Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Full Timer Secrets For Using Flying J Truck Stops

When refueling a large RV rig at Flying J truck stops you don’t have to use the RV lane. Why? Because it’s frequently too difficult to navigate large rigs into the RV lanes and it’s faster to just use the truck fueling lanes. I sometimes use the RV lane if it's empty and the truck lanes are full, but I prefer the truck lanes because it's so much easier. Once you’re done refueling pull forward far enough to allow the truck or RV behind you to have access to the fueling station and then go in to pay your bill. I recommend applying for the free Flying J RV Real Value Member card. This is not a credit card, but it gives you a one cent per gallon discount and you will pay the cash price listed on the sign when you use this card in conjunction with your credit card when fueling. RV Club You can also leave it with the desk clerk instead of your credit card. This card also saves you 5 cents per gallon of LP gas and can be used on other products and services as well. (Note: this program is not available in New Jersey or Wisconson) For those of you using the truck side, Flying J will no longer accept Visa cards on the truck refueling side because Visa is trying to tell them how to run their truck refueling operations and Flying J executives don’t appreciate that. You may still use Visa on the auto and RV side of the business. Here is another nice thing about Flying J (and other major refueling centers as well) you can use the internet to look ahead at the states you are passing through and get the latest up-to-date diesel prices for every Flying J in every state. Diesel Prices This could save you a bundle! One final secret, you can talk to the staff at the register with your CB on channel 1 (when it’s working). Jim

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

REMEMBER: The size of the Diesel fuel delivery nozzle on the truck side is larger, than at the RV diesel pumps. They will not fit into many tank fills of Pickup Trucks because of the larger size.

Anonymous said...

These folks are just plainly very RV friendly! You know what to expect and I have not had any problems with their locations.

richdres1947 said...

Your article misses one very important fact. Not all RVer's are driving diesels. we are full timers who drive a 2007 Pace Arrow with an 8.1 Liter GM GAS engine. We cannot use the truck side at FlyingJ and find the RV islands to be very convienent.

Anonymous said...

If one drives an RV with a gasoline engine, then perhaps common sense will tell you not to get into the truck side which sells diesel. duh.sa

Anonymous said...

My husband avoids using the big truck pumps because even though the large filler nozzle fits in our truck the diesel fills so fast that many times it splashes out before the pump shuts off. Once the diesel gets on his hands, even though he washes and washes, his hands stink for days. Also, sometimes the cashier has trouble converting the price back to non PUC pricing.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I don't find Flying J to be all that RV friendly. Maybe for diesel rigs but the RV island for gas rigs usually has a waiting line and making the left turn in front of the convenience store is sometimes difficult because of large pickups and suv's parked in front of the store.

The discount card is a joke. If I buy 75 gallons @ $3.00 I save seventy five cents on a $225.00 purchase. That's .00333%. Big deal.

Don in Tracy, Calif.

Anonymous said...

One thing that would really be nice is if Flying J would have free wifi. It is not that expensive to set up with a system for all to use.

Anonymous said...

By getting the Flying J card you not only save on the price of fuel but you can also use it to get a 10% discount at the restaurant and anything you buy in the store.

Anonymous said...

Don in Tracy, CA is right. There is little room on the RV side and many times I've had to wait while the Rv in front of me makes the sharp turn and parks to pay. Then try to find a spot to park and have something to eat or rest for awhile. Like anything else some Flying J's are better than others in this respect but I have found the majority are tough to manuever. By the way most of the time the food there is lousy.

Don said...

I disagree with *almost* ALL the negative comments!

Try the Chinese food at PHX, or just the pizza at almost any of them... better yet, try the breakfast buffet and ANY Flying-J! You can order rye toast, buttered, as well as Egg Beaters and still get the buffet price, which for $5.99 is lower than any Denny's (and you still get the fresh fruit, and other buffet goodies).

