"Stopping for gas" panic attacks

[disney4dan]

These are all great suggestions, and we've used The Next Exit and I have done some pre-planning via Google Earth to look at the layout in the past. I like the TomTom idea with the gas information.

But I hear ya on some of the stations. I pulled into a truck stop somewhere in the Carolina's (can't remember) and they had arranged the set up so that only trucks were allowed out back, cars and RVs in front of the store. I got into the pumps OK, and there was enough room between the dispensers and the store to pull out, but all the parking spaces in the lot were full, and a bus had parked in the travel/turning lanes to let people in to get lunch. Knowing he was going to be there for a while, I thought I'd just go around the store and out. Guess enough people had done this that they had placed curb stones to prevent it.

Here we are, aimed toward the wrong way and needing to back up in front of the store in a VERY crowded parking lot and then attempt to thread the needle between the parked bus and parked cars. Boy, I coulda used Donny's help with this, but some other RV'er saw my predicament and cleared the path behind the trailer so that some car did not try to sneak behind me while I was backing up . You should have seen the look on the bus driver's face as I pulled the trailer past the bus within one foot of the steps.

 

[dtum]

That is some good manuavering! One thing we found is TA truckstops don't carry auto diesel and our truck can't fit the big truck nossel into our gas tank so we avoid TA. Also, seems whenever we find a subway at Pilot, etc. the parking is always backing in with the trucks. It's a real pain when the place is busy with truck traffic....Guess it's a learning experience each time.

 

[kc5grw]

We did a lot of driving around Disney this past trip and couldn't have done it w/o our GPS. Ours doesn't do gas prices, but for yours....does it tell you diesel prices and if the gas is accessible towing a trailer? There are a lot of gas stations that we would never fit in when towing.

I can't speak for the TomTom but I have a nuvi 760 with the MSN Direct receiver. It has gas prices, but not diesel. I like having the GPS on trips, but when I'm pulling the trailer I also do a lot of pre-trip route planning to make sure the Garmin doesn't route me somewhere it shouldn't. I tend not to care so much when I don't have the trailer.

As for the PP comment about TA truckstops, that isn't true in all cases. I have been to a number that do carry auto diesel. I've found for the most part though that TA diesel is higher than either FJ or Love's.

 

[stacktester]

I can't speak for the TomTom but I have a nuvi 760 with the MSN Direct receiver. It has gas prices, but not diesel. I like having the GPS on trips, but when I'm pulling the trailer I also do a lot of pre-trip route planning to make sure the Garmin doesn't route me somewhere it shouldn't. I tend not to care so much when I don't have the trailer.

As for the PP comment about TA truckstops, that isn't true in all cases. I have been to a number that do carry auto diesel. I've found for the most part though that TA diesel is higher than either FJ or Love's.

To me Flying J is the most rv friendly truck stop. They each have at least 2 lanes of fuel. You can fill up on either side of the rv as well. You can dump the holding tanks and get propane all in one spot. I usually carry a 5 gallon tank of Diesel as well just in case. I've had to pull in some pretty tight areas with a 5'er that I rather not have. Anybody ever going to the Keys be warned to fill up in Florida City and take 5-10 gallons of fuel due to the fact that there are very few places that you can pull into.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Wow, lots of votes for Flying J! I guess there's one important question remaining...

How is the coffee at Flying J?

 

[chanson2]

Thanks for the notice about the Next Exit book - I never knew of such a thing, but think it's just what we need. I am always nervous doing a road trip with our 30ft TT, esp since we use diesel as well. And DH is the type who loves to drive till the E light comes on!

 

[chilipyro]

After traveling to Disney from CT, pulling a 35' trailer, I have to say that Florida was the most RV unfriendly state on the East Coast. I was surprised at this, with all the RVers down there. But every store or restaurant parking lot we came across seemed designed to keep RVers out (tight turns, narrow lanes, dividers between rows). There was on point where I actually found a large empty parking lot and unhitched, so that we could drive to a gas station without the trailer .

Driving down, I found truck stops to be more reliable than regular gas station, in providing easier pull in and out. But, many truck stops had large filling areas for trucks (diesel only), and small tight areas for cars.

I haven't tried using the Next Exit, but might for the next trip. I have given up using my GPS for fuel stops - on too many occasions, it has lead me to a fuel station that is out of business. I searched for a POI file for RV friendly fuel stops, but none exist. I am thinking that I should record the RV friendly fuel stops I run into on trips in my GPS, and start such a POI file myself. I am kicking myself now for not having done that on our Florida trip.

 

[dtum]

We always plan to get gas before Rt 4 in FL becuause we have to make it to Disney from there. We have found a few places. The night before we leave we gas up (diesel) so we can make it back to 95. The Next Exit is worth it's weight in gold!

I actually did put the diesel station near Disney in my GPS so next time we know where to go.

 

[manning]

I heard that Flying J has been bought by Pilot. They went chapter 11 around December.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

I guess that answers my question about the coffee, then -- we love coffee at Pilot!

Hopefully the merger won't change much about the easy in-and-out at FJ y'all have been telling me about!