Advice on route planning and service stations
We are new to caravanning and have done a few trips, but, we have found ease of getting in and out petrol and service stations variable.
Does anybody have any general advice on how to plan trips and how to find service stations/petrol stations which are easy to get in and out of?
thanks in advance!
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Yes it can be a problem sometimes but here are a few suggestions to help. Supermarkets are usually ok for access/egress. Angles in/out need to be watched so generally the pump nearest the road will be best. Get an Esso Card, via the Club, so that if you are on motorways and see an Esso garage you will pay the discounted price (UK only). Do not let your tank get too low so you always have enough fuel to continue looking.
However, I have to say that in 40 years caravanning I cannot recall getting stuck in a garage, though some have been tight
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Are you planning to tow more than the range of your car in a day? The only time we do that amount of driving in a day is on the continent, in which case apply this methodology:
Fill the tank first thing in the morning as in warm/hot weather you get more fuel (an old trick learned from desert environs).
Determine the range of your car then find an overnight stop nearby, repeat above.
Use an online tool like google maps to determine the route. Determine on the route where your tank will take you, then use the 'nearby' tool and find a filling station, then go into 'street view' and look at the filling station in/out.
Easier to fill local to home/site before you hitch up.
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We've always filled up with the cheapest fuel we can find near home and avoid re-filling at motorway services, don't rely on an Esso card as you may not find an Esso fill up (might help a bit if there is one, maybe get by on a shorter fill if you're due to leave the motorway as motorway fuel is very expensive.)
Avoid using services in general at peak times as lorry drivers have to take legal stops and you may find parking is more difficult.
That said enjoy your travelling, you're more likely to get stuck in a traffic jam than services, allow plenty of time for travel.
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Yes some petrol stations are tight for a caravan. We always try not to do that with a bit of careful planning.
We generally always fill up before each tow no matter what, so we know (from sat nav or google maps) how many miles to our first stop over, which for us is no more than 250 miles (300 has been our max to date) which is well within fuel range of our car, pitch up and refill from the nearest garage before going further.
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As others do we always fill up prior to or at the start of a journey.
In the UK I would not be too concerned re access but abroad it can be an issue especially France where they often use concrete kerbing to separate two lanes of traffic-those who have paid by card and those using the kiosk to pay.
For that reason I always plan my journeys using ViaMichelin and Google Streetview. VM shows me the locations, so I can plan my distances, and Streetview lets me look at the access in and out.
You could use the same process for travel within the UK.
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All good advice given above SallyJ, especially about not to using motorway service stations to fill up! With Via Michelin & Google maps and a bit of planning, you could well save enough for a couple of nights on a site (depending on how far you intend to travel)
You'll find there are very few, if any, fuel stations you can't get into with your caravan in tow, but as suggested above, fuel up before hooking up if you can
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I agree that most petrol stations are accessible although some supermarkets might be a problem. We always fill up before we set off and can manage over300 miles so filling up on the road is generally not a problem. You can however check Google Earth to look at roadside stations if you need to.
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