Gas stations, Campgrounds and LESSONS LEARNED!

When we started looking at RVs, I was drawn to to BIG RIGS. Who wants a smaller camper when we could have all the luxury needed for "Glamping" in a really big one? I wanted the slides, the master with a King and full size everything. So we bought the big one. It shouldn't be a problem since our truck could pull it, right? Wrong. With bags packed and destinations selected, we were ready to hit the roads. New to camping myself, I did not realize that this amazing home on wheels would present some unique challenges for travel. By challenges I mean gas stations and campgrounds.

RVs have gotten larger and larger. Most campgrounds and gas stations have not. Gas stations are the worst! After a few off-highway "incidents", my travel anxiety got so bad I almost talked hubby into purchasing a portable gas tank (large semi-truck size) to place in the bed of our GAS (not diesel) dually. This way we could avoid pulling into gas lanes all together. (If it were diesel, we could use the semi truck lanes.) I planned to pack enough food so we would NEVER have to stop unless it was at a Welcome Center!!!

We learned the hard way that long trailers will not fit most places. We did not learn this in one trip either. We pretty much wiped something out almost every long trip we made early on! For some reason, the concept of "we will not fit in there with a 60+ foot rig" would not register without testing the waters first. Now WE both understand that it must not only has to clear on both sides and height, but also on the swing-out rear side (length behind the camper tires) opposite of the turn directions!

Here are our learned lessons!
LESSON 1: Pulling too close to vehicles on the driver side when a sharp right turn is required will result in the complete side swipe (crushed it!) of a new Chevy Truck by our driver's side camper rear bumper.

LESSON 2: Same as LESSON 1 resulted in a smashed Dodge while it was still hooked to their newer RV.

LESSON 3: Pulling into gas stations in which you to pull in straight, facing the store front that are too tight for you to completely clear your rig forward before you start turning right or left will result in a tow truck call because your entire driver side bumper of the 5th wheel is caught on the steel pump guard and between the supports of the gas station roof.

LESSON 4: Same as LESSON 3, except the rig was stuck mid-turn between the parked cars and pumps- no dents this time, no tow truck... though just as humiliating. Had to wait for patrons to come out of the store to move their cars.

LESSON 5:  A large RV will NOT make a Subway Sandwich drive through meant for a car!

Over the course of these lessons learned, I have been collecting resources to help us keep on the road and incident free (knock on wood!)  As I find new ones, I will add them to this blog and post them under useful links. I will also note within the reviews within Our Travels Section the size and ease of use for most campgrounds. Today I have two fuel/ travel apps to assist you in your longer adventures. Happy travels!!!

Trucker Path

This is a great free app for finding truck stops. While you may not have a big semi truck, most newer truck stops are RV friendly on the unleaded side of the stations. It has over 34K downloads with a 4.8 rating out of 5 stars.

Truck & RV Fuel Stations

Targeting Trucks and RV stations, this .99 cent app is one I have yet to use personally. While I was exploring the services, it has big rigs in mind with the price of fuel, distance to nearest stop and it was recommended to be by a fellow camper. I plan to give it a go this summer. This has 450 ratings with 4.2 out of 5 stars.


Written by Stephanie Scott