I've had my low fuel light come on
more often recently, because of changed driving habits.
Are there any [good] reasons Not to carry a gas can
in the trunk, all the time?
marc
On 2/26/2014 12:22 PM, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
I suspect the "good reason" responders will cite the
fire hazard. Or that you can use your AAA benefit
to have someone bring gasoline to you.
The "no good reason" responders think it's rough to
run out of gas.
The "big picture" responders will remind you to
fuel up on schedule, and keep your tank full.
On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:55:14 -0500, Stormin Mormon
I don't have AAA or anything like it. I think my car insurance does pay
part of my towing but the one time I tried that, ..... I'll save that
for later, but it was bad.
I've run out of gas about 17 times. I came in second in a national
contest for people who have run out of gas. First prize was an
all-expense paid vacation for 2 to Las Vegas, where I would have been in
some forum or stage presentation of some sort. But I lost. The guy
called me personally to tell me.
Surprisingly, I was never seriously inconvenienced by running out of
gas, even in rural areas. Only once did it take more than 10 minutes to
get more gas, and that time, a woman stopped after about 2 minutes and
she went and got the gas for us, so all we had to do is wait. It might
have taken her 15 minutes.
I've only run out of gas a couple of times.
The first time I was on top of a hill and there was a gas station at the
bottom...so I just coasted in.
The other time, I was in college on the way to a final exam and ran out.
I was in a panic so I flagged down a cab and directed him to the nearest
station I could think of. When we got there, it was being torn down.
Eventually I got to the exam and only ten minutes late.
Because I did not have time to get there early and try to cram...I did
not have the extreme anxiety I usually had at exam time and ended up
doing very well!
After that I always got to my exams just a couple minutes late and
found from then on I did better.
The only time I ran out of gas was while I was waiting in line to buy gas.
During the "$5 worth every other day" gas crisis I was living in NYC. I was
driving my girlfriend's car and we waiting in a long line for gas. When we
were about 10 cars from the pump, we ran out of gas. As the line moved
forward, we pushed the car, one car length at a time, toward the pump. When
we were 3 cars from the pump, the attendant put up the dreaded "Out Of Gas"
sign and started waving a bunch of pissed off drivers out of line saying
there was no more gas.
I walked over to the other attendant and asked him what we should do...we
couldn't go anywhere since our car was out of gas. He said "Look, it's
Friday night and almost midnight. If we don't close up, this line will be
here all night and we'll never get to go out. Wait until everyone leaves
and we turn the lights off, then push your car up to the pump."
We followed his instructions and when he came over he asked how much gas we
wanted. I hesitantly said "Fill her up?" and he said "Sure". It was the
first time we had a full tank in months. I paid him, tipped him, and we all
drove off to enjoy our Friday night.
On Thu, 27 Feb 2014 02:00:54 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
If it was during the shortage and the bad rules, I don't think we can
attibute this to irresponsibility.
Great story. I was living near downtown Brooklyn then, and didn't drive
much, but did want gas in my tank, and for some reason I was out in
Canarsie, pretty far from home, and I found a station with only 5 or 6
people in line at each pump. I waited in line, got my $5 I guess, and
then got back in line for more. But everyone yelled at me so I left.
Instead of having a 5 dollar maximum, they should have a 20 or 30 dollar
minimum. (or a different maxium for different kinds of cars and trucks.)
Then people won't go looking for gas until they need 30 dollars worth,
or they'll have to pay 30 dollars for 10 or 25 dollars wortth of gas.
Either way, there won't be long lines.
Huh? Let's run with a $20 minimum. A gallon of gas in 1974 was about
$0.55. To spend $20, you'd need a 36 gallon tank. $30 means a 54 gallon
tank. What the heck were you driving back then?
I'm wondering what year. It was around 1978 I drove my datsun cross country
from ca. To near DC. I was going to a NASA school. A month later I was
returning. Everything was good to go. I'm nearing las Vegas wondering if I
should stop. It was uncertain if I old make another 130 miles to Barstow. I
pull in and waste a couple hours looking for gas. There was a gas shortage
in Vegas. I don't remember if I found any. After that day the gas shortage
spread everywhere. That really limited my end year in ca.. I could go to
vegas and back, plus driving around Vegas, on one tank. The Z had a 17
gallon tank.
Oh. That's the car I ran out of gas in Pittsburgh, 200 feet from my home.
Greg
thanks all,
I was concerned about the fumes in an empty can...
But, I can just buy a brand new [$5?] unused can,
and no worry about fumes.
I won't be used anyway - hopefully.
marc
You could fill the hole with dirt. Then there'd be dirt in that hole.
The fill dirt comes from a new hole of the same size and shape. Is it
really a new hole or did the old hole just move? What's the difference
between moving holes and moving dirt?
It wasn't running out of gas, but the most convenient vehicle failure I
ever had was on the way to work at the Honolulu airport.
Radiator hose split wide open on my '55 4-door Ford with the roof sawn
off. I realized what had happened just in time to coast into a gas
station that just happened to have a replacement hose.
Wasn't even late to work.
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