When I was reading my AAA travel book...... it said that in the state of Oregon, you are not allowed to pump your own gas at a filling station. Is this true? If so, what is the reason for this and do they charge you the full service price per gallon of gas?

It is true Dave but I cannot remember why. Couple diff. times people have gotten real testy when I have forgotten and start doing it myself on trips to Crater lake. I am trying to remember if its related to employment, create jobs etc.

....in the state of Oregon, you are not allowed to pump your own gas at a filling station. Is this true? If so, what is the reason for this and do they charge you the full service price per gallon of gas?

Yes.
You can't pump your own gas.
At the time this law was passed, Oregons logging industry was tanking.
The law creates employment for thousands of people.
Use this link for Gas prices in Oregon, http://www.oregongasprices.com/
My brother lives in Medford. I find that when I visit from N. Ca., Oregon prices are less.

According to www.gasbuddy.com Portland is running about $2.85.

Yes, it is VERY true. I still remember the first time I drove up there. I was trying to pump my own gas and the attendant kept bugging me, LOL. They take their job pretty seriously. Hard for people like me to let someone else pump their gas or touch their car, I couldn't imagine driving a classic car/hot rod in Oregon and having to let someone put gas in it for me.

Gas prices are no higher there than self serve here in Calif. (actually Oregon is cheaper). Doesn't seem right but, I am sure we pay a lot higher taxes on the fuel here.

They don't have any sales tax either...buy a big screen tv on your way through. :)

-Scott

Drove through twice in the '69 and bought gas twice in OR at 2 different stations. Each time the attendant handed me the nozzle and when done pumping I handed it back to the attendant. I just kinda asked the attendant about the law and looked over at my car and each time the attendant suggested they could hand me the hose...

OR has a lot of unemployment and is a very health concious state. I figured the law was 2 fold. Keep the general population from handling fuel and create extra jobs...

They fuelers are trained and certified. They do take it very seriously.

On our way back from Seattle Chevy show in 03, we went thru Oregon to Mt McKenzie then east to Wyoming. Along a very long straight stretch of open prarie was a lone gas station and there were 4 cars there and I was on less than 1/2 a tank, so I stopped to fill up. A grizzled old coot in his late 70's was in the window at the till cashing someone else out. I grabbed the pump handle, not knowing that stupid state law, and started to activate the machine, the only crank handle type. That old coot ran out in a gust of wind and yelled "hey you cant do that, stop". I was stunned but I stopped. He said, Oregon law says you cant fuel your car, it has to be done by the trained employees so there wont be any accidents or explosions. I rolled my eyes and stepped back and let him run the dang hose. After buying about 10 gallons of gas, I went inside and pulled out my credit card, he pointed to the sign on the front of his cash register "cash only, no credit cards". I said, it would be nice if that sign was outside on the pump where someone can see it sooner. He gave me a funny look with his wet, hand rolled cigarette in his lips. I handed him a $20 and he opened a cigar box under the counter where he kept the money, guess the till isnt good enuf. This was an amazing place to stop. Wife asked for the ladies room, he said next door in the cafe. Fine, we both walked over there, the place had not be in business for years, dusty, dirty yet in the back were 2 rooms, not well kept of course. On top of the stools was a coffee can with a sign "please tip accordingly to maintain this service"... I was tempted to leave a 'brown' tip in the can but I dropped a quarter in it and laughed on the way out. The stories you get from cruising are truely life long memories. :)

Its a fire code/safety issue, and its been this way since the 50's so I don't buy the fading timber jobs reason. The guys that have filled our cars (we spend lots of time in Oregon, I love the state) have never spilled a drop of gas and while some of the towns you may stop in the attendents may be a bit "backwoods" but most the guys doing it take it seriously and do it well.
I have no problem with it, and apparently niether does the vast majority of voters in the state, a proposal to change to self serve has been defeated by voters several times. Gas is as cheap as anywhere, the guys doing it do a good job and even will clean your windows, so just sit in your car and relax, it will be over in a minute. ;) Is it really that big of a deal?

Sean,
Not a big deal in my family car or truck, but, it is a HUGE deal when it comes to a Hot Rod or Classic. As long as they do a good job (which they did all the times I have been up there) I don't have a problem with it. The natives vote for it so that's all that counts.

