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Old 07-26-2016, 09:14 AM   #1
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Gas Station Etiquette

For all of you with Gassers out there.

Just completed a 6400 mile trip, 1024 gallons of gas. Gassing up a gasser can be a real pain in the tail for a couple of reasons.

1. Few gas stations have room to maneuver the coach, especially with toad attached. Had to unhook a couple of times.
2. GPS and on line information is mostly devoid of information about RV accessibility to pumps. One chain has a guidebook that is helpful but even then many of their outlets don't have room for us.
3. "small" vehicle drivers that park at the pump while they eat lunch, shop, shower or what ever blocking access to pumps. Then get indignant when you politely ask them to park elsewhere. Some chains post notices and broadcast that parking at the pump is a bad thing but they are largely ignored. We have also had them zoom in to the pump just ahead of us as we are moving into position. Talk about "Road Rage".
4. Folks at the few RV fueling lanes parking there for long periods. At one of them we watched a fellow washing his rig at the dump station part of it and taking his time about it.

We really enjoy our coach but the next on will be a DP where we can use the big truck lanes. Not that they don't have the same inconsiderate drivers but in general there is more room to maneuver and when the truck isn't moving neither the driver or the shipper are making any money so there is big incentive to clear the pump and move on.
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Old 07-26-2016, 09:20 AM   #2
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I just did a 5,000 trip to AZ and back to Ohio. I generally use Flying-J. Almost all of them have RV lanes.

Depending on the time of year (i.e. July 4th weekend, Christmas / New Years), I don't even attempt to utilize the automobile pumps. However, on weekdays, and non-summer times, I can usually get into one of the car lanes, and not get myself boxed in.
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Old 07-26-2016, 09:25 AM   #3
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Inconsiderate pump hogs use truck stops as well as gas stations. Another consequence of the dumbing down epidemic.
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Old 07-26-2016, 09:25 AM   #4
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P&J,

You can't help the thoughtless 4-wheelers, but you can use Google Earth to get a look at chosen fuel stops long before you get there. There are some that we will not stop at even with out tiny coach because the regular clientele is so inconsiderate. One time we ended up blocking the entrance because a passcar was parked at the end pump (we needed) and went to have lunch. The manager came out and told me I should move. When I explained that we were too low on fuel to risk going farther, but asked if he could find the owner of the car and have him move it - he was though fueling - that would be very nice. After about five more minutes, a person came out, got into said car and departed. We got next to the pump and when we did cars flooded into the now almost empty pumps. I took on 1.7 gallons. That was just enough to get me to the next choice on my list.

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Old 07-26-2016, 09:37 AM   #5
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It is part of the new world, the Me generation. At a gas station, you are more at the mercy of people who don't care about anybody else because your have very few options of where you can maneuver.

We found that we have to have the pumps to the left even though Bounder tried to get the filler in the center of the back of the coach. The hose from pumps on the right are about a foot too short.

So we need to pull into a spot with the pumps on the left and we need both pumps open because we need to get the rear of the coach to the rear pump.

We usually can make the pull in with the toad attached but a few times, people parking on the outer curb that reduced the swing room. One time this was a truck with a lawn maintenance trailer. So yes we have to disconnect a couple of times.

Sometimes we just line up with a set of left pumps and wait. A few weeks ago, we pulled into the first pump and waited 15 minutes for the driver of the car in the second pump to come out. Only then did he realize he was a self absorbed i....t, waved and pulled out. We are people that go in and try to get someone to move. We have the time and do not like conflict.

This gas station game is the one thing we miss from out Volvo tractor and Travel Supreme trailer. We used track station with dual 60 gpm pumps to take on 200 gallons of fuel, a couple of minutes. Easy access in and out. And we could do that with one transaction.

