Purchasing Diesel fuel on trip

[ram17]

Thanks guys very useful info. Since I won't be towing this trip, my options are open.

 

[jgillott]

One more quick comment. Many of the Flying J locations have dedicated RV lanes with dump stations and extra wide lanes with both diesel and gas available. You can search on their website for those specific location.

Dump stations are $10 for non members and $5 with a loyalty card if you ever need it.

 

[6V92TA]

Thanks guys very useful info. Since I won't be towing this trip, my options are open.

even if you are towing you have the same options.. I don't for the life of me understand why some people are afraid to pull a trailer into a regular fuel station.

 

[Jim W]

even if you are towing you have the same options.. I don't for the life of me understand why some people are afraid to pull a trailer into a regular fuel station.

I won't fit in a regular fueling station. I am 55' long and 13'.6" tall. Most pumps have the lanes head on facing the store with the pumps on an island. I do not have enough room to mavevuer the truck and trailer with this design.

 

[KRSmitty]

I don't care what anybody else does with their money but Major Truck stops charge 20 or more cents per gallon more than the more mundane regular fuel stations do.. so unless you don't pay attention you never noticed how frigging expensive the major truck stops are ( Loves, Flying J, Pilot) truckers have discount cards for those places.. and they are paying for the parking. the local Pilot Truck Stop is $3.45 a gallon for Diesel, its closer to or slightly under 3 bucks everywhere else. and that little tidbit is consistent throught out the US. truck stops cost a bunch more.. hell we just came back from North Carolina pulling the 5th wheel and we pulled of in Micanopy Fl and I was getting to the point where I really neeeded fuel and the major truck stop there ( I know the brand but I can't think of it right now) was 330 a gallon, so I kept going and I got diesel fuel for 285 two miles away in Citra off of US 441.. just the way it is... 45 cents a gallon difference in two miles. want the convenience of a truck stop, you pay for it,,,

one of the reasons I have this in the back of the truck is I can save enough on a fill up to pay for a meal or something else while travelling..

X2...Walmart/Murphy is my go to place. Easily 20-40 cents cheaper a gallon...then another 5 cents off a gallon by using the Murphy card. I too have the 45 gallon aux tank, so I go fill up when I stop for the night (if needed) or at my destination. Never have had a bad tank from them.

 

[Flash1034]

I wish all Costco’s had diesel. Around here, only some do...

 

[KCJackson1]

When I've done road trips, I usually travel 500 miles, then look for the next diesel station. If it's a well-known name brand and right off the exit, I have found I can usually trust it if a truck stop is not nearby.

In addition to GasBuddy.com, I also use The Next Exit (available in annual book or can be subscribed online for browser or phone app). In addition to telling you what stations are at every interstate highway exit and whether they sell diesel, The Next Exit also includes restaurants, lodging, and other important stores and services within a reasonable distance of the off-ramp. That includes vehicle dealerships in case you need to find a CDJR shop in an unfamiliar location.
https://thenextexit.com/

 

[cerberusiam]

My unscientific guess is that if you aren't too far from the highway that the fuel turnover rate should be okay, especially if the fuel price is lower than that truck stops.

Nope, and this is why guessing is so dangerous. The lower price is partially overhead and delivery date and contracts. High volume stations are always going to be closer to the market price plus OH. The lower the volume the lower the price is going to be in a volatile market because they have not gotten a load lately. Chances are the time factor is not a problem but you have ZERO info on how and where the fuel was obtained. The truck stops cost more but not a lot. For that you get consistency and freshness of fuel. There is a whole lot more incentive for a Loves to have fresh clean fuel for the industry they server than the downtown Maverick is going to have from the single pump they provide.

On that note buying form Murphys or Kroeger or any other cut rate place attached to a store is downright dangerous. The amount of crap coming out of the tanks in those places is usual a good deterrent to continue to do so, if you care about fuel quality anyway.

the local Pilot Truck Stop is $3.45 a gallon for Diesel, its closer to or slightly under 3 bucks everywhere else. and that little tidbit is consistent throught out the US.

