Lock your gas tank

mlts22 wrote:


Another suggestion I have: If you have a pickup truck, buy a tailgate lock.

The Master lock is the beefiest, followed by the Bully (although the Bully one is very difficult to install), followed by the McGard (which is very easy to get installed, but it is the weakest.) Even a hose clamp with a spot weld on the screw is a deterrent.

I am surprised at how often I find my tailgate lid down, but thankfully still there thanks to the lock on the hinge. I don't lock the handle because it is stupidly easy for someone to break that off and move the locking rod.

Good suggestion!

Even a simple hose clamp around the notched pin will deter theft.

Tailgates are worth *WAY* more than a tank of gas - AND
way *WAY* easier to steal in way less time than siphoning gas!

Can be re-sold to unscrupulous wrecking yards for a healthy chunk of change - and are not traceable.

TG theft fuels (no pun intended) a vicious circle - obviously, a stolen gate requires a replacement.

The L.A. Times had something like 20 TGs from their fleet of pickup trucks stolen (at night) - almost under the nose of a security guard.
Drivers must now park backed up to a wall.

Ahhh - that's an L.A. thing - Not a problem in MY town!
Sooooo - where do you travel?.:W

IMO - a "V" gate is a better option, with nothing to do with locking or not locking.

~

I grew up in places like that where one didn't bother locking a front door, and the worst that would happen in a neighborhood would be some kids papering a tree on someone's house. However, things do change. Meth is a problem nationwide, and can cause perfectly rational people to have very poor lapses in judgement. People move in, and with a population increase come the predators and scavengers.

The trick with security is to be just one notch above everyone in the vicinity (but without going overboard, because too much security will attract the types that want in just out of spite), then if someone does succeed in theft, that is what insurance is for. Another item is unobtrusiveness. With a pickup and a bumper pull, you use a bed cap with windows so the generator can run out of sight.

pitch wrote:
Where the heck do you all live that property protection is such a major portion of your lives?
I couldn't lay my hands on the keys to my house without a days notice. Right know here are 3 tractors 3 vehicle and a motorcycle on my property with the keys in them. I go to town, chainsaw shovels,picks generator trash pump or whatever remain in the back of the truck, never have had anything bothered and have been living like this for better than 50 years.

hmmm, pretty much any urban area in north america. Although I don't go out of my way really to protect myself I do recognize crime is just about everywhere and concentrated in urban areas where there are more people - simple crime statistics will verify this.

Google gas tank punching for some interesting reading. On mid and large sized trucks with larger tanks (which would include many MHs) punching the tank with a brass spike is simple, efficient, and fast if you want the fuel.

pitch wrote:
Where the heck do you all live that property protection is such a major portion of your lives?
I couldn't lay my hands on the keys to my house without a days notice. Right know here are 3 tractors 3 vehicle and a motorcycle on my property with the keys in them. I go to town, chainsaw shovels,picks generator trash pump or whatever remain in the back of the truck, never have had anything bothered and have been living like this for better than 50 years.

Not everyone is as fortunate as we are..... I've never had to lock anything up.... don't necessarily leave the keys in the car, but don't worry about it if I do. Garage is wide open and like you, I'm not sure where my house key is.

Anyone wandering around my yard is probably lost, looking for directions. :)

Leave your keys in your motorcycle in front of my house I can guarantee your motorcycle won't be there long. That's just way to easy. I lock my gas tank and my tailgate. That just makes it more difficult and more likely metaphorically speaking that they will steal your motorcycle rather than my tailgate. It's not that I live in a bad neighborhood, It's just that when a crime of opportunity comes up I would rather it be you then me. That's just being smart. Same thing happens when people warm their car up in the winter, again metphorically speaking, they steal yours rather than mine because mine has remote start, yours has the keys in it.

Gas rationing is fresh in the minds of those of us in New Jersey. October 2012 brought Hurricane Sandy and then a shortage of fuel delivery. Gas was available on odd/even days and some stations imposed gallon or dollar limited. Many lines were hours long. Makes you appreciate what we have.

Just say'in...

Where the heck do you all live that property protection is such a major portion of your lives?
I couldn't lay my hands on the keys to my house without a days notice. Right know here are 3 tractors 3 vehicle and a motorcycle on my property with the keys in them. I go to town, chainsaw shovels,picks generator trash pump or whatever remain in the back of the truck, never have had anything bothered and have been living like this for better than 50 years.

"The gummint" wasn't behind long lines or odd-even days, folks- the gas companies were. Weren't no troops keeping order, or coupons, or ordinances/laws.

Or even fireside chats!

Just Big Oil, trying to keep the population quiet and fed while planning their next moves that led from 33 cent a gallon gas in 1970 to almost five bucks today.

God bless America!

JJBIRISH wrote:
man you guys spend more on locks the than cost of a tank of gas… in my entire driving life never had a lock on the gas cap and never had any stolen… I don’t lock my tool compartments and seldom loch the entry door…

I guess we travel in different circles sometimes…

that’s not to say I couldn’t happen sometime but I’m not going to expend much effort worrying about it…

For once, we agree on something! However, I do have a locking cap on the Jeep, mainly because Jeep put it there. The ignition key unlocks it.
On a side note, I'm still waiting for somebody who replaced all their dreaded 751 locks to send them to me, so I can have a "one key fits all" coach. Somebody apparently replaced a bunch of the external locks, and I have three different keys to try to remember what fits where! It is annoying!

If I worried about all the things that could go wrong while we're travelling, I'd spend the nights sitting on top of my MH with AR-15 and thermal binoculars waiting for invaders. Life is just to short and rving is supposed to be about fun. What time I have left I choose to concentrate on the fun part. :B