Gas Stolen from 2nd Gen - how'd they get it?

Hey TW. So I hopped in the truck yesterday morning, and when I fired it up, the fuel gauge was on "E" and low fuel warning light was on (I had over 3/4 tank the night before). I immediately knew that someone had stolen my gas so I shut off the engine right away and got out to investigate. I popped open the fuel door and sure enough, the gas cap was just kind of sitting on the filler inlet (i.e. not threaded in). There was a little spilled gas inside the fuel door, as well as on the ground and on the wheel located under the fuel door. There was no evidence of drilling or anything like that, so it seemed clear to me that someone had siphoned the gas. To be honest, I was pretty surprised that the gas thief bothered closing the fuel door, but weirder things happen around here.

Unfortunately, this could not have happened at a worse time, as my wife and I were rushing out the door to a funeral (in suit and all). Under normal circumstances, I would've just asked a friend to bring me to the gas station (or just hoof it over to the closest gas station myself), but we really had to go, so I decided to risk it and see if we could make it to the closest gas station about a mile away - this pained me to do since I typically don't let the truck go below a quarter tank of gas as we live in a very hilly area and I don't want to put extra strain on the pump, but thankfully the thief left enough gas (despite the meter being below E) and we made it to the gas station without issue.

To be honest, I was under the impression that siphoning gas from these trucks was tricky/not really feasible. Someone actually tried to steal my gas about 6 months ago (came outside and found my fuel door open and gas cap dangling), but thankfully they were unsuccessful. Naturally I immediately checked the TW forums after this happened, but I gathered that drilling these tanks was way easier than siphoning them, so I chalked it up as a "bummer" but an overall win since the thief didn't succeed, I didn't lose any gas, and I learned that siphoning isn't a real concern (therefore don't bother with a locking cap, etc).

With all of that being said, I suppose my questions are:

1. Do you guys think my fuel was indeed siphoned? I was under the impression that there is a screen somewhere in the filler neck, and the bends in the line made it tricky to siphon - is that not necessarily the case?
2. Should I check anywhere else for tampering? Again, no obvious fuel leaks anywhere and I haven't lost any gas since I refilled.
3. Should I be worried about fuel pump damage? Driving with an empty tank isn't something I consistently do by any means, and the truck seems to be driving fine, but I'm still wincing just thinking about that ride!
4. This has been discussed in other forums, but is there a final consensus on a good locking fuel cap (that won't trigger an EVAP code)? Disclaimer: I know that a lot of people are of the mindset that a locking fuel cap just encourages drilling the tank to get to the fuel, but the reality is that my area is very prone to petty, opportunistic thefts, opposed to determined criminals. I live in a densely populated city but my neighborhood is relatively calm - there are a lot of cars parked on the street, and in my experience, a little bit of inconvenience added will just make an opportunistic thief move on to the next target. It's sad but true.

Thanks in advance for your help and input! I've learned so much on these forums. That said, I know these types of posts can trigger some secondhand frustration and often snowball into a larger conversation, so I kindly ask that we stay on topic (moving to a new city/state/area, building a garage under my apartment, or running for political offices aren't really feasible options for me at the moment).

Thanks guys!

 

Maybe they shoved some metal rod or something to bypass the screen. This is the only way they could have done it

 

I agree.
Most thieves have been thieves for a while.
They likely know what vehicles are easy to hit. And what tools to use to make the job easier.
They probably punch the screen. (if there is one).

I wouldn’t worry about it causing issues. It’ll just sit there in the bottom of the tank.

 

On some vehicles if you have a piece of semi rigid 1/4" - 5/16" plastic hose you can sneak it around the rollover/anti siphon valve in the filler.

I've used that method in the shop to pump fuel out of a vehicle to make the tank lighter to get out when I'm unable to use the pump in the tank to pump it out.

 

Count your blessings they didn’t drill.

I’m going off topic to suggest getting a dog. Even dogs who act really stupid will bark like crazy if something’s amiss.

After rereading, I missed this part so I’ll stop there.

 

at least they didn't go after the catalytic converter

 

If they went through the process of figuring out a way to siphon gas, do not install a locking fuel cap. Don’t want to enrage a future thief into drilling the tank.

Are you 100% certain the fuel tank was 3/4 full? You hit the jackpot in a thief siphoning fuel out of your truck. I can’t recall any cases on here of successfully siphoning out fuel.

Oh, and there is one other suggestion… move

 

Like others have said... living in that LOVELY city of San Fran, call yourself LUCKY that they siphoned it.

As a CA native myself (who is very much an outcast in mindset in multiple ways here), its simply IMPRESSIVE how fast things have declined... yet people continue to fall for the supermajority hivemind lies.

 

That sucks man. Sure seems like it must have been siphoned. Maybe a locking gas cap makes them go on to the next vehicle or maybe they just drill your gas tank. I had my cat converter stole and my gas tank drilled when I lived in sacramento.

