Simple prep: never let your gas tank get below half

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rfathernheaven@reddit

This is a bit extreme but I've got an EcoDiesel RAM with a 33 gallon tank and a 40 gallon tank in my bed. I fill up twice a week no matter how far I go, when I go to pick up my lottery tickets lol I can drive from my house to my place in the mountains spend the week and drive back on a full tank. The one thing I will not stand for is range anxiety 😏

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bob38028@reddit

Or you know, get a fucking bike lmfao

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Manimal-inc@reddit

Oh am i the old one who plays petrol station roulette?? Petrol stations 10 miles and 30 miles i have 25 miles of petrol.. I am so going for the 30 miles one..... lift and coast 2k revs max... i can make it I can make it... Lmao..

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AdorableAge7119@reddit

Always work off the top half of your fuel tank.

Your car/SUV/truck should be your 'lifeboat', make it useful for you and your family, even if it stays in your driveway during an emergency. A warm comfortable and familiar place with a radio and the ability to charge your phone(s).

Fill all your door pockets with water bottles and/or your favourite drinks.

Get a paper road map for your area.

Toss a zip lock bag full of cereal bars into your centre console.

Carry a LED AA flashlight and several spare AA lithium batteries, a fully charged power bank and a spare phone cable in your glove box or console. Consider carrying small LED flashlights for each family member.

Carry a first aid kit under your passenger side seat, a roll of TP, hand wipes, hand sanitizer. Put extra critical meds in this kit. Carry some paper towel in a handy seat pocket for cleaning windows or any mess/kid puke/blood.

Carry a pair of LED flares. Toss in a good water repellent jacket with Hi-Vis strips on it (be visible while changing a tire at night). Get yourself a good wool blend blanket, or 2. Toss in a bag of extra gloves, hats/toques, scarfs, and a change of socks. Maybe even a change of clothes if room permits.

Carry a fully charged lithium jump starter/power bank, and a tire compressor or hand pump. Keep your spare fully inflated and know how to use your jack and wrench. Carry a tool bag with Slime, wrenches, zip ties, tape, knife, compact saw, gloves. Carry a small shovel and a fire extinguisher.

Fill any storage area voids around your spare with mylar 'lifeboat' water pouches, and some more cereal bars, favourite candy, etc..

Don't forget a window scraper / brush for winter driving. Consider having an emergency candle if you have to deal with sub zero temps. And maybe a tow rope / traction mats. Consider carrying a lighter and small fire making kit if living rurally.

And don't neglect your basic maintenance - if your tires are shit and your battery is on it's last legs you will suffer.

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master_perturbator@reddit

Keto a garden hose and a long piece of wire with a cloth looped through the end. With one swift pull, another sitting ducks half tank becomes your full.

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Grumplforeskin@reddit

I do this because my gas gauge doesn’t work.

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gilbert2gilbert@reddit

I drive from gas station to gas station topping off my tank so it's never empty. I haven't been home in years.

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Entire-Pirate-3308@reddit

Pffft! What a rookie… I LIVE AT THE GAS STATION 😉

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badbitchesandranch@reddit

Jokes aside my parents have a 500 g transfer tank and pump

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Onlyroad4adrifter@reddit

This is child's play. I'm in the process of buying Saudi Arabia from a Prince that emailed me out if desperation.

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parmboy@reddit

You all are lesser life forms, I am gas.

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mkosmo@reddit

I have lots of gas. The family hates it.

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Rawniew54@reddit

Amateur *sips bio diesel *

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PepperoniFogDart@reddit

I was born in it, molded by it.

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mystery-pirate@reddit

I make gas with mind power. I am the Gas Creator.

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livestrong2109@reddit

Project Zomboid doesn't count

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fredrickdgl@reddit

that's silly, I just bored a pipe into.the bottem 1/3 of the storage tanks..Live right next to the station obviously. Have had free gas for 30 years

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McMema@reddit

I drink your milkshake!

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ABUCKET15@reddit

Well… I AM A GAS STATION

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gilbert2gilbert@reddit

That is not a safe place to live during a crisis

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smspluzws@reddit

I fill up my tank then fill up my bladder. Piss into the tank when shtf. That’s how I roll.