Now it is only 60 gallons with maybe 6 gpm and two if not three credit card transactions at the best. And the navigation challenge.
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Old 07-26-2016, 09:55 AM   #6
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We prefer Flying J, Travel America, or Loves. We recently pulled into a smaller convince store/ cafe. Got into the pump, facing "outbound". Of course pump had $ limit, so I went inside to get the pump turned on. They had no clue as to how to set the pump at $200 limit. I want out and used three different credit cards, but got filled. ( good price)

As we pulled out, a guy on the other end had pulled in to the diesel pump in a large flat bed truck.......just three more feet and I could have gotten past him. I guess he went in and had lunch. After waiting 15 minutes, blocking other lanes. I turned off the engine and the DW fixed my lunch. Yep, my blood pressure was up. I wanted to get mad, but I thought why, My entire career was hurry, hassle, stress stress, not today. So, relax, have a sandwich, drink a root beer, it was that time of day anyway.

If the manager doesn't like me blocking his pumps, let him go have a cuss fight with the trucker. Cost me half an hour, so in the grand scheme of things not much.
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:06 AM   #7
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Fill 'er up!

Our gas station experiences are similar. 38' plus the toad. We do find some considerate people but not enough. When at home and fueling, we pick a time that the local WaWa is not crowded. On the road, I use myPilot app or the iExit app (good to locate Rest Areas, too). We try and look for a truck stop for better access but some of them are challenging. Once we stopped in NC to get gas at the front section of a truck stop and we waited and waited for the driver to return. My husband couldn't wait any longer so we took the access road up to the next exit where we knew there was another truck stop. Halfway there the dolly had a blowout! A wonderful local lady stopped and helped us find a tire shop where we bought a new tire for the borrowed dolly. (We immediately got a Blue Ox tow bar system.) We were lucky the blowout wasn't on the interstate. As a friend likes to say, "It could have been worser!"
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:19 AM   #8
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I have fuel my diesel coach at least 230 times and never found a problem important enough to write about.
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:22 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waiter21 View Post
I just did a 5,000 trip to AZ and back to Ohio. I generally use Flying-J. Almost all of them have RV lanes.

Depending on the time of year (i.e. July 4th weekend, Christmas / New Years), I don't even attempt to utilize the automobile pumps. However, on weekdays, and non-summer times, I can usually get into one of the car lanes, and not get myself boxed in.
We try to use the J but they can be few and far between. Our experience with the guy washing his RV was at a J
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:26 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mel s View Post
I have fuel my diesel coach at least 230 times and never found a problem important enough to write about.
Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles
Cool but diesel is in completely different league
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:28 AM   #11
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Well, I remember the gas shortages of the 70s - people got shot for bad Gas Station Etiquette.

To good olde days???
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:35 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mel s View Post
I have fuel my diesel coach at least 230 times and never found a problem important enough to write about.
Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles

I've had the same experience in my 37' gasser with toad. I use flying J when available, or other large travel centers. In the middle of nowhere, your independent chevron, shell, or marathon stations are often plenty big enough for easy access. Maybe one or two times in 5 years have I had to pull back onto the hi way to look for another station. Never got into a situation where I had to unhook (knock on wood). Not an issue as I begin looking for gas at no less than 1/3 tank.. Low stress!
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:49 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mel s View Post
I have fuel my diesel coach at least 230 times and never found a problem important enough to write about.
Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wsufans View Post
Cool but diesel is in completely different league
Wsufans
I should have added...."and I've bought gasoline thousands of times and never found a problem important enough to write about".
Sorry
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Old 07-26-2016, 10:49 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wsufans View Post
Cool but diesel is in completely different league
I use regular pumps exclusively, never truck stops - very few times we've had any issue with 'folks', though some may take longer than others and seem as if they're certainly not in a hurry to worry about how long we've waited. If we're taking up a lot of 'space', especially at the famously small Murphy stations, I don't try to fill up, but enough to get me to my next location...

I use the GasBuddy app to find the best priced areas/exits for diesel, then look over the GoogleMaps overview to make sure the station can accomodate our 35' coach + 15' of toad, though sometimes that is not always indicative of the 'landscape' of entry and exit, which can add some additional parts to the equation, or even how much traffic might be at the station at the moment you pull in.
I'm also never scared to just pass up a station that can't really accomodate our coach and go to the next one that can, which is why I never wait past 1/3 tank to refill.
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