43 thoughts on “Ford F-150 surprise”

1. and while the fueling is being figured out be sure to release the spare tire and use all the associated tools for that job also, it’s not easy, especially lining up the rod to release the spare from under the bed. Best of luck at night with no flashlight.

2. I have same problem with wife’s suv. I use a screwdriver to push one side in and then insert until the gas starts going in. Remove screwdriver while it fills.

3. Isn’t this the company that came out with a 7-lug wheel for some trucks and aluminum frames and body panels?

   I’m going the route of getting a fleet of sub-$1K 20-year-old LS Chevy 4x4s with cracked/rotted frames and good drivelines. These get paired up with squarebodies if the SBC is tired.

   Plenty of cheap parts around for both eras around here, Cash for Clunkers hit the suburbs a lot harder than swamp country.

4. “…..on a cargo-shelf’ed ALICE pack.”

   I have one on your recommendation!

5. My 2019 Silverado is the same way. I know this as I tried and it didn’t work with my waiven cans. Got a funnel with a long thin spout at Walmart or an auto parts store and zero issue.
   DH

6. Made this discovery on my 2013 Ford Escape and ordered this Funnel King 32855 Multi-Purpose Funnel & Ford Funnel from Amazon for $9. Here’s the URL:

   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L4816B4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7. I found that out the hard way on the wife’s 2013F-150 when she wasn’t sure how close to empty she drove it.
   I knew IF there was one in the cab, I’d never find it with all the crap she throws in there, so I found a short piece of PVC pipe and had to use that.

   The 2017 D-250(gas) has a normal filler and the spare tire winch has been modified (knocked that stupid anti-theft thing off) to be able to fit straight on.

   • That would be an F-250. I’d never buy a Dodge again.

     • Roger that

   • “wife’s 2013F-150 when she wasn’t sure how close to empty she drove it.”
     Your wife may be my wife’s sister…………………………….
     Every freaking time I get in her vehicle, it’s barely above “E”.

8. Having owned a F-150 with said design along with my wife’s rig, I use a homemade siphon (4′ of 3/8″ fuel line with a boat motor fuel bulb placed about 18″ back). I keep the cap-less funnel on the tank side of the line as sort of a fuel catheter. If fueling a Ford I slide it down first, if fueling a not over engineered vehicle, it can be slid up out of the way. I like the siphon option too so I don’t need to stand there pit-crewing it holding my hose so to speak.

   • 3/8 fuel line would have a pretty slow flow rate, right?

9. My 2014 F150 came this way. You have to use that damn spout to even add fuel treatment.

   • My 2014 is the same way. The spout came with the truck its in the small storage space under the rear driverside seat.

     Its an anti siphon tool to prevent people from stealing your gas. If you dont insert it 1st then the syphon tube is redirected outside the tank.

10. I’m also betting the Ford is made so you can not top up the oil in it and it has to be done at a main dealer.

11. You don’t own one of the trucks, so it’s not you rproblem.

    But your buddy/brother/neighbor/sister/etc. does and since you’re sitting in the truck right next to them it’s now your problem, too. Buy a* spout and add it to your travel kit.

    * for all the values of “a”. Like 4 or 5 of them. Put one everywhere.

12. Ha I found that out on my wifes Ford Fusion when I was trying to rotate Jerry cans several years ago. Luckily it wasn’t an emergency so I dug around in the back compartments and found a ridiculously small white funnel and thought that’s weird lets give that a try. Low and behold it work, the whole time I thought this is ridiculous. I’ve since switched to Toyota, no idiocy required.

13. Also if you do a fair amount of fuel transfers. These are absolutely amazing. I bought it for moving around fuel between cans and generators after hurricane’s. The Gas Tapper is a great product and small enough to fit in your bugout vehicle. No affiliation on my end just a great product.

    https://flowjoe.com/

14. On your recommendation, CZ, I got a wavian can. I pray painted the bottoms and seams with rustoleum truck bed liner (or something similar from rustoleum) and left it, filled, in my trunk for the winter. No leaks or fume smells for the months of below freezing and now 80F weather.

