i asked my dealer, in hewitt, nj, why i paid $12.50 for a 20 lb and $21.50 for a 30 lb tank to be filled. they said that they don't make any money on filling 20lb's they don't even brake even. that's why they charge more for the 30's. i guess it works for them. at$ 21.50 is really not a bad price. in ellenville, ny i paid $18.50. for a 30lb'er don't know what a 20lb'er would be. i fill them back home.
Hi Parkview, No one is calling you a thief--you post your prices and the client says yeah or nay. The issue was that the other vendor was/is blaming the rates charged on the government agencies that control the sale of propane, suggesting the Government "fixes" the price. It certainly is very honorable of you to point out to customers with a 1/2 full tank that they should wait until the tank is more nearly empty. Other dealers may not be so quick to point that out to their clients. I try to fill in USA when I can as the rates are much lower than in Canada. Does this mean I'm "stealing" from my local dealers? I think not.
As I can not speak to many of the other states, the northeastern states where We have purchased propane, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and the State of Maine dispense propane by the gallon. Do they have scales, yes ! Do they sell by weight, at times yes, BUT when the customer requests the sale by volume-GALLONS- the request is honored and the charge is per GALLON delivered. Any other practice is a rip-off, and that's my opinion !
We spent the winter of 2003/2004 in Texas. All propane was charged at a set fee per bottle, no matter how much propane was dispensed. I was told this was per state regulations, as Parkview has stated more than once. The price per bottle varied between the different parks. I drove an extra 5 miles to save $2.50 per bottle ($13.50 vs $16.00). In Washington, we dispense by meter at our park. Others use scales, but have to make the calculation of converting the number of pounds dispensed to gallons, and then charge the gallon rate. Our meter is checked and approved by the state annually for accuracy.
QUOTE(Gracie & Chloe @ Dec 28 2007, 10:23 PM) [snapback]9683[/snapback] We spent the winter of 2003/2004 in Texas. All propane was charged at a set fee per bottle, no matter how much propane was dispensed. I was told this was per state regulations, as Parkview has stated more than once. The price per bottle varied between the different parks. I drove an extra 5 miles to save $2.50 per bottle ($13.50 vs $16.00). In Washington, we dispense by meter at our park. Others use scales, but have to make the calculation of converting the number of pounds dispensed to gallons, and then charge the gallon rate. Our meter is checked and approved by the state annually for accuracy. My experience is that RV parks that dispense propane usually charge more than the rate at the general economy because of the "convenience factor." At the park mentioned by "Gracie and Chloe" (which I have stayed at...), the "per gallon" charge is still pretty reasonable even with the extra pennies charged for the "convenience factor." Worth it to purchase from this park. JJ
QUOTE(Gracie & Chloe @ Dec 29 2007, 12:23 AM) [snapback]9683[/snapback] We spent the winter of 2003/2004 in Texas. All propane was charged at a set fee per bottle, no matter how much propane was dispensed. I was told this was per state regulations, as Parkview has stated more than once. The price per bottle varied between the different parks. I drove an extra 5 miles to save $2.50 per bottle ($13.50 vs $16.00). In Washington, we dispense by meter at our park. Others use scales, but have to make the calculation of converting the number of pounds dispensed to gallons, and then charge the gallon rate. Our meter is checked and approved by the state annually for accuracy. Just one more clarifying statement and then I promise I will shut up on this topic. Gracie and Chloe, The State of Texas does not require us to charge by the bottle; it only requires us to fill them by weight. This is for safety reasons so that bottles are not overfilled, which can result in catastrophic explosions. A gallon meter does not tell you when a tank is full and how much is in the tank when you begin to fill it. How we charge, on the other hand, is up to us, and I chose to follow the pricing procedures and price levels used by my distributor. When I began selling propane, I had no idea what to charge, so I asked my distributor and they agreed to fax me their retail prices every time they change and that is what I charge. I charge the same as they do, but I make a smaller pofit margin than they do because they pay less for propane than I do. Again, thanks all for listening. Doug
Doug and all the rest who have contributed to this thread, Thank-You for sharing your knowledge with us. My last TT had two 10 gal bottles and I found it only necessary to fill them once on our last 60 day trip. The trip began on April 1st and we experienced many cold nights. So between cooking and heating we were burning propane daily. Took them in to be filled in Bountiful, UT while visiting DM. One was empty the other about half empty. As I recall they charged by the gallon. I didn't find the cost to fill the 2 tanks unreasonable and that fill-up lasted a looooooooong time. Our new rig has two 30 gal bottles. We are leaving on a 90 day cross country in April. It is good to know that some places charge by weight and others by the gallon and the reason why. Again thanks for sharing.
