We have traveled 16,550 miles since starting The Touring Camper in 2014, journeying as far as Wyoming, Florida, and Maryland from our home base in Pennsylvania. And no matter where our travels have taken us through the years, making refueling stops at Pilots and Flying Js has always been a part of our adventure. We appreciate that along unfamiliar highways, Pilots and Flying Js are a familiar and consistent place for RVers to make a pit stop. Which is why Jarrett and I are excited to announce that Pilot Flying J is our official fuel sponsor as we venture this winter to Texas and beyond.
Pilot Flying J owns and operates over 700 travel centers and convenience stores nationwide. When we hit the road this week, we’ll be making regular stops at Pilots and Flying J’s to refuel, use the restrooms, and stretch our legs.
One of the main reasons we prefer stopping at a Pilot or Flying J on our camping trips is that they are RV friendly gas stations. When we pull in, we don’t have to worry about whether our rig will fit, or whether we will have a hard time navigating through the gas station parking lot. (Of course we occasionally have to fill up at regular gas stations, and sometimes it’s been a tight squeeze navigating through some gas stations. Before pulling into a gas station, we always try to assess whether we can navigate the camper in it–but sometimes we’ve misjudged, or the necessity of getting gas NOW! has trumped waiting for a more ideal location, especially since our max fuel range while towing is only 250 miles!)
in addition to the spacious, RV friendly gas stations, Pilot Flying J’s great service islands offer RV fueling lanes, dump stations, and propane refills. Many sites also offer overnight parking for RVers looking for an easy spot to pull in and get some shut eye before hitting the road again.
The next time you visit a Pilot or Flying J, pick up one of the RV Travel Guides, which details by state the locations of the gas stations and the services available at each site. Here’s an example of a page in the travel guide:
Pilot Flying J also has a handy app to make it simple for RVers to locate stations along their route, verify fuel prices, check what amenities are available at each location, earn rewards, and much more. Drivers with the preferred loyalty account are eligible to receive a three cent gas or auto diesel discount when using the myPilot app. We just downloaded the app to our phones so we’ll be ready to use it on our Texas adventure, and the app says they will be adding even more features for RV guests in the future.
Pilot Flying J also offers a special RV Plus charge card geared just for RVers. If you are a Good Sam Club member, when you use the RV Plus card, you receive additional discounts per gallon of fuel. Can’t beat saving money–especially with the amount of fuel RVers use. (One note: It doesn’t appear you can layer the Good Sam discount with the fuel discount from the myPilot rewards card. We’ll be testing this out shortly!)
With so many services available to RVers, Pilot Flying J is an ideal fueling stop. We’ll be posting daily from the road (as long as we have cell reception!), documenting our winter adventure to Texas and our experiences stopping at Pilot Flying J’s RV friendly gas stations, so be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so you can get the latest updates. (If you like hashtags, we will be using #thetouringcamper and #fueledbypilotflyingj on social media.) We invite you to come along with us as we explore the country while highlighting ways to make your next RVing experience the best yet as you embark on amazing adventures!
Texas, here we come!
I agree , Flying j’s and Pilots are great. We route our trips around their locations. We sleep there , eat there, and fuel there at discounted rates. We have never felt unsafe at these locations. We prefer these to Walmart, which are ok but we prefer Flying j and pilot.
Hi John! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading! We haven’t yet spent the night sleeping in the RV at a Pilot or Flying J but we hear that some locations have RV overnight parking away from the big trucks. We’ll have to check it out sometime in the future!
My husband and I travel West every winter. We ALWAYS look for Flying J stations. They are very rv friendly. We have found most Pilot stations are not.
Hi Marge! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading! Yes, the more Pilots we stop at, we are finding that some are more RV-friendly than others. The newer ones we have stopped at seem to have larger fuel lane areas, which is always helpful with an RV. But we still prefer Flying Js when we are towing the camper.
Hi –
Very informative post(s). Thank you!
New to RVing but have used Pilot Flying J service stations for years traveling by car. I do have a question…for diesel RVs, do you ever (is it allowed) use the truck lanes for refueling or always the “automobile” area at these locations?
Hi Greg–thanks for stopping by! Great question: We have been told at various Pilot/Flying J’s that if we had a diesel we could refuel on the truck lanes. And here are two articles with more tips from diesel RVers who have been fueling up at truck lanes for years:
http://thegoodthebadandtherv.com/2016/04/22/fuel-truck-stop/
http://learntorv.com/diesel-fill-ups-truck-stops-are-a-great-bet/
Hope that helps–happy camping! 🙂
Thank you so much for the tips, we are new to RV’s and just towed a 32′ travel trailer from New Hampshire to Tennessee, it was very difficult to find RV friendly fuel along the way. We will definitely use your tips on our next journey.
