Fill'er Up! The Gas Station Experience

The first of many fill ups at the gas pump

The above picture was taken in Seattle at our first gas fill up.  We were not sure how much gas our new ride would hold, and we didn't anticipate the memorable encounters that are possible at a gas station when driving a hot pink food truck across the country.  Looking back, however, I realize that not only have we spent a considerable amount of time at gas stations, but we have had some peaks and valleys of emotions at gas stations as described below.

We realized quickly that it would not be wise to run the gas down to any less than 1/4 tank before filling up because a 50 gallon tank can be, well, time consuming.  Very quickly we learned that trucks are not as easy to fill with gas as your typical car.  There is no such thing as clicking the nozzle into place and standing by as gas rushes into your vehicle.  Oh no....filling up a food truck with gas is a skill, or as some may say, "magic."

Look! No Hands!  (sorta)

Due to the way the truck is designed, gas pumps always "click off" even though we are nowhere near full.  We have learned to adjust the position of the nozzle until we can get a steady stream of gas (usually pushing in and up or pulling the nozzle out ever so slightly).  Then we simply freeze.  We don't move.  We don't breathe.  We hold that spot and pray for the best.  Sometimes we are lucky and that location is deemed a "good pump." At less fortunate times, and more often than not, nozzles click off every .2 gallons or so...aka "a bad pump" and we spend a whole lot of time at the gas station.  In these cases we usually abandon ship early and only fill up to 1/2 or 3/4 of a tank.  Better luck next time.

Although fill ups can cause frustrations, stopping in crowded gas stations can also be quite enjoyable.  It is at gas stations that we get many thumbs up, have people snap photos of our truck, and stop by to ask questions.  I can't tell you how many people have asked for a sample as we pull in to pump gas or to find out if we have anything on board to sell.  Some people also have shouted Peel the Love at us.  Touche.

I never thought about blogging about this until my experience with the gas pumps in New Jersey yesterday.  As many of you know, in NJ you are not allowed to pump your own gas.  Lucas and I may or may not have high-fived when we made the realization that we would have a break from "dealing with" our notoriously irritable gas tank.  Well, the attendants at the gas station clearly have the "bad pumps" because they quickly experienced what we have done since May.  If only you could imagine their face when I lean out the driver side window, smile, bat my eyelashes and say, "It clicks off frequently."  One guy actually turned around and cursed.  This made me smile, only because I knew how he felt.

Upside Down Gas Pumping?

So, how did these attendants deal with this yesterday?  Well one of them tried all the tricks in the book, including flipping the gas nozzle upside down (see photo).  He also yelled across to the other attendant that we were going to have to be there for an hour at the rate it was taking to help us.

So at both gas stations where we stopped yesterday (both bad pumps) the attendants solved the problem of the annoying gas tank by...

Wait for it...

HAVING ME PUMP THE GAS.  So much for being off the hook in NJ.

On the plus side, I was proud to be able to hone in on my gas pumping abilities.  At the second stop, I began pumping gas after the attendant walked away, and the pump actually seemed to be working quite well.  He saw that I was still at it, so he came back over and said, "What?  Are you magic or something?"  This lead into a conversation about the tour and I ended up having a great conversation with two of the employees at the gas station while I topped off the tank.

It has it's ups and downs - but pumping gas has definitely been an experience worth sharing.