You really oughta lighten up -- if you compare F-J issues versus their competitors (like Love's, TA, or Petro) you'd find F-J is (typically) head-and-shoulders better than the rest of the pack.

Are they perfect for the "doofus" RV'er that couldn't pass a drive test for class-A -- Heck, no! The world does NOT need to be "fixed" for the "doofus" folks; better to just let Darwin take them out of the gene pool!

Just by 2-cents worth!!!

Anonymous said...

We have had good luck with F-J and have even stayed overnight in an RV parking slot. Remember they also have a 10% senior citizens food discount in the restruant. The main problem with using the big truck diesel nozzles is some RV tanks don't have sufficient venting (read, my Itasca) to allow flow without shutting off.

Anonymous said...

London,ont,Canada...Is the worst flying J !!! We fulltimed around the area and unfortunately depended on them for Propane...MISTAKE #1..Very ignorant service i have ever experienced...They need to hire people with atleast grade 2 education!! And possible problem solving skills!! The District Manager even quite!!! Go there if you like to argue because that's all they'll do for you!! Happy RVing...(Just a simple warning to keep your day up beat!!)

mark said...

find diesel prices at all major truck stops, not just flying J, at findahauler.com/diesel_prices_at_major_truck_stops.htm

Anonymous said...

On a trip to AZ this past winter we used F-J fuelers on several occasions and always found them friendly. One major problem however is that while one should pull in front of the building and then into the refueling line every one we visited already had RV's lined up to go in the opposite way thereby barring going in the right way. What's the problem with that you say. If your propane fill is on the passenger side of the rig the hose from the propane tank is not long enough to reach it. Found this to be the case several times.

Anonymous said...

The best place to check prices of diesel and gasoline all around the US is www.dieselboss.com/fuel.htm You can find the prices at eight different truck stop companies and it breaks them down to any of their truckstops all around the country. Helps a lot when deciding whether to fill up now or a whiledown the road.

Anonymous said...

As a retired truck driver I hate RVers who use the truck side, when they can get out of everyones way at the RV. island. Drivers are trying to make a living and time is money to these people!! My only complaint with Flying J so far is Mt RV holds 150 gallons of diesel, and they limit my purchase (on my credit card)to $150.00. At todays prices my rig could hold $500.00? What am I supposed to do to fuel up my rig???

Michael said...

To answer a few of the remarks I just wanted to say: Every F-J is different. Different amount of room between pumps, number of pumps, convenience of propane. Propane in the wrong location is the biggest problem I find w F-J. When I find this I have to STOP traffic flow. I have to stay qued on the side, wait for traffic to clear, ask other RVers to wait for me to Propane up, and then move opposite of the flow. It is a pain in the kneck. But what choice do we have. The only thing I find worse is getting fuel on the RV island only to discover they moved the access to the propane over to the truck side. Remember the truck side is nice and of course as ex-trucker now RVer converted reminded us they all hate to see us on "their side" you do have to remember it's messier over their. They spill "ALOT" of fuel. If you want to track it in your home then go for it otherwise wear another set of shoes then the ones you drive in. As for the pumps or rigs that don't allow the shutting-off function. Buy a pair of rubber gloves for your husband. They're great on any diesel island fill. They keep the smell and the dirt, grease and everything off of your hands. They're really a must have. But get the black ones that say impervious to diesel. The yellow ones will melt over time. As to the "what am I suppossed to do to fuel up my rig?" question....call your credit card company and let them know what you're doing and what kind of purchases you're making with your card and where you'll be using it (F-J, not the state necessarily) and just let them know what your function for the expense is. This might be a fuction of the pumps. Some pumps are set up in their programming to turn off after $150 because the owner of the station wanted it that way in case somebody left the handle on and is trying to pump it onto the ground. On some pumps I have had to stop and restart for the exact same reason. So it helps to do both, let the card company know that you'll be making LARGE purchases on fuel and other times you just have to start and restart until you're done. But overall I find F-J's to be exactly what they're for....a really RV friendly fuel stop that you can service all of your needs from fuel, propane, water fill, dump & clean out, to refreshments, friends, rest, movies, books you name it F-J has it. No they're not all perfect or in the perfect places, but hey, keep track and don't go there again. Change your stop the next time. Till then....Happy RVing..

will said...

for whatever reasons rvers want to use the truck islands, from a trucker's point of view you are in our way. we have nothing against you at all, but we are trying to make a living at what we do, and the time we spend fueling is charged against our driving time. the truck stop has tried to provide you with a means to fuel, so why not use it? happy trails.

