Fuel Tank Lock Worth It?

I don't bother with the reefer locking cap. I did use locking fuel caps on my previous truck. I didn't use them as much in winter for fear of moisture or other road grime freezing in there and making the lock inoperable and I can't get it open to put fuel in. I park at a truck stop on home time so that's when they were mostly used. My current truck has screens inside the filler neck that go down maybe 6". So someone could steal some off the top if they so wanted. I typically fuel in the middle of the day so it's not often parked and full.

 

When I was on the road, with my nice looking truck and my shiny tanks, I thought it would be a great idea to get both an anti-siphon device and locking caps.

Well it wasn't a great move, I left the truck to do some shopping, i came back to seeing my tanks were damaged by someone who actually pried the caps off and then punched the anti-siphon device out then draining 100 plus gallons of fuel in a matter of 15 minutes.

 

Get two sets. Summer locking metal for the midwest, they will sell you your own stolen fuel and a rubber locker for winter. (If it's really cold no one is going to stand it long enough to get any)

It is my unreserved opinion that all trucks should have some form of locking access to the fuel. It's not hard at all to ooze up to a big rig, and siphon 30 gallons into a pickup overnight.

 

If a thief is determined to get your fuel, they will. Making a new hole in your fuel tank always works. All fuel tank locks do is act as a deterrent. It will take the thief longer to get your cap off or make a new hole than it will to just open the cap on the truck that does not have any deterrent. Even thieves know more time = more risk. And trucks typically park in groups, so all you are really doing is telling a thief to try it on someone else. And they will, considering the product is all the same in every target.

 

YES YES YES. $3 worth of sugar can destroy a $25k dollar motor! When I was a kid, had someone ruin my little Honda when he poured sugar into the gas tank.

I’ve had locked tanks ever since.

 

Locking caps are a deterrent for maybe half the fuel thieves. But having them at least forces them to make a bit more noise as they breach them. If they are certain noise is not an issue then they can just as easily use a battery drill and a hole saw if the tanks are easily accessible.

A quart freezer bag and a rubber band can keep frozen problems in check when the weather gets bad.

 

Here in Arkansas we have some gas thieves too.

One was pretty smart. He only used a two gallon can twice a week. Our cars suddenly got thirsty and failed the 31 mpg test on every fill with math gallons put in vs miles run.

I flipped it and realized if I had two more gallons the math would... oh wait.. locking caps.

BOOM problem solved.

 

Better to have them. If you're parked in a lot with lots of other trucks would they spend the time and effort to steal from the locked tanks or just go steal from the unlocked ones?

 

A couple of thin wires hanging over the fuel cap and plugged into your inverter can be a deterrent.