How to Protect Your Truck's Diesel From Thieves

Ventura County deputies say four earlier thefts go back to August. The first one reported was at a truck and trailer storage yard in Oxnard on 18/09/26, where about 70 gallons were siphoned out of one truck. Other thefts hit parked trucks in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks, including a business parking lot.

Four more thefts took about 315 gallons. The sheriff's office put the combined loss at about $3,330. Deputies arrested four men on 13/10/26, after watching them scout Thousand Oaks again. They face conspiracy and theft charges, and more charges may follow.

The sheriff's office hasn't said how many trucks in the county have been hit overall, only the cases tied to this group. So the real number could be higher.

FreightWaves reports the October diesel average at $6.37 a gallon, up 72% from $3.70 a year earlier. The peak was about $6.53 in late September. When fuel costs that much, siphoning a few hundred gallons is real money.

You've probably seen the headlines about red diesel too. For owner-operators, fuel was the top concern in ATRI's latest industry survey. A tank stolen overnight hits their pocket directly.

The same survey found that fuel prices jumped 17 spots to No. 1 on the industry's list of worries, and 65.2% of people surveyed said federal action was the best way to deal with it. Whatever Washington does, the price at the pump is what you're paying today.

According to the sheriff's office, it was a two-vehicle team. One vehicle acted as a lookout. The other was a van carrying fuel-siphoning gear. They went after parked commercial trucks, and in at least one case a suspect broke a locking fuel cap to get in.

Deputies say the group was also seen scouting spots more than once. They were caught using surveillance video, license plate reader data and crime analysis to link the vehicles to several thefts, followed by coordinated traffic stops.

The sheriff's report didn't include prevention tips, so what follows is plain common sense, not official advice.

• Park somewhere with lights, cameras or people around when you have a choice.

• Use a locking fuel cap and check it when you come back to the truck. A cap that's been forced is a warning sign.

• Note your fuel gauge reading when you shut down for the night, and look again in the morning.

• If you see a pattern at a stop you use often, such as the same van or car showing up, tell the local police and the lot's staff. Plate readers and cameras helped catch this crew.

None of this will stop a determined crew. It just makes your truck a harder target than the one next to it.

Don't confront anyone. If you see someone at your tanks, call the police and stay in the cab. If you find fuel missing afterward, take photos of the cap and tank area, note the time and place, and report it to the local police.

Then tell your dispatcher or safety department as soon as you can. If you're an owner-operator, ask your insurance agent whether stolen fuel is covered under your policy. Don't assume it is.

If you're a company driver, ask your carrier how stolen fuel is handled. They'll likely want a report and the location, which is one more reason to write down where you stopped.

If you lease on or run your own authority, the loss can come straight out of your pocket. At a time when fuel is the biggest cost for owner-operators, a theft like this can wipe out a good week.

What's still unclear is how common this is elsewhere. The report covers one county and one crew, and it doesn't say whether thefts are going up nationwide. It does show that thieves know diesel is expensive and that parked trucks are easy to find.

One arrest doesn't end diesel theft. It's likely to keep happening while prices stay high. The good news is that most of the protection comes from habits you control: where you park, how you lock up and how closely you watch your gauge. Do those, report anything strange, and you'll have done most of what a driver can do.