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gas station canopies height


SWharton

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Newbie worry

 

We know our MH height is 12' 6", using 13' as our number.

 

Light bulb just went on regarding height of gas station canopies. Is there a height tester we can put on the MH? We were thinking a short CB antennae with a spring or something like that.

 

Are we over-worrying?

 

Thanks

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BANK canopies are almost always much lower than gas station canopies .

 

Still , we have to be vigilant anywhere we travel .

 

I'll always opt for the 'outside' pumps of most any station . That usually allows ample room for turns and not being directly under a canopy .

Goes around , comes around .

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We didn't have an attached height tester but I did have a fishing pole and tape measure that I used to check unmarked places that looked iffy and tree limbs. Measure the pole from end to end and then feed out enough of the tape measure to match your height and lock it. Hold the tip of the pole against the overhead obstruction, put the tape measure on the ground and if the end of the tape and end of the pole overlap you won't fit. Others have used a couple sections of 1/2" PVC pipe and a fitting to join them, cheaper than a fishing pole if you don't have one handy.

 

Using six inches as a cushion in all situations isn't a bad thing as dips and rises can put your rig higher than what it would be on flat ground. We used 2 inches as our default cushion but we were liberal in adding cushion in off-level situations. We also had a second height number with our suspension and hitch lowered as much as possible, came in handy a couple times when we were able to lower the rig and slip under something that otherwise would have required a long detour.

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Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I wonder is a back-up alarm could be mounted on the front cap pointing up at say a 45 degree angle. That way as you approach an overhang you will get an audible warning if the canopy is getting close. Even one set pointing forward at 45 degrees to scream watch-it you're getting close and another set pointing straight up to warn of clearance problem for a/c.

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At least 50% of the stations I encounter have no such height marking on their canopy. Some that originally did have it, painted over it and never replaced it. With a motorhome pulling a towed, by the time your flex antenna indicates the canopy is too short, you're too far in to go around and with a towed you can't back up, so you're still in for a major inconvenience. If it doesn't have a clearly visible clearance label I don't pull in. There's plenty of pumps without canopies to use.

 

 

Most gas stations have a height sign on the edge of the canopy: 12' 6"….or 10' 8"…or something. Look for that. I do like your idea of a flex antenna.

Jim

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I have never used gas stations for diesel. I just do not believe that they sell enough diesel to keep it fresh. Truck stops for me.

Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired)

 

2003 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9

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I have never used gas stations for diesel. I just do not believe that they sell enough diesel to keep it fresh. Truck stops for me.

 

Seriously? Where do you think all the diesel pickups fuel up? I would not and do not hestitate to fuel up at gas stations. Diesel doesnt go bad THAT fast.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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The only canopy I've ever worried about was the one at the border crossing at Sweetgrass/Couts going into Canada. My stubby little CB antenna rubbed the whole length of it, which only gave me a couple inches clearance to my A/C shrouds. The Border guys seemed uninterested.

Fulltiming since 2010

2000 Dutch Star

2009 Saturn Vue

Myrtle Beach, SC

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  • 1 month later...

 

We were thinking a short CB antennae with a spring or something like that.

If you do something like that, be very careful in what you use as we once watched a motorhome with such antenna on the top drive successfully under one of those canopies that has the florescent lights at right angles to the path of travel and his antenna broke every one of the light tubes it struck. As I remember, the count was 8 tubes that fell victim. Glass was falling like rain!

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Have you encountered a station that has one height marked on the front edge and a second (lower) height marked on the rear? Sounds impossible but there is one off I20 in South Carolina at the WalMart no less. I had used it once before but forgot that I had pulled up outside the canopy and filled by stretching the diesel hose

This last time, just pulled the cab under, filled up and then decided to pull on through to the big parking lot. Still did it but this time I had to wait for the local LEO to fill out the accident report. The new air condition unit is very loud, but rarely used anyhow.

 

Catfish

'08 Chebbie K3500; '07 Teton Sunrise Experience;
Native Texan/Transplanted Tarheel; Retired USMC

​LDO

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Seriously? Where do you think all the diesel pickups fuel up? I would not and do not hestitate to fuel up at gas stations. Diesel doesnt go bad THAT fast.

True, diesel fuel doesn't "go bad", but it does become contaminated with moisture while in storage tanks if turn-over is not enough to prevent same. A partally-filled tank breathes with temperature fluctuations. During the cooling cycle air-borne moisture/humidity condenses inside the tank, falls to the bottom, and if turnover is not high enough it(the condensate) reaches the pickup pipe and the vehicle winds up with water-laden diesel fuel.

I fill my MH and my Chevy dually at Murphy's fuel station because all the school bus drivers fill there, so it must be clean fuel. OTOH, there is a station a block away with 1 diesel pump that is seldom-used. I once filled there because of their very low price; next day I had to replace my fuel filter after the water-in-fuel light illuminated. It took 2 treatments with fuel conditioner to get my dually running right again.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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