Gas Station App?

[Cchapin100]

One thing we are learning as newbies is you have to be on the same page when you have a big rig! Since I am primary navigator and need to get us to diesel stations that can handle our 13’ 4” height, do you all have recommendations for good apps that will help me find gas stations that can handle us when we are hooked up and towing? Thanks in advance

[TucsonJim]

We use Gas Buddy to find reasonably priced fuel, then we use Google Earth Street view to get a view of the station to make sure they have enough room to enter, fuel up and exit with a trailer in tow. You can normally get a good idea of the height of the roof over the island with street view too.

Jim

[Second Chance]

Gas Buddy is great for finding good prices but, for us, getting too far off our route is not worth the savings on the fuel. Our Garmin RV760 GPS will find places along your route by category... one of those categories is "Truck Stops." When traveling interstate and US highways, this is how we find diesel. On back roads, we'll pull into any place that will handle the rig whenever the truck is below 1/2 full (37 gal tank) - as long as they are a reputable brand and pump sufficient volume to ensure the diesel is fresh. We don't often have to resort to that, though. When we are on the back roads, we are usually staying someplace and the truck is unhitched from the fiver. There are apps for truckers that will work on your phone and find what you are after, too.

Rob

[Canyonlight]

X3 on Gasbuddy. Have used it for years both near and far from home. The link to the station name with in most cases pictures, maps, etc. is helpful to get an idea if it a station I want to use especially when towing. If I need more details, searching on the station usually gives a few links to get reviews, more pictures. etc.

Dan

[arhayes]

+4 on GasBuddy. You are paying 30-40 cents per gallon more than the local prices using a truck stop. We full-time and use about 1600 gallons of diesel per year, so that 35 cent average is worthwhile savings.

I’m not aware of any app that’s lists station heights, and most aren’t marked these days. We’ve found few newer stations that are a problem for our 13’5” rig.


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[livinthelife]

Another vote for Gas Buddy here. I use the reviews that people post there to help figure out if they can handle a trailer/5th wheel or not.

Beyond that, if it looks not do-able when we get within sight of the station, we have a plan B.

[WhittleBurner]

I like TruckMaster Fuel Finder. They will give you everything you want to know. Price, what kind of food, exactly where they are at and if they have truck parking and how much. They also have a link to Google Earth so you can take a look at how easy it is to get in and out of. If it's a freeway they will give you the exit number. Being for trucks you know height wouldn't be a problem.

[traveldawg]

argh - the saga of refueling....

One of the nice features of having a towable versus the motorhome we had previously is the option of choosing fuel stops other than truck stops. As someone said those prices are always higher than "gas stations". I never really understood that pricing logic since trucks (which are hardly fuel efficient) seem fine with those prices. Either they don't have a choice or get some kind of really good rebate.

I just installed a 37 gallon RDS auxiliary fuel tank in my truck. That effectively doubled my travel distance before refueling. Prior to that I was still at the mercy of truck stops to travel a decent number of miles in one day before stoping. The only saving grace was that I have the Good Sam Pilot/Flying J fuel card and at least saved some money by using it and letting Pilot/Flying J deduct mostly from a checking account.

Now, with the extra capacity, I can refuel at more cost effective places after dropping off the rig. If it is just a one night stop I can unhitch and run out to fuel up, and then re-hitch for the next day. If staying for longer than one night I fill up the day before departing for the next location.

Back to the point of the thread........ I WON'T STOP AT GAS STATIONS when connected. I have hardly ever found one capable of handling my truck and 5th wheel and the people using gas stations just don't care, let alone understand, how much room is needed for such a mash-up (this doesn't apply to Canada - not much choice there). I didn't stop at gas stations in any of my other rigs and would only do so now as a desperate last resort.

I use Gas Buddy to find the best fuel prices comparing how far to travel for the best price before the distance offsets any savings.

I use Pilot's app for truck stops as those are mostly the only ones I use.

Allstays Camp and RV app will also find truck stops.

[WhittleBurner]

One thing to be careful about is not stopping somewhere for gas that they don't sell a lot of diesel. If the diesel gas sits to long in their tanks it doesn't work too well in a truck.

[Buckskin]

I use a app called "Truckers Path" to search out places to stop - it's free; it is designed for truckers. We prefer truck stops if possible because of easy in and out of stations; usually they have plenty of room for gas burners to fill up. Bonus is great coffee and snacks. Also use truckers GPS from Garmin.