Buc-eee’s St Augustine

[Butte64]

Has anyone fueled at the new Buc-ees near St Augustine? How is access for a 45 ft with toads? How does fuel price compare with TSD price at Loves? I have never been to one so don’t know about parking. Do you stay at the pump when visiting store?

[Gary.Jones]

Buck-ees is a Texas based fuel operation that is into selling food and jerky as much as it is into gasoline and diesel. Now, all the Buck-ees in these parts are huge compared to most gas stations.... ours typically have about 100 fuel pumps. Ours are easy for a motorcoach pulling toad to get into and get out of... they all have huge parking areas on either side of the station far away from the pumps so an easy place to pull into for lunch. Also, they are all fairly new operations so concrete and pavement are in good shape. Also, they take care of their rest rooms. Now, officially, Buckees does not want 18-wheelers in their parking lots or fuel pumps, but motorcoaches are welcome. The signs here say "No Trucks".

Now as of right now, regular fuel stations in the St. Augustine area are selling diesel for $2.80 to $3.00 a gallon. Interestingly, GasBuddy does not show a Buckees in St. Augustine at all in their list which may indicate it is very new or maybe not really located in St. Augustine proper so not listed at that location.

Now according to EFS, there is no EFS fuel station right in St. Augstine and the closest is between Jacksonville and St. Augustine on I-95 and the best I see is a TA station at $2.63

My experience is that Buck-ees may be a good place for gas, but it will never compete with EFS on diesel prices. I could be wrong.

Gary

[carybosse]

Gary is correct on the Buck-ees, at least the Texas versions I have been to. There are usually enough pumps that you can get into one without too much trouble with a long(er) load.

A motorhome with a Toad is likely to be hanging out the end of the pump lane, do everyone a favor and pull out to a open area of the parking lot before you go shopping. A lot of people (in cars) do block the pumps while they shop, which is just inconsiderate in my opinion.

Plan on at least an hour the first time you visit a Buck-ees. They are what you could call a destination gas stop. The two Buck-ees we have in the DFW area have a Quiktrip (QT) gas station almost within a stone's throw of the Buck-ees. Buck-ees typically are going to have better access to the pumps than QT (unless you are using diesel and perhaps going to the 18-wheeler pumps at QT. ) But they are just the opposite of each other. While QT prides itself on a quick trip in and out, Buck-ees plans on you staying a while.

[Pigman1]

Go to Google Earth and get a good overhead view of the facility (zoom down as much as you need to) and then get a street view of entrances and exits. We do this all the time and I've never been stuck to where I have to even consider access a problem. Now, if you can just deal with the idiot who fills up, goes inside and can't figure out what he wants, but is still chatting up the clerk while you wait.....

[bfridge]

About 6 weeks ago the Baytown Buc ees beat EFS especially if you have a credit card that rebates on fuel. Sam's Mastercard 5% back on fuel. Easy in and out and parking on the perimeter. Auto Diesel pumps and usually a $150 shutoff before you have to reswipe. I personally recommend the Brisket sandwich and the pulled pork sandwich. They also have 2 gallon DEF for a good price.

[KanzKran]

Google maps satellite and street view only show empty fields, but if it's anything like the new one in Katy, TX that I was at last year, there's plenty of room. 31 islands, each with two pumps, and each pump having service on both sides, makes 124 fueling stations. I wouldn't worry about taking up two pumps with your rig, as long as you're not blocking traffic, and that's probably easiest on one of the ends.

[Jolar01]

Buckles doesn’t list their price at the station but are cheaper than most stations by 5 cents or more. Will be higher 20-30 cents or more than TA/EFS about the same as Loves/EFS. But will be easy to get in and will have snacks for everyone.

[The Driver]

Buc-ees St Augustine: $2.97 diesel. T/A Jacksonville South EFS: $2.63

[777 Driver]

Originally Posted by KanzKran

Google maps satellite and street view only show empty fields, but if it's anything like the new one in Katy, TX that I was at last year, there's plenty of room.

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the grand opening of the St. Augustine Buc-ee's. The first 5 minutes of the video includes several views of the fuel islands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iewpPEfctKI&t=25s

Although it looks "doable", if you've got TSD Logistics privileges, as The Driver (Doug) mentioned above, the South Jacksonville TA may be a better choice. Both for ease of entry/exit and fuel price.

Take care,
Stu

[F4Gary]

Why would you even try to negotiate those pumps with a 45' DP + toad when a truck stop would be much easier.
The Bucees store isn't THAT great.

[Gary.Jones]

F4.....

Until the EFS fuel card came along, I NEVER inhabited truck stops for the single reason that almost all truck stops charge fools like us who drive 600 and 450 horse diesel engines and have 150 gallon fuel tanks to pay posted costs for a gallon of diesel and then pay an additional upcharge of usually 5 to 6 cents a gallon for the privilege of putting the costs on our credit cards.....

In my opinion, all truck stops were an outright fraud (RIP-OFF) on our charges and I spent the better part of 6 years ALWAYS purchasing my diesel at the cheapest non-truck, stop that I could find that I could get into and out of with my coach + toad. IMO, anyone who paid truckstop prices was either so rich that they could care less about money, or simply out of their minds. I used to drive truck professionally, and my son drove for Crete and Swift and he always purchased diesel on the road using a card similar or identical as EFS and diesel costing substantially below the posted prices.

I used truck stops less than a handfull of times (4 or 50 in those 6 years. It was not until I could benefit from the same discounts (or nearly the same discounts) that the truck sitting right beside me while fueling were paying, that I began to patronize truckstops. I have coaches for ~ 8 years and I have been routinely buying my diesel from a truckstop for only a little more than the past 12 months.

Gary

[carybosse]

EFS sounds great for Diesel, but when you are driving a gasoline truck towing a 32 foot trailer, the options are less. Frequently, the Quiktrip and Buck-ees are going to be better than some of the other fuel stops for access with a longer load than a lot of fuel stops.

The biggest problem with Buck-ees is the (always clean) restrooms always seem like a half mile hike away, you have to walk past all of the food options, and then there is the distractions of their retail/souvenir shop. No such thing as a 15 minute fuel stop.

As an example, I know there is a Pilot station on the south side of I-20 at the same exit as Tyler State Park. Access to the diesel pumps is probably fine, I have even parked my rig in the back with the diesel guys while I made a restroom stop. Pulling a truck and trailer in to the gas pumps at the front, and then circling your way back out, plus the pretty substantial drop into the parking lot, not any fun. Just 5 miles or so west of there is a Quiktrip with much better access.

[neilnoff]

Try the boudin kolaches You can thank me later

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by 777 Driver

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the grand opening of the St. Augustine Buc-ee's. The first 5 minutes of the video includes several views of the fuel islands:

Although it looks "doable", if you've got TSD Logistics privileges, as The Driver (Doug) mentioned above, the South Jacksonville TA may be a better choice. Both for ease of entry/exit and fuel price.

Take care,
Stu

Stu, thanks for posting that video. I watched the whole thing and really enjoyed it.

As Amy & I travel around the country we've seen a number of Buc-ee's locations, but never had occasion to stop at one. As a result, I had no clue regarding what's inside the doors. And neither did I realize that pristine restrooms are one of their major claims-to-fame.

We'll be at Texas Motor Speedway in about ten days for NIRVC's Customer Appreciation Rally. There is a Buc-ee's right across the street from the track, walking distance from where we'll be camping. I'm thinking I'll need to check it out.