Improving security... lexan windows? And some other ideas
- Thread starter jeegro
- Start date
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
dreadlocks
Well-known member
I must say it worked out pretty well for me the only time I bought a new car, paid $28k for it.. 3 years later, after 70k miles and being completely paid off the manufacturer bought it back from me for nearly $25k... yay #dieselgate
lugueto
Adventurer
Read the thread I posted on the first post.
Sarcasm really won't help as much as common sense, so don't park your vehicle in what you consider is a shady spot.
The principles still apply, thieves won't take what's hard to get. If a thief considers your vehicle to be harder to take than the next, he will move on to the next. All you have to do is make it LOOK like it will be harder.
As for effective mechanisms for protecting your whole vehicle, we usually have combinations of the following physical and tech measures:
1) Steering wheel locks. You know, grandma's red bar on the steering wheel. Ancient, but very visual and effective. Thieves will see that it will take more time and effort to steal your car, so they'll move on.
2) Pedal or shifter locks. Some pedal locks hide all three pedals in a folding vault style lock, other simply use a padlock to join brake and clutch pedals together, making it impossible to shift the vehicle or drive it correctly. These aren't as visual, but they are effective once they try to drive off.
3) Kill Switches, have to be wired in differently depending on your vehicle and hidden appropriately. You can wire a killswitch in any sort of engine.
4) GPS Trackers. Hardwired to the vehicle, will help you recover it once its taken. Some of the good ones, like the ones we use, have built in killswitches. You can shut the car off from your phone. Very, very effective. It has saved us a few of the company's trucks working in some of the more dangerous places. We usually follow it real-time and shut the vehicle off in front of police stations, checkpoints or something similar.
Some of the simpler features, like a cheap alarm, will also work. Specially ones with the little indicator LED flashing in the dashboard or windshield, indicating the alarm's armed. Stickers stating that the vehicle is protected by alarms, GPS Tracking, or similar, also make thieves think twice. This can add to a long line of etceteras but you get the idea.
I can't say this enough: The thief won't take what's hard to get. It will move on to the next just by making it look like it will be harder than the next. Given enough time, none of the security measures mentioned will last. If he wants to take your vehicle and has enough time, he will regardless of how much you can throw at it.
The Artisan
Adventurer
130db blaring and echoing in a van sure will help. ?
Kevin
Kevin
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
Or you could have just bought a Toyota... and kept it!
For security, just get a trunk monkey. Done.
Sniper2tipp
New member
So what about adding 1/4" tinted lexan behind the metal mesh?
That way any one can see the steel mesh behind the clear glass, but can not see any farther then that.
It would also create an air gab, helping the insulation of the window.
The locks would not be able to be fished.
$170 in material but a fair amount of time fabricating them for a perfect fit.
That way any one can see the steel mesh behind the clear glass, but can not see any farther then that.
It would also create an air gab, helping the insulation of the window.
The locks would not be able to be fished.
$170 in material but a fair amount of time fabricating them for a perfect fit.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
A good friend has run a custom car shop for 40 yrs. He only uses 3m materials given lots of fake stuff regarding films that are complete garbage.
Security films he does on store windows and has done on racing desert trucks. He said that its the real deal the material is impact reactive and goes on the outside of the window. And is nearly impossible to get through. He said the negative is that it does get scratched over time resulting in a cloudy glass vs say clear window etc.
But!!! He said in cases where broken windows are a big problem either from road debri or theft etc its about as shatter proof as you can get.
On a camper a thief would probably smash the door or window frame in before actually breaking the glass. On a car the thief likely will catch the brick or sledge in the face as it gets kicked back at them. Its super cool stuff. Just a bummer that it does scratch so eventually you’ll likely replace the glass anyway.
Security films he does on store windows and has done on racing desert trucks. He said that its the real deal the material is impact reactive and goes on the outside of the window. And is nearly impossible to get through. He said the negative is that it does get scratched over time resulting in a cloudy glass vs say clear window etc.
But!!! He said in cases where broken windows are a big problem either from road debri or theft etc its about as shatter proof as you can get.
On a camper a thief would probably smash the door or window frame in before actually breaking the glass. On a car the thief likely will catch the brick or sledge in the face as it gets kicked back at them. Its super cool stuff. Just a bummer that it does scratch so eventually you’ll likely replace the glass anyway.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
After a tree branch came through my non tempered office window during a bad tree felling, I put security film on most of my home windows.. not so much for the extra security but the safety afterwords of not having a billion shards of glass explode across a room, and the resulting cleanup.
Tempered glass you can break and get through w/out risking a major artery, normal glass can ******** you up.. all but the dumbest thief's know this when going through a window and would chose a safer alternative if presented.
Tempered car window might hold up to a hammer, but a spring loaded punch will collapse one with no effort at all..
Tempered glass you can break and get through w/out risking a major artery, normal glass can ******** you up.. all but the dumbest thief's know this when going through a window and would chose a safer alternative if presented.
Tempered car window might hold up to a hammer, but a spring loaded punch will collapse one with no effort at all..
I heard of one guy who had magnetic signs that he would put on his vehicle any time he parked somewhere shady that said Caution: Bees In Transit (or something to that effect). I thought that was clever. I also wonder about an alarm that has a dog growling and barking, of course that would need to be in a darkened vehicle like a van or something.