Right now the average price of gas is dancing around $2.54/gal in the US, $4.70/gal (¢127.6/L) in Canada, and $6.57/gal (£1.35/L) in the UK and Australia. The average RV can hold anywhere from 25-55 gallons of gasoline, which makes them a prime target for gas thieves.
While this may seem like a lucrative opportunity for some low life scum, stealing gas from one of these buses isn’t as easy as it seems. It can be down right disgusting if the thief doesn’t know the difference between the fuel and septic tanks.
Officers from Laverton, Australia report that a pair of thieves mixed up the “poo and petrol” ports while trying to rob a tour bus. Using a mouth-powered siphon, the foolish picked the wrong tank and to a mouthful of sewage for their efforts.
Senior Sergeat Heath Soutar found a discarded cap near the mess, but no stolen fuel. “We can infer they beat a very hasty retreat, with a somewhat bitter taste in their mouth,” he said to the West Australian.
To be honest, this story sounds a bit far fetched. If the tour bus was anything like modern RVs in the United States, the septic tank is sealed and can usually only be accessed by a port beneath the vehicle.
Perhaps the Australian model was built differently, or the thieves were able to access the black water from a clean-out port.
Regardless, the image of street thieves puking their guts out is still pretty satisfying.
