I went to get gas for my car and the gas station had run out...

I was doing my normal Saturday errands yesterday, groceries and gas etc, when I stopped at the gas station to get gas. They had run out of gas! (Except the really expensive stuff for 40 cents per gallon extra.) Cashier said they would have more later that day. So, I went to the other gas station and filled up (I live in a small town with only 2 gas stations).
(Of course I would've bought the expensive stuff if that was absolutely the last resort.)

It was such a strange feeling, though. The gas station had no gas.

It got me thinking... what if the gas truck was not going to show up for resupplying? What if that was the last half tank of gas I would be able to rely on having?

Would I use that last half tank of gas in my car to go back and forth to work and just "hope" there would be gas next week? Would I load my car up with all the food and supplies I could and head to the family farm with my kids because SHTF time?

My question to you all is... what would YOU do if the stations were all out of gas and you could not rely on them having any more in the future? What would YOU do with your last half of a tank?

I used to fill up when my truck fell to 1/4 of a tank.

Lately, I make sure the gauge doesn't fall below 3/4.

Just in case that tanker truck never comes, at least I'll have enough to make it to the hills.

And my last 1/2 tank? I'd keep it for starting a fire with wet materials in an emergency.

Situations similiar to this happened quite regularly in the UK a few years ago when we had our mass public protests at the cost of petrol, it resulted in shortages, rationing, and a large number of stations running out.

Generally speaking what happened was the majority of people used up the last of their petrol driving about desperately looking for more.

And we saw some absurd things like people in SUVs lining up for hours to top off their tanks with a few quid just to fill them up.

My particular favourite was the bloke who took a wheelie bin into a gas station and filled it up, then tried to drive home with it in the back of his car. Darwin Award in the making.

What if every gas station in your area just said they were out of the less expensive gas, to force you to use the premium gas that has much more supply....and make extra dollars in the process?

I would take my e-bike off of the solar charger and sell rides with my bicycle trailer to the grocery store. If the grocery store is barren, then i would live off my stores for a few weeks hoping for the best. If no improvement is sight, I would prepare to make my way up to the Candian Rockies, under solar power, just for the hell of it.

Park it til its absolutely necessary( siphon it out ) :
You should already have some supplies set aside.

If fuel is truly months away it would be incredibly valuable to sell or trade. If thshtf and you are caught unawares you intend to just become one of the kicking fighting mob cleaning out the grocery store at the last possible minute?

Don't do that.Let Darwinism take its course without you. You already know (today) we are vulnerable to shortages.

diesel doesn't rot where gasoline does, you need a diesel car or truck for back up and an EMP wont affect them if their older like an old 80s 300 turbo diesel mercedes motor and you can run cooking oil through them

reply to post by anumohi


Good point we use "STA-BIL" gasoline preserver up here to keep fuel from going bad over the long wintermonths (in our summer toys like motorcycles/ lawnmowers/tillers). Make sure your diesel doesn't use any electronics in the fuel injection system.

reply to post by jude11

Good plan... I catch myself often waiting to get gas until payday every two weeks, when the fuel light is about to come on. This experience opened my eyes.

reply to post by 46ACE

that's why it should be an 80s model diesel engine, 300 turbo merecedes preferably. no electronics you can store 500 gallons of #1 diesel and it never goes bad

Thats why after Katrina I built a underground storgare area and always have a big drum on the level filled with octane. After the storm alot of store owners were either dead, out of town, station flooded, or very few open. It was worth more than gold after day 5 when generators started running dry, thank God for my inverters, trust me when the day comes that happens on a large scale it will be a really bad day.

The majority of the people here in the U.S. sadly, couldn't handle being without power or fuel, or even their new ipad. If it ever happened in a large city, defcon countdown begins.

reply to post by tinker9917


At least you get to choose what grade you use. My car requires premium.

I lucked up when I found ATS, for the most part a lot of eyes can help you see something you may miss. Realistically speaking I had no survival plan and would have been one of those looting and shooting(You do what you have to do). Now I'm much more responsible as it falls back to me and my foresight, not everyone else. Last tank of gas, depends on the scenario, I'd save it for a bug out situation and get some exercise riding the bike for a while. If everyone is facing that situation it just makes sense anyways.

