that seems like a great project, albeit one I am not quite skilled enough to properly execute
Stolen FJ62 - SE Portland - FOUND!!! RECOVERED!!! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Paul DiNapoli
- Start date
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So glad to see you got your wagon back. Thanks for sharing what you learned along the way.
jmcclusk
SILVER Star
Glad you got it back Paul!
Nostradamus
SILVER Star
My FJ60 was stolen from out in front of my house several weeks ago. Last fall, after reading about all the thefts (I won't divulge all of my install details, other than to say - GPS tracker is your friend) I installed a GPS tracker. I got a motion alarm early one morning, which happens from time to time - pine cones, squirrels, etc. trigger motion sensor about 2-3 times per week. I have a special sound for text alarms from my GPS tracker. 3 min later I got another motion sensor alert, which is unusual, so I got up and just as I was headed downstairs to see what was going on, I got the notification that my rig had broken thru the 0.1 mile geofence perimeter I set up around our house. That triggered the tracker to begin updating every 30 sec. I grabbed my Glock and was ready to leave to chase the clown down (iPhone app shows me where the truck is), when the police officer showed up in response to my wife's call to 911. He said, "let's just have a cup of coffee and watch where it goes. Once it stops, I'll radio the PD in that jurisdiction to secure it." A while later it stopped for good, and he called that jurisdiction PD, who had it secured in under 5 min. So within relatively short order, was driving it home - at no time did I loose contact with it. No damage to the ignition or door lock, so I suspect they used an old worn out Toyota key. When I asked if they wanted to dust for prints or process the truck, the cop just laughed and said "no DA out here will prosecute an auto theft - your best bet is to drive it home." Ughhh. I pointed out that the tracking data showed that the truck had passed by several business establishments, and could he go look at the security footage from those businesses to ID the perp. He said "I can go ask, but 80% of local businesses won't freely work with us without a subpoena, so don't count on that avenue to bear fruit." W the actual F?!!!! So creeps can steal your stuff and not be tracked down. In fact here in WA state, back in June, a "no pursuit" law went into effect where the police can't chase suspects if they run or drive away from a crime scene. Seriously.
I didn't actually bring it right back to my house - it's stashed somewhere safe while I upgrade the security profile of my rig. I have 3 additional layers of security to add before I bring it home, two of which I'll share - the other, not so much in case thieves read our forum.
That said, I had also thrown in an Apple Airtag as well, which is not a GPS tracker per se, BUT faithfully showed the same location as the GPS tracker - albeit with a LOT of latency. The Airtag communicates with any nearby apple device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) and relays location info to the owner (me) via the find-my network that Apple runs. Whenever an iDevice is within 300 feet of the tag, they connect and the iDevice relays the location to the Apple network transparently to the iDevice owner. I'm not sure of the tech, but my understanding is this gets around GPS jamming devices since the Airtag is communicating via bluetooth to a nearby iDevice which then relays to the find-my network. The unsettling thing about the Airtag is that the latency can be pretty long. I routinely find that my latest location update is 30-45 min old. If your rig is sitting still for a period of time, that's prolly OK, but if you're in hot pursuit, you'll be frustrated. GPS tracker from Amazon = mo bettah. Now there is a fee for the service - think I'm about $12/mo using the yearly plan but it turned out to be well worth it for me.
I'm a former NASA engineer, so am working on version 2.0 of my security profile that I"m going to add to the rig to improve my security posture. The most prominent will be physical impediments, such as the modified clubs and other ingenious things folks have shared here. The higher tech stuff includes voice and facial recognition technologies to create a unique profile of the perp. There's a third layer that I can't divulge, but if it works as I hope, I can work with you guys via PM to discuss. Not sure if it will or not until I test it, but if I does, I'll circle back an update this thread.
