We are about ready to take our first long trip in the Foretravel. I am curious about filling propane on the road. Do most truck stops have fill stations? I know this is a real NOOB question, but I am a genuine NOOB when it comes to Motorhome travel. My only previous experience was to get propane bottles refilled for a Pop-up
Thanks,
Steve
We always found Flying J to be easy to get in and out of, safe (they usually follow the protocols), and nearby when we were getting low.
Matt B
Flying J has had propane at every location we have stoppped in 14 trips from VA to AZ using southern, central & northern routes.
Should be no problem.
FWIW
John
Propane is readily available. Most larger parks have propane on site. I've even stayed in campgrounds where they had a truck that came around once or twice a week and would fill your tank at your site. (South Fork, CO $2.60 a gal!)
I usually search out (yellow pages) a small company that just does propane. Some of these can be hard to get in/out of so I'll check them out with the tow first. They almost always have the best prices.
With the large tank size on most Foretravels one fill up per summer is all you need. Winter can be a different matter depending on your latitude. If you have a propane generator it would depend on how much you use it.
see ya
ken
A great many campgrounds have propane available, but they can be prices. If you are going through a town with a propane distributor (Amerigas, for example) you can stop and get a fill. In our coach there is a fairly small tank, but we only use propane for the cooktop, outdoor grill and the fridge. We filled in December and July. In our '95 the tank was HUGE. We used it for heat, hot water, cooktop & fridge. Propane lasted forever. I wouldn't worry too much, really.
Steve,
The tank is big enough for a long trip unless lots of use to power propane generator for AC. Best deal is from your home provider if you have one. I only pay $1.10/gallon. Yes, lots of propane possibilities along the road at many service stations, RV parks, etc. We find that the truck stops don't always have the cheapest prices for diesel. GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada (http://gasbuddy.com/) shows the latest fuel prices with the last date with even the hours shown. Works a lot better than the one MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions - Map (http://www.mapquest.com) has.
If using a regular service station, watch all the clearances pulling in and out. Will become second nature after a short time.
Be up to speed on relighting all gas appliances as the station will shut off the gas when they fill. Good idea (may be the law in some states/counties) to have everyone including pets out when they fill.
Don't expect to get a 100% fill. Attendant will shut off fill when liquid starts to come out of vapor check valve he watches. You may only get 70%, sometimes less.
Pierce
Thanks a bunch for all the replies.... love this forum!
Cheers,
Steve
WHERE is propane 1.10?
Propane is $3.60/gal here in Nacogdoches.
Make sure when calling the vendor that he fills DoT tanks, meaning the fixed tanks on a motor-home.. Some only fill the portable tanks like you had on the camper. There is a difference. One place that often fills tanks are farm & feed operations I filled mine in Esacnaba, MI at about half what I would have paid at home.
Keith
We use propane for heat and appliances at home. The coach is parked near the house. The propane supplier fills the coach when he visits to fill the 500 gallon tank for the house.
On the road, we usually fill at Flying-J. We have filled at propane depots and campgrounds. We shut everything down and vacate the coach while filling. It is the law in some places and good practice in all places. Some of the fill stations are a tight fit. Use a qualified person on the ground to watch if necessary. One attendant watched as I backed over a mailbox. That mistake allowed us to sample the excellent work done by Xtreme Paint and Graphics. :-[
The 1997 U295 will burn up to four gallons/day in the furnaces when temperatures are below 10F. The rest of the time, it uses very little propane. It holds about 42 gallons of propane. The generator uses diesel fuel.
Twig,
Just had my home tank filled by Ferrellgas at $1.10 a gallon. They filled the U300 at the same time. FG has the contract for the area we live in so give a discount. Once you have an account number, you can go to any location and just give the number and then sign for it. We get the $1.10/gal price anywhere in the U.S. they have a facility. See Ferrellgas at: Ferrellgas, Your Propane Gas Company - Local Propane Service For Home, Business, (http://www.ferrellgas.com/locations)
Pierce
wow. That is the cheapest propane I have heard of for years.
Biggest drawback to my rig is the propane genny. Flying J as everyone says is the most convenient but two summers ago I really needed it in Amarillo and they were working on the island. Almost no other truck stop has propane in my experience. Once in a while you find it. Either map out your trip with Flying J stops or make sure the campground you use has it. We run the A/C almost constantly so we go through the propane. When we went out west two summers ago I was making snooze stops at the Cracker Barrel Bed and Breakfast or the Wally World Hilton and had to plot the Flying J locations. Ended up stopping at a campground in Amarillo just for propane. Otherwise we get it at the campground every other night while on our travels. Probably could stretch it to every third night if we don't run the generator some of the time. Summer in the south (where and when most of my trip taking begins and ends), it is real A/C weather (not make believe dash air).
" Ended up stopping at a campground in Amarillo just for propane. Otherwise we get it at the campground every other night while on our travels. Probably could stretch it to every third night if we don't run the generator some of the time."
Dwayne,
Were I you, I'd think seriously about locating a used diesel genny.
FWIW
John
Won't fit in the shallow 225 & 240 basement compartments. Whenever diesel technology improves such that a 7.5 kw unit smaller than is available today can fit in that compartment...it's a done deal.
Got to be a non-believer out there so here is the receipt.
Pierce
Unless you spend all your life on the interstates there are propane places everywhere, much better prices than Flying J's and campgrounds too. Their propane is delivered via semi so most shouldn't be all that bad to access. They sometimes prefer you to stay in their parking lot and will come to you with one of their small trucks....I've experienced this a couple of times thru the years.
I don't understand why some of these places are charging what they are, price of propane has been dropping lately, one of our local farmers told me last week that he was paying around 2 bucks a couple of months ago for his grain drying system and now it's around a dollar...would be nice if diesel would take a downward trend...!