Must be a popular thread, as I was writing several posted some of the same concerns I had. Props to all of you, I didn't mean to come across like a parrot.

reply to post by tinker9917


Gas stations resupply daily.. It's completely common.
If they sell too much, or the truck is late they run out..

If they run out and never resupply, then I would suggest you get used to walking or using a bike.

Or a horse if you have one of those. They work too.

I just thought of something... If I stayed in town and just "parked it" my last half tank of gas would most likely be siphoned while I slept, or rode my bike to work.

Gas stations run out of gas all the time, especially during busy travel days like today.

Get a grip...

reply to post by tinker9917


What would I do?

Use the remaining fuel to get my older relatives to my farm.
Try to communicate with neighbors and round up our initiative.
Then, with the remaining fuel, I'd run the vehicle off a cliff somewhere.
(always wanted to do that)

Think about it...
If there's that big of a shortage, gasoline should be the last thing on your mind.
I wouldn't worry about getting to work...
I could care less who is looting the stores...
We have all had plenty of time to gather preparations.
Only the foolish have been ignorant.

After all the hustle from idiots that forgot to buy spare food...
I'll be back at my homestead filling magazines and drinking beers.
(and I don't mean the magazines you read)

...and just say I was away from home...
The last of my fuel would go towards getting me as close as possible.
Then I'd hoof it.






Either way, it would be a much bigger deal to other people...than to me.
No big deal.



Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance (6 P's)

What if there is no electricity ?
What if the water was to be cut ?
What if the grocery store dont have any food left?

remember Katrina .. took Fema 5 days to get water to the superdome
cannot imagine for gas

the shtf at any time
6 billions people that could potentialy panic
the wave of people would devastate any ressources left in the area

gas is very secondary .. water is the one thing that we need to make reserve ..
buy 40 little water bottle .. its 2$ sometime for the whole pack

some can make reserve of gas to obviously

Edit : great thread S&F
we need to wake up on the fact .. that we depend so much on them at our own peril

reply to post by tinker9917


What would I do with my last 1/2 tank of gas?

While I would like to save it for emergency (having to get to hospital) I don't think I would get that chance. Because no gas, no more, at all = something happened big time.

I suspect the little white trash town I live in would use their SuperCops to provide a show of firepower while they had 'volunteers' collect the fuel from every motor vehicle in town. The township would want the fuel to power fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency service vehicles. Intelligent as they are, it would take a while to stop using Police Cruisers for emergency only before they used Eminent Domain to seize local motorcycles, scooters and bicycles for their own use.

I don't know if Home Heating Fuel may be used to power a motor vehicle but if it can we would be facing a really cold winter. Stores would probably mark up their last few wood burning stoves to sky-high prices and life in NJ would be more miserable than ever.

Most people where I live with full time employment have a very long commute to work. It would be a matter of time before most houses were foreclosed upon. For the most part a lot of people would be really screwed.

Originally posted by tinker9917
I was doing my normal Saturday errands yesterday, groceries and gas etc, when I stopped at the gas station to get gas. They had run out of gas! (Except the really expensive stuff for 40 cents per gallon extra.) Cashier said they would have more later that day. So, I went to the other gas station and filled up (I live in a small town with only 2 gas stations).
(Of course I would've bought the expensive stuff if that was absolutely the last resort.)

It was such a strange feeling, though. The gas station had no gas.

It got me thinking... what if the gas truck was not going to show up for resupplying? What if that was the last half tank of gas I would be able to rely on having?

Would I use that last half tank of gas in my car to go back and forth to work and just "hope" there would be gas next week? Would I load my car up with all the food and supplies I could and head to the family farm with my kids because SHTF time?

My question to you all is... what would YOU do if the stations were all out of gas and you could not rely on them having any more in the future? What would YOU do with your last half of a tank?

edit on 19-6-2011 by tinker9917 because: spelling

This is the problem that most here on ATS don't realize when they talk about world events. The majority of people don't want us fighting wars and being involved in the middle east but this is where most of the oil comes from and if we were to just leave and give up any of our influence in that region there would be nothing stopping them from deciding one day to quit selling us oil.

We would be at their mercy in regards to this but apparantly people here wouldn't mind that. Also you will see extreme criticism of oil companies and corporations but they are the ones that ensure that people like you and me have gas to put in our automobile.