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Old 03-04-2020, 08:52 PM   #21
mtlakejim
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Some of the GPS units designed for RVs and or Truckers have next exit capability. It is a very handy feature. I for one will only stop at a truck stop. I absolutely hate driving around an unfamiliar town risking getting in a bind with a big rig. Truck stops are DESIGNED for big rigs use them and nothing else if your diesel. Even if your a gasser like the OP nearly every major brand truck stop (flying J, Pilot, Loves) have good sized car/gas fueling areas with tall canopies and a reasonable amount of room to get turned around. Why risk fueling anywhere else even if its cheaper? What your going to risk thousands in damage to save 2 bucks???? Seriously?????
 
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Old 03-04-2020, 09:56 PM   #22
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May I suggest that everyone do what I just did and go to the Pilot/Flying J website and lodge a complaint. FYI your limited to 300 characters in the text box but it doesn't tell you that up front!


You have to think that EFS/TSD is a far larger contract than Good Sam will ever be. I can't imagine that Pilot will want to miff off a trucking company for the few pennies they get from the Good Sams program.......
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Old 03-05-2020, 02:20 AM   #23
Stevengeri
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Trucker Path

Another great app is trucker path. It gives you locations and info on stops. Including fuel, rest areas, etc. I drive a semi long haul and have a 5er. Good tool for both applications
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Old 03-05-2020, 05:52 AM   #24
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I would not advise taking 95 through Miami. You will want to cut over to the Florida Turnpike from 95 as you get closer to "South Florida" i.e. at Ft. Pierce or even further south in North Broward County at SW 10 St. That will solve your fuel issue at that point since you can use the service plaza's.

Obviously there will be tolls so you want to also consider getting a Sun Pass, Florida's version of the prepaid tolls. They're available in service plaza's and not real expensive - $20 I think.

Where are you staying in the Keys?

Safe travels.
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Old 03-05-2020, 06:22 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by Daryles View Post
Google maps satellite view to see if we can fit, turn around. Carry a gas can. You can always disconnect in a nearby parking lot.
This is best if you are concerned about getting in and out. Takes all the stress out of fueling if your super low. Early on I disconnected on the side of the road once to fuel. Now I have a inbed fuel tank. I can`t drive enough to empty both tanks before I stop for the night then we go out and eat and fuel locally.
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Old 03-05-2020, 06:52 AM   #26
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I'm also a member of that club that doesn't care for truck stops. I use regular auto gas stations, although my truck is diesel. The challenge with diesel pumps, is finding them. Very few gas stations have the diesel pumps marked boldly enough you can actually see where they are located before pulling into the lot.

Still, I'd rather do this than put up with all the nasties at truck stops. Besides, in Indiana there are 2 different fuel prices, and they are always confusing, especially at truck stops. There is "Auto" price for the civilian drivers, which includes taxes. And then there is "Exempt" prices for commercial carriers. When pulling up to the commercial truck pumps, you never know which is right, since I'm not a commercial carrier. Very confusing. That's why I prefer the pumps at the "normal-regular" gas stations. Not to mention, I've not seen very many truck-stop big rig pump bays that are actually clean. The one exception is the I-80 Truck Stop in Iowa. Now that one is fantastic. It's the only exception I've seen.

But, maybe my mind set is different. I kind of like challenges, and I find it interesting to attempt to conquer awkward parking situations with my 41 foot 5er. So, navigating the truck and 5er to the pump and then navigating out of the fuel station add to the overall camping experience. Plus it forces me to sharpen my driving skills.

About overhead clearances? I've never had a problem with that. The fuel stations that have lower canopies? Well, almost always, they have very difficultly laid out pump lanes that are almost impossible to navigate with even a Volkswagon Bug. And, I've learned to avoid fueling in metropolitan areas. This also eliminates the really tight or impossible to navigate fuel stations. When towing, I try to fuel up in less populated or congested areas.