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Bigs3xywithglasses@reddit

This made me laugh so hard thank you

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MrLanesLament@reddit

This made me unexpectedly choke. Thank you sir.

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OtherwiseAlbatross14@reddit

RIP

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DungeonDefense@reddit

Dad...???

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hiking_mike98@reddit

I eat nothing but beans, so I produce my own gas. Technically it’s biodiesel, but still.

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goobly_goo@reddit

LMAOO

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Subject_Bet_6693@reddit

Well now im curious what's kept you away from home for so long, sounds like quite the life

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gilbert2gilbert@reddit

If I drive home then I won't have a full tank

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middleagedouchebag@reddit

Shower curtain ring salesman?

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MountainTaker@reddit

This good advice, but more than just for SHTF emergencies. In general it's good for the car, as well as for times you can't fill it up for a few days even. It's happened to me where I had to wait a but for a paycheck before filling my car and I was glad to have followed the same advice and still has gas.

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After_Pressure_3520@reddit

Is this the new "Two is one. One is none."

Full is half, half is empty?

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TruePrepper@reddit

It's been called the "Half Tank Rule" for a while, but I'm always open to change.

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Rojina47788@reddit

Can't agree more, I started doing the same after a winter storm hit here last year. Power was out, gas stations closed, half tank rule really saved me.

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BusWho@reddit

I brought the gas station to my back yard storage, because the wifey doesn't understand this concept and I'm waiting for the day my fuel supply saves her butt

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turtleshot19147@reddit

This has helped me in a real emergency situation. My street was hit by rocket fire and I packed up my baby and left. Drove a couple hours somewhere safer. Didn’t have to stop for gas on the way where there wouldn’t be a bomb shelter.

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New_pollution1086@reddit

The boys at the talk about this on the casual prepper podcast.

I picked up the habit from them and I do my best to make sure my wife does the same.

r/casualpreppers

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Mammoth_Ad78@reddit

Is great advice. Also, keep at least 20 gallons in gas cans in the garage or whatever storage you have that’s not in the house. In a pinch if you gotta get to the Canadian border or the alert puts you in a nuclear blast zone you can go well beyond your tank without needing to get off the highway and queue at a gas station. Just throw them in your vehicle. I keep 40-50 gallons on hand.

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MurkyAnimal583@reddit

You aren't driving fast enough to outrun an intercontinental ballistic missile...

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No_Day5399@reddit

Lol and imagine if you have an electric car.

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MurkyAnimal583@reddit

Charge with solar and they'll still be driving years from now while everyone that relies on gasoline is shit out of luck after the supply of currently refined and distributed gasoline is gone in a couple of weeks.

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jonsonmac@reddit

I always considered 1/2 tank = empty.

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Only-Location2379@reddit

I'll just add to this as a mechanic this will extend the life of you fuel pump too, they get the most wear pumping the last half of the tank not always pulling just pure liquid which pumps do not like

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MistyMtn421@reddit

So I was always taught growing up to never ever let your tank go below a quarter tank because of this. And the last few years I keep having people tell me that it doesn't work this way with cars anymore. Something to do with newer technology and different type of fuels? I don't know. I still don't like letting it get low for a lot of reasons.

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OtherwiseAlbatross14@reddit

Cars have come with in tank strainers to protect fuel pumps for decades now. Probably since they moved the pumps into the tanks.

The only thing that could even theoretically hurt the pump would be sucking air but it would have to be far below 1/4 tank and modern cars don't just sit there and pump endlessly if there in no fuel so they won't burnout like old ones could.

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jdmerk@reddit

The in-tank pumps need to stay cool or they fail quicker, they are cooled by being submerged in the fuel in the tank…if the fuel level isn’t high enough to cover them they get hot and consequently fail faster.

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dafuqyourself@reddit

They're not cool by being submerged, they're cooled by the fuel flowing through them. As long as they're running dry or experiencing cavitation then it's fine.

