Admiting to your blunders........

[Glenn and Lorraine]

If there is one thing about the MOCers we are not affraid to admit when we screw up. In the past I admitted to cutting a corner too short and doing slight damage to the Monty. I also admitted to forgeting to open the black tank valve while flushing the tank. Both of these cost little to no money but yesterday I put out nearly 500 bucks for my biggest blunder.....

As we were headed back to Allentown from Sarartoga I pulled into the Flying J at exit 219 on I-81 for fuel.
(I'll bet some of you know already what's coming next)
As we pulled in we always have to look to see exactly were the diesel pumps are located. I immediately spotted them to be on the end island and pulled up.
As I was exiting my TV, I was distracted as directly in front of us was a mini van with the lady driver seeming to be having a problem understanding the "Pay At Pump" process.
(Have the rest of you figured out my mistake yet?)
As I was paying more attention to her and her dilema I was't really paying that much attention to what I was doing as I pulled the nozzle and proceeded to fill up the Chevy.
(Surely you figured it out by now)
Well the mini van finally pulled away and I finished filling up, hung up the nozzle took my receipt and pulled the rig aside and we went into the store to use the facilities. As we left the store and walked accross the lot I commented to Lorraie that the 2.29 diesel price on the sign was incorrect and that the price at the pump was actually 2.18.
(If you haven't figured it out by now....)
Well Lorranie pulled the credit card receipt out of her purse and sure enough the price was 2.18. Problem is the receipt also read 19 gallons---Unleaded Premium. I thought that also had to be wrong as I looked back at the pumps. Realizing I may have had a brain fart I removed the fuel cap and stuck my nose in the opening.
Well to make a long story short it cost me $404.00 for towing, evactuating the contaminated 26 gallon mix of diesel/premium, 4.00 a gallon to dispose of the contaminated fuel, replace the fuel filter and labor. That 404 does not include the monies paid for the initial fill up nor does it include the 26 gallons of fresh diesel.
AND to add insult to injury...The original price of 2.29 per gallon went up to 2.33 per gallon while they were working on the TV.

[CountryGuy]

Glenn,

That surely is an owie!!

Correct me if I am wrong, seeing that you did not drive it, you saved yourself additional damage and more expense??

Those brain burps sure are nasty, eh??

We feel your pain!

[Jeff Heiser]

DOH! I hate when that happens. I did the opposite once and only once. I put diesel in a car we had instead of gas and then drove it. I wasnt as lucky as you though, it cost me a new motor.

Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida

[steves]

Glenn...ouch!That's always been my biggest fear that someday I will do the same. You can consider yourself lucky that you discovered the error before you were running down 81 and had more serious problems.

Steve

[RonS]

I did about the same thing, but caught my error after about 5 gal of gas. Just topped off with diesel and kept my fingers crossed and continued down the road. No problems in fact I think it ran a little better.

[Bill DeMeulle]

I used to have a ford diesel, pulled up to the pump with the green handle and pumped in 24 gallons in the front tank and 17 gallons in the back tank before I found out it was gas and they changed the handles. Had to have it pumped out, had to buy certified containers for the gas, take it to a high hazard dump, and throw away the containers. Everyone gets to do this only once!

[sreigle]

Ouch! I'm sure glad it didn't do any engine damage to add insult to injury. I also live in fear of doing this. I'm pretty cautious but more than once I've had a brief panic attack and looked at the pump to doublecheck I was pumping diesel. I've seen those green handles on gasoline pumps like Bill mentioned, too.

Glenn, did you have an emergency road service to tow the rig? In other words, was the $404 just for the pumping and cleaning or did that include the tow?

By the way, if anyone is in or passing through Goshen, IN, there is a Speedway station on highway 33 in Goshen, east side, north of the Walmart SuperCenter a mile or so. They, like many stations in Indiana, post a pump price for "tax exempt" vehicles. They are supposed to add on the tax for private vehicles. We filled up there several times while in Goshen and they never added the tax. I was paying 2.039 while everyone else was paying 2.199 and more at other statinos. JLBOZ60 was in Goshen while we were there and told me they did they same for him.

