Say you’ve just left the campground and you’re getting ready for a long day of driving. You have a little more than a quarter tank left. Someone told you there’s cheap gas about 3 miles ahead, but your favorite brand of gas station (say, Shell) is just around the corner.
Will you fill up at the Shell because it’s your favorite brand, or will you risk spending less money and drive the 3 miles ahead?
Once you’ve voted in the poll below please leave a comment. Thanks!
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More likely can we get our 38′ gasser + toad in and out of the pumps?
I base it on my ability to easily and safely maneuver my 38 foot motorhome with TOAD into and out of the gas station without bottoming out going into the entrance.
Accessibility to pumps is main factor
My RV does not use fuel; the tow vehicle does. While price is a small concern, I prefer to purchase Top Tier detergent gasoline. Not all brands meet this standard, but many do. So more important to me is to purchase from the brands that are Top Tier such as Shell, Chevron, Marathon, Exxon, or Mobil, etc. And while it is Top Tier, I avoid Citgo due to its ownership.
Mudflap or OpenRoad diesel fuel discount – big rig friendly stations. With 76 gallon fuel capacity and 11-12 mpg I only fuel up at stations along my route.
RV access is a consideration. Price is #2. I see no difference in brands.
Access for the RV is the main constituent price
Price is primary* – that said, I try to look for brands that use the Top Tier gasoline additive if the price is comparable. Maybe myth, but I suspect not. Most gasoline engine manufacturers have said it prolongs engine life. *price based on the net of pump less ‘loyalty discounts’.
If we’re towing our 43 ft 5th wheel, accessibility is top priority before price. However, when we fill up prior to hitching, price is a factor as long as it’s relatively close to our location, too far out of range defeats the purpose entirely.
price…..but equally important, I look for easy in/out stations, especially when towing our dolly.
Only use local off brands in a pinch as the station and tank conditions are more important versus a few pennies less.
The brand names are pretty much irrelevant, because the pipelines that go to the storage terminals have several brands of gas, or diesel going into them. The tanks at the storage terminals is where the trucks load out of and go to the gas stations. I hauled gas and diesel for 15 years, so I’m somewhat familiar with how gas is delivered to various brand name stations.
Base it on accessibility, i.e. pumps parallel to the building. We find in the last few years the gas station is the mekka for hanging out. Perpendicular pumps and parked cars make access impossible. We usually end up at shell since they seem to have parallel pumps most often
I always fill up at truck stops, in the trucking lanes when towing, and mostly when bobtailing. As with Mudflap & Open Roads, my fleet discount card requires it. 7
Usually price, however I’m a member of Shell and get a 10 cent discount so if Shell is in the the discounted price I buy Shell. Sometimes my discounted price is less than the cheap brand which makes me happier.
We buy on price with one caveat, we like to ensure that have at least 50% # 2 diesel if we need to fuel up and can only find biodiesel available. We try to use 10% biodiesel mixture, but on occasion have used 15% with more than 50% #2 already on-board.
I always seek out the Kroger brand stations because my Kroger connected credit card gives me an extra 55 cents off per gallon in addition to the grocery fuel points. And I buy Amazon cards that yield 4 times fuel points for all my Amazon purchases. I’ve been doing this for years and the total savings are really significant.
I have the Flying J credit card that gives me 5 cents off per gallon.
So if I’m traveling where there are Flying J/Pilot gas stations I usually go there.
If not, my second choice is the price.
Really, neither. Availability, ease of access is first. Then price. Wait until the next state, etc.(Get OUT of Calif.) If a few cents either way is a killer, you’re in the wrong arena.
Let’s add Washington to your list. We are here in WA & I see that fuel prices here are equal or even higher than CA in many cases. Spoke with a neighbor RV’er last week who lives in WA & said that WA had significantly added to the fuel taxes driving costs way up.
Actually, our primary factor is can we get in & out of the station, then the price. If we can’t get in/out the price is of no concern. Unfortunately, the filler on our rig is on the back wall, and we are usually towing a small car. So, the pumps that face the convenience store are just out of the question. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right combination of access & price.
I try to avoid bio-diesel if possible then I choose the lesser cost fuel if it is convenient to my travel route.
Most of the time, it’s ease of access. The next factor is it on the same side of the street as our exit route so we don’t have to have cross traffic getting out.
When traveling with our Travel Trailer and I need gas, I look for the station with the easiest in and out for our trailer and don’t look at price at all or whose brand it is.
We stopped on our last trip for a 30 cent per gallon savings at a station that was pretty small but the pumps were parallel to the road and the building which is usually the best.
But… then the delivery truck arrived blocking my exit route. This forced us to back out onto the road so we could get out. Fortunately this station was on a corner and the road we were backing on to was under construction and had less traffic than normal. Even then we made about 4 other cars wait and had to ask the one directly behind us to move or else he would not be getting gas until the delivery truck left.
Price and fuel pump location…… at almost 65 feet long, it’s truck stops for us!
Other. We buy based on where we are going (not going too far out of the way for gas) and stations that have nice, big, easy access for our 37′-motorhome-plus-Jeep setup. And if we pull up to an area with more than one option, we pick the less busy one.
actually, option 3…convenience getting
in and out. 95% of the time we choose Flying J regardless of price because FJ
usually has RV fuel lanes.
Ease of access is our #1 option, price #2
Access to station and pumps then price.
We use a diesel fuel discount card from TSD Logistics so we need to use the truck lanes as it does not work at the car/light truck lanes that are usually in the front of the store. Fresh fuel from the pumps is usually not an issue, we are limited to T/A, T/A Petro, Loves, Speedway, and several other lesser known stations. At last look we have saved over $1,200 dollars over 3-4 year period.
You should have added an option for ease of access. I will pay a little more for being able to easily drive my trailer in and out of the gas station.
Based on how easy it is to get my rig refueled
Neither.
We buy according to location and access.
I worked in the petroleum industry for well over 40 years and here is a fact. All gas comes from the same depot and as it is loaded brand additives are added. Like the rest of you I need a bit of space to fuel. 44′ toy hauler pulled by a 2000 western hauler. So diesel Island at the truck stop is about it for now 🤔.
I use shell’s best gasoline, because it has been shown to protect my engine. Other cheaper fuels don’t give the same mileage and power. I also use mobile I oil for the same reason.
While we generally fuel-shop by price, location (it really cuts into savings if we have to go 10 miles out of our way to save a few cents) matters. But the deal breaker for us is ingress and egress. Risk of damage to the coach, or being forced to unhitch matter, too.
Where the best deal is with TSD card.
Brands that match my gas cards, or the closest one.
Diesel is pretty much the same all around, so brands make no difference
I buy gas based on price primarily but with a caveat. I don’t want to have to drive very far to save money. If Costco has the best price but it’s 20 miles away and my vehicle gets 12mpg, then I’ll have spent $4 or more to save 10 cents per gallon. It’s not really worth that kind of drive.
Locally I buy at the same station, when traveling I buy at the cheapest station.
Locally, I buy from our Costco, which is 2 miles away. Lowest price of any place around here by .20/gallon, plus I use my PenFed 5% cash back card. On the road I use what’s convenient and easy access.
We use our brand of gasoline because there is always a station close by. And we fill up before checking in the RV park or campground almost always to avoid slowing our departure the next morning. Our gasoline stops are generally planned when we have made reservations in advance.
Price, using the diesel fuel discount card from TSD Logistics. With a 364 gallon fuel capacity between our main and aux tanks, price matters.