diesel in Mexico

[H3Jim]

I still want to go and get some.  I have not been to Mexico in years, and am a little aprehensive about driving the bus there.  Last time I was there was in my 4 door long bed pickup, and the roads and traffic were a bit of a challenge.  Add to that trying to figure  out where I'm going is not something I want to do.  I  may try to drive the pickup down there, but I was hoping that someone here knows of a specific place to cross and go get the fuel thats managable in the bus.

[JohnEd]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can't refine enough fuel for us, so have to import, but yet we export?
NO UNDERSTAND

Ray D

It is all a paper farce.  We sell the oil we produce on the international market for the going price and then we buy oil at the international price and keep the oil here.  Otherwise, we, consumers and tax payers, would be asking the oil company's why they can't sell diesel here for 11 cents a gallon like they do with their oil in Venezuela.  Our guys have the paper work to prove they spent $120 a barrel so they have to charge $4.50 a gallon for diesel to make a profit.  Actually they swap it with a foreign registered wholly owned subsidiary.  See, and you didn't think it all made sense.  It only costs a buck or two to get the oil out of the ground and refining isn't all that expensive.  Now aren't you all hot to get them permission to drill in ANWAR? 

HTH

[BEN MC7]

I just returned from Hermosillo Mexico last Christmas and entered/exited in Nogales.  You can travel with your coach across the border on any highway and find Pemex, which has national pricing, so you don't have to find the lowest prices.  Many of them out of the inner city are on large pieces of property so the trucks can refuel.  And the nice thing.... it is full service!!!  You don't even have to get your hands dirty and they will provide you with a receipt (if you ask) that you can fill out yourself if you need to claim it on your taxes.

[bobofthenorth]

Don't quote me on this but I don't see why you would even have to do the temporary import papers if you crossed at Nogales.  You cross in town and the Pemex is before you get to Km 22 (where you do the import papers).  So you could cross, fuel up and return to the US without ever having to go past the import checkpoint. 

Like I said, don't quote me on it.  I just play an expert on the internet - in real life I'm even more of a fool.

[BEN MC7]

Your correct Bob, you don't have to do any import documentation, you don't even have to buy insurance (Progressive Insurance allows 50 miles over the Mexican border), you can just cross, fill up, and cross back over. You just have to be concerned with the American side of customs wanting to inspect you for drugs or whatever.

[Blacksheep]

Ah Ha! That explains it Ben!
A vette, a custom Torino, about 9 bikes, huge home and a very nice coach!
LOL

Just kidding!

BS

[Sean]

... you don't even have to buy insurance (Progressive Insurance allows 50 miles over the Mexican border), ...

This is incorrect, and bad advice.

While your US-based insurance carrier may provide some coverage in Mexico, it is limited to comprehensive and collision.  It is NOT accepted by Mexican authorities as evidence of liability coverage.

You MUST have insurance underwritten by a Mexican company while driving in Mexico -- even within the "free trade" border zone.  Otherwise, if you get in any kind of accident, even a slight fender bender, your vehicle will be impounded, and you may be arrested until you post a substantial bond.

BTW, our policy from National Interstate (sold through AON) covers us everywhere in Mexico.  But again, not liability -- for that we have "named driver" policies that we purchased through Vagabundos del Mar.

If you are only going to cross over for one day, insurance is sold at various outlets right at the border crossing for a daily rate.  But our annual policy cost only $80, and we can cross as many times as we like and drive whatever vehicles we bring.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[BEN MC7]

Lets just say that everyone has their own opinion of what is necessary during their travels and their own personal experiences. 

I am only stating what I have done during my visits to Mexico, which is typically 2x a year to visit my wifes family in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.  I am going beyond the 50 miles that Progressive Insurance allows me to get to Hermosillo, and I buy only liability insurance when I am there (Progressive Insurance has forwarded documentation to me with the requirements for their coverage).  I recommend following whatever your RV insurance carrier has in their policy for coverage and make sure you read their exclusions.  As an insurance adjuster myself, I cannot stress that enough.  However, that being said, I will cross the border for fuel if I need to and will not buy the liability coverage offered in Mexico because I have already confirmed coverage with my carrier in writing.

Please follow instructions given by your carrier to assure coverage for your coach in Mexico or anywhere outside of the US.  Any advice given here should only be a guide and not the gospel, as the border and laws associated with crossing our borders change and motor vehicle policies are supplemented regularly.

[Sean]

Ben, discussing the laws of a sovereign nation and suggesting that they are "a matter of opinion" is dangerous.

The law is explicit and can easily be looked up (providing you can read Spanish).