I've lived in oregon my whole life and it's been that way for 50 years+. When you pull into the station driving a classic like like we do, most of the attendence will either ask you if you want to pump it while they watch or have them pump it. They take there job seriously and are always carefull when putting gas into a car they know is special. And for the same price as other states, most of the time cheaper, why not relax and let somebody else do the work. :thumbsup:

If I'm thinking correctly there have been seven times that it has gone before the state and overturned every time. I personally don't mind it. It keeps you out of the rain:) They do take care when filling your car, and extra care when filling a nice car. I have gone to other states and sat there for a few minutes before realizing that there was no one to pump my gas:clonk:

I heard New Jersey has the same law.

Thanks for the replies guys....... my wife and I are planning a trip up to Crater Lake next month and I was looking in the travel book for places to stay near the lake, when I read in the book that in Oregon you are not allowed to fill your own car up with gas which I thought was crazy and just wanted to confirm that. I suppose it won't be a problem since we are taking the family car. I was just curious as to the reason for that state law. I also wondered how people would react to letting someone else gas up their classic car fearing that the attendant might spill gas all over their new paint job :eek: If I spilled gas on the paint, I would only have myself to blame. If the attendant spills gas all over my new paint job, it would seem to make matters worse. Well I guess it's the law and we will be in the family car, so it might not be so bad.

Thanks for the replies guys....... my wife and I are planning a trip up to Crater Lake next month and I was looking in the travel book for places to stay near the lake.

You may want to look at staying at the lakes lodge, or Roseburg is a nice town about an hour and a half from Crater Lake. The drive up the North Umqua river is one of the nicest around.

Have a great trip, the scenery will be great.

You may want to look at staying at the lakes lodge, or Roseburg is a nice town about an hour and a half from Crater Lake. The drive up the North Umqua river is one of the nicest around.

Have a great trip, the scenery will be great.

Thank you very much, I will check into it.

Yep...they can get a little testy if you try and pump yer own :D I was up there 2 years ago (north-central OR), driving a rental ford focus (evil, possessed car that got about 40mpg). I was driving around and stopped at The Dalles for gas...pumped my own without thinking twice. I just thought there was something wrong with the cashier because she kept giving me the funny looks. The next night down around the Oxbow dam in the hells canyon area, I stopped to get gas and almost got tackled by this 60+ year old man when I grabbed the pump nozzle :D He said it had something to do with creating jobs (like others have said), which was fine with me because it was friggin COLD that night. The old guy turned out to be pretty cool though...his daily driver (which he was more than happy to show off to me) was a mid 50's chrysler imperial IIRC with a 331 hemi in it, all stock except for duals and glass packs. And it sure sounded nice when he whacked the throttle on that old hemi :thumbsup:
Oregon is probably about the coolest state I have been in yet (and I've been in just about all of them). In a 3-4 hour drive you can go from the cascade mountains, and heading west cross miles and miles of rolling hill farmland, desert, and then be right back in some of the most rugged and beautiful mountains I have ever seen (blue mountain range IIRC). This is also where I seen the deepest snow I have ever seen in my life...it was 10-12 feet deep in places :eek: I got some cool pics of the area but my scanner is dead, otherwise I would post them.
Another great thing about OR (especially compared to OK) is that you can get cheap, excellent seafood anywhere. Every cafe, roadside diner, truck stop, etc sells that stuff like they do hamburgers here. I ate VERY well while I was there :thumbsup:

Don't come up too late in the month. September can get pretty wet. It might be different this year though, been pretty dry. Also the ride through N.CA on hwy 97 is pretty cool.
On the gas issue and classics. 90% of the old cars spew fuel when they click off at full. If you wash it off in a reasonable amount of time there is minimal risk of hurting the paint. My 88 Monte SS, my previous 69 BB Camaro, and my 68 SS396 Chevelle spit gas on a regular basis and with a regular washing never did the paint or chrome get hurt. Plus most of the kids pumping gas appreciate old iron and are careful. Lastly the station I frequent, the kids still wash your window on a fill-up even on my lifted burb :cool:

NJ has the same law. You cant pump your own gas. I filled up yesterday at $2.85 and saw $2.83. When I drove the Camaro, the attendant let you do it, same for motorcycles. Its kinda funny when I pull up in the Camaro with someone recently imigrated or young and they look around for the gas door :D Gives me time to get out and grab the handle from them :D

Forgot, there is Diamond Lake right near Crater Lake. It has a lodge that you can stay at and you can also rent a boat and go fishing if you want. Make sure that you hike down the trail at Crater Lake, that is if you like hiking, very cool. Check out some of he lava caves in the area.

Where are your plans taking you? There is something in every area that you could enjoy.

I've voted to keep that law on the books every time it's come up for vote.

