With gasoline heading north without an end in sight, I bought a locking gas cap for the '04 Suburban. The NAPA fella's comment, after I told him what I needed, was that they've sold a lot of caps to folks that just suffered thefts. 30 gallons gone would really send me off the deep end. :ticking:
Do you have any idea how easy it is to get a 'locking' gas cap off?
Last year we had a string of thefts where people were punching holes in the bottom of people's tanks and draining it out that way. If they want it, they'll get it.
Don't keep anymore in there than you need. That way you don't have much to lose. Locking caps don't slow them down one bit. Flat tip screw driver will take it right off.
I've been using locking gas caps for 10+ years. Once in a while the aftermarket gas caps will throw a code after drastic temperature changes. You need to get 'em tight when you lock. Locking gas caps won't always deter fuel theft......my parents live in Wichita and thieves have been known to drill and drain the gas tanks on fleet vehicles there. Locking gas cap will deter many. Good investment to my thinking. Good prices at local O'Reilly's auto parts stores. Good move!
I keep my Suburban over 1/2 full at all times to the extent possible. I live in the sticks, so I try not to run low. Plus with 10 cents raises daily/weekly I'm speculating on oil.
I had fuel siphoned from my truck in the middle of downtown Denver several years ago. Been locking up the tank ever since.
I need a combo cap for my '08 Ram. I had a great one for my Silverado that i could put some cash and a spare key inside of but I can't find a combination cap for my current truck that won't set off my check engine light.
that combo one I had (wish I could remember the manufacturer) would spin freely without the combo. yeah you could probably pry it off eventually with a crowbar but i figure most meth addicts would probably just move on the to next car rather than mess with it.
hahaha reminds me of my 1957 chevy when I'd hit a full service station for fuel. I'd watch the attendant tug at my license plate, walk around looking at both quarters. "wheres the gas go?" I'd jump out and flip the fuel door open. This always brought a grin to there face. The 1956 chevy's whole tail light assembly drops to expose the cap. You'd better be an old geezer like me... if your gonna swipe fuel from an ole shoebox chevy (55 excluded)
yes it will be hard on most vehicles to get any out. many mango season ago back in the 70's/80's we used locking gas caps during the carter gas problem.
My dad owned a gas station in NJ in the late 60's to 1987 and during the 1972-74 when we had a real gas shortage people really got hit hard. Back then if you got caught with a NYC credit card (rubber hose) and gas can they really rode you hard because they automatically assumed you where siphoning gas
I'd rather them steal my fuel than to pry the locking cap off, and in the process bend the sheet metal or scratch the finish on my trucks bedside. YMMV
Yeah,"BUT",then they just take a punch,scratch awl,and put a whole in your tank,see this a bunch,now your out gas and a tank,most tanks are plastic now,it is very easy to push something thru and drain the gas into a pan,a couple of Counties over some guys were punching holes in tanks,putting a fitting attached to a hose and an electric pump and sucking tanks dry in less than 5 minutes for the whole crime,If they want it ,they'll get it.
There was a gas theft ring in my area that would drive a step van over a stations tanks, lower a hose and fill 55 gallon drums full. They finally ran out of luck and got nabbed after video surveillance of the van was shown on the local news.
Well I have a locking gas cap, but it's just as much for me as it is to keep someone out. I've driven off without 2 or 3 gas caps in my time. I figure it won't stop a determined thief, but I live in an apartment and figure that if someone sees it they'll just move on to another larger tank. My Jeep only holds 12 gallons to begin with.
We are in a rural area, had problems as soon as we moved here with kids siphoning our gas for their ATV's. We decided to keep vehicles in locked garage at night. Left one can out that had a quart of clear Karo syrup mixed in it. About 4 weeks had gone by with no sign of our "friends" ATV. Then I was out working on my truck when he came down the road. So much smoke coming out of that thing it looked like the space shuttle.It was funny to us, but aggravated an already bad neighbor problem.
For the naysayers, I got a locking cap during the last fuel price spike (was it the summer of 2008?) - anyway, I stayed a night at a hotel in downtown Charleston and when I stopped for gas on the way home, found that the key-hole had been pried open by a screw driver, but the cap was still in tact. I was still able to jam the key in there to open it, but even if I would have had to pry it off, it saved me from losing $100 worth of gas. It was just enough difficulty for the thief to provide incentive to move on to the next car.
One could come up with an argument to not put locks on your house too, I suppose.
In Greensboro, NC where I lived back in the sixties and seventies the thiefs stole car batteries and gas too. Locking gas caps and chain down the hood of ur car. At apartment complexes now there is large eye bolts in the pavment so you can chain ur car or truck down so the whole thing is not stolen....
I suppose it would also be rather difficult to steal gas from a car that runs on compressed natural gas.
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