QUOTE(Parkview @ Dec 29 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]9689[/snapback] QUOTE(Gracie & Chloe @ Dec 29 2007, 12:23 AM) [snapback]9683[/snapback] We spent the winter of 2003/2004 in Texas. All propane was charged at a set fee per bottle, no matter how much propane was dispensed. I was told this was per state regulations, as Parkview has stated more than once. The price per bottle varied between the different parks. I drove an extra 5 miles to save $2.50 per bottle ($13.50 vs $16.00). In Washington, we dispense by meter at our park. Others use scales, but have to make the calculation of converting the number of pounds dispensed to gallons, and then charge the gallon rate. Our meter is checked and approved by the state annually for accuracy. Just one more clarifying statement and then I promise I will shut up on this topic. Gracie and Chloe, The State of Texas does not require us to charge by the bottle; it only requires us to fill them by weight. This is for safety reasons so that bottles are not overfilled, which can result in catastrophic explosions. A gallon meter does not tell you when a tank is full and how much is in the tank when you begin to fill it. How we charge, on the other hand, is up to us, and I chose to follow the pricing procedures and price levels used by my distributor. When I began selling propane, I had no idea what to charge, so I asked my distributor and they agreed to fax me their retail prices every time they change and that is what I charge. I charge the same as they do, but I make a smaller pofit margin than they do because they pay less for propane than I do. Again, thanks all for listening. Doug Hey Parkview, Don't worry about it, as you have already figured out you aren't going to make everyone happy. The fact is you have been honest about it and that's all that matters. If someone doesn't like the way you charge or the price they call always go down the road. Keep running a nice park and you'll do just fine. Just my opinion, Have a Happy and very safe New Year everyone,
I guess the bottom line here is that: 1- One gets a more fair and equitable price if the removable tank is empty and that condition is up to the RV owner. 2- Government rules are made by people who don’t have any experience in the area that is being governed. Texas has some other screwy laws that aren’t necessarily RV friendly. I mention that from a “native’s” viewpoint. It’s good that we can bring each of the state’s negatives to the attention of the RV community so that we can deal with them as we need and want to. I’ve learned one thing from this thread. I sure don’t want to be in the propane business.
QUOTE(RLM @ Dec 30 2007, 11:43 PM) [snapback]9703[/snapback] I guess the bottom line here is that: 1- One gets a more fair and equitable price if the removable tank is empty and that condition is up to the RV owner. 2- Government rules are made by people who don’t have any experience in the area that is being governed. Texas has some other screwy laws that aren’t necessarily RV friendly. I mention that from a “native’s” viewpoint. It’s good that we can bring each of the state’s negatives to the attention of the RV community so that we can deal with them as we need and want to. I’ve learned one thing from this thread. I sure don’t want to be in the propane business. Outstanding RLM, I would still like to see Texas. Happy New Year,
what I take from this long thread... is simple. DO NOT BUY PROPANE AT THE CAMPGROUND or CAMP STORE... Good there is a tool rental place down the street with a big LP tank where they fill rental equipment and motor homes. :lol:
Personally I have stayed at this place before. One of the worst places I have ever seen. The grounds are poorly kept, and the service is terrible. I would NOT recommend staying here! The owners themselves were extremely rude, as well as those who worked at the front. There are much nicer places to stay for the same price very close in the area.