Hi Mark–thanks for stopping by and reading! Glad the info was helpful! If you can’t find a Flying J with the RV islands, another place that we found pretty good for RVs was the Love’s truck stops. All the best in your adventures!
We always go to pilot or flying j’s…i have the app on my phone….love to travel, going to Michigan in October, New Mexico in nov, and Las Cruces New Mexico in Dec….flyin j…here we comw!!
Sounds like you have awesome travels ahead! Enjoy! 🙂
How do we find the stations that have gasoline available in the RV lane? Our truck does not use diesel fuel.
Hello Kathy! The special RV refueling lanes, which are separate from the regular lanes or truck lanes, always have gasoline at them. Not all Flying J’s have the RV refueling lanes, though. In addition to using the Flying J app, you can also download a file with all of the locations. The link is on this page (https://pilotflyingj.com/rv-services/); just click the red “Download RV locations list.” Hope that helps! All the best!
I am a Good Sam and a Flying J Pilot Rewards Member. We just completed an 8500 miles trip through 26 States to Maine. We never used Pilot FlyingJ once. There prices even with the 10 cent discount are 10 to30 cents higher than competitive prices at other providers which include Valero, various Grocery Stores and Walmart. I am totally amazed than anyone still uses them with their pricing.
Hi Ron–thanks for stopping by and reading! 🙂 That’s interesting about your experience with their pricing. The Flying J’s in Ohio, PA, and those along our typical routes are generally as cheap or cheaper than the other stations. I’m sure though it varies by location. I love heading South because all of the stations are cheaper than what we are used to in PA–but that’s because we have ridiculously high gas taxes here. 🙂
Sams club and Cisco are the cheapest and are usually easer to nanigate
Hi Paul–thanks for stopping by and reading! Yes, definitely agree on the price! 🙂 But it’s hard to find them right off the highway like we can find Pilots, Flying J’s, Loves, etc. When we are towing, we prefer quick on-and-off fuels ups.
What do you mean when you say rv friendly vs having rv lanes. We have a 36 ft. Motorhome and find some flying j’s & Loves difficult to get in and out of. We look for ones that have an entrance and exit without having to circle the gas pumps along with navigating around vehicles and sometimes fast food drive through.
Hi Teresa! We like to stop at Flying J’s that have the special area for RVers: There are usually gas pumps and dump stations at the RV islands, which are separate from the regular gas pumps and truck fueling lanes. But not all gas stations are created equal when it comes to ease of getting an RV in and out. That is one reason we like the Pilot/Flying J app, because it identifies which locations have the RV islands so we know which would be better to stop at.
This has been the most helpful article I have read on the subject, thank you! We are a week away from starting our Class A, gas motorhome experience. More than the nervousness of driving the thing is knowing I can get gas on the road without getting myself into a bind!
Thank you for the article.
So glad the info was helpful! Yes, I highly recommend the Pilot Flying J mobile app so that you can plot your gas stops in advance. The app will let you know which locations have the RV fuel islands that make it more manageable. If you don’t find any Flying J’s along your route, Love’s gas stations are also generally big fueling areas. And if you find yourself someplace where there is none of the above, look for gas stations where you can pull in on the end pump and then circle around the building so you never have to back up. Happy camping!
We have used the RV lane for refueling and it is a big help. Our class A RV (36’) plus tow car fit nicely in the lane, however we have difficulty maneuvering away from the pumps. Normally the RV lanes are perpendicular to the building instead of parallel to the building. Complicated by vehicles parked perpendicular to the front of the building blocks our turning radius. Does anyone else experience this?
It is indeed tricky at times navigating through refueling lanes. We have found that sometimes we’ve had to back-up out of places, since there is often lots of room behind, but often cars parked in front of the gas station. When we back out of a spot, I usually stand at the rear to monitor for cars or pedestrians so that Jarrett can safely navigate.
So the dump station also have water refilling? We are new to the camper life and are looking to be proactive within our travels.
Hello Melissa! Thanks for stopping by and reading! At the Flying J’s we’ve been to that have had dump stations, there is usually a potable water spigot located near the dump station island too. (The water spigot immediately next to the dump station is NOT potable water–it’s only for flushing purposes.)