It doesn't matter what your US carrier has told you they will or will not cover -- if you can not produce documentation in Spanish from a Mexican liability carrier (or post appropriate bond), if you have an accident you can be arrested and your vehicle impounded until the matter is sorted out.  Even when you have such documentation, it is not uncommon for you to have to accompany the police to the station and/or impound until the authorities have spoken with the underwriter and made certain that the coverage is sufficient for the circumstances.  We personally know RVers who have spent the night in the impound lot -- and that's with Mexican insurance.

Having simply been told on the phone that you are covered is not sufficient -- you must have the Spanish-language documentation with you.

Now it's possible that Progressive has a relationship with a Mexican company and/or has a Mexican subsidiary that covers you when you are south of the border.  But we have Progressive policies on our motorcycles and, while our comp and collision is in force there, Progressive has explicitly disclaimed any responsibility for liability in Mexico.  (Progressive won't write coverage on our bus.)

For those new to this process, I can recommend contacting the Mexican embassy or consulate closest to you to get the facts about the legal requirements for driving in Mexico.  Mexican law functions very differently from US law; we are used to "innocent until proven guilty," whereas it is closer to the other way around there, and we are used to protections against unlawful search and seizure which don't exist in Mexico.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[bobofthenorth]

I'm no insurance expert & I don't even play one on the internet but I do know that there is a big difference in coverage once you cross the Rio Grande.  My understanding - and that's all it is - my understanding is that a typical Mexican insurance policy for gringos consists of up to 5 components.  You can buy any or all of the components depending on your risk tolerance.  I probably won't be able to name all the components but I will made a stab at it. 

There's what I call "loss" coverage - theft, fire, damage, whatever causes you a loss of the asset

There's public liability

There's a component that I could best describe as an appearance bond.  In the event you are in an accident this is the surety that you will appear to face the music.  And I believe it is this component that Sean is referring to, which is unique to Mexico, and which is not typically available from a US-based carrier.  This is the area that us gringos have difficulty understanding because the Mexicans have a simple means to insure that you show up for court - they impound your vehicle and throw your @$# in jail.

There's legal coverage or representation

And I don't remember what the 5th component is but I think I did pretty good to come up with 4. 

[JohnEd]

Lin,

About that tank:  I needed a tank of exact dimensions to "fit".  The "water tank" I had made was, in reality, a steel gas tank in every regard except for the name on the receipt.   I didn't scrimp on the thing and it was built by pros.   I was located in a small Or. coastal community at the time and didn't have access to a "truck" wrecking yard and if I did I really doubt I could have stumbled onto the dimensions I needed.   The thing had to fit between the frame rail and the coach body and bee no deeper than.....you understand.

I am not claiming any high ground here.  I will kluge stuff together with the rest of the Rube Goldbergs but I am as straight as I can be when I can be and my stuff is most often hXll for stout.

Doing it over at this location I would certainly meander through the local truck grave yard out on Rt 99.  I seriously doubt they would have what I wanted back then but I would go through the drill just to use something "used" for the planet.....not for any safty issue as there was none.

Thanks for your comment.  I must have needed to clear it up to more than just you. (for Paul)

John

[Lin]

This is still in the planing stages for me.  A local guy said he had a large tank that was originally for water but had been used for diesel for many years.  If he would be less flakey, I would look at it and would consider using it as is.  I figure that if it's been used for diesel for five or so years, it should be clean by now.  Maybe a dumb assumption.  I do not want to bring the bus to Mexico, so I would be looking to equip a pickup with extra tanks when I find what one can bring back without problems.  I have found that a Mexican driver's license insurance policy is less than $100/year and would serve my purposes.  The other thing I have been trying to find out is which crossing would be the least hassle.  Mexicali is about 3 hours and Algodones is an extra half hour.  I was guessing that it might still be better to go to Algodones if the wait to cross is less either way.  I remember Mexicali as being pretty busy.

[pvcces]

When we were in Los Algadones and looked at the fueling stop, the diesel nozzles were all marked out of service. When I asked about fuel, I was told to go to San Lius for fuel.

This has been some time ago, so you should check before you go, if you can.

Tom Caffrey

[rcbishop]

FWIW.....I have a couple of cousins in Benson, AZ that have been driving to Aqua Prieta, across from Douglas, AZ to fill a two hundred gallon tank with diesel.  They have many pieces of equipment that are diesel.  Found out a couple of days ago that " it is not worth the drive, expense and effort to do it any longer".

We go to Palomas frequently from Las Cruces...100 miles one way.  Would not take the coach there. Period.

Again, FWIW

RCB