I met my Waterloo this week

[Turtle]

"I am still amazed at the number of trucks still fueling at the "j" with the huge discount given at TA with using comdata card, why would anyone choose to fuel there...unless absolutly needed."

In a van, where a 20 gallon purchase at the J gives you half a shower credit, two purchases gives you a full credit, the free $9 shower is often more of a discount than the TA's diesel fuel discount, especially when you add in the $1.50 twice for the use of the Comdata card.

Let's say a 30 cent discount at the TA on 20 gallons of fuel. That's $6.00 discount. Subtract the $1.50 Comdata fee, and it's $4.50 discount. Do that twice and it's a $9.00 discount, same as what a shower costs at the J, whereas a shower at the TA will cost you $10.

If you can squeeze 25 gallons in there, each time is a $7.50 discount, less Comdata at $6.00. Twice that is a $12 discount, which makes it still cheaper to get fuel at a TA.

When the discounts are less than about 25 or 30 cents, and you'll be needing a shower in the next day or three, it's better to fill at the J a couple of times to get that shower credit. Otherwise, it's cheaper at the TA most of the time.

Big and straights don't have to worry about that so much, but diesel vans do. Plus, gas vans don't get the TA discounts, anyway, but they still get the 20 gallon half a shower credit at the J.

 

[jeffman164]

The J in Phoenix will not let you sleep there overnight either . Manager said that it was a city policy . Questionable but I didn't question .

 

[DougTravels]

I boycott TA's

I do not have comdata, I usually pay cash to save money. The fact is that their cash price is inflated (usually much higher than Flying J) to give these discounts to others.

There's alot wrong with FJ but I'm looking for the cheapest fuel I can get. My current carrier does not offer Comdata. It would seem that it would benefit TA to offer this discount to cash customers.

 

[Turtle]

Not all things are equal with price. The TA doesn't inflate their cash price in order to give discounts. Other fuel chains like Loves, Petro, Pilot, all have about the same cash price discounts as the TA.

Cetane is a measure of how quickly diesel fuel will ignite in compression. The quicker it ignites between injection and combustion, the more time is has to burn, resulting in a more complete burn, a leaner burn, less soot to build up in the engine components, less wear and tear on the injectors among other things, and usually, increased MPG. While it's BTU's, and not cetane, that gives the fuel its power, BTU levels and cetane generally go hand in hand, just as a consequence of how it is produced. That's not to say that high cetane fuel can't have a low BTU rating, it can, but it's not the norm.

In the US, the minimum standards for regular diesel is 38-43 cetane. For premium diesel, it's 43-48, generally, but can be up to 50 or 55 (CARB diesel is 50 minimum). In Europe, 46 is the minimum. Most of the diesel here that is sold as premium will be at least 46, and will also have additives for lubricity, water dispersants, and detergents to clean the injectors and to minimize carbon deposits. Anything under 46, even if it's in the 43-48 "premium" range, will be sold as regualr diesel if it doesn't have the additives.

Diesel is a distilled product, rather than the tightly controlled refined product of gasoline, so diesel cetane can vary quite a bit from batch to batch. But the vast majority of diesel sold in the US, other than at the Flying J, will be in the 42-46 range, usually right around 45. The Flying J produces almost all of their own diesel fuel. It's generally in the 38-42 range, more often at the lower end, which is why it is cheaper. In many cases, what you save at the pump you lose in fuel mileage, not to mention increased carbon deposits with less of a complete burn. A cetane boost additive would be needed with most Flying J diesel, which can negate the pump savings.

So you may be boycotting the TA for the wrong reasons. You get what you pay for. Just something to be aware of.

 

[Keeshond0622]

I've been pretty lucky with J's , but you r right. Some of them can be butts. I remember I was once in Albuquerque once with a simliar situation. I tried parking with the smaller rv's and they doid the same thing , chase me away.

Oh well. So I went down the road to the casino, slept great. Got up played some black jack and won $100. Life is good.

 

[easyrider2697]

"I am still amazed at the number of trucks still fueling at the "j" with the huge discount given at TA with using comdata card, why would anyone choose to fuel there...unless absolutly needed."

In a van, where a 20 gallon purchase at the J gives you half a shower credit, two purchases gives you a full credit, the free $9 shower is often more of a discount than the TA's diesel fuel discount, especially when you add in the $1.50 twice for the use of the Comdata card.

Let's say a 30 cent discount at the TA on 20 gallons of fuel. That's $6.00 discount. Subtract the $1.50 Comdata fee, and it's $4.50 discount. Do that twice and it's a $9.00 discount, same as what a shower costs at the J, whereas a shower at the TA will cost you $10.

If you can squeeze 25 gallons in there, each time is a $7.50 discount, less Comdata at $6.00. Twice that is a $12 discount, which makes it still cheaper to get fuel at a TA.

When the discounts are less than about 25 or 30 cents, and you'll be needing a shower in the next day or three, it's better to fill at the J a couple of times to get that shower credit. Otherwise, it's cheaper at the TA most of the time.

Big and straights don't have to worry about that so much, but diesel vans do. Plus, gas vans don't get the TA discounts, anyway, but they still get the 20 gallon half a shower credit at the J.

Point taken, thats why I said...unless absolutly needed....sorry I will be honest I was not thinking of vans and a 20 gal fillup, my fill ups are always 125-150...sorry I forgot about you guys for a min.

 

[layoutshooter]

So far, I have not seen any difference in my mpg by the brand of diesel I buy. My last run I checked I filled up at a "J" and ran 610.1 miles, with the reefer running. I filled up after that run and bought 61.1 gallons. That is my norm, a bit higher on non-reefer runs. I do run additives 100% of the time. Summer blend in summer and winter blend in winter. In my case, since I always use additives I still would get the benefits of any discounts. Layoutshooter