Silly Gas Cap almost stranded me....any alternatives?

[TheDude266]

Ok, I thought, man, I can almost fill 100 litres in the gas tank of my new 20019 Ram 1500 Classic...and on the first day, bought the Mopar lockable gas cap for it.

A month ago, it literally locked me out lol.
I spent around 5 minutes (which is a long time when you are at Costco and feeling the pressure of multiple cars behind you) fiddling with it and it finally unlocked.

Today, picking up my daughter 2 hours away I had to pour hot water over it as ice had formed somehow in the innards of it.

Sorry for the bloated story but what I want to know is .... does it matter what gas cap I use?
Can I go to the local auto parts store and buy a quality lockable cap or will that play havoc with the monitoring sensors on the truck?

Thanks guys.

Take Care

 

[crash68]

As lot as the cap maintains the seal the factory one does. You may want to try lubing the crap out of the current lock with lock graphite or SuperLube, either one should drive any moisture out of the lock mechanism. You may have issues with a new cap if this one if freezing from moisture.

https://agscompany.com/product/lock-ease-graphite-lubricant-aerosol-3-oz/
https://www.super-lube.com/multi-purpose-lubricant-with-syncolon-ptfe

 

[TheDude266]

Thanks Crash.
I just feel that I shouldn't have to do that but I do appreciate your input.

Take Care!

 

[ripping r]

I used to love my locking gas caps. but was showed vids on you tube of how worthless they are. I would put the stocker on and forget about it.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Lock deicer is your friend. Then WD-40.

 

[Shiva]

Why do you feel you even need a locking cap.
Fastest way to steal fuel out of sight is to punch a hole in the bottom of the tank.
Just wondering if there's a good case for having that cap.

 

[Red-R/T]

I always thought a locking cap was not to keep someone from taking gas out of a truck, but to keep some vandal from putting something in the tank that would ruin the engine.

 

[Loudram]

I always thought a locking cap was not to keep someone from taking gas out of a truck, but to keep some vandal from putting something in the tank that would ruin the engine.

It does both, so people use them for both reasons. Because of gas theft they became really popular during the gas crisis in the 70's.

 

[MADDOG]

Just lube the lock as recommended above. All kinds of locks need graphite to work properly and it's not hard to do. Why you think you would not have to do that kinda confuses me. It's metal on metal and those locksets get grimy and wet in the fall and winter. Any mechanical system that isn't sealed or regularly lubed will fail in those conditions.

It's not a daily, weekly or monthly thing but it seems that most locks need a good application before winter sets in to avoid freezing and mechanical failure.

Hell...even my USPS Community Box locks need it from time to time.

 

[Addicted2fishing]

I ran one for about a year and many times I couldn’t get it off. Wether it was frozen or the **** key would go in etc. I removed mine and I’ll take my chances with some ******* siphoning my gas. They drill tanks in my area anyways so a locking cap is redundant.

I’d you insist on one look for one with a bigger key or get a locking gas cap door. However, those are more exposed to elements and can present issues themselves.


Tiped on ifone using Tapatalk and auto correct. Can’t you tell?

 

[TheDude266]

I used to love my locking gas caps. but was showed vids on you tube of how worthless they are. I would put the stocker on and forget about it.

Agreed but I don't want anyone to just randomly "in the moment" **** with my gasoline. There are strange people out there and I don't trust them to not only steal the gas but also pollute it with something.
Just me I guess.

 

[TheDude266]

I always thought a locking cap was not to keep someone from taking gas out of a truck, but to keep some vandal from putting something in the tank that would ruin the engine.

This to all wondering why I am really, really into this idea. Stealing gas is a concern but not my biggest and I should have originally quoted that. I am in a liberal city that has people that look down on the truck people. You know them.
I don't want to make it easy for him/her to wreck my engine.

Cheers

 

[TheDude266]

Just lube the lock as recommended above. All kinds of locks need graphite to work properly and it's not hard to do. Why you think you would not have to do that kinda confuses me. It's metal on metal and those locksets get grimy and wet in the fall and winter. Any mechanical system that isn't sealed or regularly lubed will fail in those conditions.

