No gas station warning.

[Boomerrang]

Our cool Rangers will even tell you when there is not enough fuel to get to a gas station. I got this warning a couple times in remote areas this summer. Wife got excited and I said there is nothing to worry about. The GPS didn't know where we were going. Never trust GPS in the back country, always have a map.

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[John E Davies]

Never trust GPS in the back country, always have a map.

Never trust a FACTORY gps nav in the back country, There are plenty of good alternatives that let you download map layers to a phone or tablet. Use two devices for real peace of mind, in case one gets lost or damaged.

Also in Oregon, where you sometimes can't pump your own fuel, make sure they top the tank completely. Years ago I was in Joseph (in far NE Oregon, near Hells Canyon) and I was very tired, I did not check that the teen aged girl did it correctly, and I ended up with a less than full tank. I was headed up into the back country along the WA border, the endless forest roads eventually dumped me out across from a small town where I planned to stop, and I was left there staring wistfully across the CLOSED bridge. It looked great from space, but it was foot traffic only.... and it still is! These are current images:

OOOOPS:

I had to completely retrace my route and I did not run dry, barely, but it taught me a bitter lesson. When going into the really remote back country bring a little extra gas, and also make sure that you really do top up completely before leaving civilization... And while you can, remember to check recent satellite pics, to see if your only exit out is blocked.... Google Street View is good, but is not guaranteed to be 100% correct.

https://www.oregon.gov/osfm/pages/self-serve-fueling.aspx

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[snowman3]

Our cool Rangers will even tell you when there is not enough fuel to get to a gas station. I got this warning a couple times in remote areas this summer. Wife got excited and I said there is nothing to worry about. The GPS didn't know where we were going. Never trust GPS in the back country, always have a map.

That is pretty amazing. Where or how is the warning displayed? A pop up window in the instrument console behind the steering wheel? Or something on 12" center console display. thx for info!

 

[Boomerrang]

That is pretty amazing. Where or how is the warning displayed? A pop up window in the instrument console behind the steering wheel? Or something on 12" center console display. thx for info!

It showed on the center console and beeped. Had the screen on NAV.

 

[Boomerrang]

Never trust a FACTORY gps nav in the back country, There are plenty of good alternatives that let you download map layers to a phone or tablet. Use two devices for real peace of mind, in case one gets lost or damaged.

Also in Oregon, where you sometimes can't pump your own fuel, make sure they top the tank completely. Years ago I was in Joseph (in far NE Oregon, near Hells Canyon) and I was very tired, I did not check that the teen aged girl did it correctly, and I ended up with a less than full tank. I was headed up into the back country along the WA border, the endless forest roads eventually dumped me out across from a small town where I planned to stop, and I was left there staring wistfully across the CLOSED bridge. It looked great from space, but it was foot traffic only.... and it still is! These are current images:

OOOOPS:

I had to completely retrace my route and I did not run dry, barely, but it taught me a bitter lesson. When going into the really remote back country bring a little extra gas, and also make sure that you really do top up completely before leaving civilization... And while you can, remember to check recent satellite pics, to see if your only exit out is blocked.... Google Street View is good, but is not guaranteed to be 100% correct.

https://www.oregon.gov/osfm/pages/self-serve-fueling.aspx

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

I took out there on a rafting trip a few years ago! Was a great float with good friends. Did you like the road from Flora? Most of Oregon is pump your gas now.
Have you been to Dug Bar? That is an awesome road through the deep canyons. How about the Owyhee country? That is my favorite area.
Dave

 

[Boomerrang]

Eastern Oregon has a lot of no cell service, so cell phones don't work. If your cell phone has satellite it might work. I know you can text, don't know if GPS works.

 

[John E Davies]

I took out there on a rafting trip a few years ago! Was a great float with good friends. Did you like the road from Flora? Most of Oregon is pump your gas now.
Have you been to Dug Bar? That is an awesome road through the deep canyons. How about the Owyhee country? That is my favorite area.
Dave

I bet you took out on the sand bar to the south and hiked across that closed bridge? Do you know why it remains closed to vehicles?

Not to Dug Bar, I have that route saved for some other visit, it was a little too far and way rough for my wife. From Inmaha we went to Hat Point for the views. The problem with being at the bottom of Hells Canyon is that from there you can’t see anything but the bottom of basalt cliffs, I have lived with basalt for 30 years and have had enough of those rocks already…..

The Owyhee area is in my list too. My wife keeps taking me back to the Boise area to Birds of Prey, on one of those trips we will probably head west into that area. I hope it will not be disappointing compared to southern Utah.

FYI the NE corner of OR is tough to get around in, it is cut with deep north/ south canyons and ridges, the roads are few, always slow going and sometimes very very rough. This turned into a major thread hijack, I apologize.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[bigb]

I had to laugh when I got low on fuel in my German built diesel Sprinter and it told me to drive to a "gas" station.

 

[John E Davies]

Eastern Oregon has a lot of no cell service, so cell phones don't work. If your cell phone has satellite it might work. I know you can text, don't know if GPS works.

The gps antenna will always tell you where you are, but downloading (streaming) the map data is the huge problem when you get out there. You must download everything before the trip, preferably by wifi, they are very big files. I have about 15 gb saved to my GAIA app, and double that to OnX Offroad, my favorite. On two devices….

A Benchmark Atlas would be the best alternative, if there is one for where you travel, they do cover the western states. But that is never going to be 100% up to date and if you go all over the country, it will be hugely expensive… plus you lose the ability to view saved maps, points of interest, and other stuff on your center display, including routes and tracks, you really need a second person to navigate with a paper map, and use little sticky dots as “waypoints”. It is very much Old School navigation, meaning very slow and frustrating. I have about a dozen, some quite old, but I rarely bother to bring them on trips any more.

https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/atlas/

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Boomerrang]

I keep my atlas behind the rear seat with other important items. Also like old county maps. They have info the new maps don't have. I'm planning another trip to the Owyhee this summer.
Might start a thread on that later.

 

[skullydazed]

Also in Oregon, where you sometimes can't pump your own fuel, make sure they top the tank completely.

Oregonians are a stubborn bunch. I just got home from a trip to Eugene (actually about 20 mi outside Eugene) and there was always a line for the full serve. At least it meant less waiting for me.

Years ago, when I drove a 2004 VW TDI, an attendant at a station was super-excited to get to use the button to vent my tank when filling. Even though I would have preferred to do it myself (diesel has always been able to self-pump in OR) I had to respect the enthusiasm. Sometimes you do find attendants who care about their craft, such as it is.

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