Finding 5th wheel friendly gas stations

[Fishhawk]

We have towed bumper pull campers around for awhile and even with them we sometimes found it diffulcult to find gas stations on our routes that offer relative ease of entry and exit as well as having overhangs tall enough to safely pull through

Now, that we are new to fifth wheeling and just starting our new camping adventures pulling a much taller fifth wheel
I'm wondering if you folks have suggestions on your preferred fill up chain store type spots ( gas)
That consistantly provide the space and height that 5th wheels need

I appreciate your input!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

[gearhead]

I've had decent luck looking for freeway exits that have several major gas brands, fast food, motels, etc. Those info signs that are at the exits help a lot. What I'm getting at is that there should be one station there that you should be able to get in. It's a gamble though. Just try not to get to the point that you have to get gas right NOW.
Be sure you know your height, even though few gas stations post their clearance.
One of these days I will unhitch and use a WalMart station just to spite them. I haven't seen one yet that I could get in towing the 5th. I assume they don't want RV business.

[wahoonc]

Truck stops or larger stations along interstates. Loves, Flying J, Wilco/Hess, Sheetz are a few that come to mind.

Aaron

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Truck stops or larger stations along interstates. Loves, Flying J, Wilco/Hess, Sheetz are a few that come to mind.

Aaron

I use truck stops on long trips. I also unhitch, and fill up the evening before I leave camp. That way I start with a full load of fuel.

[bsmith0404]

You can probably get into more stations than you realize. I have stopped at truck stops, valero, phillips 66, you name it. Some can be a little tight maneuvering, but I like to use the regular pumps when I can instead of the truck pumps. The large nozzles create too much foam with the diesel, even on the lowest setting. I haven't found many stations off of the interstate that caused clearance issues and my 5er is 13'9"

[x96mnn]

Cannot tell you what is best but can tell you what has become a very large pain.

Irving truck stops in Nova Scotia. They have converted to a new pump layout that points you in the direction of the building while feeling instead of the exit. This means any stuck that wants to park close to the door or simply pull ahead to let the next car in can end up blocking you in or making it a tight squeeze out.

The other issue they only do pay at the pump, you need to prepay up to $150. Well if you have a large truck and aux tank, you need to fill to the $150' go in and pay then continue your fill.

They are not the worste places to fill up, but I find them a pain in the ***.

[bexparza]

My wife and I pretty much use Flying J and Pilot truck stops. A lot of them have RV specific fueling lanes and separate RV parking lots for overnight stays.

[rjsurfer]

We usually avoid truck stops, way to filthy and smelly always get diesel on the sole's of our shoes.

We look for stations with pumps parallel to the road or at least 45 degrees to the road. Before pulling in we always slow down and check out the lay of the land so to speak, even to the point of stopping for a second or so before committing.

And strange as it seems more often than not the diesel is cheaper than at the truck stops, go figure.

As insurance we carry a 5 gallon can of diesel and as a last resort we could always unhitch somewhere and then get the fuel. We have never needed either.


Ron W

[Bar-OneRanch]

We have the Next Exit book and if the station is RV accessible it is highlighted in red print. My friend just bought a GPS at CW for RV's that give travel routes based on the height of your trailer, I'll have to ask if it helps with gas stations also.
Chris

[WaltBennett]

Haven't had too many problems save for the occasional small station that GasBuddy says has the lowest price. What really irritates me is the truck friendly ones with the big islands that would be really easy to get into, but the pumps won't take a debit/credit card, only a fleet one. Got to go in and prepay, then pump, then go in again to finish. PITA! The diesel pumps that do take debit/credit are all in the regular lanes so you've got to take your chances getting in and out.

[Brantlaker]

Last October I brought my 5er to Florida towing for the first time with my new F350 Diesel. It was no big deal going to the truck lanes to fuel up yes some you have to prepay but most you don't. Just fuel it then pull up to to allow the next truck to fuel the walk back and forth is good after driving 3-4 hr. Another good thing fueling at the truck lanes is that they have bulk DEF right there and I always top off you use a lot when towing.

[bsmith0404]

It's unfortunate that at pilot/flying J/Loves always seems to be the most expensive stations out there. If you get the Good Sam gas card it helps take the sting out a little with up to $.08 per gallon discount. Even then they are more expensive, just not as bad.

[Fishhawk]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I use truck stops on long trips. I also unhitch, and fill up the evening before I leave camp. That way I start with a full load of fuel.

Yes, we always start out with a full tank too

In our case , we normally can do very little traveling on interstates
because from where we live in Northern Arkansas to one of our fav places to visit, the Gulf Coast, it's mostly secondary roads with a bunch of the small town old gas stations to manuver through for gas

We do see a lot of fivers and motorhomes on our route though
which got me to wondering if those folks are using a RV GPS to guide them to the right stations along these secondary roads
My old Garmin is great but doesnt help with RV specific input

This is something I will check out
I really appreciate everyone's input

Thanks

[notanlines]

Brenda and I both loaded iexit on our iphones just a couple of hours ago. It appears to be a very fine app, at least for free.

[Fishhawk]

Thanks for the tip!

I just loaded it and it does look good

[theeyres]

Shell usually has pumps that arr parrell to the road. Just avoid those that make u point to the store. Not that hard to find.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by theeyres

Shell usually has pumps that arr parrell to the road. Just avoid those that make u point to the store. Not that hard to find.

X2, We have towed from Wichita, KS to Branson, MO, then either down through Little Rock or over to Memphis. ALL of that is secondary roads through the hills of Northern Arkansas or over to the Mississippi River delta. We've never had any issue finding gas/fuel along the way. It seems that on the outskirts of every little town is a "truck stop/garage" with diesel pumps along the highway. Sort of an "easy off/easy on" arrangement just at the beginning of the city limits. Most of them don't even have a canopy over the pumps, they are out in the open. As for gas pumps, they may be under a cover closer to the front of the store, but usually they are high enough to easily clear.

The few "upgraded" (real) quick stops/truck stops that we have encountered along those secondary highways in Arkansas had 16' canopies over multiple pumps and it was very easy to maneuver with the trailer in tow.

I wouldn't worry about access to fuel, that's the easy part. Getting behind log trucks, chip trucks and the inevitable Sunday driver (on the rest of the days) is much more frustrating. Not to mention morning/afternoon driving behind a school bus, which can easily destroy any time table !!! Secondary roads are "scenic", but depending on the time of year, fuel is the least of your worries.....

[MarkS]

Many states tax 'commercial truck' Diesel at a higher rate than the personal use diesel. Around here, it is about $0.10 more a gallon at the truck stop. I use the truck stops, but try to avoid the truck lanes.

• The Next Exit Books are great
• Always start out with a full tank
• Bigger stations along the interstate usually have more room.
• Keep an eye on the overhang
• Carry a 5 Gallon emergency can
• Start looking before you get to the panic level

[chuckster57]

Must be a Co thing. I didn't notice a tax difference on our cross country trek.

start looking early? I have dual tanks and start thinking about stopping when I have 1/2 tank left.

[notanlines]

Mark, can you give us a reference on that tax deal? We travel thousands of miles every year and have never seen that to be true. Actually Colorado has the ninth lowest fuel tax in the country.