Petrol station fill up
Hi, When towing and going on holiday I have never had to stop and fill up at a petrol station. I can see it is one of those things that I will have to do eventually. Does anybody have any advice or tips about filling up at a petrol station?
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Try to use the pumps that do not have any others near .ie at the outer edges of the fuel station,and remember which side the filler is (normally a icon on your dash board screen will also remind you) its a pain if wrong side and having to clamber over C/van A frame with pump hose (its happened
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Remember to allow for width and tail swing as you would when carrying out any manoeuvre.
Oh, and don’t put petrol in your diesel tank 😀
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You shouldn't have any problems. Best advice is try to pick a pump that allows easy egress, normally the pump nearest the road. If you get stuck you can always unhitch
. Most cars show on the fuel gauge which side the filler is but most hoses are long enough to reach over the car,Timwheeler. Are you speaking from experience?
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I can understand your concerns but in now over 20 years of towing, not that I've actually towed for 20 years straight you understand, I can remember only twice having to fill up with the caravan on tow.
I always fill up before leaving and (if necessary) fill up in the evening before towing again the next day. Also means you can usually get cheaper fuel from a local supermarket.
But on the two occasions I have the advice above is all good. I would choose a large petrol station and when I did it was at the services.
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I have no intention of ever having to fill up with the caravan on the back. My car has a range of just over 400 miles when towing and that's more than enough for a day's driving with the van on the back! If doing a long trip, I always plan stop-overs after about 200 - 250 miles - park the van on site and then nip out to fill up the car ready for the next day. My thinking is that it's meant to be a holiday, not an endurance test but I appreciate some might be more pushed for time than we are.
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We towed for 25 years, usually filling up once going down to SW, once coming back up with van on back. We never had any issues, but you just need to take it steady, get the pump on the correct side of vehicle, and be careful entering and exiting. Our route was a mix of motorways and dual carriageways, so we never paid the extortionate fuel prices on service stations.
If you know your route, you could possibly have a look at something suitable via Google Earth, or even phone the garage?
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Not me, honest, but as for OH.....😳🥴
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It is rare that I have ever filled up whilst touring. It is many years since I towed for more than 4.5 hours max. Being retired and time available I prefer to keep under 2 hours. We did tow for around 4.5 hours to a site near friends 200 miles in Scotland and before then similar distance and time to Edinburgh. I have a 12 gallon tank, average towing is just over 27mpg but to keep it simple I say 25mpg. I like to keep 50 miles as a minimum reserve and so 200 miles is my range. If travelling this distance it will inevitably involve motorways and so I choose to top up on the motorway where access is easier.
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Our only issues were when we towed with a Dual fuel vehicle. Access to the single LPG fill up point was often blocked by those not requiring it, but we had the patience to wait.
Many of the routes we used up and down were very familiar, and you soon spot good and not so good fill up places. Not so easy on a new route of course, but nowadays checking things is a bit easier.
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There used to be a deal through The Caravan Club to pay a reduced price at motorway services. They kept changing the name and I'm not sure it is still available.
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Cub members can get a Fuelpecker card for Esso fuel. go to the 'members offers page on this website.
you get about 3p per ltr discount at Esso garages and 6p per ltr at Motorway services.
not sure on the diesel discount as all my vehicles are petrol!
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well it does, as it gives a possible other 'solution' that the OP might not have thought of?
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well I don't follow that at all, it doesn't read right, what will have been carried out?
Anyway why call/label what someone has posted in a polite and probably helpful manner as sarcastically, or otherwise, as words of wisdom? Hardly helpful is it? Or are you now judging what is a wise and helpful post and what isn't MM?
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I wish I was as organised as some on here. I admit I have filled up a few times when towing, the main point is to make sure you can simply drive out after refueling and don't have to perform a 90 degree turn in front of the shop.
The only occasion it became a disaster is, having filled up in France at an automated filling station, I was simply unable to go forward and pass by the disused payment kiosk. It was necessary to unhitch and then use the mover to reverse the van.
Luckily, I rarely feel too stressed by anything like this especially as the filling station was deserted.
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All I was trying to get across was that with a bit of forward planning, filling up with the van on the back was avoidable - and that's what I prefer to do. I am fortunate that my car has a 100 litre tank and I have the time to plan a more leisurely journey, so visiting fuel stations with the van on the back is easily avoidable.
I appreciate that those pushed for holiday time and perhaps making a single push from, say, the north of England to Cornwall may be forced into this situation but all I was trying to do was offer an alternative view.
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French supermarkets can be problematical, even now we have a MH. Had to reverse out of a couple last year, as there was no way we could get through the chicane at the exit. When we had a caravan we could almost always avoid refuelling with it in tow, as we had sufficient range. On the rare occasion where it was necessary I used the motorway, which were no problem. Although like here carry a significant premium.
In this country, when we had a petrol vehicle, we occasionally had to refuel on the move. I found the supermarkets OK if you picked the lane where you could drive straight out. Although avoid busy times, or you are likely to cause a blockage, if it's already got vehicles filling.
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