Diesel fill up !

Up to this point i have been able to buy diesel at the Flying J's which have the pump's off to the side ! Pretty soon i won't have that option and am wondering what tip's i might get here on how to deal with place's that aren't very easy to get at ! I have the next exit book but to tell the truth when i had a motor home it got me into trouble more than once ! I don't know if I'm allowed to use the semi truck pump's !
Chevy Silverado with 8 foot box and Cyclone 3912 !
chaseb

No Rules preventing RV's from fueling at the Semi Truck pumps. Only problem I've had was the size of the nozzle compared to the fuel opening on my Chevy.

Marv

I've used the larger truck nozzle with no ill effect in my 2011 GMC; it works fine, and man, with Diesel at $3.18 a gallon those numbers sure fly by fast.

My 60 gal fuel tool with my 30 gal stock tank lets me roll over 800 miles towing. I refuel when I'm unhitched.

Steve

Chaseb,
Are you saying that Flying J is no longer going to have rv pumps, or is just a local situation for you?
John

Fuel at the big truck pumps at truckstops. You'll have to go inside to pay before you pump as the truck pumps don't accept major credit cards, just the fleet fuel cards work at those card readers.

It ain't worth the risk of dragging an RV through car islands unless you have a gasser and have no choice.

Hoosier Wolverine said:

Chaseb,
Are you saying that Flying J is no longer going to have rv pumps, or is just a local situation for you?
John

Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing as I have both the Pilot & Flying J RV Real Value Cards which I now use at either establishment. One of the new stipulations is that you can't use the Big Rig lanes and receive your discounts. Another temporary stipulation is that you have to use the RV lanes to receive your discounts until future notice.

Here is the Pilot/Flying J RV Loyalty FAQ link.

No the Flying J's are still good but what I'm saying is that they won't be available in the direction I'm going ! I just hate pulling of the highway and looking and not knowing which station to head for and what I'll be facing once i get there ! As everyone know's when your pulling something this large it can get tricky !!
chaseb

Your Chevy won't have any problems with the big rig pumps. It has a bigger inlet than the Ford I'm driving now (but I can still make it work in the Ford). Been there done that many times with my old 2007 Silverado! The one issue you will have is that you can only fill your diesel tank at the big rig pumps. If you want to fill your Cyclone tank, your best bet is to look for a Flying-J as you can do both in the RV lanes at the same time. Fortunately, if you're like us, we only have to do that a couple of times a year as we really only use it for the generator.

When hitched up and on the road I will only go to a known such as Flying J, Pilot (which I hate as they dont have RV pumps), T/A truck pumps, Loves (hate them too). I will go to a regular station if I can see how to get in and out safely. For example in Riverside Texas there is Jack's Truck Stop which is a regular Chevron station with diesel at the car lanes and truck lanes. Normally I can make it from Flying J to Flying J without any problems.

caokgafamily said:

My 60 gal fuel tool with my 30 gal stock tank lets me roll over 800 miles towing. I refuel when I'm unhitched.

Steve

Click to expand...

This is what we do also!!

I've never had trouble using the big rig lanes except for occasionally getting stuck at the pump because of long lines at Subway! Some Pilots actually have a stand alone diesel pump out front or an RV station like Flying J. Some Flying J's RV station will not support a long RV. We just filled up at one that you had to use the auto lane if you were over 34 feet. Unfortunately, with the merger, the RV Fueler card only works at RV lanes, and auto lanes for Pilot and Flying J. Hopefully, soon they will fix the problems with the merger and also let the RV Fueler card work for pump start at the big rig lanes. For those interested, some Pilots now have DEF pumps at the big rig lane (usually lane 1) and it's CHEAP! Less than $3/gal!

We just fill the Cyclone tank at a Flying J or use 5 gal fuel cans.

If you need fuel and are not comfortable with the way the pumps/islands are laid out- just drop the trailer. The aggravation you will save yourself from will more then make up for the inconvenience of doing a quick unhook - hookup.