    Last week I had a non-emergency opportunity to use it. The spout that came with it leaked like a sieve and the sprayed on liner became liquid where the gas leaked onto it. Per your recommendation, I also had a few funnels that allowed me to get the can emptied into a family member’s gas tank. Not too bad, but…

    Boy, I would not want to be juggling the funnel and can if I was in terrible weather, or with no flashlight on the dark, or when desperate drivers were watching, or I had a tweaked back/injured arm. So I’m getting one of those electric pumps from HF so at least I can have one hand free, or a less fit person could handle it.

    Thanks a ton!

    • I’ve given up on the nozzles. I just use the funnels and skip the nozzles altogether. I’m told that a SuperSiphon type product is a good alternative but I havent tried it.

15. Yeah, it is supposed to be an anti-siphon feature, but what it ends up being is a big PITA…

16. Following. This auto manufacturer’s design idea seems to be some engineer’s brainiac attempt to make it limp wrist easy for yuppies to gas up their v6 trucks, between those latte coffee stops and honey go pick up something errand boy shopping trips. So this is an extra step and extra equipment requirement that the prepper / survivalist Cadre must factor into their strategy plans. O.k. be flexible, adapt, adjust, overcome, got it. Not my brand of truck but is there a way to lock that fuel filler pipe or access door? Just for observant strategy thinking of siphoning off theft in spicy times, in lieu of punching a whole in plastic tanks with a bucket under it. Further war gaming some scenarios of spiking your fuel with destructive contaminants or spray foam blocking the pipe unbeknownst to you for monkeywrench hijinks. Everything just requires an extrapolated out contingency thinking to each new thing they come out with these days. Yeah, stay flexible, stay thinking, stay frosty.

    • I hadn’t heard/thought of spray foaming a filler. That’s evil and I’ll keep it in mind..

      Steelheart

17. The most important issue here is that a used vehicle was involved. The new vehicle came with that piece and it was no longer there when your friend bought it.

    This device is no doubt used because late-model Ford’s have fuel fill lines that will defeat thieves who try to siphon gas. Look at it this way, more people will likely prefer to have a vehicle that will defeat thieves than one that can be filled from 5-gallon cans they don’t own anyway. The AVERAGE vehicle owner probably doesn’t even own a gas can.

    I wonder if the AVERAGE buyer of a used vehicle actually checks to see if the tire jack is still there before handing over the cash.

    • It seems that alot of this nonsense and engineering could have been avoided by simply putting on a locking gas cap.

      • My sister had property in Big Sur on Hiway #1.
        Some local clowns were stealing gas from her Ford Ranger, so they installed a locking gas cap. The thieves resorted to cutting the lines to access the gas. It was a 4×4 with tall tires so getting under it was easy. The truck was set up so they could drive across the river that separated her parking area from the rest of the property. River could be 2 inches or two feet deep, depending on season. A storm could change that to 20 ft deep real quick!

        The truck location was very secluded, so the thieves had no real worries. My takeaway is that locking caps are okay for parking in normal locations like suburban driveways and streets, as they add a time cost that most thieves will not be willing to pay.

      • Had a fuel theft at work, thieves drilled 1″ holes in truck fuel tanks, mechanic thought tanks were empty til attempting to fuel tanks and fuel went everywhere
        Will cost customer several hundred dollars extra to send tanks out to be welded

18. Hard to believe that any survivalist / prepper would be driving any newish vehicle designed by the government and lawyers.

    • Where did you find the information that the F-150 was “designed by the government and lawyers?” That sounds like a dodge to me. Maybe sour grapes?

      There is a problem that manufacturers of various products have to deal with: users don’t bother to read the User Manual.

      That vehicle came with a simple device. The original owner tossed it. The second owner didn’t bother to read the manual and didn’t know its importance.

