Pilot/Flying J

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Used several Pilot/Flying J's on my way to Vegas, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon North Rim, Kaibab Plateau, Zion National Park...

Found that lots of these sites are not RV friendly sometimes with no facility for us. One even curtly responded when I asked for an RV parking if I'll stay overnight. Then told to park by the street outside of Pilot site.

[PastorCharlie]

I have found that circling the pump islands in a counter clockwise direction using the outside pumps accommodates my 60' length very well at the vast number of stations. I have traveled coast to coast twice and through over 40 states and used many different stations. There have been only 3-4 that I had any trouble with and I could have done a little better with them if I had took more time planning my approach. I find it to be "The Art of The Fill."

[Yosemite_Sam1]

xpjet96 wrote:
Used to be a loyal Flying J customer when we had our first MH. Just bought another one last fall and recently went on a 3000 trip. Tried to stop and FJ and rest for night for a short period but couldn't find any "RV" capable spot that wasn't taken up by a semi. Noticed this at most of the FJ's we went to or passed up. Still bought the gas as their lots are maneuvering friendly. Found out from one of the guys filling my LP that things went downhill after Pilot got in charge. Now charging for dumping and really does not care about the RVers anymore.

I have really liked Love's lately and now go to CW for propane and dumping when available. Stopovers have been at Walmart. So far so good.

Finding out that there are swat of highways and freeways where there is no Pilot/Flying J. Learned to be strategic too since price differences in isolated areas can be as much as $0.70 and maybe forced to bite the bullet if tank is running on fumes.

[xpjet96]

Used to be a loyal Flying J customer when we had our first MH. Just bought another one last fall and recently went on a 3000 trip. Tried to stop and FJ and rest for night for a short period but couldn't find any "RV" capable spot that wasn't taken up by a semi. Noticed this at most of the FJ's we went to or passed up. Still bought the gas as their lots are maneuvering friendly. Found out from one of the guys filling my LP that things went downhill after Pilot got in charge. Now charging for dumping and really does not care about the RVers anymore.

I have really liked Love's lately and now go to CW for propane and dumping when available. Stopovers have been at Walmart. So far so good.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

jkwilson wrote:

RTCastillo wrote:


So far, as new RVer, I've seen so far Pilot/Flying J's in CA, NV, Arizona and Utah,

And my observation is that an RV friendly site is more an exception than the rule. And these are the ones with exclusive RV gas lane and dedicated RV parking.

Businesswise and strategic planning which is my skills set, there are lost opportunities in revenues for providing these ancillary facilities for RVers.

And obviously, I'm just here to give them free advice -- for my own self interest, lol.

My thought is that there would be enormous value in having a brand name associated with easy fueling, clean bathrooms, food and snack selection and rest parking for RVs. If you knew every store of a certain brand would be hassle free, you’d stop there as often as possible. Even putting a little “RV Friendly” logo on their signs for stores that were designed for RVs would create loyalty.

I agree completely. There should be a blueprint for every Pilot/Flying J station (or franchises, if it is).

[jkwilson]

happy2rv wrote:


For the record, I'm not in any way affiliated with Pilot or Flying J, but I do appreciate businesses that offer services that make our life easier.

Don't we all!

[happy2rv]

Expyinflight wrote:
... Flying J/Pilot are a hit and miss. Some easy to navigate, some not so much.
We found each one to be extremely busy....often waiting for an available pump. ... Encountered that numerous times. People are inconsiderate, everywhere.

I completely agree with this. However, that's been my experience not just with Flying J but with pretty much all of the Interstate exit gas stations regardless of brand. Even with "dedicated" services such as dedicated RV parking and dedicated fuel lanes, there are going to be issues and there are definitely going to be inconsiderate people no matter where you go.

Expyinflight wrote:

The water in the windshield cleaning buckets is always muddy, and desperately needs to be changed. Often the paper towel dispensers are also empty.

Again, regardless of brand, I can't remember the last time I found a squeegee that the sponge and/or the rubber wasn't falling off of much less clean water. I've taken to carrying my own telescoping squeegee and dawn soap.

Expyinflight wrote:

I don't care if it costs a few cents more per gallon.

I agree, within reason, I will gladly pay a bit more for easy access and clean facilities. If I can find them.

Everyone please post your Good/Great experiences with any brand, especially brands that consistently provide easy access for RVs. I would love to be able to identify a brand that consistently has accessible facilities, and especially brands that provide dedicated services such as propane, dumping, and dedicated parking. My experience, so far, has been that I haven't found another brand that has made an effort. As I posted previously, I found the Sheetz brand traveling the east coast recently and all of their stations I encountered were at least sized appropriately with easy access for entrance/exit and were clean. I don't think they had any RV centric services and I can't say this necessarily applies to all of their facilities.

As far as brands that don't work, I've found many/most Pilot branded facilities and Love's travel stops to be geared toward cars and small/short vehicle traffic flow on their "public" side. Since I have a gas powered truck, the commercial truck side isn't usually an option for fueling. I would also love to hear of publications that list/describe RV related services at any brand. I know gas buddy has a "RV Friendly" finder, but they don't quantify what "RV Friendly" means...

[wa8yxm]

Someone talked about how the Big Stops have higher prices.. I did my every other week 60 mile hike yesterday.. Lowest price the route was 2.66/Gallon (Regular gas) @ Love's. Most of the stores are 2.89-2.99

[Expyinflight]

We have just traveled thru Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Flying J/Pilot are a hit and miss. Some easy to navigate, some not so much.
We found each one to be extremely busy....often waiting for an available pump. Those people that abandon their vehicle and spend half the day inside the store.....getting snacks, sodas, and using the facilities are more than frustrating. Encountered that numerous times. People are inconsiderate, everywhere.
I also notice how dirty, oily, and greasy the ground is....which I always find to be worse at Flying J/Pilot. Don't want that tracked inside the motorhome.
The water in the windshield cleaning buckets is always muddy, and desperately needs to be changed. Often the paper towel dispensers are also empty.

