"Stopping for gas" panic attacks

[polkadotsuitcase]

Last fall, my two kiddos (then 9 and 10) and I towed my parents' 30-foot travel trailer from NC to the Fort (sadly, hubby had to stay home). I've towed it many times before by myself, but this was the longest drive I've done. I'm fine towing, backing, setting it up -- but when I realize I have to stop for gas I start to go slightly bananas. Something about trying to find a gas station that I can get into and out of easily with the trailer makes my palms start to sweat. I seriously have to turn off the music, hush the kids, get a death grip on the steering wheel, push my bulging eyes back in my head...it's nuts.

Any tips on finding easy-to-pull-though gas stations?!

 

[becky1960]

One thing you could do is to go online and find truck stops along your route, they have plenty of room to get into and out. You might have to time your stops but it should save a lot of headache's..

 

[motofamily]

go to FLYINGJ.com they have a gas price link on the left hand side of the page if you click on the link a new page section loads and there is a list of fuel/gas stations and which exit it is and everything. I always go down 95 and try to stop in GA for diesel it is usually cheaper but sometimes stop in Northern FL to fill up. Most all flyingJ places are big ride friendly!!!!

 

[Momofejlg]

We drove from Mass this April and after making one to many stops and not being able to get into a gas station , we finnally bought the book The Next Exit. ( recomended by someone on the boards) It was the best book to have , it will tell you what is at the next exit including gas stations that are RV friendly and that has diesel. It made a HUGE diffrence in our travels!

 

[starbuc71]

Picture driving back from Gatlinburg Tenn. to Florida and getting stuck downtown Atlanta on interstae 75 at 4:30 on a Friday and having your gas light come on pulling a 30ft trailer whith a tow vehichle getting around 8 miles to the gallon. Then trying to get off the interstate and find a station that would allow the room I needed to pull in. Lets just say the wife was not happy with me for a few 100 miles.

 

[Wistful_Thinking]

We almost plan our trip routes based on the Flying J locations.
They have special RV lanes for both gas and diesel. Easy to get in and out of and pumps on both sides. You might have to wait a few minutes for fellow RVers because there are generally only two RV lanes, but lots of other things to do while you wait. here is a link to their locations.

http://www.flyingj.com/flyingjPorta...=true&_pageLabel=flyingjPortal_portal_page_98

When your there pick up a free map containing directions to all the Flying J locations. Ours stays on the dasboard along with the one from Cracker Barrel.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Ah...see, I knew there was some insider info I was missing! Thanks for the tips -- looks like I need to do some additional planning before our next trip.

...and starbuc71, I think I broke out in hives reading your experience. That's exactly the kind of thing that gives me nightmares!

Thanks again -- huge help!

 

[chartle]

You can also use Google maps with satellite view and street view.

Using street view you plan and visualize how you would move in and out of the gas station.

 

[MadFF]

When I get to 1/2 tank, I start thinking about filling up. I start looking for "Next rest stop / gas **miles" and figuring how many miles I have left in my tank. At 1/4 tank, I pull into the next gas station. This gives me a little extra miles if I need them to find a good station.

I prefer highway rest stop / gas stations, as you know they will have room for you. Off the highway can be anything. Many times if you see a sign for gas that has multiple different brands on it, those stations hopefully are set up for filling people coming off the highway, so they will have more room at the pumps.

A few times we got "caught" at oddly setup stations. Especially in Florida, there were a couple really big stations that had their pumps setup so that you were facing the store/gift shop, instead of parallel to it. I had to do some tight manuvering.

I always get a little concerned when we have to travel a couple miles away from the highway, and make a few turns, in an area I don't know. We haven't gotten too lost yet!

 

[mkrober]

I usually fill up in Ga at exit 3 or exit 1 just before crossing into FL since gas is usually cheaper. Both exits have multiple large stations that I've been able to pull my 26' TT into with ease.

 

[Shan-man]

I use GasBuddy.com's gas price temperature map to decide where to plan my fueling stops. Just looking at the map you can tell that it's better to wait to hit South Carolina rather than looking for a decent price in NC, and that the prices in GA get a bit better past Savannah. You can see which individual stations have the best prices, if you want to plan that carefully. Anyway, great resource.

 

[DaveInTN]

We drove from Mass this April and after making one to many stops and not being able to get into a gas station , we finnally bought the book The Next Exit. ( recomended by someone on the boards) It was the best book to have , it will tell you what is at the next exit including gas stations that are RV friendly and that has diesel. It made a HUGE diffrence in our travels!

Yep, I was gonna recommend this book. Has come in handy for me MANY times.

 

[djbogue]

I also recommend The Next Exit book. I use it going down to Florida every year. It is recommended by everyone on the RV.net forum.

There is also Exit Now Interstate Exit Directory published by Trailer Life Books and The Ultimate Travelers Exit Guide. (You can get it at www.milebymileplus.com). But I like The Next Exit the best.

Hope this helps.

 

[Puget Peach]

You can also use Google maps with satellite view and street view. Using street view you plan and visualize how you would move in and out of the gas station.

Hmmm... I do this for the parks...

 

[estherhead]

I don't even have an RV & I use The Next Exit. It is such a great resource. Just to find out what fast food is at the next few exits when we get hungry.

 

[marble96]

I plan my trips around the Flying J's!

 

[dtum]

We don't leave home w/o our Next Exit book. Towing a 5r and having a diesel truck we are really limited where we can go and the book marks every place an RV can fit in red (great for on the road food stops also). I wrote all the best places in the book a few years ago so this trip we knew where to go. Going to get a revised book soon because exits do change over time and I'll have to transfer all my notes! We like Flying J, but until we get pretty far south their aren't any. We found a great BP on 77 S that had the exit drive right into their driveway and when you left you just got back on. We marked that one in our book.

 

[starbuc71]

I finally broke down and bought a gps. I bought a tom tom 740 live. It is so cool. It will even give you up to date gas prices with it's google seach feature. Well worth the money if your in uncharted territory...lol

 

[dtum]

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.

 

[Duane]

Here is pretty good website that I use for I-95 information. It will list things like gas stations, restaurants, campgrounds, road construction etc.

I-95 Guide