Man, is it just me???? - Montana Owners Club

Ozz · 01-03-2007, 10:53 AM

Getting fuel has become an EPA and puzzle solving dilemma.
If you can find a station you can get your rig into and out of, the diesel pump states; "Pay inside", of course, if you slide your card, you get action: Credit or Debit? the robot asks?
Car wash? Yes or no, please...Receipt? yes or no, please...
Type of fuel? press button please; (Even though there is only the Diesel button available) Car wash? Please push yes or no; (Unfortunately 'Hell no!, and quit with the questions button', is not available.)
Then they have the warnings; 'No Smoking at the pumps', 'Turn off battery operated devices', 'You are responsible for fuel spills', 'Do not leave while filling tank', Disconnect switch available'; (But to find it you may have to walk around for 10 minutes)
'It is unlawful to dispense fuel in unapproved containers;' another sign.
When we get done with fueling, put the Diesel soaked nozzle and Handel back in place, wipe the spilled fuel off our shoes and reach for the receipt; a bonus! Please come inside for receipt...........

Go figure.
Ozz

bsmeaton · 01-03-2007, 11:05 AM

So Ozz, with all that confusion, at least you didn't set the nozzle back in the pump only to notice the GREEN nozzle next to you IS NOT the one you just replaced!!!!

For those gas burners, this is normal. For the diesel, IT IS NOT! $650 later and a free night at the Ford Campground, we were on our way!

Gonfishin · 01-03-2007, 11:11 AM

Ozz, Don't forget while fueling you reach for the window squeegee that has the very short handle. Of course the bucket only contains the remnants of a little bug infested dirty water. On the end of the handle there is usually not more than a small piece of sponge (all the bug net is gone) if there are any paper towels in the holder I feel like I should go in and buy a lottery ticket because today must be my lucky day. Gosh all this makes me want to run out and fill my truck.
Rick.

Parrothead · 01-03-2007, 11:21 AM

We simplify this process by rarely fueling while in tow. We park, unhook, have a cold one, go find a station and a good steak. It is a lot easier to fuel with just the TV, no Monty.
Happy trails..........................

Ozz · 01-03-2007, 11:24 AM

You guys are great! Brad, tell me that didn't happen! Rick, I gave up on the windshield smear devices, went to Pep Boys and bought the long handle scrubber and a bottle of Windex.

JH Sechelt · 01-03-2007, 11:30 AM

Know what your saying Ozz,

When we are down South, the Pump wants a Zip code when you swipe your Visa or MC. ZIP CODE?? We don't have a ZIP CODE, We have Postal Codes up here in the far North!! So put everything back in it's place and go in side the little store... stand in line behind every body buying their weeks worth of groceries or 6 packs of smokes. Then give up your credit card until You fill your truck up. ( hope they are not copying your card)Now go back inside.... Oh yea stand in line again..... Now the good news is... the pump doesn't automatically shut down after $ 50.00.
You can actually fill the tank right up. Each time you go through that, it's not hard to see why some have those extra fuel Tanks.

J&D

bsmeaton · 01-03-2007, 11:36 AM

Oh it happened Ozz, first week out. To really !@$^%! me off, it was Premium Unleaded at over $3.80.

Brad

ols1932 · 01-03-2007, 11:54 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Parrothead

We simplify this process by rarely fueling while in tow. We park, unhook, have a cold one, go find a station and a good steak. It is a lot easier to fuel with just the TV, no Monty.
Happy trails..........................

I'm with you. We usually park if at all possible and then go refuel. It sure is a heck of a lot easier to get in and out of the stations and we don't have to worry about the heighth of the canopy! Sometimes though, we have to refuel when hooked up but we are very choosey. Having two tanks allows us to be choosey where we stop. We try to find places that have a lot of room, if nothing else, so we can pull off to the side for a short run into the store and look around.

Orv

richfaa · 01-03-2007, 12:08 PM

To me the most unpleasant part of traveling is the ..fueling process..Just finding a place to fuel is a trip..as you may have noticed some of these Truck/Montana combos are not exactly short.We have the gasser and even Some flying J's will direct you to the Auto pump where you block the entire island and in some cases have to back out .Other places will not say if they have gas pumps at the diesel islands, some do..some don't..so you are driving around in circles attempting to find a pump.. I at one time tried to be polite and considerate...now we just bulldoze in and bulldoze out.We have been in some stations where our going in and getting out was..spectactular..

