Refueling while pulling a 315RLTS with a Gasser

djlemonier

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RV & tow vehicle shopping now. I really like the 315RLTS but wanted to purchase a F250 7.3 or similar to avoid some of the maintenance and purchase expense of a diesel. One of my friends who has a 34' travel trailer mentioned that sometimes it can be a bit of an ordeal to maneuver in gas stations with his 34' TT and the 315 is about 4' longer. I have been towing a boat (about 30' from end of trailer tongue to end of outboard) for 15 years and can usually manage to get to a pump but it is sometimes a bit of a circus depending on how busy. My friend said that I might consider a diesel just to be able to use the truck stops for refueling with a trailer this long. The short bed truck I was hoping to buy also only has a 34 gal tank, so there will be a fair amount of refueling stops on a multi-day trip. Wondering what the opinion is of others who have experience pulling a 38' TT. Thank you very much.
 
It can be a challenge. Depending where you live there are RV friendly gas pumps. I know out west a lot of Maverik stations have RV lanes with gas and diesel. If you find a Flying J truck stop, they usually have RV islands with gas pumps, that's what i use to fill my Momentum gas tanks. If you have a diesel truck, you can use the truck lanes at truck stops which is much more convenient. Also, depends on your travel plans. Some people don't go far from their home and can make it on a tank and then fill up after dropping the trailer. A lot of variables to determine what's best. If you end up with gas, just use Google maps satellite view and scope out gas stations that can accommodate a large trailer.
 
Access at the fuel stations is only one data point in the debate of gas trucks vs diesels for towing. If you search on the forums, you will see many other good points such as towing capacity, interior noise, engine life and longevity, resale value, MPG, pulling and travel comfort when towing, and shear ease of towing with a diesel. A 38' camper is pretty large to be towing with a gas engine IMHO. I moved away from gas trucks many years ago towing 24' campers for the reasons listed above but others will go to great lengths to sell their audience on the benefits of gas trucks. Remember if you tow at anything above sea level for altitude, the HP and torque numbers must be de-rated. That is not the case with a diesel. Many forget about this point and wonder why their vehicles don't run near as good in CO as they did in Illinois or Virginia. I wish you well with your research and upcoming decision. :)
 
That is a great idea using Google Maps satellite view to check it out before getting off the exit. I can do the diesel if that is the right answer, just trying to understand the pain level of negotiating the gas stations. Thank you for the great advice.
 
Agree, the diesel is the better towing engine (for engine braking also). Thank you for sharing your experiences.
 
We tow ours with a 2016 F350 diesel. Keep in mind that these trailers are nose-heavy. This summer Blue Ox weighed the tongue and found we were at 1900 pounds. 15% of GVWR is just under 1700 pounds.
 
Incredible, that's almost twice the empty listed tongue weight. I see why the F350 is needed. Thank you, very helpful!
 
The debate over those with gas vs diesel is certainly a viable discussion. I being on the gas side and owned diesels could make an argument as well about initial cost, maintenance, fuel cost, and potential mechanical issues. But the overall benefit of mpg and pulling power does sway toward the diesel but definitely at a cost.

IMO, its what you want to pay for, pull with, and deal with mechanically that should drive ones decision on which way to go. For me it was a short bed 7.3 gas superduty and I wouldnt want it any different - other than the turning radius on superduties sucks no matter what engine you get.
 
With the ProPride and my rear racks on my TT, I'm around 34 feet stem-to-stern, behind a crew cab HD truck. I just did a bit over 4600 miles cross country for the second year and haven't had any issues fueling on either trip. Plan your stops ahead of time if you can, and get the Pilot Flying J app. You save 10 cents per gallon this year, which adds up. The app will ask you what kind of driver you are. If you select RV, it'll give you RV friendly locations on the map in the app. Single click pops you over to Google Maps on your phone, which I used for navigation. If you're going somewhere they don't have any facilities, like down I-25 from Colorado to Albuquerque, use Google Maps Satellite view to check out the site. Street view also helps a ton.

Out west here, I tend to use Maverik because they have both petrol and diesel in some of their truck/RV lanes.

