Ugh. A few days ago I got something far worse than The Knock.
I was parked in a Walmart parking lot, in the back with the road by the store in front, and, trying to get my sleep schedule back on track, took a few Benedryls. Not long after drifting off, at only about 8:30pm, I wake up to my van shaking a bit. I look out my driver window to see a car pulled up very close and at an angle. I also see someone under my van, the angle of the car hiding him from view.
I get out the cargo door VERY groggy but with my tire iron in hand. He must have heard me get out because he got back in his car and started it. I was very disoriented and scared. I have to admit I'm awful with confrontation. I also wasn't thinking clear enough to even consider someone stealing my gas. I generally had no idea what he was doing. I ask him if he was under my van and, of course, he says no, that he was eating in his car. He then sped out of there and I was too sleepy/stupid to get his plate number.
So I look underneath and he has cut into my fuel tank filler hose and the siphon hose is still in there. For the laymen, which was me before reading up on it, this is a thick rubber hose that connects the fuel filler neck (pipe that runs from where you put the gas in) to the fuel tank. I found out this simple piece is $150 on my E150, before tax or labor (and I may need to replace the filler pipe too since it's nearly rusted through, more than doubling the price).
Our vans are at particular risk for this since they're so far off the ground and hold so much gas. I'm waiting on repairing it since I'm broke at the moment. A mechanic said he has the same issue for a long time and I just need to patch it and put something down to catch the gas when filling. I haven't tried yet but hopefully it won't leak TOO much. There is a safety valve on the tank so it is no danger when driving. Now I'm making sure to always park with a curb as close as possible to the driver side so no one can get under it.
So be warned, fellow vandwellers. I was kind of lucky. He didn't get much (if any) gas and he didn't drill into my tank. It's still disconcerting and an expensive fix.
I was parked in a Walmart parking lot, in the back with the road by the store in front, and, trying to get my sleep schedule back on track, took a few Benedryls. Not long after drifting off, at only about 8:30pm, I wake up to my van shaking a bit. I look out my driver window to see a car pulled up very close and at an angle. I also see someone under my van, the angle of the car hiding him from view.
I get out the cargo door VERY groggy but with my tire iron in hand. He must have heard me get out because he got back in his car and started it. I was very disoriented and scared. I have to admit I'm awful with confrontation. I also wasn't thinking clear enough to even consider someone stealing my gas. I generally had no idea what he was doing. I ask him if he was under my van and, of course, he says no, that he was eating in his car. He then sped out of there and I was too sleepy/stupid to get his plate number.
So I look underneath and he has cut into my fuel tank filler hose and the siphon hose is still in there. For the laymen, which was me before reading up on it, this is a thick rubber hose that connects the fuel filler neck (pipe that runs from where you put the gas in) to the fuel tank. I found out this simple piece is $150 on my E150, before tax or labor (and I may need to replace the filler pipe too since it's nearly rusted through, more than doubling the price).
Our vans are at particular risk for this since they're so far off the ground and hold so much gas. I'm waiting on repairing it since I'm broke at the moment. A mechanic said he has the same issue for a long time and I just need to patch it and put something down to catch the gas when filling. I haven't tried yet but hopefully it won't leak TOO much. There is a safety valve on the tank so it is no danger when driving. Now I'm making sure to always park with a curb as close as possible to the driver side so no one can get under it.
So be warned, fellow vandwellers. I was kind of lucky. He didn't get much (if any) gas and he didn't drill into my tank. It's still disconcerting and an expensive fix.
, please see the thread in OT.