Nope, not consistent at all and an exception rather than the norm. 5-10 cents is normal in static supply\demand paradigm, for that you get fresher fuel with a better quality and easy in\out. When the price exceeds the 10 cent difference it will be in a volatile market like we have today and the little stores will eventually close the gap. Pretty that way anywhere west of the Mississippi. East of the big muddy is just a mess better not considered, it doesn't apply.

 

[kthaxton]

On that note buying form Murphys or Kroeger or any other cut rate place attached to a store is downright dangerous. The amount of crap coming out of the tanks in those places is usual a good deterrent to continue to do so, if you care about fuel quality anyway.

I buy nearly 90% of my fuel from a grocery store gas station, have done so for 15 years. Never had a problem, plus their tanks get filled by the same trucks that fill the other stations in town.

 

[Newsa]

I buy nearly 90% of my fuel from a grocery store gas station, have done so for 15 years. Never had a problem, plus their tanks get filled by the same trucks that fill the other stations in town.

It is true that most of them really get fuel from the same source.

The lowest price stations are more likely to have the freshest fuel because most people will buy from the lowest price station. I'm sure the grocery store sells alot of fuel because they get alot of traffic.

Never had a reason to believe and defeats any reason why low priced fuels would be lesser in freshness or quality. The low prices cause the quicker turn-over. And in my book are the safest

 

[NIsaacs]

[QUOTE="cerberusiam, There is a whole lot more incentive for a Loves to have fresh clean fuel for the industry they server than the downtown Maverick is going to have from the single pump they provide.

Where I live, Maverick is the go to fuel stop. There are four stations within a 30 mile radius of me. One just off I-40 in Holbrook, Snowflake, Showlow and Lakeside. Holbrook and Showlow are huge with several truck/rv lanes, the other two have about 8 car lanes each. They are new, attractive, big enough for truck & trailers and so busy I don't use them much, lol It seems like every time you drive by there is a fuel tanker unloading, they have their own trucks. I usually fuel at my local Giant station.

Maverick is the largest independent fuel company in the Intermountain West, with over 300 stations.

Nick

 

[6V92TA]

these are the fuel tanks at my job. Facility was built in 1985. originally had single walled underground fuel tanks. Now you know those were outlawed some years back so they went to double walled underground tanks... and now we have all above ground tanks. Five 12000 gallon tanks to be exact. Pretty much every fuel station in the United States has went thru the same process of replacing fuel tanks in the past.. so nobody you buy fuel from has some crappy old underground fuel tanks. its all modern clean filtered stuff, even at the most obscure fuel station in the middle of BFE.


back to the subject at hand.


I suspect, unless you are buying fuel out of 55 gallon drums at a flea market in BFE, it isn't something to worry about.

friend of mine just bought a 45 foot trawler. thing hasn't been ran in 10 years. has twin Cat 3208's.. he was going to get that old fuel removed, and have the tanks cleaned, but he had the fuel tested and it came back OK. then he inspected the inside of the tansk as good as he could by eye and they looked ok too. so he never did anything with the tanks... just replaced the filters and got it running. All on ten year old fuel.

 

[Newsa]

View attachment 107382 View attachment 107383 these are the fuel tanks at my job. Facility was built in 1985. originally had single walled underground fuel tanks. Now you know those were outlawed some years back so they went to double walled underground tanks... and now we have all above ground tanks. Five 12000 gallon tanks to be exact. Pretty much every fuel station in the United States has went thru the same process of replacing fuel tanks in the past.. so nobody you buy fuel from has some crappy old underground fuel tanks. its all modern clean filtered stuff, even at the most obscure fuel station in the middle of BFE.


back to the subject at hand.