I always fuel the 69 at the same station, and the attendant offers to let me do it myself. I trust him enough now that I don't even think twice about letting him do it. He says he makes the same offer to motorcyclists.

Forgot, there is Diamond Lake right near Crater Lake. It has a lodge that you can stay at and you can also rent a boat and go fishing if you want. Make sure that you hike down the trail at Crater Lake, that is if you like hiking, very cool. Check out some of he lava caves in the area.

Where are your plans taking you? There is something in every area that you could enjoy.

We are also planning to go over to Gold hill to check out the Vortex. We saw a segment on the Vortex on the Travel channel and thought it would be neat to go there and check it out. I hear some really weird things happen there :eek: We also plan to travel the coast possibly Coos Bay if we have the time. I hear it is really nice up there!

Gold Hill is a neat place to stop. You can do a little mining while your there, the kids should like that. As for going over to Coos Bay, I would. They have some great sand dunes over there. We are going to ride quads there in about a month.

Make sure you try to hit the red woods in norther California and southern Oregon. The Oregon caves are pretty cool. You won't have time to do everything, but those are nice places to stop. I grew up going all over the state with my parents and now I take my kids all over.

I agree with Steve the central OR dunes are great :cool:

This is me there earlier in this summer:

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/IMG_0658.JPG

We also ride in the winter. All you have to do is dress warm and wear rain gear :D

Man you guys are SO lucky. Here in Chicago if we want to do something like that, we have to travel way up to wisconsin :(

I agree with Steve the central OR dunes are great :cool:

This is me there earlier in this summer:

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/IMG_0658.JPG

We also ride in the winter. All you have to do is dress warm and wear rain gear :D

Jeff, don't you love the freedom of riding out there. My boys want to go over there as often as possible, but it's about a 4 hour drive.

Camaro Dave,
You can rent quads over there if your family is into that type of thing, very fun.

We used to ride at Coos bay with our quads, what a blast, you literally can ride for hours and hours and never see the same place twice.
Only problem is, once you ride there you won't want to ride anywhere else, it ruins you big time.

I live in Medford......I have found if the attendant doesnt offer to let me pump the gas, all I have had to do is ask, and they dont mind.......as for my other car, I dont care :)

NJ has the same law. You cant pump your own gas. I filled up yesterday at $2.85 and saw $2.83. When I drove the Camaro, the attendant let you do it, same for motorcycles. Its kinda funny when I pull up in the Camaro with someone recently imigrated or young and they look around for the gas door :D Gives me time to get out and grab the handle from them :D

Beat me to the punch Kevin, I thought I was going to be the first NJ person to chime in. :D

I don't think I would like someone pumping my gas, but of course that's because I am used to pumping my own. So, what if you ask them to pump $10.00 and they go over?

I don't think I would like someone pumping my gas, but of course that's because I am used to pumping my own. So, what if you ask them to pump $10.00 and they go over?


It depends. If the communication falls on you for not being clear I think you should pay. If for some reason the pump goes over the set amount (most pumps have this feature these days) then it should fall on the station. I pumped gas for 3 years (5-6 days a week) as a teenager. We didn't have the auto shut off for set amounts. In that 3 years only twice did a car get over-filled. One I paid (only to be reimbursed later by the customer's dad) and the other was paid by the customer. It never happened because the understanding was if I over-pumped the amount requested it came out of my pocket.
Lastly with the prices these days $10 wouldn't be worth the trip to get gas, unless you were on 2 wheels or needed mower gas :D

I could add a bunch of stories about all the crooks we had to deal with (including employees) but it would be long and mostly boring :)

On another note: of the 4 or 5 kids that worked there.

1.) Owns his own jewelry store
2.) Well respected member of the Sheriff's dept.
3.) Owns his own building supply business.
4.) Head of IT group for Gov't facility.
5.) Semicounductor tech and Part-time Air Force (ANG) tech (F-15s) (me :))

On another note: of the 4 or 5 kids that worked there.

5.) Semicounductor tech and Part-time Air Force (ANG) tech (F-15s) (me :))

Jeff, are you out at PANG. I just got out after 19 years on a medical for my knee that I hurt in Iceland. How long have you been out there, we might know each other?

Lastly with the prices these days $10 wouldn't be worth the trip to get gas, unless you were on 2 wheels or needed mower gas :D

:)


Last week a lady in front of me at the station pumped $1.56 in gas. She paid with change (mostly pennies). She had a big (and old) Oldsmobile. Probably cost her more to stop than if she had just kept driving.

