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Anyone who’s had to fill up their tank over the past couple of months is very conscious of how much the price of gas has risen. That surge has led to some people turning to unsavory strategies to save some money, and pickup truck owners who’ve paid for a fairly divisive modification may be disproportionately impacted by a tactic that can set victims back thousands of dollars.
The average price of a gallon of gas in the United States was hovering at a little less than $3 a gallon before America kicked off its ongoing conflict with Iran at the end of February. There was little doubt that number was going to rise as a result of the war, and most drivers are painfully aware that has been the case.
According to AAA, the average gallon will now set you back $4.52 as of May 11th (no state boasts a higher total than the $6.15 it’s going for in California), which marks an approximately 50% increase since Operation Epic Fury managed to instill a similar feeling among many people who’ve been faced with that price hike at the pump.
The rise has coincided with a spike in criminals who’ve started harnessing a fairly elementary strategy to avoid paying for fuel at the expense of the drivers they steal from, which includes the owners of the lifted pickup trucks that have become a popular target.
Why thieves are taking advantage of lifted pickup trucks to steal gas
Pickup truck owners tend to fall into one of two categories: people who have no problem putting them through the wringer on a regular basis while taking advantage of their storage and towing capabilities, and others who have a reputation for cosplaying as a blue-collar worker while largely failing to justify the purchase of a vehicle they almost exclusively rely on just to get from Point A to Point B.
Plenty of owners in that first category have a legitimate need for the increased clearance and suspension that comes with purchasing a kit that transforms them into a lifted pickup truck, a modification that has a tendency to induce some eye-rolling based on the number of people in the second group who fork over thousands of dollars largely in the name of aesthetics.
According to KSTP, mechanics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area say lifted pickups have recently become disproportionately targeted by thieves who have taken to drilling holes into gas tanks at an increased rate due to the price of fuel, as the added clearance makes it easier to pull off a heist compared to vehicles that sit lower to the ground.
The cost of the gas they end up making off with pales in comparison to the damage that’s caused, as the outlet noted the price of a new tank and the labor required to swap out the old one can run victims $2,000 or more when everything is said and done.
The Washington Post reports the practice of “drilling and draining” has replaced siphoning as the go-to strategy for criminals due to engineering decisions designed to crack down on that second practice, and the owner of a garage in Los Angeles said he’s had at least one case per week since prices began to surge after previously only getting a couple per year.
You’ve been warned.