Dwayne,
Weeeeell......
Maybe a really, really long extension cord?
BTW, a year or so ago I threw away an Onan J-model 2 cyl air-cooled diesel genny that had less than 1k hrs on it. no one wanted a DIESEL, too messy! Don't recall the Amps output.
It may have fit. Dave M would probably know.
John
The DJB Onan is a 2 cylinder diesel, 6 kw, 25 amp @ 240 volt / 50 amp @ 120 volt. As a gas JB they are 7.5 kw.
These were designed in the early 50's and have a great operational record, however the down side is they, being air cooled, are very LOUD, so loud that you hope they will blow up just to get them to make less noise. at full 6kw, they burn .66 gph. Many versions of the J Series, 1, 2, & 4 cyl, gas, gasoline, diesel up to 17.5kw
The vertical height is very tall, not going to fit a box designed to a 2 cylinder opposed engine, they are heavy, and I would not recommend one unless someone wants a toy to play.
They stayed very popular for 40+ years, until the Kubota came along, being quiet, smooth and relieable, not taking much TLC.
Me, I have had enough of them, in fact I have two air cooled gas models here a 2 cyl and a 4 cyl, both scrap that I steal parts from.
There are still many providing reliable power, both air cooled and water/radiator cooled, even marine models, they filled a need for along time, parts are hard to find. They have been out of production for about 15+ years, maybe 20, I forget.
Dave M
We usually fill propane at a Ferrelgas facility near us here in Moses Lake, WA. Someone just put a new Amerigas facility right across the street from them so their prices may be better but we have always paid around $3.50 a gallon for their propane when we come to fill up.
I suspect that you'd have to rent (or buy) a large home-or-business style tank in order to get the $1.10 price. They've never offered to let me in on a cheaper rate. I've often wondered if there isn't some rule that putting propane into a vehicle requires that they pay more taxes or something. Or maybe they just figure we can take it...
Craig
1.10 is a sweet deal Rat.......I also noticed he pays no sales tax and he's in CALIFORNIA. I pay 2 bux in Mexico and thought I was in hog heaven. If he's not careful, we'll all show up at his house to get propane.. Just kidding Pierce!
I wonder if I could just plant one of those tanks at my shop and then refill my own RV propane tank.
Things that make ya go, "Hmmmmmmm..."
Craig
Just to put things in order, one of my customers who uses a lot of LP Gas, also has a 20,000 gal LP storage tank on his property. With his deal with the local LP Gas retailer, This reduces the miles required for the companygas trucks as this saves about 70 miles round trip into that area. Bottom line, he pays $.40 per gal, I am told.
Seems the big problem is, you are either not properly located or not buying enough fuel to get a good price, maybe? :o
Dave M
Well... I drive my RV over to his facility and park right next to his tank he uses to fill up his delivery trucks... you would think that this would be convenient enough for me to get a good price. So it must be that I don't buy enough propane.
I wonder how much it takes to get $1.10 a gallon. I might have to read that receipt a little more closely.
Edit: Pierce bought 152 gallons in order to get a $1.10 price from Ferrelgas, the same place I get propane for my RV. So maybe a 200 gallon tank at my shop will be enough to get me a lower price.
I wonder how much they charge for rent on one of those tanks.
Craig
Craig,
Yes, I do rent a 500 gallon tank for the house. A lot of service stations do charge road tax on the propane they dispense. While we do have a Grass Valley address, we actually live in Alta Sierra. We have a property owner's association that negotiates with all the gas companies to give the members the best price. It was $1.99 last year but $1.10 was a pleasant surprise this year. They fill anything I have waiting for them at the same price.
A lot of big tanks have a "wet link", a connection that goes to the bottom of the tank. Some gas companies have been changing out the big tanks with the wet links to avoid any liability issues. You can buy a connector in Nevada to use the main tank to fill smaller bottles, BBQs, etc. Can be dangerous if you make a mistake. That's why they don't sell it in CA.
If you charged your Foretravel dash AC with propane, the cost would be about $0.25 for the amount needed. Lots of people doing that here now.
Craig, just read your post. No minimum amount to get the $1.10 price. I can take a 5 or 10 gallon to FerrellGas and still get the same price. Tank rental costs $50-100 a year, depending on company. A lot of them will give you the first year's rental plus a full tank or so many free gallons.
Pierce
Perfectly legal to use it without tax in a motorhome as long as it does not supply the main engine. A partial propane engine supply would be in a gray area like running your diesel on McDonald's waste cooking oil.
Pierce
We own a 500 gallon tank. A 500 gallon propane tank will hold 400 gallons of fuel when it is full. Headroom of 20% is required for safety. The gas company keeps track of degree days and base line usage. They show up when the tank requires 75 to 200 gallons (or when they have fuel and not much else to do ;) ). Last two deliveries were 155 gallons in January and 79 gallons in March. They top off the tank in the coach when they visit the house. Price was $2.52 both times. We are in southeast Texas. Prices on the road are a bit higher and always include a waiver of road taxes because it is not used as fuel for propulsion.
We buy propane on the road in winter for safety. We try to keep at least 20 gallons on board in case we get trapped by bad weather. The rest of the year, we seldom need to add propane.
The tax I refer to is not road tax but sales tax. I have ALWAYS paid sales tax for propane. Especially is broke California. So the low price plus no sales tax is a surprise to me.
Not sure he doesn't pay sales tax, that was an invoice not a bill.
Roland
Pierce
We are practically neighbors. I live up in Foresthill. I may have to see if they will rent a 250 gal tank for a very small user. Only thing on propane at the house is BBQ and standby generator. And now the MH.