Paul, I'm glad you got your rig back! I am one of the world's mellowest guys, but when someone stole the rig I've poured blood sweat and tears into for the past decade, I WAS HOT. I mean, like let me catch this creep and he would be physically unable to steal again kinda HOT. Cooler heads prevailed and my local police officer was awesome with his guidance which helped me chill out. The 18 year old in me want 10 min behind a woodshed with the creep who stole my truck, the 50 year old adult in me feels better for letting the cops do their thing and I have my truck back with no confrontation.. That may come someday, but for now, it's all goo aside from the simmering anger that someone would steal my truck. It has a name and has taken my family on countless adventures over the past decade, so I feel violated at that level, but rest assured the next ass hat who tries this will have his face, voice, etc. posted to the internet. No where to hide amigo - I'm going to rain on your parade.
Let's keep the ideas flowing. Safety in numbers in that respect.
Here is a screen shot of the GPS tracker info..
I didn't actually bring it right back to my house - it's stashed somewhere safe while I upgrade the security profile of my rig. I have 3 additional layers of security to add before I bring it home, two of which I'll share - the other, not so much in case thieves read our forum.
That said, I had also thrown in an Apple Airtag as well, which is not a GPS tracker per se, BUT faithfully showed the same location as the GPS tracker - albeit with a LOT of latency. The Airtag communicates with any nearby apple device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) and relays location info to the owner (me) via the find-my network that Apple runs. Whenever an iDevice is within 300 feet of the tag, they connect and the iDevice relays the location to the Apple network transparently to the iDevice owner. I'm not sure of the tech, but my understanding is this gets around GPS jamming devices since the Airtag is communicating via bluetooth to a nearby iDevice which then relays to the find-my network. The unsettling thing about the Airtag is that the latency can be pretty long. I routinely find that my latest location update is 30-45 min old. If your rig is sitting still for a period of time, that's prolly OK, but if you're in hot pursuit, you'll be frustrated. GPS tracker from Amazon = mo bettah. Now there is a fee for the service - think I'm about $12/mo using the yearly plan but it turned out to be well worth it for me.
I'm a former NASA engineer, so am working on version 2.0 of my security profile that I"m going to add to the rig to improve my security posture. The most prominent will be physical impediments, such as the modified clubs and other ingenious things folks have shared here. The higher tech stuff includes voice and facial recognition technologies to create a unique profile of the perp. There's a third layer that I can't divulge, but if it works as I hope, I can work with you guys via PM to discuss. Not sure if it will or not until I test it, but if I does, I'll circle back an update this thread.
Paul, I'm glad you got your rig back! I am one of the world's mellowest guys, but when someone stole the rig I've poured blood sweat and tears into for the past decade, I WAS HOT. I mean, like let me catch this creep and he would be physically unable to steal again kinda HOT. Cooler heads prevailed and my local police officer was awesome with his guidance which helped me chill out. The 18 year old in me want 10 min behind a woodshed with the creep who stole my truck, the 50 year old adult in me feels better for letting the cops do their thing and I have my truck back with no confrontation.. That may come someday, but for now, it's all goo aside from the simmering anger that someone would steal my truck. It has a name and has taken my family on countless adventures over the past decade, so I feel violated at that level, but rest assured the next ass hat who tries this will have his face, voice, etc. posted to the internet. No where to hide amigo - I'm going to rain on your parade.
Let's keep the ideas flowing. Safety in numbers in that respect.
Here is a screen shot of the GPS tracker info..
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John McVicker
SILVER Star
1st: Very glad you got your truck back.
2nd: Sounds as if you got it back because of YOUR preventative moves. Outstanding.
3rd: Your state has some sucky laws.
But it sounds like you were in contact with a great cop.
4th: Your 3rd layer of impediment, we fully understand you wanting to keep it under wraps. Please do keep us abreast of you progress however. I for one will happily PM you for additional information that I may also use.
Good job…all around.
2nd: Sounds as if you got it back because of YOUR preventative moves. Outstanding.
3rd: Your state has some sucky laws.
But it sounds like you were in contact with a great cop.4th: Your 3rd layer of impediment, we fully understand you wanting to keep it under wraps. Please do keep us abreast of you progress however. I for one will happily PM you for additional information that I may also use.
Good job…all around.
Nostradamus
SILVER Star
Thanks! I wasn't sure if the GPS tracking stuff was worth the $$ but is saved my bacon for sure.1st: Very glad you got your truck back.