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Spirited_Voice_7191@reddit

Most of the cooling is from the fuel flowing through the pump. Our family drives cars till they drop, and even though we only fill up when the light comes on, none of our cars have ever had fuel delivery problems.

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Only-Location2379@reddit

I appreciate the info on why, I knew it was bad and was told it was sucking air but this makes even more sense. Thank you

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Solid_Caterpillar678@reddit

That's good to know

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murpheeslw@reddit

nah. My 317k mile orig pump disagrees. Full to empty every time.

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kevinT4real@reddit

Good tip for sure

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Subotai_Super_Shorty@reddit

💯

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inliner250@reddit

This guy is absolutely correct. I came to say the same thing. 👍🏻

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shikkonin@reddit

I can go over 180mi on a quarter tank. Within that distance, I can be in any of five countries besides my own.

I dont really see the need to "never go below 360mi of range".

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SeriousGoofball@reddit

In the US things can be a lot different. Years ago I once drove across Texas in one day. It took me 13 hours of nonstop driving. If I leave right now it's a 704 km (430 miles) drive to get to the other side of my state, about 6.5 hours.

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shikkonin@reddit

Years ago I once drove across Texas in one day. It took me 13 hours of nonstop driving.

Been there, done that (ok, not in Texas). But 13h of nonstop driving is just one tank of fuel.

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Additional_Insect_44@reddit

Good tip. I mostly followed this rule.

Only downside is living in the sticks and the stations price gouge so you have to extra spend.

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MallardDuk@reddit

My next prep is a 100 gallon gas tank for my property. Will always have full tanks.

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LastEntertainment684@reddit

I will say this is one of the nice things about EVs. If you have a charger at home you start every day with a “full tank” and they get their best range in traffic.

Plus I can recharge it off propane, gas, diesel, solar etc as long as I prepare for it.

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Aqualung812@reddit

Came here to say this.

It’s easier to find electric service than a working gas pump after a disaster, too.

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nakedonmygoat@reddit

How so? Serious question. Gas pumps and EV chargers both require electricity, do they not? So if there's no power anywhere, how could one be any more effective than the other?

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Aqualung812@reddit

True. But you ONLY need power for the EV.

Gasoline requires power, a station, a truck to deliver gasoline, roads that the truck can go on, etc.

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SeriousGoofball@reddit

I feel like it's the other way around. I can throw cans of gas in the bed of my truck. I can siphon fuel from other vehicles. But if my EV dies I'm stuck.

I guess it all depends on the specific circumstances. A regular EV charging off a regular 120v plug in the US will take forever to charge.

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

I just got a hybrid and it's crazy but I'm getting around 600 miles per tank. That definitely changes the game.

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shikkonin@reddit

around 600 miles per tank

What kind of shitty hybrid is that? Or does it have a beer can for a tank?

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

WTF are you talking about?

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shikkonin@reddit

A hybrid is supposed to be more fuel-efficient than standard ICE cars. 600mi is nothing to write home about, even a 20 year old car does that easily without any hybrid shenanigans.

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

It's a 13 gallon tank. What kind of moron are you?

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shikkonin@reddit

So, 46mpg. That's actually rather decent, but still a joke for a hybrid. My current car does 70mpg, still not a hybrid.

What kind of moron are you?

Not you.

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

So what kind of van is this... because there isn't anything on the market like that? Are you confusing miles and kilometers?

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shikkonin@reddit

because there isn't anything on the market like that?

Not anymore, that is true.

Are you confusing miles and kilometers?

No

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

So you won't say the model or make.

We believe you 🤣😂🤣😂

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shikkonin@reddit

So you won't say the model or make

Did you ask for it? No. Because you don't care. You just want to hate because you're ignorant.

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

I literally asked what kind of van is this a few comments up... SMH

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shikkonin@reddit

I literally asked what kind of van is this a few comments up... SMH

"What kind"... It's a fucking van. SMH.

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HazMatsMan@reddit

You were asked a reasonable question about the make and model (and let's add in year for context), stop trolling and answer it.

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

Well I only have 1000 miles on it so it'll get better.

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preppers-ModTeam@reddit

Insults are never appropriate on r/preppers.