Jeff, are you out at PANG. I just got out after 19 years on a medical for my knee that I hurt in Iceland. How long have you been out there, we might know each other?

Yep,

I was a crew chief from July 91 to Oct 96 (full-time temp most of 93) then got out to do some school for my real job. Came back in Feb of 99 to an avionics slot (my AD background) and hope to stick around til it isn't fun anymore or they won't let me. I should be eligible for retirement this year but hope to make E-7 and then retire 2 years later (2011-2013). I hangout mostly with the avionics guys and a few from the hangar. (255)The last couple of years have been a little over the top with the O.R.E. and no fun TDYs. Iceland, Denmark, Panama, Ellsworth, Tyndal, Marimar, and Nellis were all a hoot with these guys (IMO). Wouldn't trade my experience for anyone else's. As I look back on my time on B-52Gs, RF-4Cs, A-10s, and F-16s, I can say I have had a heck of a ride :cool: Okay back to the thread about gas pumping....... :D

Okay, I just got done reading through all these pages and noticed most of the comments were from outside the state-I thought that was funny. I guess there aren't too many members here in Oregon.
Anyway, when I drive my Camaro and have to stop for gas, 9 times out of 10 the attendent asks if I want to do it and the 10th attendent let's me know ahead of time that he'll be very careful. I must say that I like the law the way it is ONLY because prices won't go down or benefit me at all if it ever does change! If they decide to lower gas prices .10 gallon to pump my own gas than I'll vote for it, but we all know that'll never happen!

Btw, I'll be the first to say "Welcome to Oregon!" "Just please don't stay!" LOL

Hey Flyboys- I'm a DSG out at PANG as well and work in the clinic as a medtech. I joined late in life and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made -(yes that's saying alot!) I just made Airman of the Year back in December and will have my incentive ride in one of our F-15's later in September! I can't wait!

We are also planning to go over to Gold hill to check out the Vortex. We saw a segment on the Vortex on the Travel channel and thought it would be neat to go there and check it out. I hear some really weird things happen there :eek: We also plan to travel the coast possibly Coos Bay if we have the time. I hear it is really nice up there!

Nother Oregonian checking in. Hey Dave, let us know when you get back - I'd like to hear how your trip was. Most of us Oregonians are good hosts :)

Take care and have a safe trip...

I just made Airman of the Year back in December and will have my incentive ride in one of our F-15's later in September! I can't wait!

You will love it!!!! I had a flight about 9 years ago and it was the coolest thing I've ever done. Enjoy:thumbsup:

As for the trip to Oregon, please let us know what you did and how it went.

yes it's true i just came back from there and it's because of jobs, they will not let you pump it yourself,now a bike they will.

Nother Oregonian checking in. Hey Dave, let us know when you get back - I'd like to hear how your trip was. Most of us Oregonians are good hosts :)

Take care and have a safe trip...

Thank you, I will :)

Nother Oregonian checking in. Hey Dave, let us know when you get back - I'd like to hear how your trip was. Most of us Oregonians are good hosts :)

Take care and have a safe trip...

You will love it!!!! I had a flight about 9 years ago and it was the coolest thing I've ever done. Enjoy:thumbsup:

As for the trip to Oregon, please let us know what you did and how it went.

Thank you, I will :)

LOL So Dave, how was your trip? :)

Each time the attendant handed me the nozzle and when done pumping I handed it back to the attendant. I just kinda asked the attendant about the law and looked over at my car and each time the attendant suggested they could hand me the hose...

...



They've always handed me the hose when I'm in the Camaro, but only in the camaro. I've had it up in Oregon several times and not 1 person wanted to pump it. LOL :)
My thoughts are they're showing respect to the car owner who obviously loves his vehicle.

LOL So Dave, how was your trip? :)

I knew that someone was going to ask me this sooner or later hehe. The truth is we never did go due to some personal family matters. We postponed the trip until sometime after the New year....March or April, when the weather is better and everything is back to normal. Still looking forward to going to all the places we talked about. Our itinerary includes Crater Lake and Coos Bay and a visit to the Vortex. I will let you know how it goes after we return from the trip. Thanks for asking! :hurray:

LOL So Dave, how was your trip? :)

I knew that someone was going to ask me this sooner or later hehe. The truth is we never did go due to some personal family matters. We postponed the trip until sometime after the New year....March or April, when the weather is better and everything is back to normal. Still looking forward to going to all the places we talked about. Our itinerary includes Crater Lake and Coos Bay and a visit to the Vortex. I will let you know how it goes after we return from the trip. Thanks for asking! :hurray: