Thor Forums

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by DenverTransplant

I almost always scope out stations on Google maps at the start of a day when I will need gas. Like most of respondents I look for end pumps and stations that have pumps parallel to the buildings. I generally try and stay away from Pilot, Loves, etc. as they are way too crowded and full of folks who are overly focused on where they are going and not what is around them. I’ve had my share of the “lets get lunch while the car is filling” people.

One of the reasons we moved up to the ACE from a Nissan Armada and a Keystone 24BH trailer was the frequent fill ups. The Armada had a 25 gallon tank and while towing got 7-8 MPG. We usually were hunting the next suitable station right after a fill up and often had fill up twice a day when enroute. It got to be routine to pull into camp, unhitch and then go find a gas station. With the ACE’s 80 gallon tank we usually can go 2 or 3 days between fill ups.

With the Mini in tow we are about 47 feet, but I find the turning radius isn’t really an issue as the rig’s tail wag tends to move the Mini’s back wheels close to the rig’s track....but always careful and slow and pull far enough forward before starting the turn. So far I’ve never gotten into somewhere I couldn’t get out of, traded paint with a bollard or have had to pull the Mini off the dolly, but the year is new.

Our ACE has a rear fuel fill and despite the marketing promises, I find I have to pull in with pumps on the left side. The fuel fill is off center to the driver’s side and seldom have I found a pump hose that is long enough to reach from right. Costco is about the only place that I find that has extra long hoses.

Agreed, Rick. They should just drop that claim from their advertising/features videos and literature.

One thing I have been careful about when I pull into a gas station to fill up and use the far right lane so I can get out easily is that I am not far enough forward to block a handicapped parking spot. I pulled into a station in my hometown earlier this week to gas up and since I wasn't pulling the toad, I decided to pull into the next lane over (a guy in a pickup was in the outside lane and was nowhere to be seen, so didn't have a clue as to how long I was going to have to wait for that lane to open up). When I pulled into the second lane and pulled far enough forward that I knew the fuel hose would reach, I noticed the parking spot right in front of me was a handicapped spot, so I backed up as far as I could and the hose would still reach to make it as easy as possible for someone to maneuver into that handicapped parking space. I really learned to appreciate those spaces when my wife was crippled up with a severely broken ankle and leg a few years ago.