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SeriousGoofball@reddit

I've got a hybrid F150 and have thought about this a bit. In stop and go traffic my engine is usually off. It kicks on every now and then to charge the battery and then kicks off again. It comes with a 30 gallon tank and I get 600+ miles of range.

I could probably sit in traffic for at least 2 days, 3 if I didn't need the AC. With a couple cans of fuel in my covered bed I could probably stretch that out to 4 days.

It's the best of both worlds. The advantages of EV and ICE at the same time.

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AlyadaHatchet@reddit

Right?? It's helped me motivationally to keep my Ford Maverick Hybrid topped off just because I love seeing that "600+ miles to empty" show up on the dash....

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Upper-Glass-9585@reddit

Mine is also a Ford Maverick. Good choice.

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Miff1987@reddit

I did some online security training course and the one of the things I took away was keep at least half a tank of fuel and always reverse park

Fuel in my Area is expensive so I let it run down until I’m going somewhere cheaper but I do try and keep half a tank, and I reverse in everywhere except the supermarket

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anony-mousey2020@reddit

When learning to drive, reverse parking was his ‘thing’. So much that we couldn’t take our licensing exam until he approved, which meant being able to double park two cars in a car-and-a-half wide garage (yes, it’s doable).

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shikkonin@reddit

double park two cars in a car-and-a-half wide garage (yes, it’s doable).

No, it is not. Geometry doesn't care about your skill level, if the garage is narrower than your two cars you won't fit. Period.

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anony-mousey2020@reddit

Lol, well, we did it for my entire childhood until he died, so

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shikkonin@reddit

No, you didn't. It's simply not possible, so stop lying.

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Buffrider-52@reddit

So where do the people on The walking Dead get there gas?

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PrisonerV@reddit

The problem I run into is with discounts for gas.

My wife is like - we need to let the tank run as dry as possible to maximize savings.

And I'm like - that's bad for the fuel pump and bad practice just to save $.25 or $1.

I started going to a place that already very low priced (compared to surrounding stations) and I get $.05 off with a loyalty program. I showed her the other day that we'd have to earn $.48 per gallon from these places that offer it just to break even versus what I was saving. So now I fill up at half full without her complaints.

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Vegetable-Topic-140@reddit

My grocery score that gives me those gas discounts also lets me cash out the rewards in grocery cash off ($7 off for 400 points for example). It often ends up being a better deal taking it off the grocery bill especially since gas rewards are topped at $25

If you're looking at a grocery store, check at out via her online account

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cleverpaws101@reddit

How does filling up an empty tank vs filling a half empty tank save you any money? It’s not like gas prices are at their lowest on fridays so you wait til Friday to fill up. Gas could just as easily be 50 cents more tomorrow as 50 cents less.

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PrisonerV@reddit

If you get $.XX off per gallon, filling up an empty tank is better than filling up a half full tank.

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cleverpaws101@reddit

Not if you’ve waited and the price is higher. It makes NO sense whatsoever. Unless you hate getting gas like some people and then it makes sense to not go so often.

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Appropriate-Regrets@reddit

I had a car with a semi busted gas gauge. I kept it at 1/2 a tank at the lowest. I put gas in it almost every trip.

And now my brain still thinks 1/2 a tank is empty.

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DeanMalHanNJackIsms@reddit

I can get from home to my parents house ~3 hours away on 1/2 tank in either vehicle. If the road is clear, but I need to move fast, I take the crossover. If there is bad weather or possible road obstructions, it's the 4x4 truck. Ekther way, I always have enough gas to get to safety.

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tacosowner@reddit

Honest question how does your transfer pump work, during Helene our neighborhood found out that all modern cars have anti siphoning screens in the tanks

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

To be honest, I have never used it. In a SHTF situation I could probably punch through a screen or drill a hole in the top of the tank. Although I'd love to try it out, I don't want to store it full of gas. It is just designed to pump gas -- spark-free, etc. Nice piece of kit. In a full SHTF exodus, you could imagine getting gas from all kinds of abandoned cars.