I suspect, unless you are buying fuel out of 55 gallon drums at a flea market in BFE, it isn't something to worry about.

friend of mine just bought a 45 foot trawler. thing hasn't been ran in 10 years. has twin Cat 3208's.. he was going to get that old fuel removed, and have the tanks cleaned, but he had the fuel tested and it came back OK. then he inspected the inside of the tansk as good as he could by eye and they looked ok too. so he never did anything with the tanks... just replaced the filters and got it running. All on ten year old fuel.

Good info. Yes! I've seen about every station in this local area replace their fuel tanks. I thought it was just a Florida thing? But maybe It's federal?

Wow! 10 year old fuel still good? Would have never guessed.

Interesting info, but I guess it wasn't bio diesel.

A friend of a friend fills his power stroke with jet fuel at the airport. It's always fresh. Lol

 

[6V92TA]

Newsa, its an EPA thing on underground tanks.

I'm not an attorney or very knowledgeable about the rules, but almost everything used for hazardous substances nowadays, has to have some sort of secondary containment system and test wells and such around it to monitor for leaks into the groundwater

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Newsa, its an EPA thing on underground tanks.

We still have underground tanks here in Connecticut... gas & diesel.

 

[6V92TA]

We still have underground tanks here in Connecticut... gas & diesel.

the EPA didn't outlaw underground tanks, but they did require the installation of either double walled steel or some type of underground tanks with some type of containment system as well as types of leak monitoring equipment. This is a continuous process and it happened all over the US.
The newer storage requirements have put marginal fuel vendor's out of business, it is expensive to comply with.

my employer finally went to above ground storage, just because it is simpler and we have the room.
you can tell by the picture of the concrete barriers that they have hit the barriers more than once.

 

[Brocky]

As stated above the large truck stops, T/A, Petro, Flying J, Pilot and Loves, and toll road plazas (Trapped audience!!) are more expensive, QT's are usually a little less. I try to find the larger regional convenience store chains, like Sheetz in PA & VA, Hot Spot in SC, Marathon in the midwest especially if they have only 3-5 truck islands. Usually they have their car diesel pumps on the outside islands so you have room enough to swing a trailer.. Another thing to watch is price will vary from state to state due to the amount of fuel tax a state charges.. If you are coming out of Conn on I-84 stop at exit 1 in NYS. A 1/2 mile south of the exit you are in NJ with lower taxes!! Both a pilot and a Citgo there on the Jersey side!!

 

[JR]

the EPA didn't outlaw underground tanks, but they did require the installation of either double walled steel or some type of underground tanks with some type of containment system as well as types of leak monitoring equipment. This is a continuous process and it happened all over the US.
The newer storage requirements have put marginal fuel vendor's out of business, it is expensive to comply with.

my employer finally went to above ground storage, just because it is simpler and we have the room.
you can tell by the picture of the concrete barriers that they have hit the barriers more than once.

Is there a requirement for dike containment for those tanks? IE, if you have 10,000 gallon capacity fuel the dike capacity must be the same .

One of the local family owned farm fuel supply stations was shut down a few years back because their above ground tanks failed inspection and they couldn't afford new replacements. They were really ancient.

 

[kthaxton]

I am not well versed in the requirements for fuel station above ground tank storage, but in other regulations secondary containment is usually 110% of the capacity of the largest container. I'm betting the requirement is the same.

 

[BUrichich]

I lived in Dayton OH for the last several years, and have noticed diesel is 20-40 cents higher in Indiana. If you're going across I70 to Indy, there's a Marathon on Old Troy Pike in Huber Heights (the last exit before the I75/I70 interchange) that usually had the best price. If you're hungry, take I75 south to the Wyse Rd exit, there's a smorgasbord of good eats on Miller Rd. Note the Walmart/Sams does NOT have diesel. The Speedway at that exit has good prices, not always best. Never had fuel issues at these smaller places.

BTW: Highly recommend Winans Chocolate and Coffee. It's a local roaster that I like better than the green lady