Mudchief · 01-03-2007, 12:55 PM

Ozz, that is way I put the large tank in the bed so I could limit my refueling experences.

rickety · 01-03-2007, 01:30 PM

Ozz welcome to the land of dreams and cheap station owners

LonnieB · 01-03-2007, 01:53 PM

Ozz, I know just what your saying. We really do need more technology at the pumps, NOT!!

Brad, your too funny. I do know though, how easy it is to do what you did. I have gone through the whole credit card process, punched all the buttons to answer their who needs to know questions, removed the nozzle, pushed the start button, and then noticed the green nozzle resting in it's cradle. The ease of making this mistake is the biggest reason I don't like the attendants in Oregon pumping my fuel.

Illini Trekker · 01-03-2007, 03:38 PM

Ozz just wait and pull up to a small town an older gas station with a roof built over the pumps . Of course the roof is not marked for height and you and your DW try too drive forward and look backward it see if the roof over the pumps would clear the trailer. Thats the campers version of long necks. SeeYa

FulltimeFollies · 01-03-2007, 04:42 PM

And all the time you are doing all this, some fool in a 1980 Ford Escort is behind you honking for you to hurry !!!!! He needs his 5.00 of gas.

jretz · 01-03-2007, 06:12 PM

The real frustration is manuvering to the pump at a Flying J that has such tight turns that trucks with tent trailers have trouble making them only to find out that someone before you broke off the nozzel. Then when you try to pull out a Class A RV trys coming in the way you are going out. When you do get to a pump that works the card reader is on the blink and you have to go inside just as the second girl behind the counter takes her brake and the only other cashier is handling a line of 5 truckers. After 30 min. you finally get to start pumping fuel. Then when you go in to pay, same cashier, no others working, and 6 truckers in line ahead of you. I go along with Parrothead, fuel up after parking the 5er.

Wrenchtraveller · 01-04-2007, 01:59 AM

I like Commercial Cardlocks and I have an auxilary tank that gives me the range I need to get to the next Commercial Cardlock. I use Petro Pass and Chevron. Fuel is cheaper, lot's of room and good windshield cleaning equipement.
In the States I hit any big commercial truckstop .

Emmel · 01-04-2007, 03:03 AM

J&D, when the station requires me to leave my credit card, I give them my drivers license instead. If that will not work, I will go across the street to the other station. This is also a good reason to check your cards everyday while on the road. There are a lot of cgs with WiFi now and if they don't have it, go to the local library. It pays to keep track of the cards when on the go!

Mrs. CountryGuy · 01-04-2007, 03:32 AM

Well, not sure what to say, life is tough on the road.

We just arrived RGV, hooked Tana and Big Butt on the 27th and did not unhook until yesterday afternoon. 8 days of hooked and fueling and finding stations and all that good stuff. Got lucky this trip, did not have to back out of one station.

OH, and all stations took the credit card and only found one pump that was non-functional, so we were lucky and just pulled forward to the next one.

If we drove each day only as far as the fuel lasted, hmmmmm, we would still be in Illinois??

Big Butt does eat fuel, as Al says, Big Butt can pass anything on the road, EXCEPT a gas station!

All moaning aside, we are thankful we can afford to go, physically able to go and happy to be in Tana again for a 3 to 4 month spell of longtiming!

Let the party begin!

richfaa · 01-04-2007, 03:48 AM

Carol..Glad you made that trip safely. The weather was good to us, at least to Albuquerque. We were a bit concerned about your trip considering the weather. We also stayed hooked up for 7 days..unhooking to find fuel was not a option and we only had a couple of "throat clutchers" concerning "ok we are in, now how do we get out" Now that all that is behind you...enjoy..

Pete Hanson · 01-04-2007, 04:47 AM

All this talk is confirming my biggest fear of having to find a diesel station off the highway while hooked up. (I'm a two year novice with a 5er) I drive by those stations and wonder how your supposed to get the rig in and out of them without knocking something over or taking something off the Monty. So far I've managed to fill up at highway service areas or while unhooked but I know the day is coming.

While traveling in NY last year I noticed some of the signs advertising fuel locations at the next exit had a small picture of either a truck or a car beside the word Diesel indicating whether they were truck friendly or not. I liked that signage but question its trustworthyness.

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