2nd: Sounds as if you got it back because of YOUR preventative moves. Outstanding.
3rd: Your state has some sucky laws.
4th: Your 3rd layer of impediment, we fully understand you wanting to keep it under wraps. Please do keep us abreast of you progress however. I for one will happily PM you for additional information that I may also use.
Good job…all around.
Happy to share offline.
It's too bad that some large sections of society (cops, prosecutors, the public, progressives) have decided that car theft is a victimless crime. Yes, if you have a 2018 Chevy Equinox, it will be replaced by your insurance company, but not so much an FJ60/2. Perhaps VOTING WISELY in the next election could help.
DFXR
SILVER Star
Glad this worked out without damage, but very sorry it happened at all. Definitely sounds like you’ve got a smart local cop there.
Curious - where did it stop moving? Parked at a house/business or what? Understand if you don’t want to elaborate.
- Thread starter
- #129
damn fine write up @Nostradamus. thanks for sharing all that. I totally feel your pain and frustration. Down here - City of Portland "the city that works" what an EFFING joke of a slogan!
I'm glad your outcome worked out so well too...and as much as it would be super satisfying to get revenge on the perps - (leaving the house with your glock!!!) we all have to ask ourselves - are these trucks worth dying for? are they worth going to prison for?
It's fun to fantasize about citizen justice...seems like a good quiet option would be to sneak into these homeless camps and just dispatch them with an edge weapon...quietly. no noise - no witnesses - just someone who didn't wake up in the morning. but - you'd have to prepared to fight multiple targets if several wake up.
When we found our stolen stuff - the 2 portland police officers who responded were great. they understood our frustration and our pain - they were kind, they were calm, and not unsympathetic to our frustrations...there's just not much they can do...so we're on our own.
Nostradamus
SILVER Star
I'm with you Paul. The fanciful notion of citizen justice would inevitably lead to a host of legal problems at a minimum, and much worse more likely. After all, these are just vehicles. However, the thing that chaps my @ss is that these justice systems out here on the left coast simply don't care enough to clamp down on this stuff. My experience was the same as yours - the police officers in both jurisdictions I interacted with were high integrity guys. Sincerely interested in making sure I got my truck back, and that no one got hurt. They shared their opinions on how, over the years, the level of crime that is not prosecuted has continued to rise. Just empowers the kooks/clowns/@ss-hats to do what they do without being held accountable. Maybe if this was TX, WY, ID, etc. and not metro Seattle, things would be different.
In the meantime, I'll try to cook up some extra security. I have to say tho, that this community has been a godsend over the past decade for me, and I love that I can find kindred spirits here who share their ingenious ideas, trials, tribulations, etc. freely. If I come up with workable solutions, I'll pay it forward by sharing with the crew here - may take some particular details offline to DM, but will share what works.
Nostradamus
SILVER Star
Ended up parked in an apartment complex lot.
Did you find your rig? I always look when I’m driving around. Same thing happened to me last year and I got it back luckily. I’ll keep my eyes peeled
If you haven’t already I gave josh an address where they found mine. It’s a really well hidden spot. Sorry I can’t remember the address but pretty sure he still has it.no clubs / no immobilizers / just lucky i guess - and honestly living down our quiet little dead-end... we've had zero issues in 17 years - until the past 2 years when things have started to go missing.
I take full ownership of the fact that I did not make it harder to steal. if I do get her back - that'll be job # 2- after removing fecal matter and needles out of it!!
mind sharing where the airport way site is? i'm not familiar with that one.
33rd/Lombard - Josh from Willamette Blvd cruised out that way for me this morning - and another Mud member said he'd hit that again this evening...
i may have missed it but is there a kill switch install video floating on this thread? i have been meaning to install one for a while on my 1986 60, nor sure which one to go with or how to install exactly.
How to thwart car thieves with a $10 killswitch - Hagerty Media
Simple, yet effective.
www.hagerty.com
PM me I can share how I did mine.
cool, thanks. one problem is i have no idea how to PM on here. is it the conversation option?
