the low lifes are stealing gas from me!

[mozeppa]

twice in 2 nights back to back 2 months ago ...gotta lock gas cap ...this time they cut through the rubber hose from the goose neck to the tank ...each time they got 25 gallons.


whats a decent infrared trail camera that is easy to use with emphasis on very clear pictures

motion detected ...but doesn't break the bank.

[ShooterAZ]

I got a pretty decent one from Cabelas about a year ago. I think it was somewhere around $80. There are cheaper ones out there though, starting around $40. A good investment though, especially if it helps you nab the thieves.

[bob208]

hook a electric fence controller to your truck. I did that to my shop and they have not broke in again.

[kungfustyle]

Cheaper than 25 gallons a few times...Get the camera and lock it down.

[Petrol & Powder]

For 25 gallons they must have a vehicle nearby, if not right there. I would recommend two trail cams, one in a position to get a license plate number and another to capture faces.

For the license plate cam you want a choke point, like a narrow spot in a driveway that that have to pass through slowly and in the center of the lane.

The second camera should be low and point up, not high and point down. A simple baseball cap brim will defeat a high mounted camera. The best setup would be a small camera with an infrared illuminator and a motion sensor near the gas tank and triggered by a motion sensor.

The camera must be well hidden or they'll just steal the camera too.

[Walks]

Bed your Rottweiler down in the seat of your vehicle and leave the window down.

[osteodoc08]

For 25 gallons they must have a vehicle nearby, if not right there. I would recommend two trail cams, one in a position to get a license plate number and another to capture faces.

For the license plate cam you want a choke point, like a narrow spot in a driveway that that have to pass through slowly and in the center of the lane.

The second camera should be low and point up, not high and point down. A simple baseball cap brim will defeat a high mounted camera. The best setup would be a small camera with an infrared illuminator and a motion sensor near the gas tank and triggered by a motion sensor.

The camera must be well hidden or they'll just steal the camera too.

Agree with this and add a camera facing the camera. They’ll steal the first one. Add 2 more facing the camera in a triangle.

[Omega]

Just place one of these where they can only trigger it when approaching your tank. I put magnets behind my sensor so I can just stick it on any metal surface. I also put some tape over the led light and painted it brown to blend in better.

https://www.harborfreight.com/wirele...tem-93068.html

[Dieselhorses]

I have a series of perimeter alarms installed down my driveway, some hi-tek, some not so hi-tek.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Rock salt is so light that it usually doesn't work too well unless you power the round with Black Powder, is the rumor I've heard.

And I've never really liked rock salt as a concept; If it was a LEO walking up to your vehicle, say looking for a blood trail from someone who'd attacked someone, and you step out with a 12Ga loaded with rock salt, you can become a STATISTIC. Shotgun's a lethal weapon, IDK if we civilians are too wise using it for non lethal purposes? Just a consideration. (Plus if you hit someone in an eye with a chunk of rock salt, the civil law suit could be BAD. Don't know how rock salt patterns, should look into that - Oh great, ANOTHER project!)

I do like the Passive Infrared (PIR) alarm idea though; I was thinking of another alarm that's possible, they make capacitive sense alarms (so a human walking near your vehicle will set it off.) PIR works though! Maybe 2-3 of those so they cover each other (so someone can't sneak up on the sensor and steal it without firing the other.)

Other fixes I've heard are putting a 5 gallon gas can with sugar syrup-sweetened gas in it out to let them steal it (& ruin their engine), or full of water; IDK on those as the sort of unethical twit who'd steal from you would likely also be vindictive enough to do damage if you did those.

And, as always, in some ways it's better to catch them in person instead of chasing them after the fact; Some prosecutors aren't too interested in "petty" crimes, sadly.

A family member used to stay up at night watching the neighborhood; They had a guy known for burglaries who was let out on parole, who would "walk his dog" at night - as an excuse to test every door he walked past, to see if it was unlocked. Guy proceeded up to a house across the street one night, and the owner had left a door unlocked (or they were carrying a pry bar this time, IDK) so the guy got in - and proceeded to steal anything he could; Meanwhile the family member was calling 911. 3-4 police officers came, with a K9 unit showing up second, then they "invited" the guy to come out; He didn't so they sent the dog in. He then came out - A little worse for wear. They handcuffed him and put him in a police car, at which point this "wise person" decided to kick the door off the hinges on that police car; The K9 officer let him start to run, then told his dog to GET him. I was told the K9 officer may have been a little slow to call his dog off... Understandable as the paperwork for a door being kicked off a police car, has to SUCK. For some reason this "wise person", who was out on parole for previous burglaries & had a long record, didn't show up again for many years; Suspecting they were in prison, somehow! Moral of the story there is, never seriously tick off a K9 officer.