I always use the truck lanes even when not towing. In winter it's the only place to get #1 and in the summer it's far faster. Typically the only other pump with diesel has a car pumping gas so I've never had a trucker complain. Just make sure you pull forward when done. Alas we don't pay first in the great white north. You can pump $1200 worth of fuel, pull forward around or to the lanes and walk in and pay your bill. Truckers are required to call in with their account number pre-fill...

Currently diesel in California is running between 3.49 & 3.69/gal in metro areas!
Regarding truck stops here, I've never had an issue going through a truck stop in the truck lanes, although I will use the amateur pump out front, if I can get in and out safely. You don't slip and slide as much in the diesel spills.

Well that's not good. I stopped using the RV Islands at these truck stops. It was a pain to maneuver in the tight space with my rig. One time while I was waiting in line, I was blocking traffic and I could tell people where upset. Pilot and Flying J should designate one pump in the truck area for RVs. I found one truck stop in CA that did just that. It makes no sense to have RVs going though with all the cars.

truknutt said:

I was wondering the same thing as I have both the Pilot & Flying J RV Real Value Cards which I now use at either establishment. One of the new stipulations is that you can't use the Big Rig lanes and receive your discounts. Another temporary stipulation is that you have to use the RV lanes to receive your discounts until future notice.

Here is the Pilot/Flying J RV Loyalty FAQ link.

Click to expand...

We have always used the truck lanes with no problem. It is sometimes an annoyance to have to go inside and leave a card behind(we have one card that we use for this purpose only). After filling, I then pull up and go in to pay.

The discount at Flying J is good at any lane, RV, regular or truck. No problem whatsoever. I just got the new card and they are planning to add pump start at the truck lane to it. Apparently it has pump start at the RV lane already. We didn't get our full discount at a Flying J RV lane. We needed propane so we decided to stop and use the RV lane, besides small hoses, we used 2 pumps(2 tanks-they wern't a master/slave set up) and they only applied the discount to one pump. I didn't catch it at the time so it is our loss.

My biggest frustration is that each truck stop does thing differently. We just stopped at one where I had to pre-pay(tell them how many $$ I wanted, would not pump more than I paid for and this was during the day on the truck side) before I could even pump!!! This was a Flying J. Wierd!!! I think it was in Knoxville area. Most of the time we just leave our card behind at the truck desk. We have dual tanks and find filling up on the truck side is much faster, usually high speed pumps.

A book we use is Fueler's Friend. It has the diesel stations both by Interstate and town. Have bought it for years and use it extensively.

There is only one thing to remember when you use the truck lane and that is fuel and move forward to allow the truck behind you to start fueling while you are paying.I also use the truck stop guide runs about 20 bucks and can be gotten at most major truck stops.This seems to be the most accurate fueling guide.I pull oversize loads and cannot make mistakes.if any super trucker jets upset with you using the truck lane just tell the jerk to get bent.

WE have used the truck lane for 11 years and never had a problem with a trucker. Even on the road, most trucksers(like 4 wheelers) are courteous.

Interesting story:

A few years ago we were bob-tailing and decided to fill up our MDT at the Rv pump since the truck side was all backed up. Both the trucks and the 4 wheelers exited on the same street. This was a very busy Flying J and traffic was continuous. After we pulled into the RV lane we realized getting out was going to be a problem, the truckers weren't letting anyone out. After filling up we pulled up to the exit and planned on a long wait between trucks. Lo and behold, the next truck stopped and let us out, then immediately blocked the 4 wheelers!!!! We thanked the truck driver and chatted with him going down the road. Had an enjoyable 15 minute chat.

Slightly off subject: Last year while arriving at the Nashville Rally, the ever most excellent Capitol One called to verify some charges. Their computer flagged a charge of over $3,000 that was made in Turkey. Of course it was not my charge and Capitol One took care of it. Now I refuse to leave my credit card with anyone for a long period of time. I haven't stopped at a Pilot or Flying J the past 6 months. The next time I do, I intend to show them my credit card and leave my driver's license. It is good that I'm protected by Capitol One but dealing with the aftermath of a wrongful charge is an inconvenience.

Has anyone tried just leaving their driver's license at these establishments or others?