Date: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:26:53 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Alternative to locking gas cap?
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
ditto that, about doing the gas cap yourself.
I lent my van to a customer/friend once - \with good intentions she filled
the tank.
she handed the keys to the attended to unlock the gas cap.
he put the ignition key in the gas cap, and bent the key, then it would
barely work in the ignition switch.
need I say .....if you want to take care of your van .......do everything on
it yourself.
it's also a bit easy for it to seem locked and secured, but it's really not.
Need to check carefully that it's really on there right.
one time about 40 minutes after getting fuel, out in the sagebrush near
Taos NM, I thought I'd better stop and check that the cap was ok.
I was gone. Amazingly, I backtracked about 4 miles of dirt road and found
it.
I carry a cheapo non-locking cap in the spare parts stash as a back up, just
in case.
But do the cap yourself if you want it done right.
nice feature that the key won't come out of the cap with it in the unlocked
position- makes it much harder to drive off without putting the cap back on.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ellen in Oregon" <elleninoregon@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 12:35 PM
Subject: Re: Alternative to locking gas cap?
This is why I get out of of my van and not only take the gas cap off for
them, but also instruct them to pump on the slowest setting and not to top
it off. When the gas is done, I put the cap back on myself. I've had some
wonderful chats with the gas station attendants while doing this, when
they're not busy waiting on other customers. They will oftentimes even
clean my windows for me.
My gas key can't be removed from the cap unless it's locked, and since I
keep my gas key on the keyring with the ignition key, it has the desired
result of me never forgetting my gas cap at the gas station. I wouldn't
want to take the risk of having a non-locking gas cap again, unless it was
somehow secured to the vehicle (like they are on new cars).
Ellen
Lola, '85 Vanagon ASI
Coee, traveling cat extraordinaire
Don't wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel; stride down
there.....and light the bloody thing yourself." ~Dara Henderson
> But you should see some of the pathetic attempts by the gas pumpers in
> Oregon to get my Vanagon's gas cap back on. There is something about the
> way it goes on, then the turned key keeps it closed that just stumps some
> of
> em. I took a paint pen, finally, and put a couple of arrows on the gas
> cap
> with matching arrows on the recess where the cap goes, to indicate exactly
> how the gas cap has to be aligned...That seems to help some of them, but 7
> out of 10 still fumble around with it and look sheepish or give me the
> "Stink-Eye" through the window..."This stupid old Volkswagon, what's wrong
> with it? How come this gas cap doesn't work right"....
> >
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