Also, we use the GasBuddy app, which is great for locating stations that sell diesel, and then comparing with Google Map (satellite view), helps a lot in determine if I even want to try the next station up the road. That's what my wife does when I'm driving. She's comparing GasBuddy with Google Maps for easier access to the pumps, because sometimes....they really are impossible to navigate with a 41 foot 5er!
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Old 03-05-2020, 06:57 AM   #27
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I have a 34'er and I don't go to truck stops for fuel. I get fuel at gas stations all the time. I have a diesel and never a problem. truck stops are expensive and busy all the time. I don't use google maps. I plan my trip in advance as to where to stay. I look at all the campgrounds that I want to stay at.. Write the name phone and address in a binder with dates of stay. You can't always plan fuel stops. If you use fuel buddy you can try to get fuel at a dissent price. Just be careful. Sometimes Gas Buddy had me going off the path I was on towing and you really have to watch bridges and stuff like that. If you are unhooked than Gas Buddy is the bomb. I don't use any special GPS just the one in the truck. I have had no issues in 35,000 miles towing across the USA. I have been to a lot of places in 4 years.
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Old 03-05-2020, 08:14 AM   #28
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We use truck stops when on the road. We prefer FJ/Pilot they are easy in, easy out and most of them are RV friendly some of the older pilots do not have RV pumps and you still have to use the truck pumps which is not a big deal IF you know how to use them. FJ/Pilot has a RV plus card that give a fair discount. They have plenty of parking for a rest stop and restaurant's if you choose. We will not drive 55 feet of Truck and RV a few miles up a secondary road or jam ourselves into a small fuel station to save a few cents. We have traveled over 15K miles since 2006 nad have no problem with truck stops.....just our choice.
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Old 03-05-2020, 09:48 AM   #29
wade
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Spend the extra $$ and get a in bed fuel tank or the toolbox / fuel tank combo. Can be set up so just a flip of a switch on you dash and your fueling up your factory tank. Good for another 2-300 miles
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Old 03-05-2020, 10:14 AM   #30
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HAd a ford f350 that I traded in in Jan for a new Ram 3500, the Ford had a 40 Gal Aux Diesel tank, after having that spare fuel tank there was no way in hell I was not going to install one in my Ram.

As I looked for tank I wanted to stay under 50 Gal and also have a tank that sat below the bed rails as I have a Tonneau cover. Problem was 90% of the tanks out there sat above the bed rails.

I ended up buying a 46Gal Aluminum Tank from Tank and Barrel, the height was just below the bed rails and only used 12" of the bed. I went 46 Gal vs smaller as all 46 is not usable so I have a usable qty of about 41-42, and that applies to most tanks.

This tank made by Aluminum Tank Industries in Florida comes with everything you need (also included the Fuel Gauge) to DIY install. It only takes 2-3 hours to install and looks great in the bed. Now combined with the stock 32gal (which holds more like 36-gal) and the new usable 42gal I am pushing 80 gallons with a towable range of 750 miles before desperate for fuel. With that you can easily pick you stops.

This was the best truck addition I made and it is cheap (about $700 delivered) and easy.

Note: there are two types of fuel delivery, Gravity feed and electric pump, my ford was electric and the Ram gravity and frankly there is NO advantage to electric, in fact simply more to go wrong with electric, like forget the pump is on, pump failure, whereas gravity feed is easy and pretty much fail proof.

https://www.tankandbarrel.com/rectan...nk-p-1223.html



I will never drive more than 750 miles in a day and will mostly fuel after unhooked, however even if needing fuel between stops I can carefully select best options.

