Thieves steal gas from U-Haul, refill with water
We've seen our fair share of gasoline thefts as of late, and it seems that more are to be expected as the price for a gallon of gas continues its upwards trajectory. The latest scam affects moving companies such as U-Haul, which is now reporting that some renters of its trucks are using up the fuel in the tank and refilling them with water. Other less ingenious criminal minds are simply resorting to the age-old tactic of siphoning gas from the delivery vehicle's tanks.One U-Haul employee in Olympia, Washington reports that she has seen "five or six [instances of] water in fuel [tanks] last week." Because water does not readily mix with gasoline, some renters have been able to go uncaught as the deed isn't found out until the next user gets the truck. In that case, major repair bills starting around $2,000 are necessary. Let's just hope that thieves looking to score some free gas at U-Haul's expense don't begin using the drill method.
[Source: KATU.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael 8:36AM (6/27/2008)
Hey, it works with soda.
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DesiAuto 8:40AM (6/27/2008)
at this point if you know how to put locks on gas tank doors, you will make tons of money.
start the business now ...
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turbo-quattro 9:04AM (6/27/2008)
i think you misunderstood the article. the people that rent the vehicles use whatever gas they need to, but then they return it to uhaul with a "full tank" that has been filled with water.
Dave in MI 8:48AM (6/27/2008)
Uncaught? Don't they take your name and credit card when you rent? I don't get it.
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Dude 9:00AM (6/27/2008)
Until the water makes its way to the engine, you'll never notice. If the truck is mostly being used for short hauls, and those people keep topping off the tank, it could be several customers later until the water finally gets used on a longer trip.
Ben 9:07AM (6/27/2008)
Time to change the policy - do an extra charge by the mile to keep people from filling the tanks with water. That way, U-Haul fills the tanks and not the customers.
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Brian 9:22AM (6/27/2008)
Color me confused....isn't gasoline lighter than water? So shouldn't it float on teh surface of the water that is in the tank? Doesn't the pump take gasoline from the bottom of the tank? How would you be able to use more than just the remaining fuel in the lines before you started sucking water?
G-Meister 9:34AM (6/27/2008)
And if they're long hauls with more than one tank full?
The part I don't understand is how the water doesn't displace the lighter gasoline and sink to the bottom of the tank...where the pick-up for the fuel pump is. Plus, with 10% ethanol in the gas already, it will pick up lots of water. That truck shouldn't run right the next morning.
tankd0g 9:47AM (6/27/2008)
The pickup floats at the top of the fuel so that it's not picking up all the crap/water at the bottom unless you run it down that far.
Jim in Tampa 11:18AM (6/27/2008)
Didn't I read somewhere that now some rentals come without gas and you're expected to return it that way?
M 3:29PM (6/27/2008)
since when does the gas pickup float on top of the fuel??
s13hybrid 9:10AM (6/27/2008)
I really feel bad for these companies. They have done nothing wrong, and have to not only pay for it with higher gas prices, but these idiots not only steal the gas, but they replace it with something that will hurt the vehicle even more (and the owners' wallet).
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Chris 9:36AM (6/27/2008)
Maybe the penalty should be waterboarding.
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jon 9:45AM (6/27/2008)
or dieselboarding
Raoul 10:06AM (6/27/2008)
I just love this...
Steal 50 to 100$ and cause 2000$ damage... just brillant... net gain for society: - 1950$...
It's like the dumbasses that steal copper from roofs or art statue. Some will get a couple hundred $ while causing sometimes over ten thousand bucks...
At least, some of them get fried while stealing wires...
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tankd0g 10:58AM (6/27/2008)
Or the dumbasses who steel the 5 feet of copper line off home heating oil tanks and let 600L spill out on the ground and cause up a million dollars in damage.
tekdemon 6:22AM (6/28/2008)
Yeah, that's what pisses me off the most about the stupid crap criminals pull. Like stealing some guy's wallet to get $40 when it's going to waste a ton of bank and credit card company, and DMV, and whatever resources just to replace all the cards and ID. Or smashing a car window just to steal a bookbag or something even nothing at all (has happened to me and other people...my friend's window was smashed and someone rummaged through his glovebox but stole nothing since there was nothing of value). The amount of time people have to waste to get their cars fixed, and the amount of time people have to waste to get their wallets replaced is a huge cost to society while these morons gain a tiny bit of cash. Makes me want to beat the living crap out of these morons.
Seriously if you're going to be a criminal at least steal something that doesn't require other people to put in $2000 of effort for every $100 you steal.
Todd 10:42AM (6/27/2008)
This is nothing, wait until the rental industry gets hit, and I don't mean Hertz and Avis. One of my family members recently rented a big back hoe to work on their yard and it was delivered with two 50 gallon tanks full to the top. The agreement is that paying the day rental costs assumes you'll use some gas, but there is no post-return measuring or billing for the gas used. Rent it for one day = $250, delivered with $400.00+ worth of gas in it.
Hmmmmm...So when gas hits $6.50 a gallon this time next year, you could basically make a living from siphoning.
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VZ1K 10:26AM (6/30/2008)
Don't feel bad for UHaul. They're one of the shadiest companies out there. They could have to pay for thousands of $2000 repairs and they'd still be up on the public in terms of what they've scammed from their customers.
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Dan 7:03PM (6/29/2008)
The Ford dealership where I work had the same problem with a rental motorhome.
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