[Bowie]

Ouch ouch ouch! Sorry to hear of the mishap Glenn!! Just thankful that no further damages were caused by distance driving. Like many others, this problem has been one of our biggest fears.

[FredG]

Glenn what were you doing looking at another woman anyway? You're a married man! lol. Good thing you caught it before you moved.

Jen

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Actually I only moved the rig about 40 to 50 feet. I was fortunate enough to have to use the facitities. Had we not gone inside and just pulled out as normal I would have been running down I81 when all he## would have probably broken loose. Don't think the engine warranty would have covered this blunder.

[Bill Hill]

Whenever we're on the road and Shari says we should stop for gas, I correct her, we have to stop for fuel. I don't ever want to be thinking gas when we stop, I'm liable to do the same thing.

[stiles watson]

Thanks for the confession, Glenn. It should be helpful to us all. I am a little confused as to what is being confessed though. Guess it makes no never mind, the consequences are the same. Sorry for your loss. Glad it wasn't worse.

[uhftx]

Hi Glenn and Lorraine,

So sorry to hear about your mishap. I thought most of the pumps at the truck stops were something like 80% diesel pumps.

The nozzle size is generally larger.

I can sometimes go by the color of the handle (any color with grey mixed in). It usually looks old greasy and worn. If it looks too clean to be a diesel nozzle you can bet I'll quadriple check.

I too have almost made that mistake. I hate pulling into an unfamiliar station and having to search for the diesel pumps when towing. With the prices today its a little easier to find the diesel pumps (look for the highest price) ouch!. It never use to be this way, just the opposite as a matter of fact.

I was wondering why it took you so much time to get back on the board.

I don't have a lot of time in the mornings to write so I'm mostly just reading. When you get a chance, remember to post the imperfect storm story on our last day in Saratoga.

Best of luck to both of you with many safe miles ahead.

Chris

[jrgwdenner]

Ouch, sorry to hear of your blunder but thanks for having the courage to share. It's a good reminder for all of us.

[Bill and Ann]

Glenn: She must have been cute. I always use the RV pumps at Flying J. I know the last nozzle is diesel, but I still double check. The same thing happened to my brother with his diesel and I check and recheck now.

[rames14]

Glenn and Lorraine -

Sorry to hear about your problem. That is one of my two bigget fears. Second biggest fear is hitting the cab with the Monty. Guess that's what insurance is for - life's little annoyances. Glad to hear it wasn't worse.

[mgdg]

WOW Glenn betcha that hurt!! That`s one expensive fill-up, when I go to the Flying-J I pull in with the big trucks now. I never use the car island. Sometimes its to tight in there, I caught one of the yellow poles and put a little ding(4"x2") on the lower aluminum near the basement door on the drivers side. After that I only fill up at Flying J`s or truck stops. Sorry for the mishap but I think sooner or later we all make one, and I dread filling up with gas too!!

[DarMar]

TOTALLY understandable Glen! One can't be too careful in this area. I always find myself double checking while I am actually pumping the fuel in, by that time of course it would be tooo late! Thanks for posting a good reminder for all of us!

[Wordsmith]

Glenn,

You have just admitted to one of my worst fears! I try to check and then double check to make sure that everything says deisel when filling up, but even them I have this overwhelming fear that the pumps are mislabeled. Extremely sorry to hear that this happened to you; hopefully, your confession will be a reminder to ALL of us!

You know, though this would not stop us from putting gas into ours tanks, there should be more regulation about the size of diesel nozzles as well. There is one station nearby where the diesel tanks are in the back so that long tractor trailers can easily access the tanks, but my point here is that the nozzles are larger and you can feel the heftiness of the asembly itself. If all were like this, it might be a tactile reminder to us!

[bob n pam]

Oh my gosh! My worst nightmare. I'm glad you caught it immediately, but am sorry it cost an arm and leg. In our travels we have found diesel with green handles, black handles and no color at all. Your unfortunate accident will be a good reminder for us.