An Aux tank also end rang anxiety, we also have a Tesla and supercharges are generally 80 miles a part, we have a range of about 265 miles, this creates a fair amount of anxiety and planning for recharging, this is probably the ONLY downside to electric. However Tesla has done a great job of supercharger locations but there is still some anxiety when you get down below 30%. The Aux tank eliminates all Fuel anxiety makes traveling so much more relaxed especially if you are covering some serious miles
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Old 03-05-2020, 10:59 AM   #31
DebNJim B
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I also have an aux tank. Mine is lower profile and fits nicely between the cab and 5er hitch. It's low enough that I can stack our camp chairs on top and still clear for the toneau cover. Total capacity now is about 60 gal or roughly 600-700 miles. Since we generally go 250-300 miles per day it works great. If we unhook for the night I search around with gas bubby for fuel. Usually cheaper when you get a few miles from the Interstates. If for some reason I don't want to unhook I still have enough for the next leg of the trip. With my back and sciatica I can't do more than 5-6 hours driving. Besides I'm retired and in no hurry. We also use IExit on the phone, Google maps and Waze along with the Next Exit book.
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Old 03-12-2020, 10:43 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by Rdt1012@att.net View Post
RDS auxiliary tanks can be used with either gasoline or diesel (with kit)
The gravity feed kits that you buy to gravity feed the rds tanks are called diesel
install kits and say not to be used with gasoline.

At least that's what I saw when I deliberated on them for months. I ended up buying an rds tank with a pump in the toolbox because I didn't like the idea of having bottom flow and a valve in the bottom of the bed to be knocked off.

I run diesel btw.
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Old 03-12-2020, 10:55 AM   #33
lightsout
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Originally Posted by Fish View Post
The gravity feed kits that you buy to gravity feed the rds tanks are called diesel
install kits and say not to be used with gasoline.

At least that's what I saw when I deliberated on them for months. I ended up buying an rds tank with a pump in the toolbox because I didn't like the idea of having bottom flow and a valve in the bottom of the bed to be knocked off.

I run diesel btw.
You realize that even pumped systems draw from the bottom of the tank... Plus you can put an in line filter on both gravity and pump feed. The valve for gravity feed is on the ends of the tank, they are not in harms way at all.

I had a pump feed on the 2011 F350 I traded for the new Ram 3500 which I installed gravity feed. I chose Gravity this time as the pump feed you have to be careful to make sure you do not accidently pump when your main is full. Frankly I did not see the benefit of pump feed for near triple the cost. That is not to say Pump is bad it is just personal preference.

By the way Gravity feed the outlet is about 1" above the bottom of the tank so if you have more sediment/bacteria/sludge than that you have a much bigger problem.
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Old 03-12-2020, 12:04 PM   #34
Fish
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You realize that even pumped systems draw from the bottom of the tank... Plus you can put an in line filter on both gravity and pump feed. The valve for gravity feed is on the ends of the tank, they are not in harms way at all.

I had a pump feed on the 2011 F350 I traded for the new Ram 3500 which I installed gravity feed. I chose Gravity this time as the pump feed you have to be careful to make sure you do not accidently pump when your main is full. Frankly I did not see the benefit of pump feed for near triple the cost. That is not to say Pump is bad it is just personal preference.

By the way Gravity feed the outlet is about 1" above the bottom of the tank so if you have more sediment/bacteria/sludge than that you have a much bigger problem.
I should have explained it better. I have a pump and an actual fuel nozzle like at a station that I pull out of my tool box and then fill up my main tank, the tank isn't plumbed into the truck in any way. I just feel that it's safer in the case someone t bones me.
I don't have to worry about a fitting at the bottom of the tank getting knocked off and spewing fuel everywhere.
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Old 03-12-2020, 12:20 PM   #35
lightsout
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Originally Posted by Fish View Post
I should have explained it better. I have a pump and an actual fuel nozzle like at a station that I pull out of my tool box and then fill up my main tank, the tank isn't plumbed into the truck in any way. I just feel that it's safer in the case someone t bones me.
I don't have to worry about a fitting at the bottom of the tank getting knocked off and spewing fuel everywhere.
Yes that is very different
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Old 03-12-2020, 12:22 PM   #36
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This is what I have

https://www.tankandbarrel.com/refuel...mp-p-2441.html
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Old 03-12-2020, 12:28 PM   #37
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I've typed this here before but If I were not able to replace our
gravity feed aux tank, I wouldn't take $5k for it.
Its already been in two trucks and will go in the next one as well.

So much less stressful being able to pick and choose where
and when we refill. Not to mention the money we have saved by fueling
away from truck stops over the last 10 years we've owned it.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:25 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lightsout View Post
HAd a ford f350 that I traded in in Jan for a new Ram 3500, the Ford had a 40 Gal Aux Diesel tank, after having that spare fuel tank there was no way in hell I was not going to install one in my Ram.

