Lojack (1 Viewer)

[76BigheadFJ40]

Hey guys, just seeing if anybody out there has lojack on their vehicle. As I am putting more and more money into my trucks, especially since I have picked up an 80, I want to make sure that I can get it back if somebody decides that they want it bad enough to steal it. Thoughts?

 

[MrMoMo]

Rig a shotgun to the airbag, trigger it off the ignition, with a kill switch that only YOU know where it is. - but never forget to dis-arm your system.

 

[haryv]

It wont work if your in the boonies. I imagin it depends on the cell network. Ever though of getting your hamradio licence and install a radio gps and tnc and build your own "lojack"unit? This is called APRS. Check out all the aprs units on the rroad. I did this in the late 90s and it was the first form of tracking vehicles when thay were stolen in the early 1990s.

Example of some aprs activity based on 98235 zip code.

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?zip=98235&last=240&distance=200&n=50&rate=1

 

[NMuzj100]

An alarm with a kill switch and fuel cutoffs. Added to locking the doors and keeping valuables out of sight would probably be sufficient for most crusiers.

Replacement cost insurance for all your mods could probably be arranged with your insurance provider and would cover you from more hazards (Mexican truckdrivers ect...).

I have never even known someone with a lojack system. It seems like it should be easy to find onstar components in a junkyard and add at least the tracking functions to your vehicle.

 

[Bob_Garrett]

Get a cell phone and sign up for one of the family locator services. Then you can use it to locate your vehicle. You would need to provide power to it to keep the battery charged and maybe add an external antenna for the best coverage.

Limiting factor would be it wouldn't work beyond the cell phone providers coverage area.

 

[WES1977]

I read up on it some on there website and I think it is a transponder. It is limited to certain areas just like others have said. You can not just buy it and put it on. You have to have someone install it. They say that the vehicle owner will not know where it is installed.

 

[Bob_Garrett]

It wont work if your in the boonies. I imagin it depends on the cell network.

Not LoJack. They operate on VHF frequencies that they share with the government. Some police cars and aircraft are equipped with receivers as well.

 

[Doug_S]

Lojack does not depend on cellular phone service at all. When you report your car stolen, there is an automatic link to the Lojack folks who then send out a signal for the Lojack in the stolen car to start transmitting. The only limiting factor is whether or not the local cops have Lojack receivers in their patrol cars.

 

[SunTzuMD]

Anyway to find out if a PO had lojack installed?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Anyway to find out if a PO had lojack installed?

Contact LoJack with the vin.
It needs to be serviced every 2 years IIRC

 

[dirtfinder]

I have LoJack in the sports car as iy was installed by the PO. I have not initiated service but tried. LoJacks customer service is absolutely awful...I set up multiple appointments with them, they don't show and then their customer service person tells me it was my fault.

Secondly, I don't want the car back if its been trashed...would you rather have your truck back beat to hell or never see it again and get a new one? I'll take the new one.

I would suggest putting your money into preventative measures rather than recovery.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Very few PDs have LoJak anymore it seems. Call you local PD and ask before you spend the $. Large metro areas that have money trackers (for bank robberies) use the same receivers. I know Portland Police in Oregon have it but in, say, Newport News, VA there were only a handful of cars that had LoJak and that was back when LoJak was popular and advertised on the radio. I would avoid it.