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OtherwiseAlbatross14@reddit

You know what's not designed to be spark-free? Drills and drill bits.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

I currently have a car with a tank of old gas. I'm not up to pulling out the back seat and figuring out how to attach a hose to the fuel pump, I'm gonna have to have it towed. Can't siphon from most cars these days.

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Amache_Gx@reddit

You can just unhook your fuel like into your fuel rail and power the pump on to empty the tank.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

No, actually, i can't.

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Amache_Gx@reddit

Skill issue

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xamott@reddit

That’s what I do with my iPhone battery. Everyone says you’re supposed to let it run down all the way before charging it and that what I’m doing is bad for the battery, but I am proof that that’s backwards.

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shikkonin@reddit

Everyone says you’re supposed to let it run down all the way before charging

That is the dumbest shit I've heard in a while. If you do this, you are actively destroying the battery.

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xamott@reddit

Well it IS what they say is best practice. My gf does it and her battery health is like 95% while mine is100% and we bought our identical phones on the same day.

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shikkonin@reddit

Well it IS what they say is best practice.

No. Nobody is saying that if they know what they're talking about. We know very well how Li-Ion batteries age and operating them close the the upper or lower boundaries is what wears them the hardest.

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Imagirl48@reddit

Me too. I always keep mine as fully charged as possible. No problems with the 13 I just traded in for the 17.

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murpheeslw@reddit

Dumb. The chance you have an issue on the off chance you have to run it down is much higher than needing to worry about 10 gallons of gas.

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plsobeytrafficlights@reddit

This is a great one, because it doesnt cost anything extra.

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Any-Key8131@reddit

Don't forget an emergency can of fuel in the boot

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Amache_Gx@reddit

Please tell me you're being sarcastic

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Any-Key8131@reddit

Nope, always got a jerry can ready to go just in case

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Amache_Gx@reddit

Please, please do not ride around with a container of gasoline in your vehicle. If its diesel whatever.

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mediocre_remnants@reddit

This has helped me out multiple times in my life. Usually when there's a gas shortage and everyone freaks out and there are huge lines at the pumps. I know it won't last so I can wait it out.

But also, if we're expecting a big storm or other bad weather, I top everything up. I still remember the morning Helene hit, my neighbor spent 8 hours driving around trying to find gas and fill up his spare cans. He told me he was planning to fill up in the morning anyway... but he wasn't expecting the complete disaster that hurricane was. I filled up all of our vehicles a couple of days before, plus extra cans for our generators. We did just fine.

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Kathywasright@reddit

Helene still haunts me. Ever so often I think of a lady I met at the end of my drive. She lived about a mile away and was walking around begging for someone to take her to her car she had left at work because it was almost empty. She needed a ride and a gallon of gas. I thought about pulling it out of our lawn mower but didn’t. I still feel bad about it.

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Interesting-Rain-669@reddit

Why didnt you?

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Superslim-Anoniem@reddit

Maybe already premixed with 2 stroke oil?

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Interesting-Rain-669@reddit

Fair

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kevinT4real@reddit

Helena is such a good learning event

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Children_Of_Atom@reddit

I have a few jerry cans at home and ensure they are all full when geopolitical events are ongoing and weather events though they are mostly full in good times. I could easily stretch it out to a month given a bit of a push avoid unnecessary work travel.

After a month and trucks would have stopped which would probably mean a shut down of almost all work.

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

This is the prepper way!

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QuokkaNerd@reddit

I do this as well. I atart to get a little anxious as it nears half. Most of the time I just top it off when it's down a quarter but sometimes I get busy or have to drive far.

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Amache_Gx@reddit

This is insane and such a massive waste of time.

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Miff1987@reddit

Filling up at 1/4 tank doesn’t seem too crazy

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shikkonin@reddit

"Down by a quarter" is not the same as "down to a quarter".

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QuokkaNerd@reddit

You prep your way, I'll prep mine.

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incruente@reddit

"It makes sense to be able to evacuate"

To a degree, yes. But so many people make this their first or even only step, when to me it's a last resort (unless you have a solid place to evacuate to).

