DIY $7 gas cap lock keeping OEM cap

I recently made a lock to prevent the OEM gas cap being unscrewed.

It use a $7 cam lock and a mount I made from some steel that I had lying around.

It is probably not super strong but should help deter anyone messing with the gas tank.

Gas cap unscrews as normal when in unlocked position.

 

Nice but perhaps more secure hardware ?

Keeping honest people honest

 

I agree that it is not the strongest hardware - just what Home Depot carry. The main purpose is to give some deterrence.

A bad actor could remove the whole thing by undoing the 3 screws/bolts that hold the bracket in place. However I understand that Stant and other locking caps can also be relatively easily overcome.

I enjoyed designing and making it and using only existing mounting points on the truck.

 

Some people use torx head bolts/screws in their truck bed solutions then superglue ball bearings into the bolt-heads. As long as you have plans to remove the bearings (acetone, even after a long time?) it is another level of deterrence. I suppose you could do worse than try a bolt not installed and see if 1 month later you can still remove the bearing.

 

unless you made a keyed hole (oval looking hole) that the key lock is tightened into.... a small twist of a vice grip on the lip of the lock will instantly defeat it

 

I am sure you may be right. The intent was just to discourage someone and have a bit of fun making it. Given that it is all held in place by 3 of the 4 original screws that are only fastened into plastic anyway (at least as far as I could figure out) there is nothing that could not be overcome relatively easily.

 

Very cool! While there are ways of defeating, I think just that little extra effort is going to deter the vast majority. Theft is generally about convenience, and most people looking to steal gas from a Tacoma are expecting a regular, non-locked cap so they probably aren’t carrying much in the way of tools. So when they come across that slight resistance, it’s usually easier to just go rob the truck down the street instead. Same reason people lock their doors. There are countless ways around a locked door, but it stops a lot anyway.

 

Nice work. It will stop people putting anything in your tank but won’t stop gas thieves unfortunately. The stock fuel neck on Tacomas (and most vehicles) already has an anti-siphon feature so thieves just drill a hole in the plastic tank and let it pour out.

 

That's pretty dope.

People have pointed out that it isn't security hardware or that the cam lock could be defeated, but from a physical security perspective (not just gas caps), if you're worried about an attacker with tools and the time to use them, you're playing a completely different ballgame - see the difference between a locker and an RSC or standard and TL rated security doors.

You'll note that even super high end tool attack rated stuff isn't rated to stop an attack on its own - only to delay it by a particular duration, rated in minutes. For example, a TL-30 cash safe is rated to delay a tool attack by 30 minutes, and typically costs 5-10x what a similar size/weight, quality built, non-rated safe does even with the exact same lockset and comparable features and accessories.

You can easily go nuts (and broke) chasing that hypothetical situation when you're trying to secure something left unattended.

Is this going to stop a mercenary locksmith ninja specifically targeting your truck? No. Nothing will. Will it stop someone opportunistically stealing gas on the street or on a trailhead? Yes.

 

@Rockpile - any chance you have another spare piece of metal and can fabricate another one that I can purchase from you? I tried the locking gas cap, but it threw a CEL that went away when I went back to my OEM gas cap.

 

Nice work. Deterrents work in most cases, and I hope you get more likes than criticisms.

 

Thanks for all the comments on my little project. I would encourage anyone who is a little bit ‘handy’ and interested in making a lock to do so. My design is far from perfect but works well enough for me. I first made a template/prototype using cardboard from a cereal box and by trial and error got to a design I was happy with. The rest was just using mainly hand tools, a drill and files.