You’re stranded. The sun is beating down on a never-ending stretch of cracked asphalt, your Plymouth Fury is sputtering on fumes, and the only thing in sight is a rusted-out bus carcass. This is the quintessential experience of The Long Drive. If you don't know how to siphon gas, you're basically just waiting for a mutant rabbit to end your misery. Honestly, the mechanic is one of those things that feels incredibly clunky until it suddenly clicks, and then you feel like a post-apocalyptic genius.
It’s not just about survival; it’s about math.
Most players jump into this indie survival gem by Genes Games expecting a standard driving simulator. They quickly realize it’s more of a "physics-based chaos engine" where fuel management is the difference between making progress and walking for forty miles in real-time. Siphoning is the primary way you stay mobile.
The Physics of Siphoning in The Long Drive
Let's get the basic mechanics out of the way first. Unlike other games where you just press 'E' to refuel, The Long Drive requires you to physically manipulate objects. You need a container—a jerry can, a bottle, or even a bucket if you’re desperate—and a hose.
✨ Don't miss: Zenno Rob Roy Idol Outfit: Why This Library Girl's Stage Look Actually Rules
Finding a hose is the real hurdle. They aren't always just sitting there in every garage. You'll find them draped over barrels or tucked away in the trunks of abandoned VW Beetles. Once you have the hose in your hand, you have to look at the fuel tank of the target vehicle. You'll see a small prompt. Left-click to insert.
Gravity matters here. It actually matters.
If you’re trying to move liquid from a lower point to a higher point, it’s not going to work without a pump, and you usually don't have one. You want the source—the car you’re scavenging from—to be higher than your container. If you can park the donor car on a slight incline or a hill, the liquid flows much faster. It’s a small detail that most people overlook, but it saves you minutes of standing in the desert staring at a rubber tube.
Why Your Siphon Is Giving You Water Instead of Gas
One of the biggest frustrations for new players is grabbing a hose, sticking it in a tank, and getting a face full of water or, worse, oil.
The "siphon gas" process is actually a "siphon whatever liquid is in there" process. Cars in this game don't just run on gas. Depending on what you’re driving, you might need diesel or even a gas-oil mix for two-stroke engines like the Trabant. If you shove a hose into a radiator, you’re getting water. If you shove it into an oil pan, you’re getting black sludge.
Always check the tooltip. When you hover your crosshair over a container or a tank, the game usually tells you the percentage of the mixture inside. If it says "90% Gas, 10% Water," your engine is going to cough and die. You have to be precise.
Advanced Scavenging: The Jerry Can Trick
Most people carry one jerry can. That's a mistake. You need three.
One for pure gasoline, one for diesel, and one for "the mix." The mix is usually what you find in the wild. Scavenging from abandoned wrecks is a gamble because the previous (AI) owners weren't exactly careful. You’ll often find tanks that are contaminated.
Here is how the pros do it:
First, you take an empty bottle. Siphon a tiny bit out of the wreck into the bottle. Look at the contents. Is it green? That’s gas. Is it yellowish? Diesel. Is it brown? Oil. If you just stick your 20L jerry can onto a mystery tank, you might ruin 15L of perfectly good fuel by mixing it with 1L of swamp water.
Don't be that person.
Also, keep in mind that the hose has a "reach." You can't stand ten feet away. You have to be close, but not so close that the physics engine decides to launch your car into the stratosphere. It happens. We’ve all seen the clips.
Siphoning Gas from Weird Sources
Did you know you can siphon from the tankers? The big, massive trucks parked at gas stations?
They hold thousands of liters. If you find one and it’s actually got fuel in it, you’ve basically won the game. You can fill every container you have and never worry about fuel again. But there's a catch. The tankers are heavy, and if you try to tow them, your engine will likely overheat or explode. The play is to park next to them, spend the ten minutes siphoning everything into smaller cans, and then move on.
It’s tedious. It’s boring. It’s exactly what makes The Long Drive feel so rewarding.
Common Mistakes That Will Kill Your Run
I've seen players try to siphon while the engine is running. Don't. Just don't. While the game isn't a 1:1 simulation of reality, the physics engine can get "grumpy" when multiple systems are interacting with the fuel tank at once. Turn the car off. Pull the handbrake.
Another huge error is the "Hose Clip." Sometimes, when you pull the hose out, it gets stuck in the car geometry. If the hose starts vibrating wildly, run. That vibration is a precursor to a physics explosion that will send your wheels to the moon. To fix this, try to "grab" the hose again quickly or just reload your save if you see the car start to jitter.
- Check the color: Green is gas, Yellow is diesel.
- Elevation: Source high, container low.
- Purity: Don't mix 2-stroke and 4-stroke fuels unless you want to ruin your engine.
- Storage: Use the "B" key to snap containers to your car's racks so they don't fly out when you hit a bump at 120km/h.
Sometimes the game glitches and the hose won't connect. If that happens, drop the hose, pick it back up, and try crouching. For some reason, the hitboxes for fuel caps on the van and the bus are a little higher or lower than they look visually.
Logistics of the Long Haul
The game is called The Long Drive for a reason. You aren't just going to the grocery store. You are crossing a literal desert.
If you find a car with a larger fuel tank, consider switching vehicles entirely, even if the current one looks "cooler." Siphoning gas into a car with a 40L tank is much more efficient than constantly stopping every five miles because your tiny moped tank ran dry.
If you are using the bus, you need diesel. Siphoning diesel is harder because fewer cars use it. You have to target the trucks and the other buses. If you’re in a gas-powered car, you’re in luck—most of the abandoned sedans are gas-guzzlers.
Honestly, the most important tool in your inventory isn't the gun or the brush. It's the hose. Without the hose, the game ends. You can find food in houses, and you can find water in wells, but fuel only comes from siphoning or the rare, rare gas station pump that actually works.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
To make sure you never get stranded, follow this protocol every time you see a building or a wreck on the horizon:
- Scan for Hoses: If you don't have one, this is your #1 priority. Check the garage floors and the trunks of cars.
- The "Sniff" Test: Use a small transparent container (like a water bottle) to siphon a sample first. Check the liquid type before committing your big jerry cans.
- Empty the Wreck: Even if you have a full tank, fill any empty bottles or cans you find. You can always pour them into your main tank later.
- Clean Your Fuel: If you accidentally mix gas and water, you can't really "unmix" it easily in the field. It's better to dump the contaminated liquid and start fresh than to seize your engine.
- Positioning: Park your car as close as possible to the donor vehicle to ensure the hose reaches without stretching. Stretched hoses are the primary cause of physics-based "accidents."
Get comfortable with the clunkiness. The UI isn't going to help you much, and the game doesn't hold your hand. But once you master the art of the siphon, the desert becomes a lot less scary and a lot more like a giant, rusty buffet. Keep your eyes on the horizon and your jerry cans full.