I decided to write this post when I remembered the intimidation I felt upon first driving into a truck stop to fuel our motorhome. Do I belong here? Are the truckers going to be upset because this is their job and why are we RVers here? Do the pumps function like pumps at “regular” gas stations? Short answers: yes, no and no, respectively. Read on for lessons we’ve learned after filling almost exclusively at truck stops for 4 years (and watch this video we made of the entire process).

Note: This post assumes you’re driving a diesel RV of some sort (motorhome or pickup truck). If you’re not, don’t enter the truck lanes as only diesel fuel is available.

Why fuel at a truck stop?

• The main reason is ease of maneuvering. These locations are designed for huge sleeper cab tractors with 53′ trailers attached (aka 18 wheelers or semi trucks) to easily fuel. Our rigs, even the biggest 45′ class A motorhome, are significantly smaller than that, and all of our dimensions (height, width, length and weight) are guaranteed to be well under the design of any truck stop.
• The second is freshness of fuel. Diesel doesn’t like to sit (especially biodiesel, which is now commonly sold across the country). Truck stops have a very high turnover rate of fuel, ensuring the freshest diesel possible.
• There is no transaction limit on purchases. Gas stations typically have a $100 limit per credit card swipe, a number you’ll likely triple at some point.
• Finally, the truck diesel pumps have a larger diameter hose and nozzle than car diesel pumps, meaning a significantly higher throughput of fuel. No reason to stand around breathing fuel vapor any longer than necessary.
• Bonus reason: no passenger cars to deal with. Most car drivers have no clue how to drive in general, but they surely have no clue how to react in the presence of a big rig, and they show their ignorance all the time. For the most part, the drivers in the truck lanes know how to drive.

Some truck stops (mainly Flying J’s) now offer dedicated RV lanes that are separate from the truck lanes. Sounds perfect, right? Don’t be fooled. Skip the RV lanes outright (there is less room to maneuver, you deal with cars that have no clue, less turnover of diesel, slower throughput of fuel, and transaction limits). Basically, there is zero reason to use an RV lane unless you need propane, which is usually, although not always, located in the these lanes only.

Truck stop etiquette rules

Now that we’ve established using truck lanes is a good idea, what are some of the trucker rules of etiquette that we RVers should adhere to:

• Pull your rig up after fueling, while you go inside to pay, so that any truck behind you can start their process of fueling. This is quite different from gas stations, but it is definitely a rule that everyone knows and abides by.
• Don’t dawdle. Remember, the truckers have a job to do and don’t want to be delayed. If you want to buy food inside, go to the bathroom or anything other than pay for fuel, pull away from the truck lanes and find a parking spot.

Other Tips

If you don’t have a loyalty card (see the next section), you go inside before pumping and place a dollar amount on the pump number you parked at. You then fuel and go back inside again to get a final receipt. Yes, this is a pain which is why I recommend getting a card.

The pump will likely ask you the type of fuel you want, either tractor or reefer. You want tractor. Reefer stands for refrigeration and is used by refrigerated trucks to cool the trailer. It’s actually just diesel fuel and would not hurt if you accidentally used it, but it’s taxed at a lower rate and you don’t want to get caught using it.

There are two pumps at every truck lane, a master pump (drivers side) and a slave pump (passenger side). The pumps are set up this way because trucks have two independent, non-connected fuel tanks, one on each side of the tractor. They use both pumps simultaneously to full both tanks. We RVers can safely ignore the slave pump and only use the master since we have a single tank (at least on all motothomes I’ve looked at).

Truck stop chains (and discount fuel cards)

Most of the truck stop chains offer loyalty cards that offer either a discount on fuel and/or points towards food. The Pilot/Flying J chain has catered towards the RV crowd, and it seem to be working. We fuel there ~95% of the time and commonly run into other RVers. While the other chains (Love’s, T/A Travel Centers of America, and Petro) offer loyalty cards, they are geared more towards professional drivers, and some even require a commercial drivers license to get a loyalty card.

There are two different RV card options for Pilot/Flying J locations:

• Pilot Flying J RV card – This card is a no brainier for RVers who fuel frequently at Pilot/Flying J locations. You save 3 cents per gallon of diesel, save 10 cents per gallon of propane and you can dump your waste tanks for $5. That’s not even the best part: there is no need to go inside and prepay in order to start fueling. You just swipe your card at the pump and go to town. Note you need to turn on what is called “Pump Start” to enable this feature. Just ask inside on your first visit.
• Pilot Flying J RV Plus charge card – Similar advantages to above, but you save up to 9 cents per gallon of diesel depending on your level of Good Sam membership. Apparently you can also pay at the pump, meaning you never have to go inside. We don’t have this card as we don’t need yet another credit card.

Step-by-step instructions for fueling at a truck stop

1. Head towards the truck lanes. Flying J locations typically have 3 different fueling areas, all labelled as follows: Cars, RVs, and Trucks. As discussed above, don’t fall for the RV option and instead just head straight for the truck sign.
2. Choose a lane, any lane will do. On the east coast we’ve had to wait up to 30 minutes before even pulling up to a pump. In the west it’s likely you’ll have no wait.
3. As soon as the truck in front moves, pull up such that your drivers side fuel door is even with the pump nozzle. Note the truck will likely stop (effectively blocking you) as the driver will go inside and pay. 95% of the time the truck will be gone by the time you’re ready to roll. The other 5% I guess the driver is taking a shower (yes, this happened to us once).
4. If you have a loyalty card, swipe your card and follow the prompts. As of this writing, the prompts for a Pilot/Flying J are: zipcode where the card was registered, tractor fuel (vs. reefer) and Skip DEF (unless you need DEF).
5. Put on gloves, the handles are typically filthy with slimy diesel.
6. Fill like normal. It takes only a few minutes to fill up a 100 gallon tank.
7. Pull up far enough that another truck can start filling in your lane.
8. Go inside and pay. Do not take a shower! Do not sit down at Dennys and eat. Just pay, optionally get some fried truck stop food to go, and leave.