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Here's a silly question for you......

When fuelling at a motorway services, is the access ok for caravans or do you use the truck pumps?

I drive long distances very regularly (solo) but fuel up before I leave, to avoid service station prices. However now I'm a caravanner, and won't get from home to holiday without a tank top up en-route......

I think of our local fuel stations that I use before travelling usually.... access would be a bit tight if I was towing the van...... mainly the exit, a bit twisty on the way out....

Any reassurance would be gratefully received!

paul is right . avoid the truck pumps cos there are a lot bigger in diameter and wont go in the car..

if you are using the motoway and need fuel, get off on the first a road and you will get a fuel station within a mile and it will be a lot cheaper too.

Thank you all for the advice. Didn't know that truck pump nozzles were bigger, thank heavens I didn't try it without asking here first! The results (let alone the embarrassment) could've been awful....

Always used the truck pumps to fill up om the motorway  never had a promblem with the nozzle . i fill up wife goes into pay for it

I wouldn't fill up on a service station unless I had to. There's plenty of supermarkets & other garages close to motorway junctions & a lot cheaer. You won't have any problem going onto a forecourt towing your caravan. It might be causing a slight delay for anyone wanting to access the pump behind you but they can wait.

If I were you, I'd find out where alternative filling statons were in relation to the motorway junctions & save yourself a few bob.

If you have Satnav or an iphone you can find filling stations etc with no problem.

BB

Have a really good look before you pull in and make sure that your exit strategy is workable. Stunningly obvious advice but .......

At a supermarket service station in Wales this year a caravanner had a choice of the first row of pumps, which would have been straight in and straight out, or the furthest row of pumps. He went for the furthest. To get from the pump to the road he first had to negotiate a 90 degree right hand turn between pumps and shop, and, (you will be ahead of me by now, ) there wasn't enough room to swing out and round with the car to ensure that the van had clearance. A couple of tries and eventually all the cars behind had to back up to the road so he could reverse and get to a position where he could reverse the van in a left hand turn to get his car pointing to the way in. Then he had to get out via the way in leaving cars coming in to back up even more!

Phil

We always try to fill up before from a lower cost outlet, towing for us is generally about twice the cost of driving with just the car, so any extra you pay is in real terms double.  With the price of the wet stuff going up daily, it makes a real difference over the year.

We get caught out occasionally, but try to keep this down as much as we can.

It's not just the fuel though, once your in there, we can often spend £5-10 on snacks drinks etc, especially on a long haul.

Tony B

sounds like my local Tesco too! Must be a Tesco thing......

You can save a few quid, but good luck with your exit.....

Agree. I would only ever use as a last resort. I guesstimate I can get 300 miles from a tank while towing. My journey will be around 370. I'll only add the fuel I need to make sure I get there, then fill up somewhere cheaper when on holiday!

If I can save a few quid by doing this, it's more for the holiday beer fund!