Anonymous said...

We have a 40' motorhome and tow a Jeep Cherokee behind it. I cannot imagine going through the regular fuel lines! We use the truck side. The regular side is just too congested most of the time and trying to get out would be a nightmare. I don't feel that we have ever been in anyone's way on the truck side. I go in to pay while my dh fills up. It doesn't take us long and we're out of the way.

I am appalled at the attitude of the truckers that don't want us on "their" side. We are just as "big" as they are.

Just a little while ago while at a FJ on the truck side I witnessed something at the RV island that I was glad I was not a part of. The fuel and the propane use the same lane. There were two motorhomes filling up with fuel. Another motorhome pulled in to get propane nose to nose with one of the other RV's. All of them had a toad/dinghy. So, neither could back up to get out without unhitching and neither could go forward. What a nightmare...

Anonymous said...

I'm a non-trucker that agrees with will. If you're not a truck you shouldn't be on their side... it is their job and you are on vacation.

Anonymous said...

I drive gas and have to say, yes some times you have to wait and I would like to remind those that are so impatient that some people would complain about being hung with a free rope! Thank You FJ and all fuel stops that have RV Dumps and fresh water at no charge. Not to mention a place to catch a nap.

Anonymous said...

HI, Today I bought fuel at your Tye , TX location and I used the squeeze to clean my windows and lights and I cleaned a few bugs off the grill area of my truck . But I used simple green to spray on the area’s I’m going to clean to make it easier to get the bugs off. When I was done fueling my co driver went inside to get the fuel ticket. But the cashier would not give the fuel ticket to my co driver unless she purchased the squeeze that I used to clean the bugs off the window’s and lights and a few bugs that was on the head light and grill area. She said we used it on something other than the windows and would have to purchase it. Well under an act of extortion my co driver paid for the squeeze at $2.70. When she came back out and told me what had happened, I could not believe it .But when she showed me the ticket she also said that the cashier would not give her the fuel ticket unless she paid for the squeeze. And cashier claimed that I had ruined the squeeze by using it on the grill. But She never looked at the squeeze. It was still in brand new shape no tears or anything wrong with it. This is a first this has happened in over 20 years I have been buying fuel at the Flying J, and using other services like the checking account that I have with the tab bank. But when I went inside to right this Wrong, the cashier, I think her name was April would not refund the money back. She sayed that I used the squeeze on the grill and that I Had to buy this itemed she was not going to refund my money. But I told her she has not posted any signs not to use such items on the truck and I wanted a refund .Well she still was a cashier-zillia. And I wanted to talk to the manager she called the manager and then told me that the manager will not refund my money back either. Now the manager show’s up and was dumb founded that the cashier charges me for the squeeze and told her to refund my money. This is the first time I have ever had this kind of problem and I’ve had my cdl license for 33 years ago. Here is the ticket info 08-25-2009, invoice # 13003214, original Invoice # 13003199; location 05064, frequent fueler # …4202, for code 048374090074 at 2.49 plus tax, tax of .21 equals 2.70. It is not about money here it is the principal that I was charged for this item when there was no sign not to use this item on the grill. Also I didn’t mess up this item up by using it on the grill area. .So after this I’m going to rethink about buying my $55,000+ a year in fuel from the flying J and my checking account’s that I have at the tab bank.
Sincerely, Joe Hall
this is the e-mail I sent to J corp in utah

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