Put it this way. I just bought a new truck in June ahead of this trip. Fueling didn't factor into my purchase as, thus far, it's been a total non-issue. Just use caution when pulling in/out. Also, a rear camera helps ensure you're not blocking a lane, roadway, etc.
 
other than the turning radius on superduties sucks no matter what engine you get.

Not totally true, my F450 turns like my wife's Expedition, now the last 2 F350s I had, SRW and DRW, I would agree with you.
 
That's great to hear, I like "no issues". I think the common thread thru all of the great responses on this site is that you can avoid issues if you plan your fuel stops. BTW, did you get the long bed with the larger fuel tank or the short bed? Not sure there is that much difference in the turn radius between SB & LB, but the larger fuel tank would be nice.
 
With the trips we have taken from the South (TX) to the West (UT, NM,AZ, SD, MT, ID etc) or Midwest to the West when hitched with our diesel we always use truck stops or truck lanes. Road Runner, Flying J, Pilot, Loves, Maverick, T/A, some Speedway's, Warrior, Road Ranger etc. Other places that are not truck stops but are very accommodating to big RVs like BUC-EE's. and like was said some of these truck stops have RV lanes with gas/diesel but usually the RV lanes do not have DEF at the pump. We have never had a problem fueling at a truck stop, just follow proper etiquette, wait in line, then pull to pump to refuel, when done pull out to painted line to clear the pump if you have to go back inside. You'll be good after a couple times using truck stops. With the proper fuel card you can get discounts for fuel, but that is a whole other topic, search the forum for fuel cards.

Most of the time on a days travel we start out full, refuel at a truck stop @ 200 miles, (avg 8-10 MPG)(32 gallon) then continue to our stop over for the night after another @ 200 miles., unhitch and refuel where ever. Or refuel at a truck stop right before our night stop over so we don't have to unhitch.

Use google sat view sometimes if the station is an odd ball name, to check out the station in and out, sometimes plan to refuel at stations that have a Denny's.

RV Trip Wizard is very good to plan a trip and fuel stops because you can go right to fueling stations or camp ground web sites right from the app. Or use the address of the stop RVTW gives you, copy/paste into google and sat view. You can also view the current price / gallon and put that into RVTW if you want to calculate your trip cost.
Now RVTW doesn't know about every fuel station or every camp ground but probably most of them. No Harvest Hosts or Boondocking sites. We have used RVTW for almost 4 years now, very good tool, but it is not the only one.
 
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That's great to hear, I like "no issues". I think the common thread thru all of the great responses on this site is that you can avoid issues if you plan your fuel stops. BTW, did you get the long bed with the larger fuel tank or the short bed? Not sure there is that much difference in the turn radius between SB & LB, but the larger fuel tank would be nice.

I know this question wasn't directed at me with my GM, but I'll say that the 36 gallon tank in my truck is awesome. It's crazy how much more usable it is than the 26 gallon tank I had in my previous truck. In my recent cross-country trip, there was one time I got below 6 gallons and it was on a day I started with just over a half tank. We gas up around every two hours or so when we're doing 6+ hour days and that's about the perfect interval to get out, stretch legs, let the dog pee, grab a snack from the RV fridge, etc. Most of the time, I was putting in 20 gallons or so. I don't see a need for anything bigger than that.
 
RV & tow vehicle shopping now. I really like the 315RLTS but wanted to purchase a F250 7.3 or similar to avoid some of the maintenance and purchase expense of a diesel. One of my friends who has a 34' travel trailer mentioned that sometimes it can be a bit of an ordeal to maneuver in gas stations with his 34' TT and the 315 is about 4' longer. I have been towing a boat (about 30' from end of trailer tongue to end of outboard) for 15 years and can usually manage to get to a pump but it is sometimes a bit of a circus depending on how busy. My friend said that I might consider a diesel just to be able to use the truck stops for refueling with a trailer this long. The short bed truck I was hoping to buy also only has a 34 gal tank, so there will be a fair amount of refueling stops on a multi-day trip. Wondering what the opinion is of others who have experience pulling a 38' TT. Thank you very much.

As a fellow 315 owner I completely understand the fueling quandary. I do have a diesel, but that was not always true.

I had a 35 foot class a and a previous truck and trailer, both gas.