As I looked for tank I wanted to stay under 50 Gal and also have a tank that sat below the bed rails as I have a Tonneau cover. Problem was 90% of the tanks out there sat above the bed rails.

I ended up buying a 46Gal Aluminum Tank from Tank and Barrel, the height was just below the bed rails and only used 12" of the bed. I went 46 Gal vs smaller as all 46 is not usable so I have a usable qty of about 41-42, and that applies to most tanks.

This tank made by Aluminum Tank Industries in Florida comes with everything you need (also included the Fuel Gauge) to DIY install. It only takes 2-3 hours to install and looks great in the bed. Now combined with the stock 32gal (which holds more like 36-gal) and the new usable 42gal I am pushing 80 gallons with a towable range of 750 miles before desperate for fuel. With that you can easily pick you stops.

This was the best truck addition I made and it is cheap (about $700 delivered) and easy.

Note: there are two types of fuel delivery, Gravity feed and electric pump, my ford was electric and the Ram gravity and frankly there is NO advantage to electric, in fact simply more to go wrong with electric, like forget the pump is on, pump failure, whereas gravity feed is easy and pretty much fail proof.

https://www.tankandbarrel.com/rectan...nk-p-1223.html



I will never drive more than 750 miles in a day and will mostly fuel after unhooked, however even if needing fuel between stops I can carefully select best options.

An Aux tank also end rang anxiety, we also have a Tesla and supercharges are generally 80 miles a part, we have a range of about 265 miles, this creates a fair amount of anxiety and planning for recharging, this is probably the ONLY downside to electric. However Tesla has done a great job of supercharger locations but there is still some anxiety when you get down below 30%. The Aux tank eliminates all Fuel anxiety makes traveling so much more relaxed especially if you are covering some serious miles
Bought the same tank from the same folks. Won't have another truck without one. Also, the ATI folks were great to work with. Asked the to move the filler neck back to the back corner (closest corner in your picture) to clear the stationary portion of my Bak-flip cover and they said no problem. Also needed an 90 degree angle shutoff valve, they sent one no charge. I plumbed mine through and external fuel filter, solenoid valve and fuel pump, with a manual bypass valve in case the solenoid or fuel pump goes out. I was concerned about how fast gravity would keep up with fuel usage, but now don't think it would be a problem.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:46 PM   #39
mtlakejim
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Even if I had a gas burner, I would still fuel at truck stops. They are almost always located and designed for easy off/on to the highway and most have larger than average fueling areas with taller canopies even in the car bays. You will rarely get a second look from other folks at truck stop.


By contrast, fueling at a standard convience store usually means ackward entry and often your blocking other drivers in some manner. Your often going to miff someone off if not several other drivers as you try to contort your rig down congested city streets and turn into a location that was not designed with large vehicles in mind.


I get it that folks want to save money but with things like the EFS cards for diesel drivers coming out now so you get good discounts and can pay at the pump. It is extremely difficult for me to understand why anyone would put their rig at risk down unfamiliar city streets and possibly cause a very real traffic issue for other drivers. It only takes one slight miscalculation to cause enough damage to wipe out a lifetime of fuel savings.......why take the risk??? BTW with the EFS card and pay at the pump the truck drivers won't mind you at all so that argument is dead in the water now.
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Old 03-12-2020, 07:36 PM   #40
G & S Russell
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I’ve got an 80 gallon system from Aluminum Tank and Truck Accessories in Fort Worth. Mine is an L tank with a tool box. It automatically starts filling my main tank around 1/4 tank and stops at 7/8 tank. Don’t have to remember to do anything but drive. It has a filler cap on each side so you can use both pumps at a truck stop. It’s paid for itself just in the ability to wait and buy fuel where it’s cheaper. I’ve got about a 1,100 mile range now. This is the third tank I’ve bought from ATTA. Talk to Brad for more info on the Freedom Fill System.
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