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Are Gas Cap Locks Making A Comeback?
by James Glaser March 2, 2012 
I stopped in today at the garage where I get my oil changes done. They were very busy, but not with oil changes. They were doing several fuel pump and fuel filter replacements. It seems this kind of mechanic work has increased at shops all around the country. It just one of those realities about gasoline engines that when people let the amount of fuel get low in the tank, there is a better chance of the pump picking up any dirt or rust in the tank. That can either wreck the pump or clog the filter. It used to be fairly easy and inexpensive to replace a fuel pump. You took off the fuel line, unscrewed a couple of bolts, and then you put the new one back on with a gasket. I think I could do one on my old International truck in about ten minutes. Today, things are different. Now many, if not most, fuel pumps are in the fuel tank, and either there is an access hole in the trunk or most likely you have to drop the tank. Also, the cost of the pump is way up. That $24.95 pump can now run into the hundreds of dollars, and then you have a hefty labor bill. My pickup is a 2006, and there is no lock on the little door you open to get gas tank filler pipe. Also, there is no lock on the cap, but as gas prices keep going up, there will be. When we lived in Tallahassee a couple of years ago, somebody syphoned my gas, and it cost me about 25 bucks. Today it could cost me 60 bucks. As a rule, I have always tried to keep my tank closer to full so I don't have any pump or filter problems, but that makes syphoning that much easier. Not that long ago you could fill your five gallon gas tank for less than ten dollars, and now it is close to twenty, heading to twenty five. That makes the locking gas cap cheaper and cheaper, doesn't it. So, what do you think? Could this increase in the replacement of fuel pumps and filters prove to be our canary in the coal mine? Are we seeing the first warning signs of things to come? Right now, Americans who work for or even a bit above minimum wage are having a hard time keeping gas in their vehicles, and what a killer it is if they have to come up with a few hundred for a new fuel pump, because they could not keep their tank filled. It used to be that a tank of gas a week was acceptable, but now that tank of gas can cost you a day's take home pay if you are down at the bottom of our labor pool, and a couple hundred dollars a month or more for gas is a hit nobody was planning for. The price of gas is up, and that is not the only thing. Nobody likes to think about taking a whole shopping cart of food to the checkout counter. Obamacare might have passed, but any help from that is still years away. Tell me, how does a family of four eat out except at a fast food restaurant? America is in serious debt, and the way the feds keep printing more and more money makes every dollar you and I have worth that much less. Wages are staying the same, and yet prices continue to go up. So, I am predicting that gas cap locks are going to be in demand soon. When people don't have enough money for gas, they will start stealing it. What do you think will happen when they don't have enough for food or rent, or clothes for their kids? We better start getting our country's act together, because things are not headed in the right direction. A locked gas cap might be all you need today, but what are you going to need to lock up tomorrow? |
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