It can be a challenge but as most have outlined with good tools and planning most can be overcome

The one suggestion I have it potentially look into a larger fuel tank. They make them for both diesels and gas, long and short bed.

The two most popular are Titan and S&B.

I currently own a 2019 GMC 3500 Denali Diesel srw short bed.

I purchased an S&B 62 gallon tank and I ain’t lookin back, I love it!

Worth investigating to maybe make your trip planning a bit easier.

Bill
 
As a fellow 315 owner I completely understand the fueling quandary. I do have a diesel, but that was not always true.

I had a 35 foot class a and a previous truck and trailer, both gas.

It can be a challenge but as most have outlined with good tools and planning most can be overcome

The one suggestion I have it potentially look into a larger fuel tank. They make them for both diesels and gas, long and short bed.

The two most popular are Titan and S&B.

I currently own a 2019 GMC 3500 Denali Diesel srw short bed.

I purchased an S&B 62 gallon tank and I ain’t lookin back, I love it!

Worth investigating to maybe make your trip planning a bit easier.

Bill

Great post Bill. I would say the same thing for my 2022 GMC 3500 SRW LB truck. I love everything about the truck except for the 36 gallon fuel tank. I would have gladly paid for a 50-60 gal upgraded tank so that I can go longer distances. I have no desire to stop more frequently. I will likely make this upgrade to my truck soon now that I have everything done that I wanted to the Reflection fiver.

Dave
 
We have diesel F250 and are in the market for a F350. Since money is not a consideration we will buy another diesel. We found ourselves in several tight spots with our Tahoe and 31 foot bumper pull. The convenience of truck stops outweighs the cost of the truck for us.
 
It will be like towing a 5th wheel with a 1/2ton. Can do it, but why would you. White knucle driving, no exhaust brake. Trans will be down shifting all the time.
Good luck.
 
I love everything about the truck except for the 36 gallon fuel tank. I would have gladly paid for a 50-60 gal upgraded tank so that I can go longer distances. I have no desire to stop more frequently. I will likely make this upgrade to my truck soon now that I have everything done that I wanted to the Reflection fiver.

Dave
I think the same way with our Dodge 3500 diesel. I was researching tanks and Wendy said "even with the bigger tank we still have to stop for pee breaks....". So now I'm not sure about bothering with the bigger tank....

To the OP, I pull a 33' trailer with a 16.5' bowrider boat on the hitch. Total length 73.5'. I've managed to get that in and out of non RV friendly stations. Granted some are out of the question, but you can usually find something. Truck lanes sure make it a lot easier though.
 
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Not totally true, my F450 turns like my wife's Expedition, now the last 2 F350s I had, SRW and DRW, I would agree with you.
+1 on the turning radius of the 450 ;). My 2020 F450 turns better than my 2021 Yukon SUV.

I think the above advice to plan your stops, scope out the stations with Google maps is also a good one (I do this always even though I use the truck lanes for my diesel)...
Ultimately it's about what matters most to you, short and long term. Plenty of passion on this forum about gas/diesel. I used to be an all gas household until we started to pull heavy (Horses and our ToyHauler). Once I pulled with diesel, I never went back to gas, but again, I am pulling between 15K & 20K. Having the torque of the diesel is very helpful/useful at lower RPM so the motor is not screaming to climb up a hill. The Gas motors can do the work, just a different beast ;).

Good luck in your search
 
I have the stock "29-gallon" fuel tank that actually holds about 24 gallons.

I have found that 2 five-gallon "jerry cans" of diesel in the bed of the truck is sufficient for emergency refueling - and a lot cheaper than a replacement fuel tank!

In five years and over 30,000 miles towing, I have had to use them once.


With a Good Sam membership and its Pilot/Flying J discount program, I have found that these truck stops are spaced along the interstate in such a way that one is always looming, when I decide I need to get fuel (which, usually, coincides with the need for a human "pit stop").

A lot of the truck stops with "RV" pumps in the auto section not only do not have DEF, they can be impossible to get into and out of, because of the way they are configured.

They are NOT all friendly to this trailer!


Do yourself a favor - get a Class 3 or Class 4 diesel and use the truck lanes.

We take these trips to relax, not wrestle with the rig.
 

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