FILLING TOW VECHICAL

Hello all, weather getting colder and just counting down the days to waken the cat from her deep sleep.

Have a quick question and been reading the forumn and not seen any information on my question. I towed a tt for over 20 yrs and had not worried or thought of this, and I'm planning my first trip with the cat. (only been local so far within a tank of fuel from home). Does anyone know if all the gas stations have the same requirement for the roof height over the pumps? (have not seen ht signs on my local stations). Will have to fill up between destinations and dont really want to unhook if possible. My tt was 30ft and I never thought twice about pulling in for fuel. So with the cat now this should be a breeze since my over all length is much shorter now. Just the height is a concern. I know if I hit the truck stops this won't be an issue, but I cannot make it from one truck stop to another without hitting some "normal ones" (stations). I am at 12'6" mark. Hoping they use 14FT as a standard.

I've pulled under some canopies that looked pretty "tight" and were not labeled and I was just fine. I too am 12'6". I even went under a 13' overpass a while back. I was sweating bullets, but I put faith in my numbers and didn't have an issue!

But, to answer your question, I'm not sure there is an industry standard. However, I think you'd be hard pressed to find one that was under 13', and I've filled in some pretty small gas stations in some fairly remote areas. To your other point though I've been in some gas stations where length was more of an issue than height, but I've always made it out A-OK (knock on wood).

Good luck! And, if all else fails just park away from the pump and run in and ask the person behind the counter about the height. Better to be safe than sorry.

I do not believe there is a standard. I have seen a few already that were under 12'. Most were older stations. I stopped at a station in Maine this summer that was easily 14' to 15'. What I failed to pay attention to was the plastic advertising banner that they had strung from pole to pole below the canopy. I gave it a good stretch test with the vent cover but vent cover and banner both survived the stress test. Also went through customs going into New Brunswick Canada. There was no height warning and I was at the point of no return. Took 12'-4" cat under 12'-6" structure. Went real slowwwwwwwwwww and prayed. When traveling I always carry at least two five gallon cans of diesel for piece of mind. If you get to a station that you can't navigate or doesn't have adequate clearance you can always fill up with a can or two to get you to the next station instead of unhooking.

KH

Along interstate highways, most filling stations have canopies that are high enough for fifth wheels. There are exceptions of course. If the station looks old, and the canopy looks low, it is. Fortunately there are plenty of new modern stations along the interstates, so getting fuel off the highway shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the info I kinda wanted to believe this also so now we move forward with planning. Having a open top for the cat is not in my future plans.

Most fuel stations in the U.K. only have a clearance of 12' to 12'6'' so for me I all ways fill up with out the Cat, unless I am willing to pay 10p
(0.16) a litre more. I am also looking into the possibility of carrying extra fuel in a can just in case.
Sean

Its a lot less stressful pulling into a truck stop. If you've never been to one, just pull in and get behind a truck or hit a open lane.
Fill up--- Then pull forward so the next truck can go ahead and start pumping while your paying. You'll have to let them get your card before you pump and let them know what lane # your in, Or if you can carry cash its cheaper than credit buys. But always PLENTY of room in a truck stop.

I'm with Phillip on this one. We stopped pulling into local filling stations long ago. No real maneuver room, low overhead, to many 4-wheelers in line, etc.

If I can arrange it, I stop at Flying-J's or their new partner (owner?) Pilot. I have a Flying-J frequent fuelers card that gets me $.01 off a gallon (not much but every little bit helps). We generally use their RV fuel islands which have plenty of room and for the Class A diesel pushers among us they have fuel on both sides of the island.

But, I've used WilcoHess, Love's and Petro too.

I'd like to make Phillip's point again about pulling forward in the fuel lanes. It is just common courtesy and standard practice at truck stops. They won't think you're trying to steal their fuel. At some stops we have even parked back where the big rigs park.

The only problem with the big rig lanes is the size of the nozzle. My CTD will take the standard big rig nozzle, but some trucks won't. The RV fuel islands at FJ have the narrower auto nozzles.

With all this talk, I find that I have forgotten my measurement. I'm thinking I'm 13' 6", but have to check that again. I have the front AC to worry about.

Never had a problem. Now that we have the auxilliary tank in the truck, we don't have to pull in to stations with the Cat on the back. After we unhook in the campground and get set up, we often drive around to see what there is to see - and we fill up the truck and sometimes ourselves. Otherwise, I have to cook. Yuck.

Tater