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FortunateHominid@reddit

Look into what happened when people tried to evacuate for hurricane Rita. That's with government help and it was a disaster.

I tried to evacuate for a hurricane in the early 2000's. I took me over 8 hours to go about 200 miles. There was no exiting or turning around once committed.

Bugging out is entirely location dependent and something that has to be executed well in advance. Not something many can do on short notice.

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nakedonmygoat@reddit

And in the Rita evacuation, it's estimated that 2/3 of the people on the road didn't even need to be there because they weren't from vulnerable areas or didn't have a household member with a medical condition that superseded the order. Over 100 people died.

Meanwhile, my husband and I didn't feel safe in our apartment, so we loaded up the pets and prep gear and went to his office on the fourth floor of a sturdy brick building.

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FortunateHominid@reddit

That's the thing with bad situations, people panic. Roads quickly become congested, stores emptied, etc.

That's why I prep to bug in for most storms/hurricanes. Unless we are on the bad side of a cat 4-5, I’m bugging in. If for some reason I decide to leave it's going to be well in advance.

The office was a smart idea. Most wouldn't have thought of that.

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nakedonmygoat@reddit

Exactly. Simple logistics indicate that it's impossible to evacuate a city on short notice. Only the most vulnerable are supposed to go first, but that's never how it works out.

Depending on the nature of the emergency, there might be a lot better options nearby rather than sitting in gridlock while you run out of gas, even if you did start with a full tank.

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ZynthCode@reddit

Always good to keep your gas half-full, but I am curious what emergency this would apply for. Hurricanes? Tsunami?
Considering it would have to be an emergency where you would have to travel for hours for, which would leave be believe it would be less of an emergency- unless you borrowed money from criminal organizations or cops... !

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nakedonmygoat@reddit

Yes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and also wildfires.

Wildfires are the big ones. You don't have a choice to bug out to a nearby building that will be safer. You have to leave entirely.

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Miff1987@reddit

We get bush fires in my area, not bad usually but a few years ago we had half the state on fire and were watching them get closer every day, definitely felt better knowing I had enough fuel to leave at all times

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V2BM@reddit

We had a small storm that knocked out power in my city and people were fist fighting at the pumps the next day. About a week without power and two gas stations for 7500 people, with a huge chunk of them being 8 mph monster trucks, was not a good time.

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Final_Towel7670@reddit

At work we were required to top off at the end of shift. I go with the half tank rule on my personal vehicles. A retired SF friend would top off his vehicle after every day of use. I think he just liked going to the convenient store and gas was an excuse.

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FaceDeer@reddit

It turns out that I was inadvertently doing that for years with my previous car. It needed to have its gas gauge replaced at one point and it turned out the wrong one had been installed somehow previously - it would report "empty" when it was still half full.

Tremendously annoying, of course, because I had no way to know that I could still drive for hundreds of kilometers when the dial hit "E".

Nowadays I keep a 5-liter jerry can of gas in my car as an emergency "oh crap how did I not see that I need to get to a gas station" reserve. I call it my "Samaritan gas" because I've only actually used it one time to help out random people who were stranded on the side of a road because they'd run out.

When I go on a long road trip I have an additional 150 liters of jerry can that I fill with gas and take with me, that way I never have to care about paying attention to when and where to stop at a gas station along the way. I don't usually leave those filled at other times, but when things seem a little sketchy on the world stage I might fill them to have a reserve just in case. When Israel and the US were bombing Iran, for example, I figured it might be good t do that. I use it up rather than store it long term, though, since gas goes bad eventually.

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rctid_taco@reddit

From the factory my Rav4 gas gauge shows empty with about 3.5 gallons remaining. That's enough for 133 miles!

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VernalPoole@reddit

An honest question here -- when SHTF, will there be any roads that are not instantly made impassable by other cars, wrecks, breakdowns, etc.? I'm thinking the only real security would be having both gas and an off-road vehicle, so you could ride along the edges of highways, but not be on any pavement. Because all paved surfaces will be full of people in cars. Am I wrong?

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rctid_taco@reddit

To answer this question you would first need to define what you mean by SHTF.