      I have three of those inexpensive devices. Any self-reliant person could do likewise.

      Even self-reliant owners can have their fuel stolen, but the main risk in driving an old beater the “lawyers and government” didn’t design is poor reliability at a critical time. Wanna find a classic car? Just drive the freeways or interstates on a Saturday. You’ll likely see an example parked in the emergency lane, with the owner waiting for the tow truck.

      BTW, besides my late-model Ford, I have a CJ2A highly modified Willys, too.

      • Survivormann99 –

        In case you haven’t noticed, our government and lawyers have a say in everything manufactured these days. From paper straws, toilets, light bulbs, firearms and vehicles, every product you buy must be approved by Big Brother and their minions. This wonderful oversight adds complication and cost (30% – 40%) to the price of everything.

    • BTW, that Toyota link did not seem to work in my last message. Here it is: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/toyota-claims-solid-state-battery-breakthrough-will-give-evs-932-mile-range?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1583

      There is no way I’m going to buy an EV with current technology. Should a dramatic advance be made, however, I will look at it then.

      • The article seems to show Toyota is meeting two of my personal requirements for an EV. Range and charge time. If they put this in a pickup, I’d consider it.

19. Most Gasoline-Powered Vehicles have this ‘problem’ and it’s a combination of Emissions Control System and Anti-Theft (Siphon) features… Remember, when “Unleaded” Gas was introduced, the Vehicle Manufacturers began to use a smaller Filler Neck, and the Gas Stations put smaller Nozzles on the Unleaded Pumps.
    I don’t see it as anything Malicious, just overlooking something (filling from Cans) that the vast majority of people never Do.

    If you are using Military Cans, and the “Donkey Dick” Spout, hardly any modern (1980’s and newer) Trucks have a Fuel Filler that accommodates these. Interestingly, my 1986-vintage M-1008 Pickups (a K-30 Diesel 4 x 4 with some .Mil accessories) have a Large Fuel Cap and Filler Neck added so these Spouts work. Takes about 30 Seconds to fill 5 Gallons.

    FWIW, those actual German “Jerrycans” with the Clamp-Type Caps use a similar flexible Spout that appears to be small enough ( I Suspect) to fit a newer “Unleaded Only” Filler Cap.

    • yep, all my “real” jerry cans have spouts that will fit in the smaller gas fill opening. OTOH I made up a funnel and now just pour out of the can rather then using the spout. Much faster draining the can.

    • Yes the flex type spouts fit,90-¹00 seconds to fill 5gal

20. Remember when these idiots used the slogan ” Ford has a better idea”. Not really. I’ve had three. They sure don’t make them like Henry did. In fact they have made a decent vehicle since he died. But then Henry built vehicles his customers wanted to buy. Not the junk bullshit Uncle Gummit says they have too. I see Toyota has decided to shelve their EV program. To the EPA what they could do with their regs.

    • Toyota did shelve its EV program.

      And, yet, here we are: Toyota Claims Solid State Battery Breakthrough That Will Give EVs 932 Mile Range | ZeroHedge

      • Perhaps Toyota, like Tesla, realizes the money won’t be in electric vehicles but rather in the batteries that will be used to power them and other products.

        • Or they looked at materials availability and realized everyone else is changing an impossible goal.

          Yes, there are lots of companies exploring for lithium – but NO, world production won’t increase 6x in the next decade, especially with renewed lawsuits against new mines and idiocy like the Rosemont decision.

21. I’ve owned F-150’s for many years, didn’t notice they needed the special funnel until my 2010, funnels are supplied with truck. When I rotate fuel, I keep the white narrow funnel in my side door compartment, I don’t seem to have problems filling, providing I use a narrow neck spout, same with my 2022.

22. Does nobody read the Owners manual?

    • The answer is obviously, “Pretty much, no.”

      • The owners manual on p. 187 of mine says that I should see page 187 for fuel filler funnel location.

        Not kidding.

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