes I have had enough room to get in and out for diesel, when using truck stop...I generally try not to.....

one problem I ran into some back was using the RV isle, Pilot charged my card and also put a hold amount......I had a max daily limit.......this was a security issue that they had on private credit cards, debit cards and so on....was their official answer and it only applied to the RV lane because of the large amounts of fuel(never had it happen at auto Lane).....anyway wasnt that big of issue......

or another issue is pumps always shut off at 75-100 dollars and have to restart....

Anyway, point is - I got a Pilot fuel card and use it, no hold limits and pump till full.....the good point about it is there is a good sam discount and anything you buy there you get rewards points...so I have paid as little as 3.59 a gallon and not more than 3.79 for diesel....we just pay it off after trip...I have used it for gas too...

One draw back to truck stops on diesel is some don't have auto/RV isles and the nozzles fill 36 gallon tanks in about two seconds.....so you have to kind of what out...

I agree with the statement lock your stuff up....truck stops can be a dangerous place...due to con artists, bums, drifters and the likes....

Also agree that the flying J/pilot have generally been cleaner, so has T/A, some of the Loves truck stops.....

one of reason I put an extra tank in truck....I can run about 900-1000 miles before I have to fill up...kind of pick and choose the better of stops.....the rest of time we stop where we want and eat out of camper......

FlyingJ/Pilot has a download for GPS that puts the POI on the GPS of their locations.....

hope this helps....long winded this morning...lol.

[AquaMan]

Truck stops really are not going to help the OP out at all. He's gas, not diesel. The truck lanes do not have gasoline. Some of the newer Pilots/Flying J's have an RV lane with both diesel and gas, but even some of them appear to be a little tough to maneuver. The best advice I can give, is to pick and choose your pump before you pull in. I've had to sit on the road a couple times waiting for a certain pump to open up so that I could pull in and get back out(I'm at 60'+ & 13' 5" high), when forced to use a regular gas station and not a truck stop.

[comfun1]

I go where ever it looks like I can fit. I also watch the entrance/exit for dragging. Once I had to back into a small Casey's to the air pump, that was a real challenge with a 34' TT. Hope I never have to do that again. Often I have to back up after filling and swing wide or I won't clear the pumps.

[schrederman]

I have been really looking at the prices at the truck stops and I don't find them to be about equal. Just yesterday the truck stops were all running about 3.79 to 3.89... and I paid 3.49 in town... We're using about a tank per day towing... That can add up to 10 to 12 bucks per tank...

[gboyle]

Thank you for the information. This is exactly what I was wanting to know.

[biznsa]

I use the Flying J's and Pilot. On my last trip from MI to TX in early August they were definitely a few cents cheaper than regular gas stations, plus I got an additional 3 cents off by using my Good Sam Reward card. I have a 32' Sunseeker and never have an issue getting in or out.

[Ford Idaho]

I have and will use what ever is handy at the time, my outfit is not hard to maneuver around so it matter little to me.
I get a discount at Maverick, the J's and Pilots, Stinker......

Never had a problem at the truck stops with people but then I am in and out.

[gboyle]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. We are about to take a long distance trip with our Class C FR Lexington 283gts and now we know that truck stops are a good option. I have always worried about backing but it's the other drivers that are the big concern.

[Pitcrew18]

I definatly use truck stops, with a 41 ft fiver and a 3500 dually I take up alot of space at a service station. Prices seem to be equal and the extra services at a truck stop make it worth while.

[SilverbackMel]

Biggest issue with truck stops is using your RV bathroom after walking through all of the oil and grease in the fuel lanes. To get around any credit card glitches, I call my card carrier and tell them my route and timing. I use Love's and Flying J/Pilot when I can. At night I generally drop my 5er to level and fill up locally. I mostly try to avoid stopping in mega town truck stops where the truckers are busy; in and out. By all means, LOCK your stuff down. My bicycles are CHAINED and LOCKED to the rear rack AND the rack is CHAINED to my RV bumper. My Silverback has a factory hitch for carrying bikes.

[Vinster30]

Being a gas burner, I use the auto side of Flying J, Love's, Pilot ect.
Pulling a 40 ft 5th wheel requires some preplanning and quick judgement as to where I fuel. Also use iExit and the internet to find the best spots.

[Sharon455]

Seems like some of the Pilots/TAs have limited parking for RVs, so we end up parking at the end of the truck lane if we need to take the dog for a quick walk or use the facilities. Is this their way of punishing us for not using their restaurants?

[Lloydg]

Getting gasoline (not diesel) can be a difficult maneuver at many stations, truck stops included. What I do while planning a trip is to check stations reported in Next Exit, and when I see something that interests me, I Google Map it and look for easy access. I then print that page and use it while traveling as a reminder. I also carry a couple gas cans that I can use to carry from the pump to the truck in case I get stuck. So far I haven't had to resort to that.

[Lloydg]

Easy access, in and out, and back on the road is more important to me than saving a buck or two. I do use Gas Buddy to find the best price, but it's not a priority while traveling.

[ironj]

I start looking at half a tank. ..truck stops are preferred but not always handy....@ ~ 60ft it can get tricky but i always tell my wife "if I can get in I can get her out"....

I have learned that the more confident and versed you are in your backing/manuevering skills are, the less intimidating it is....and some places it just wont work....

All the truck stops I hit up north threw me a little as the diesel pumps had 3 options as well as a "reefer" option. ...had to figure that one out...lol...we only got one diesel pump here in texas...

[King Yankee]

Agree 100% with ironj. Couple of times last year I started to second guess myself, but if I can get in, I can get out.

[camper1999]

I buy diesel and stop at truck stops all the way. Easy in and out through the truck pumps