QUOTE(Parkview @ Dec 24 2007, 10:35 AM) [snapback]9611[/snapback] Hi everyone, I will not comment on the price charged per gallon, but I will let everyone know that in Texas and many other states it is common practice to charge by the bottle for filling removable propane bottles. This is not a practice of the RV park or the campground industry, but a practice of the Propane industry. It is not required by the Texas Railroad Commission to charge by the bottle, but we are required to fill vertically oriented removable bottles by weight on a certified set of scales. We charge a flat amount (a set price ) for 10 lb., 20 lb., 30 lb. or 40 lb. bottles, regardless of how many gallons they take. We do not even reset the gallon meter when filling these bottles as it is an irrelevant number. This is the practice of the propane wholesaler that I buy from and all other wholesalers that I know of. For bottles larger than 40 lbs. net and on non-removable horizontal tanks, we do charge by the gallon. Personally, when I fill a bottle that is obviously not empty or almost empty, I ask the customer if he is sure he wants to fill it because it will cost the same as an empty bottle to fill. It would not be worth our time to call one of our personnel certified to dispense propane on the radio to drop what he is doing to come fill a 20 lb. propane bottle and only charge for a gallon if that is what the bottle took to fill. We sell propane primarily as a service for our customers, another draw if you will. The expenses of purchasing the dispensing equipment, of sending personnel to Austin to train and license people to legally pump propane, of dramatically increased cost of liability insurance, and of installing specialized electrical equipment and emergency cutoff switches required by the State hardly justifies our being in the propane business if our goal was to make it a profit center for our business. I hope this sheds some light on the issue. Thanks for listening. Doug! In WV, I have run into both situations. There is a local Exxon station that has propane that charges to fill my 30# bottles at a flat fee if they are completely empty or have propane remaining. The local feed and seed store charges by the amount of gallons that they pump into the tank totally ignoring the weight factor even though they both put the bottles on a set of scales when they fill them. When I asked why the flat fee at the Exxon station, the explanation that I received was in line with your comments about labor costs, etc. They provided it as a service to the local bar-b-que people more than anything and people rarely brought a bottle that wasn't empty. So I solved the issue by simply buying an additional tank. It sits full in the out building until needed and when one gets empty, it is replaced with the spare and the now empty tank becomes the filled spare when I get it filled. The only time I use the Exxon station is if the seed and feed is closed. It is a few more miles from my home than the seed and feed store. The feed and seed store really doesn't like to fill my 5# tank whether empty or has propane in it. It is minimal cost either way.
Parkview, we are heading out to TX in about 3 weeks and will make it a point to stay in your nice park, Great website and virtual tours. Probably will make it a point to fill up my propane tank also. I always try to support small businesses. Yours looks great. Thank you
Hi Lindsay etal, We look forward to seeing you and having a great chat or two. We will still have many of our winter campers in the park at that time. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so I know we can show you a great time. Make sure to introduce yourself when you arrive. Doug
QUOTE(Parkview @ Jan 21 2008, 12:26 PM) [snapback]9971[/snapback] Hi Lindsay etal, We look forward to seeing you and having a great chat or two. We will still have many of our winter campers in the park at that time. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so I know we can show you a great time. Make sure to introduce yourself when you arrive. Doug An introduction will not be necessary as Lindsay Richards will be the individual asking, "is there a lower rate"? Just an observation relating to past postings.
Ok, I'll bite. What about filling propane tanks that aren't removable? My Winnie is just about out and haven't had to fill her up yet. (One of the benefits of being from So Cal and doing a lot of warm weather travel). Should I just expect to pay per gallon or am I likely to encounter some sort of fill charge?
QUOTE(gwbischoff @ Jan 24 2008, 05:49 PM) [snapback]10023[/snapback] Ok, I'll bite. Should I just expect to pay per gallon or am I likely to encounter some sort of fill charge? You will likely pay a per gallon fee - but I have encountered places that will have a minimum charge of $10 or $15. It does "pay" to check first.
