Worst place to run out of fuel.

[QRTRHRS]

Ever run out of fuel (or gas) in a real bad spot?

Back in the days before cattle chutes, they used to just shuffle vehicles onto two of the four lanes on an interstate highway. Two way traffic, no divider, plenty of accidents. Once in a while there would be a little turnoff area.

I had only ever pulled a flatbed trailer before when I had to take a box van out. My tractor's fuel guage did not work (sound familiar) so I used the mileage method. Running with a headwind, I figured maybe I would not make Baltimore, MD so I thought I would fuel in Harrisburg, PA.

This would not be a story if my plan worked. It did not but I was lucky to be by a breakdown spot. Someone had the next fuel stop send back five gallons of fuel with someone else for me. A few spins and my little 318 sputtered to life. Good thing there were good people out there that day. And no cops!

------------------
97'3500 SLT CC,4x4,5 spd,4. 10,94k,EBY aluminum flatbed,Dee Zee running boards,Dee Zee Platinum drop boxes,Mag-Hytec,BD Brake,Pyscotty,Jardine 4",Geno's monster tip,TST plate,370's,AFC, ATS, Bilstein,Isspro,PIAA Superwhites,Tekonsha Sentinel

 

[illflem]

Didn't run out of fuel in the classic sense,lift pump went out. 5 PM rush hour in a Salem OR,I-5 construction zone with concrete barriers,no where to pull off. Luckily there was a break in the barriers just a few hundred feet ahead with some constuction workers getting off work. They pulled me off on to a surface street with a backhoe,the traffic was already backed up for miles. Bummer was I had to wait till the next day for the dealer to fix it under warranty.

 

[Jeff H]

About ten years ago was heading home. I knew the tank was low. Just before I got to the bridges for I 94 I ran out. My get out of a jam card was used that day. #ad
#ad
There was a crew working on the bridge that day. I asked if they had some gas. They gave me there can and I filled up. I returned there can and gave en 10 dollars. That was the only day of the year they were working on the bridge.

 

[Briar Hopper]

Twenty years ago, driving my 67 Camaro home from college in Rochester,NY, I cut down through Pennsylvania and into West Virginia, what I thought would be a better route than Ohio. This was long enough ago that West Virginia was still largely undeveloped, and SCARY. Very few exits with fuel stops. I had no idea it was that bad. To Make matters worse, the college theater had been showing the movie "Deliverance" all week previous to Thanksgiving, and I'd gone to see it. Bad move. #ad

Anyway, getting close to empty,it's 6 P. M. ,cold and snowing, I get off the interstate and head north, towards what appears to be a town, 15 miles away from the highway. At this point, my gauge's needle is way down past the empty mark, first time I've ever seen it go that far. One solitary rundown general store with 2 old pumps out front, and an old strange looking guy working by himself. I handed him a $20 for 10 gallons when he finished pumping. He didn't bother to give me change back. I figured anybody carrying a gun that big stuck in their waistband deserved a good tip, I got out of there pronto...
I never, ever went back to West Virginia, until last year...
And it gave me plenty of joke material...
What's a West Virginia credit card? A 5 gallon gas can and a siphon hose...
Of course, the state's come a long way since then, and I enjoy my drives through there. But I have to wonder at a certain reflexive puckering action in my lower extremities, as I drive past a certain exit outside of Huntington, West Virginia, #ad

 

[Jff24Gordn]

I ran out in my ram at 2 am sunday morning on a middle of nowhere back road. And it was raining. This was after I had pulled a F250 4x4 around a parking lot with a chain. #ad
#ad
#ad
It was about 6 miles to my house. I wasnt for sure I had ran out due to mileage not adding up. I messed with it for half an hour before giving up. I had walked 200 feet when the first car in half an hour showed up. Luckly I knew him, and this being in the country, most poeple will pick up other people. Went back the next day, played with it, pulled it home, figured out it was empty, refilled it, and was on my way.

------------------
1996 2500, 4x4, 5 speed
-- email address removed -- Great Lakes TDR
PURDUE STUDENT 
GO BOILERS

 

[HDH]

How about running out of fuel in South Central LA, During the RIOTS!. .
Been there, Done That!.
But I Had Friend with Me Named Glock!
Doug.

 

[Briar Hopper]

During the riots? How about out of AMMO, never mind the fuel! I always have extra boxes with me, though I doubt it'd help. I had a cop friend tell me once, long ago, when we were both griping about the ban on high-capacity magazines, that if I needed more than the 24 rounds in the 2 clips of my SigSauer, my odds of surviving were near zero. Off topic, sorry, but couldn't resist.

------------------
Tom M.
Secretary of the Great Lakes Turbo Diesel Registry GLTDR B. A. D. Boys www.lubedealers.com/meers.html