Diesel theft

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Buckeye 'bedder, Jan 5, 2011.

  1. Buckeye 'bedder

    Buckeye 'bedder Road Train Member

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    Watched a Youtube video of a driver who said she had 160 gallons of diesel stolen from her rig while she slept (in the rig) overnight at a TS. I think she said the Crazy J TS.
    So guys (and gals), how big of a problem is diesel fuel theft out there? How many have locking caps to help deter this?
     
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  3. Allow Me.

    Allow Me. Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    It is a problem, I had one tank drained while I slept. The thieves are your fellow truckers, believe it or not. Locking caps are available as well as anti-siphon inserts into the filler neck. Your truck parked in an industrial area for the weekend is a sitting duck. Or even the truck stop, if people see you getting picked up by Mama in her 4 wheeler and you leaving with your bed roll etc.
     
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  4. orion3814

    orion3814 Medium Load Member

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  5. Rerun8963

    Rerun8963 Road Train Member

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    as a company driver you cannot do much but call the cops and report it...however, try and find a police dept willing to go to a truck stop for that...unless its murder, they ain't showing up.....

    as a company driver one can say to his boss "he saw" some good devices that might cut down n theft....then let the chips fall where they may..

    as a driver however, you will ALWAYS BE suspected of selling the fuel because YOU NEEDED the cash.....that is after all something drivers DID years ago, and i'll surmise might still be happening these days as well..

    as an o/o, then theft prevent device "might" get a deduction in insurance rates, but it might not be a big enough deduction. but every little bit helps in safe guarding what one has. just like a very good lock on the trailer doors right...?? no lock = easy stealing.....good lock = the crocks moving on to another victim......

    if one is a company driver, and wishes to buy anti-theft devices, then find out if you will be reimbursed for that, and one must remember, those devices (in many instances) once installed, cannot be removed, so as a company driver, if one gets another truck, you have to buy those devices for the new truck.....so i really would NOT recommend spending MY money for a company truck.......

    then too, a really desperate criminal (another truck driver) can just cut the cross over lines and let the fuel drain into a pan......

    doesn't it sicken you to even think another truck driver will steal from you.....??

    goes to show you, the dregs of society that are in this business........
     
  6. Hanadarko

    Hanadarko Independent Owner/Operator

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    Insurance will not cover theft of fuel but they will cover any damage to the tanks.
    I have anti-siphons as well as locking fuel caps, but they are spendy:

    First the anti-siphons:
    http://www.truckprotect.com/usa.htm

    Then the locking caps:
    http://www.fueltanklock.com/

    ..many times you can't use both products at the same time. These models you can..
    Yea I know someone can cut a line or puncture the tank,
    but all I am after is to slow the thief down or make him move on to the next and (likely unprotected) rig.

    A thief knows that the longer he takes to steal something, the higher the chances of getting caught...
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2011
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  7. chalupa

    chalupa Road Train Member

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    Thefts were so bad in the corridor we were running at the time.....that we were instructed to calculate fuel for the day and enough for sleeping. Then we fueled after break.......And it was my fellow driver stealing my fuel.

    Let me also add words of wisdom for those that run the southern border states. Corporate security is warning us again of the drug runners targeting trucks as decoys. If your truck is unattended at all near the bottom then you get your butt underneath it and look for stuff taped to your frame etc. If you fall into this trap, you'll do time so it's worth a look.

    You get this, right? The runner tapes stuff to your frame and calls the law on you so he can get his sheet through........
     
  8. Injun

    Injun Road Train Member

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    I have anti-siphons in my tanks. But, yes, fuel theft is going to be on the rise again with the increasing price. If you figure $3.00/gallon, average 150 gallon tank, if you fill before parking, a thief can get 125 gallons out of one tank...$375 worth of fuel.

    There's a thread somewhere on these forums where one of our members was ripped off while he slept in a motel room. The thief had built a siphon pump into his truck and all he had to do was park next to the victim's truck and drop a hose into the tank. A simple anti-siphon would have prevented it. So, $20 for the screen or $375 worth of fuel....hmmmm....
     
  9. Hanadarko

    Hanadarko Independent Owner/Operator

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    Just be careful. Most of the cheapy anti-siphon units are very easily defeated just using a thinner hose. The ones KW sells at the dealership for $30 are a total joke.....Of course anything is better than nothing..
     
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  10. Injun

    Injun Road Train Member

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    The ones I have in this truck don't have the long slots on the sides. They look kind of like beer cans with 1/4 inch holes drilled in them all over the place. I believe these would be a good choice. Of course, a determined thief can defeat almost anything, but why make it easy?
     
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  11. PurpleKW

    PurpleKW Medium Load Member

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    Yeah, those locking fuel caps can get expensive... and, as the one hand said, they can be defeated. Most truckers know that locks are for honest people. Wasn't so long ago that we had a thief here in Dago pull into a closed service station WITH A TANKER and use some sort of jury-rigged fuel pump to steal THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF FUEL... the security camera recorded him going about his business, but he was wearing dark clothes and a hoodie and the numbers on the truck were all taped up in crackerhead fashion, so he was never caught. A pretty brazen theft, and clearly committed by some former tanker yanker who knew exactly what to do with regard to extracting the fuel. The whole scene reminded me of "The Road Warrior.":biggrin_25523:
     
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