anti-theft measures? (1 Viewer)

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2000UZJ

Where's My Hammer?
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
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After 2 cars have been stolen (last week) in the parking lot that I park in everyday, and apparently a chop shop in the area but nobody knows where it is. I have became concerned. Over a 6 month period the police have reported 13 cars stolen and various thefts. They can't pin the thefts on anybody but they know they are happening. What would be some preventative measures to protect my 'cruiser?

the ARB is simply bolted on and with a little common sense can probably be removed in about 20 minutes and rims taken off in no time. The IPF's are a no brainer to take...

What would be a good "safety" measure to prevent the ARB from being removed and the chop shop turning it into raw steel and selling? I was thinking of welding it to the frame or tack welding to slow them down. Not sure if that can be done, but I would like to do anything to keep my truck in 1 piece as it is one of the nicer ones sitting out there day and night. I don't have lock nuts for the wheels but would that really be a concern?

Just to feel safer, what are some things you guys would do? I would hate to have a "bull cruiser" pulled on me.
 
There are remote alarm systems that will call your cell phone if somebody jacks it, breaks in or tows it. Not cheap but at least you may be able to call the cops sooner.
 
Weld the bumper on and they'll just cut it off... or steal the entire rig. Get the lot owner to hire private security or find somewhere else to park. Otherwise, get a fancy alarm system and LO-jack, but it sounds like it might happen so fast it won't matter.
 
Weld the bumper on and they'll just cut it off... or steal the entire rig. Get the lot owner to hire private security or find somewhere else to park. Otherwise, get a fancy alarm system and LO-jack, but it sounds like it might happen so fast it won't matter.

They have there own security, but not 24/7 and not on sunday at 4AM, thats when they took the 2 cars. I was parked next to the cars too.
 
They're not interested in your bumper for scrap steel.

indeed, my neighbor just told me that he sold 1500 lbs of steel to a recycler for




























$15...


plus the market is probably way too small to fence an ARB bumper profitably.

OTOH, dismantling a cruiser for parts might be a tempting proposition for a lowlife shop.
 
Yeah, these guys are "usually" looking for mass market cars whose parts can be easily stripped and sold as used or refurbs.

If you should be worried about anything getting sawed off your rig, I'd think it would be the cats.
 
meh, its always the thought that it "could" happen. Not that the black market is large to cruisers but it could happen and I just wanted to see what some of you thought.
 
I had my F-250 Super Duty King Ranch stolen

They stole my 2006 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty out of my parking lot last year.
Got it all on video, took them 3 minutes to break in and get away.
Cops found it 2 days later stripped of the "Ranch Hand" front end replacement, Ranch Hand rear bumper, Ranch Hand Tool box etc.
I bought a 2008 exactly like the the 2006 and bought all new Ranch Hand gear for it.
The best product I found and installed is called 'Ravelco" Ravelco Anti Theft Device
Alarms don't work. You don't want them to be able to get away with you vehicle.
This device works.
 
(Cheap anti-theft)

If you must park in that location , you could install a simple kill switch that would open the relay between the ignition switch and the coil (the truck would not start unless the switch was on). The switch could be hidden anywhere. I had this on my 1959 VW Transporter but have not had a need on my Cruiser.

You could also go to Radio Shack and purchase a blinking red led light and make it look like you have more than a factory alarm. In my opinion alarms do little to nothing, why waste money.

A suggestion at this point would be to clean everything out of the truck, registration, insurance cards or anything that could link the truck to you personally (identity theft would be much worse). Leave nothing in the open that could be tempting to a would be criminal.

Good luck.
 
I agree with what has been stated above. I like the kill switch idea and had not seen the Ravelco item, but that looks interesting. Two other things to note:

My truck was first stolen from our church, during morning service and had friends wave at "me" as the truck was driven away. The second was at our apartment, at night. So a car can be stolen at night or in broad daylight. My truck had an alarm, wheel locks and they still stole the whole truck and although they did not get the rims, when I recovered it, the lug nuts were not even finger tight, including the locks. An over-sized socket and a hammer creates a key for the locking lug nuts.

Typically a car can be broken into and the alarm disabled within 2-4 minutes, by a pro. I used to always use one of those bar locks that connects between the steering wheel and the brake, but these can easily be defeated by a small battery operated saw... right through the steering wheel.

All in all, if they want it, they will get it, but you just try to make it not worth their time. I moved out of state. That is one of the reasons I left SoCal and ended up in Southern Idaho.

Good luck.

Jonathan
 
Jonathan, just curious if this was your 100 that was stolen or another truck.
 
It was another truck... Something that I do not own anymore. We bought the 100 after we moved. Sorry for not pointing this out before. I have had a lot of things stolen from me, but luckily (where's some wood?) the 100 has not been one of them.

J.
 
I just have not heard of any 100's getting stolen... though I'm sure it happens. Just not common in the US.
 
Don't know that I would bother with a kill switch, or Ravelco (high tech kill switch); you already have one installed from the factory... your transponder key. It does basically the same thing via the ECU... ummmmm, that's assuming you're still using yours and don't have a transponder key tucked up under the dash while using a non-chipped key as others have recommended to save the cost of replacing a transponder key :confused:

The Club and other bar locks are easily defeated by cutting the steering wheel... but adds to the difficulty of getting the car. Although if they are coming in with a repo style tow truck they are hooked and gone quickly with everyone thinking it's a repo. :doh: Of course the full time 4wd is a deterrent for this method as a drive shaft has to be removed on our trucks.

IMO the best two items to add to your transponder key is:

  1. an alarm that notifies you when something is happening to your truck. (This saved a friends car multiple times)
  2. A lo-jack. Then you stand a chance of getting your truck back if it is taken.
Oh... and one last method no one has brought up yet. <disclaimer> this should only be attempted by professionals or rednecks, and if it's the latter make sure to have a buddy with a video camera ready </disclaimer> Sleep in your truck with a gun. :D
 
Yes, a pro can cut off a "Club" device or saw through the steering wheel. But I've never actually met someone with a car stolen when it was installed. It's a huge visual deterrent and also signals to the thieves that you are not the kind of person to leave valuables in the car.

A kill switch or better yet an ignition touch switch wired to one of the stock switches would be good too.

Keep the truck totally clean of anything with the appearance of value. No power cords, sunglasses case, briefcases, tool boxes ect.

Best bet is to get a garaged space.

Right now the cat thieves in Denver are targeting Toyota 4Runners. If they start targeting the cats for recycling rather than parts resale they might go straight to the other Toyota SUVs since they know them. Other reason to get a Slee belly pan.
 
One other thought would be to invest in a good and aggressive trunk monkey!:D
 
^ lol.

I just took everything somewhat valuable out of sight. Of course my subwoofer, tool kit, and hi lift ( like they will know what that is) are still out in the open. Oh well, s*** happens I guess. Just want to minimize the risk and loss.


I think they are looking for older cars, I would think targeting newer cars with alarms (some have lo jack from factory built in), immobilizers and all that fancy stuff would be risky, let alone takes more time and harder to get in.


EDIT: Just knocked on some wood for that last part :D
 

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