So although we do use Flying J/Pilot at times......I far prefer to stop at other gas stations. Usually makes for a quicker stop. I don't care if it costs a few cents more per gallon.

[wa8yxm]

Double down on Gas Buddy.

One of hte problems with this thread is that it is Pilot/Flying-J

And as I said Pilot's for the most do NOT have RV parking.. and not long term that I have ever found (Meaning overnight)

J's do. With a few exceptions. Dedicated RV spots.. I just wish the truckers would leave 'em for RV's.

[Edd505]

Trackrig wrote:
I stay in them once, maybe twice a year but never knew they had "facilities" for RVs? Some of them have dump stations, but by no means all.

As for fuel savings, if I'm not staying there, I don't fill up there. They charge high prices because the trucks don't want to leave the main highway or if it's a large fleet carrier, they get discounts that the RVer will never see. With Gas Buddy I can always find a place to fuel my 60'+ rig for at least $0.20 if not closer to $0.30 per gallon cheaper.

Bill

Absolutely correct, 6 years as an Owner Operator class 8 truck, drive diesel P/U since 1999. Gas Buddy's your friend.

[happy2rv]

jkwilson wrote:

My thought is that there would be enormous value in having a brand name associated with easy fueling, clean bathrooms, food and snack selection and rest parking for RVs. If you knew every store of a certain brand would be hassle free, you’d stop there as often as possible. Even putting a little “RV Friendly” logo on their signs for stores that were designed for RVs would create loyalty.

Before the merger with Pilot, Flying J was significantly investing in just this path and marketing. I haven't kept up in recent years to see how they are faring since the merger. We sold our motorhome many years ago and just bought the travel trailer last year. There still aren't enough Flying J's along my usual routes of travel so I can't really say if they are still really pursuing it. I will say that they are still the only brand I've seen that has made a real attempt at catering to us.

They do have a page on the Pilot/Flying J web site dedicated to RV services, https://pilotflyingj.com/rv-services/. On this page, they have a couple of references. First a travel guide which is a PDF of a brochure that looks like it might be or have been available in print form. This travel guide lists their locations, by state and interstate exit number, with RV parking, RV fuel lanes, dump stations, and propane. The brochure appears to be dated 2014 though. They also have an excel spread sheet with RV locations and services. If my excel filtering is correct, it looks like between Pilot and Flying J, as of the time of publishing the spread sheet, they had:

• 153 locations with dedicated RV Parking
• 187 locations with dedicated RV lanes
• 190 locations with dump stations
• 210 locations with propane

For the record, I'm not in any way affiliated with Pilot or Flying J, but I do appreciate businesses that offer services that make our life easier.

[jkwilson]

RTCastillo wrote:


So far, as new RVer, I've seen so far Pilot/Flying J's in CA, NV, Arizona and Utah,

And my observation is that an RV friendly site is more an exception than the rule. And these are the ones with exclusive RV gas lane and dedicated RV parking.

Businesswise and strategic planning which is my skills set, there are lost opportunities in revenues for providing these ancillary facilities for RVers.

And obviously, I'm just here to give them free advice -- for my own self interest, lol.

My thought is that there would be enormous value in having a brand name associated with easy fueling, clean bathrooms, food and snack selection and rest parking for RVs. If you knew every store of a certain brand would be hassle free, you’d stop there as often as possible. Even putting a little “RV Friendly” logo on their signs for stores that were designed for RVs would create loyalty.

[dave54]

Even with the loyalty card discount, you can usually find the same price or cheaper fuel down the street at an independent station. I like them because I know I can get my rig in and out without doing a waltz maneuvering around other vehicles and obstacles. And nice restrooms that do not look like a haz-mat site (must partially extend a slide on our rig to use the toilet). Those are worth a few cents per gallon to me.

Now, if the regular passenger cars would stop using the RV lanes, and then going to eat lunch inside while parked at the pump with me waiting behind...

[soren]

happy2rv wrote:

I'm not even sure how to address the absolute lunacy of the statement: "A truck stop isn’t a place to camp or a place to slide out your slideouts unless you want to lose them. I’ve known “drivers” who actually get a thrill from ripping off the sides of slides….The trucker who pulled in beside you was sending you a message and you would have been wise to roll it up and move on.” I don't care where I'm parked as long as it's legal, any trucker that hits me while I'm legally parked better have REALLY good insurance and, if there's even a shred of evidence to support that it was intentional,

Yea, that's a classic case of a "writer" pulling stories out of, well lets be polite and say his hat. My son is the safety director of a large construction and trucking company. Standard protocol for any accident is. You immediately shut down and call it in. You stay with the rig until a company official can get to you. You are driven to an approved location for a drug test. Refuse the test, lose your CDL. Fail the test, lose your CDL. At that point the company man reviews your history, and the accident, and if it is investigated by local LEOs, discusses the situation with the investigators. IF, you are squeaky clean, drug free, and an asset to the company, you can take a hit or two on your record, if you screwed up and are at fault in an accident. If not, you are fired. Your driving record is critical, and most legitimate firms will need to see your entire CDL and company history before hiring you in a new gig. Bottom line, 99.99999% of all drivers in a big rig would avoid intentionally doing damage to anything, anywhere, as it's a great way to make it your last day on the job, and make it much harder to find a new one.