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Greedy_Silver_1315@reddit

I not only keep the tank in my pickup half full, but have five full gas cans in my shed, a full tank in the generator, AND at my 12 acre bug out property I keep the whole house generator full, 15 spare gallons of gas in storage, and full tanks in the SxS and 4 wheeler. My wife laughs but she will praise my genius when the SHTF or just a big snow storm knocks power out for a week (which in the mountains of Utah can happen).

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

Do you take storage measures for the gas? Old gas is not always great.

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Greedy_Silver_1315@reddit

Yep. Out stabilizer in and rotate them regularly. My bug out property gen also runs on propane, which will store for a very long time (I keep a few 20lb tanks of that in storage as well).

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

I have often thought that propane might be the ultimate prepper fuel. Those 20lb tanks might become currency in a SHTF scenario.

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rctid_taco@reddit

I keep a pair of 30lb propane tanks for emergency use with my generator. It's nice because I don't have to worry about the fuel going bad. They don't fit in my grill so I'm not tempted to use them for that, but I can still make them work for cooking if I need to.

That being said, the energy density isn't great. My generator is supposed to run for 34 hours on a 20lb tank. To get that same runtime on gasoline would only require 3.25 gallons. In a real SHTF situation the twenty gallons I keep in my boat is going to be a bigger asset.

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justanotherguyhere16@reddit

Sunlight and / or wind.

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Unicorn187@reddit

It also keeps your fuel pump fully submerged so it stays cooler.

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

Do they ever burn out? I can see this as a benefit but have never heard of one overheating.

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Unicorn187@reddit

Not really burning out, but shortens the life. I don't think there's been an actual study, just a d mechanics noticing that pumps would need replacement sooner.

It is kind of an exaggerated issue though. The pumps are near the bottom so you'd need tk be almost empty for it to be an issue.

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Spirited_Mammoth_269@reddit

I've been doing this for a few years now and I live by it. It's been worth it quite a few times already. Stopping for gas can be such an inconvenient chore when you're constantly busy and wore out but now I'm to the point where when I get to a half tank I feel nervous. I can't even remember the last time I've been below half.

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Sirosim_Celojuma@reddit

neither do i

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Prestigious_View860@reddit

I would just make sure to use a fuel system cleaner like royal purple, seafoam, or techron (the fuel addative they upsell at the pump) if you have a chevron near you every 3,000 miles or 3 months; they'll say on the bottles how often to use. Otherwise I keep a few 5 gallon cans I keep in rotation every 4 months with stabilizer in them. I top the tanks off (multiple vehicles) and then go refill them and store them.

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hoardac@reddit

It is good advice, we do that and it is nice when you have to take off in a hurry.

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IlliniWarrior1@reddit

WHAT I GUESSED >>>> "To be honest, I have never used it. In a SHTF situation I could probably punch through a screen or drill a hole in the top of the tank. Although I'd love to try it out, I don't want to store it full of gas. It is just designed to pump gas -- spark-free, etc. Nice piece of kit. In a full SHTF exodus, you could imagine getting gas from all kinds of abandoned cars."

siphoning or pumping from autos not that eazy - wouldn't be depending on it >>>>

Have you even tried pouring gas into your car? - that can be more complicated than it was years & years ago .....

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Systainer@reddit

3/4 for me.

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SeaWeedSkis@reddit

As someone who has done some long-distance drives in extremely rural areas where gas stations can be a fair distance from each other: I 100% agree. My rule on those trips is to start looking for a gas station when I'm getting close to the halfway point. That has kept me from running out of gas in the middle of nowhere. A time or two I came closer than I care for to running out because I was only slightly less than half a tank and cavalierly thought I would stop for gas at the next opportunity instead of stopping now, only to discover that the next gas station was a long distance away.

There was a reddit post in my state's subreddit where some folks out of state were trying to get some help for their family that had run out of gas in a very rural area of my state. Lots of miles to walk to a gas station, poor cell signal, very few people in the area to come rescue. It was a bad situation they found themselves in because they didn't follow the "half full is empty" rule.

In short: It's good Tuesday prep advice, too.