Edit: I didn't read your entire post the first time so I just removed a suggestion/solution you specifically asked us not to give. Sorry

 

most vehicles can be siphoned with a hose and pocket screw driver to de-tension the snagging clip.

the solution is a locking gas cap.

if their hose gets stuck they’ll just leave the hose and take off with the gas.

 

Until they get pissed and drill your gas tank

The solution is:
1. Move
2. Get a garage
3. Leave fuel tank as is, accepting least amount of damage in future

 

yes. Theres so many gas tank skids of different designs. Idk what is best.

I have a steel RCI one but imagine with enough effort someone could still just drill the tank at an angle sneaking past the skid and put a bucket underneath.

At that point hopefully insurance would cover the repair
RockAuto a new tank and slap a URD pump in there while at it, and do a cleaning with the bed removed

Auto motion on dash cam might help

idk what alarm my previous owner might have installed but whatever it is the thing is sensitive. Accidentally touch the truck lightly and it goes off.

I wonder if a long range metal tank is harder to drill.
Given that they’re metal, which would create heat and friction combined with possible gas fumes
And open spark from a cheap brushed motor drill, prospective acquirer of fuel could be in for a surprise

the right gas tank skid could be enough of a deterrent, both making access harder and hiding the tank to whatever brilliant folks are looking for it

enough deterrent can make opportunistic folk skip onto the next one.
Ironic part is the Tacoma has a notoriously small tank, and does not use expensive high grade fuel; 87

 

Quote:
”Thanks in advance for your help and input! I've learned so much on these forums. That said, I know these types of posts can trigger some secondhand frustration and often snowball into a larger conversation, so I kindly ask that we stay on topic (moving to a new city/state/area, building a garage under my apartment, or running for political offices aren't really feasible options for me at the moment).

Thanks guys!”

I love this (sorry, off topic).
Hope you don’t mind if I copy this if needed. Gave me a good chuckle.

 

Appreciate all of the input, everyone.

I actually bumped into my neighbor after posting this and unfortunately the gas was stolen out of his work truck too. He owns a plumbing business and is (admittedly) a bit more handy than me, so he had literally just modified his van's fuel door with a mailbox lock before I walked over (for some reason his truck's fuel door had a metal tab where the lock could "grab", which doesn't seem to be the case for our trucks). He's often outside wrenching on his car or dirt bikes, so I asked him how someone could've bypassed the screen and his answer was similar to most of yours - easy enough to punch out (if there is one), otherwise a small hose will get under most valves. He said that this seems to happen to his work truck every few years, and he actually caught the person on camera the last time it happened - apparently it was just someone walking around with a gas jug and a crappy hand pump for siphoning, so I'm guessing they just fastened a smaller tube to the existing tube and got in that way.

^Okay this is good to know. I did a bit more non-tacoma specific googling and it seems like this a common workaround for newer cars that use valves instead of screens.

^Ha! I actually do have a pup, but he's a city pup and is fairly desensitized to stuff happening outside - you really gotta come to the door (or towards his people) to get him concerned. He's the best camping and wheeling partner, though, so can't complain.

^This is what I'm thinking. Do you know of a decent one? Sounds like the commonly suggested ones are prone to EVAP error codes and are generally disliked.

^Thanks for this - all good stuff to think about. I've scraped a handful of rocks while camping in the Sierras at this point, so I don't hate the idea of having something more substantial protecting the tank.

 

Stant locking gas cap with key. Forget where I got mine.

I’ve heard they’re hit or miss. Guess I got lucky. Never had a CEL. Still running it.

there might be a DIY on adding locking fuel door as well.

on vehicles that have that however, the motor eventually goes bad and costs more.

 

I got mine from walmart. It is a crap shot of you'll get a bad one, mine is good.

My family dog as a teen barked like crazy one night. We didn’t know why until the next day found the garage got broken in to. Of all the dogs I’ve had, he was the best. His big accomplishment was to scare away to goodyear blimp every night. Then he’d proudly prance back in.

 

Most thieves will simply just move on to the next vehicle. If the person is siphoning gas that’s exactly what they will do. People drill the tank because it’s faster and less of a chance to get caught. Most aren’t gonna hold a personal vendetta, because you out smarted them.

In this case a locking gas cap would have worked. For $20 it’s a cheap alternative. If someone drills the tank, well that will suck but that’s what insurance is for. If the tank did end up getting drilled. Then I’d devise a plan to try and stop that from happening again. But until that happened I wouldn’t worry too much

 

Locking gas cap? Wonder how long that takes to defeat? 26 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjjr1b8P7eU&t=46s

 

The stant I have on my 92 can be defeated in .5 seconds. Press really hard downward and twist. Found that out when I forgot my key once.

Somehow bypasses the locking mechanism and twist off like normal.