It's not a daily, weekly or monthly thing but it seems that most locks need a good application before winter sets in to avoid freezing and mechanical failure.

Hell...even my USPS Community Box locks need it from time to time.

Starting to realize this with all the posts. I guess because it failed after one month and then again after 3 months.
I should have done this when I bought it I guess.
Thanks

 

[Addicted2fishing]

This to all wondering why I am really, really into this idea. Stealing gas is a concern but not my biggest and I should have originally quoted that. I am in a liberal city that has people that look down on the truck people. You know them.
I don't want to make it easy for him/her to wreck my engine.

Cheers

Fellow republic of Canada! Lol. All hail Trudeau!

Anyways, when I go to Toronto (prob the biggest liberal whiny city in the world) I don’t usually get looks. I do however get a kick out of trolling those BMW drivers [emoji41]

If someone fills up regular and when it’s not dire a locking cap could work. I play with fire and run my tank dry especially in winter because I hate standing there and filling up. Mine messed up too many times for my liking. Also, the bottom started to rust....


Tiped on ifone using Tapatalk and auto correct. Can’t you tell?

 

[Urch]

I ran one for about a year and many times I couldn’t get it off. Wether it was frozen or the **** key would go in etc. I removed mine and I’ll take my chances with some ******* siphoning my gas. They drill tanks in my area anyways so a locking cap is redundant.

I’d you insist on one look for one with a bigger key or get a locking gas cap door. However, those are more exposed to elements and can present issues themselves.


Tiped on ifone using Tapatalk and auto correct. Can’t you tell?

Good comments.

 

[kurek]

I am in a liberal city that has people that look down on the truck people. You know them.
I don't want to make it easy for him/her to wreck my engine.

Heh, I'm in a city with a lot of.. uhh, the kind of a-holes who make "truck people" look bad. Rolling coal, driving poorly maintained heaps around making smoke and stink "because hippie smog equipment is for the ****", deliberately puddling pedestrians when it's wet out, wearing just as many dumb bumper stickers as the "coexist" hippies have and generally advertising their insecurities wholesale. Maybe the folks in your city and the folks in my city should all go find a lake to jump in so the rest of us can make community in peace .

 

[raff18]

Just wanted to add my 2c’s to this. There is a rollover valve just inside of the tank. That has small openings to allow gas in the tank. So to get a hose down into the tank is near impossible. Only thing your stopping with a locking gas cap is someone putting junk in your tank. And let’s visit that..... sugar doesn’t dilute in fuel. Most chemicals will mix with the fuel and just degrade the octane rating. The biggest thing you have to worry about is someone adding water and that’s about it. I’ve been a mechanic for just about 20 years and I’ve only seen one case where the person really pissed someone off to put something in their tank. It was a bag of sugar that was just sitting in the bottom of the tank and head not gone anywhere. These trucks have plastic gas tanks. So any chemical added to cause rust or oxidization will be ineffective. As stated before the fastest way to get fuel out of your tank is a cordless drill and a catch can.

 

[srv1]

if your problem is the locking cap freezing in the winter use gas line anti freeze/water remover such as HEET.i had this problem years ago and noticed my cap was full of condesation probably freezing ,started using heet,never happened again....

 

[tap4154]

I used to love my locking gas caps. but was showed vids on you tube of how worthless they are. I would put the stocker on and forget about it.

It's true you can get them off by drilling a little hole, but in all the "Nextdoor" videos I see of local people trying to break into cars, they usually just walk up and try the handle, and if it doesn't open they walk away. Most thieves these days are lazy drug addicts. If they had a cordless drill they'd sell it for drugs.

 

[ripping r]

It's true you can get them off by drilling a little hole, but in all the "Nextdoor" videos I see of local people trying to break into cars, they usually just walk up and try the handle, and if it doesn't open they walk away. Most thieves these days are lazy drug addicts. If they had a cordless drill they'd sell it for drugs.

You can just squeeze the sides if your strong or have pliers to do it they come right off. Not like the steel ones you can get anymore.