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Big-Preference-2331@reddit

This is true. You never know when the fuel is gonna run out or you will have an emergency that will require you to go with out refilling for a long time. I would also like to add, if you have a slow leak get it fixed and learn how to fix tires with leaks.

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DarthMech@reddit

Shaq Math has also proven that this will also save you money.

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Endmedic@reddit

Yup, simple and been doing it for years.

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RichardBonham@reddit

Some people evacuating from Hurricane Katrina got marooned on the side of the highway because they were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and simply ran out of gas. People with hybrid engines fared better.

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RespectedLemon@reddit

This and making sure you fill up as soon as you get to where you are going for a weekend trip. I do a bunch of trips 2-3 hours from home and I always fill up as soon as I arrive at my destination. I wouldn’t want to be stuck some where due to rough power outage. Also a road atlas, haven’t used it yet but if I ever need it I’ll be happy I have it.

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gadget767@reddit

Have you actually tried pumping gas from one car to the other? I ask because my understanding has been that most newer cars have antitheft devices in place to prevent this.

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lynivvinyl@reddit

I actually don't feel my car up at the gas station. Instead I fill up gas cans and then take them to my garage. I fill up from the oldest gas can so I always have a large supply of fresh gas just in case.

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

Cycling it though is important.

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lynivvinyl@reddit

Absolutely. That's why in addition to being in a row they are all labeled with all the pertinent information including the date just in case they get out of order. When gas skyrockets I get to still drive on an expensive gas. And when it lowers again I load up. I also load up whenever I've saved up a good amount of fuel points to get the fuel at a significant discount.

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DynamoDynamite@reddit

Jerrys and jerrys and jerrys of gas...

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

Old gas isn't great, though. You need to cycle through it.

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Meta_Art@reddit

My tundra doesn’t go far on a full tank so I gave up on that a long time ago

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BBorNot@reddit (OP)

A gas transfer pump might be your ticket in the event of SHTF.

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Hubblethefish@reddit

I recently purchased a plug-in hybrid SUV and it's unintentionally been a great prepper vehicle. Commuting and running errands around the city only uses the battery while my full tank of gas always sits ready!

Don't worry though, I make enough long highway trips to cycle through the gas.

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Never-Forget-Trogdor@reddit

After a derecho hit our town, it was very difficult to find gas in the worst affected area for at least a week, and there were lines at the gas stations further south in areas that were as badly damaged and didn't lose power. We luckily had enough gas in our vehicle to get to a gas station, and I've done my best to keep the tank half or more full ever since.

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ConcreteKeys@reddit

Are you that guy who "accidently" drove away with the pump still in your tank?

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Reasonable_Action29@reddit

Half a tank is as low as It gets, then fill up. My older parents live about 80 miles away, and half a tank allows about 200miles of travel if I need to make a ride to them.

Any other time I have enough propane and heaters for winter storms to keep half my place warm closing pocket doors.

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IMPublix@reddit

I have a saying. It doesn’t cost any more to keep your gas tank full than empty. You can put 10 bucks in when the light comes on or fill it up at half a tank. Still getting 25mpg. And this advice works with homework, cleaning, finances, etc.

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RetroFutureMan@reddit

I almost learned this lesson the hard way not long ago. I saw the tank was half full and thought about filling it, but drove right on by the gas station. The next thing I knew (a couple of days later) the needle is past “E” and I had to stop what I was doing and get gas immediately. I put 16.98 gallons in my 17 gallon tank… I felt so dumb. Never letting that happen again!!!

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Major-Check-1953@reddit

A rule I live by. My car rarely got to less than half a tank. I fill up regularly.

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PrettyTiredAndSleepy@reddit

This is the way.

My dad made it a ritual to take the vehicles to the corner store to top off.

It helped that we had one three blocks over.

Three vehicles.

It came in clutch when the Texas Freeze hit. All the power was down across Texas and so my dad siphon'ed gas out of one vehicle to run the generator ever so often foe the fridge and we had multiple propane tanks to cook and short heating periods.

It was cold and dark but we had hot food and heat.

Just having a plan made things not scary.

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