I work for a preschool driving kids to and from school. For the last month or so someone has been stealing gas out of our vans.
Any ideas on either how to stop it or catch the person/people?
We already thought about the locking gas cap....but they theives will just cut the gas lines.
2006-11-27 13:33:27 · 14 answers · asked by asuwkyle05 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
Other locations have tried the gas caps, and people have cut them...I have nver personally seen it though.
Thanks for all the great ideas, will deffinatly see if we can do any of them
2006-11-27 14:00:28 · update #1
CUTTING THE LINE COULD CAUSE A SPARK ( boom ) HAVE YOUR SERVICE DEPT. INSERT ANTI - THEFT BALL VALVES IN THE INLET HOSE JUST BEFORE TANK ,YOU CAN PUT FUEL IN BUT CANT GET THE FUEL OUT OF THE TANKS .THOSE IDIOTS WILL TRY FOR HOURS BUT WILL GET NO-WHERE IN THE TIME BEING GET SOME CAMERAS
2006-11-27 13:54:18 · answer #1 · answered by doug f 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
first and you have probably already done this...ask the police to help. Set up a camera survalence so it records people coming in and out..I know it sounds expensive...but if you catch the thieves it's well worth it with the price of gas. Maybe you can put up a fenced in area where you keep the vehicles.
There are many options...just depends on how bad you want to keep your gas from being stolen and considering the price of gas as opposed to the cost of securing the vehicles. If you say they are willing to cut gas lines to get your fuel...then the other options in the long run are well worth it.
another option...and not a cheap one..get vehicles that run on diesel...if and when they steal your fuel then they will ruin their cars...sweet justice there.
I would suggest that at some point..like the hi time of when you lose your fuel someone just be there...but that might be dangerous...you could be hurt or killed...so don't do that.
the fence and the security camera's are the best bet...sorry...but that's the life we live in.
2006-11-27 13:45:06 · answer #2 · answered by Kenneth S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honestly, I would go with the locking gas cap, most thives will not go through the trouble of cutting the fuel lines, failing that, the only thing I can say is get a surveillance camera. the locking gas cap stopped people from stealing the gas out if my truck, and I've got 30 gallons in there.
2006-11-27 13:38:24 · answer #3 · answered by cwrrailfan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two words: Locking Gascap.
Thieves don't cut gas lines. First off, the lines run out of the TOP of the fuel tank. Cutting the lines WON'T get you any gas unless you have a pump to pump the gas out. Thieves won't waste their time; they'll move on to someone without a locking gas cap.
In all my years of driving, I've never heard of a fuel line being cut for the purpose of stealing fuel. There was one case of some bugger punching holes in the bottom of gas tanks in CA a number of years ago, but the idiot incinerated himself one night. Problem solved.
2006-11-27 13:45:45 · answer #4 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They must be good, its next to impossible to get a hose in the filler spout. If you have checked your gas mileage and definitely sure you MPG have decreased, take your van home with you for a week and keep checking your MPG.
Several questions in my mind, do each of you fill your own tank, and do all use the same pump? Are you missing gas out of 2 vans or 200?
Do the so called thieves leave, the gas caps off, leave their hose, etc.
Guess I am a doubting Thomas.
2006-11-27 14:08:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cutting the gas line won't get you to the gas anyway, it's pumped up to a line, not a gravity flow system. Locking gas caps on all the vans will do it
You might ask your local police for some extra presence too.
2006-11-27 13:50:25 · answer #6 · answered by oklatom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If possible, park the vans so that the gas caps on each pair are facing each other, and park them extremely close together, so there is no room to get in between them to steal the gas.
2006-11-27 13:41:54 · answer #7 · answered by qamberq 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
locking gas cap.
the fuel line under the vehicle is not rubber but metal and cannot just be easily cut. it is metal all the way up into the engine compartment as well.
when gas prices were bad in the 70's and 80's, everyone had locking gas caps. its why most cars today have gas door release levers inside cause they removed the simple "open the door yourself" idea to prevent gas theft.
2006-11-27 13:41:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sleep in the van on the days that it most likey happens so when it happens you can bust then little punk-asses.
You can always go to a shop and have them install a screen in your line where you pump gas so they can not suck it out..
Or park the van next to a window and put a cam corder on and tape them doing it.
2006-11-27 13:43:18 · answer #9 · answered by Zaden 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first it is essential to notify the mining gnomes that are in charge of whichever sector you find your school in. The it is important to hold a conference with the chapter leader involving the safe placement of land mines around the vicinity that are only triggered when somebody without the necessary radio-equipped key chains enters. The "BOOOOOOM" will alert both you and the local authorities and will stun the intruder, but if the others find out about this process, they are sure to alert the Unicorn Society of Assisting Those In Need, who will happily thwart the land mine plans by taking an areal approach. You will need to make friends with the unicorns to avoid such problems,
If that doesn't work then you could just have somebody with tinted windows wait in their car one day.
2006-11-27 13:47:36 · answer #10 · answered by whiteknight0o7 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Park the vans real close to the wall of the bldg, so no one can fit in between and a locking gas cap will work
2006-11-27 13:43:31 · answer #11 · answered by bayareart1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