[ThomR]

We had the same problem when I was a little kid. We lived way off in the country with no neighbors for a couple miles in either direction.

Someone had been stealing gas from one of our cars. Dad got tired of it and tied the doberman up to the bumper of the car they had been stealing it out of. Woke up the next morning with the little AMC Hornet having been drug several feet. We never had any more gas stolen.

[oldred]

Whatever you do DON'T heed advice to set ANY kind of trap even an electric fence charger! Although it may seem like a good idea it can get you in much more trouble with the law than they would be if caught stealing gas! Most states look upon booby traps that are meant to cause harm even to a thief (and yes an electric fence charger falls into that description) as a serious offense and in some circumstances you could be even charged with a felony. Likewise a shotgun with salt or anything else, if you shoot someone with a shotgun no matter what it's loaded with you could again be in a heck of a lot of a lot more trouble than the thief unless you have another reason (such as self defense) for using a deadly weapon. I would not hesitate to use a firearm if need be nor would I want to confront a gas thief unarmed but stealing gas is not a capital crime and if you must use a shotgun even with something like rocksalt you had better have much more reason than simply stealing gas from a vehicle.

[Tatume]

Whatever you do DON'T heed advice to set ANY kind of trap even an electric fence charger! Although it may seem like a good idea it can get you in much more trouble with the law than they would be if caught stealing gas!

I'll add to that. Setting a camera trap won't do much good in many jurisdictions either. Your loss isn't enough to get the police interested, at least where I live. I caught a business clerk copying credit card numbers and then making purchases and having them shipped to his home. Absolutely had the right guy, and the cops said "take it up with your bank." They couldn't have been less interested.

Another time I found a camera hidden inside an ATM booth. The cops couldn't have been less interested. They said "take it up with your bank." The bank did take an interest this time, and thanked me for the report.

[gpidaho]

I agree with oldred. You don't want to be the one behind bars and we all know what a felony will do for your gun rights. The idea is to gather proof that the police can use on the thieves not what they can use on you. Cameras are the best solution in my opinion. Gp

[ShooterAZ]

In my jurisdiction cameras will absolutely work. The police would be ALL over it, and pounding on some doors IF they were able to make an ID on the culprits.

[Mr_Sheesh]

At least if you have camera footage and can ID the thief, you can then sue them in Small Claims court; Once you win, go to the Sheriff's office and put a bond up and you can get the Sheriff to seize property to pay your winnings, if they won't or can't pay. That'll get you paid and should stop them from pestering you? And they can't much like the spotlight on their behavior.

[Big Tom]

You could fill the tank with gas saturated with sugar. Does not help the stealing, but will teach them something...

[Hickory]

Whatever you do DON'T heed advice to set ANY kind of trap even an electric fence charger! Although it may seem like a good idea it can get you in much more trouble with the law than they would be if caught stealing gas!

We live in a artificial world of play nice to wrong doers while they rob, rape and murder you and there is not much you can do about it.

[Bmi48219]

The booby trap idea is appealing but 35 years ago it backfired on a guy I worked with. He was storing material in the garage while building a rural home. Twice thiefs stole materials at night. His solution was to put 3 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood across the driveway, with 2 inch nails spaced every 6 inches sticking up from the sheets. Next night the crooks struck again, someone saw them & called the state police. Crooks got away, state police got 3 flat tires, builder got a $2,000.00 fine & court costs. Life isn't always fair.
Nowadays you'd have to have the perp & his license on film and some kind of unique additive in the gas that would positively prove it could only have came from your tank. But Doubtful the police would bother testing it.

[Stephen Cohen]

Sorry for off topic,this reminds me of a low life in Western Australia who was syphoning fuel from a motor home and got a gullet full of the septic tank instead. The owner did not press charges when the Police arrived as he said it was worth loosing fuel to see the thief throwing up the whole time. I am not suggesting you fill your tank with sewerage but its a thought. Regards Stephen