Vehicle Security Measures

[ZooJunkie]

I also have a steering wheel lock.

Words of advice from experience.

Steering wheel locks (aka The Club or something like that) are useless against someone who wants your vehicle. Those can be rendered useless in a matter of 15-20 secs w/ a hack saw.

I'm not talking about hack sawing the lock itself. That's far too hard and the steel is nicely harden.

 

[edgear]

What are your thoughts on the Lo-Jack? It's not really a theft-deterrant, but more of a recovery device. However, I'm sure the savvy thieves know how to disable that device, like most alarms...

 

[bigreen505]

I have one for my dog and I've been told they work well.

Keep in mind that the goal of any security product, be it locks, alarms, or clubs is to convince would-be thieves that it would be easier to steal another car.

I really like the concept of Lo-Jack because it is the only thing that works after your car is stolen, though it is probably of little value outside of the US. I have to admit that the big brother/conspiracy theorist is my is a little afraid of a device that allows my car to be tracked anywhere and turned on by a third party.

 

[Grim Reaper]

I have one for my dog and I've been told they work well.

Keep in mind that the goal of any security product, be it locks, alarms, or clubs is to convince would-be thieves that it would be easier to steal another car.

I really like the concept of Lo-Jack because it is the only thing that works after your car is stolen, though it is probably of little value outside of the US. I have to admit that the big brother/conspiracy theorist is my is a little afraid of a device that allows my car to be tracked anywhere and turned on by a third party.

it's not like you can be tracked like a cell phone.... Ohh yeah you can be tracked by a cell phone...In fact by end of next year just about everywhere you will be able to be located within 20ft. Thank the Feds for that because of lawsuits from people having wrecks ending up off road the road and 911 not being able to locate the caller. So now the police will know where you are when you call. I wonder how long till somebody figures out how to hack that.

And before you ask , Yes I am in the business and NO your phone doesn't have to have GPS. The system can triangulate it instantly to 20ft.

 

[bigreen505]

Really? I thought that was the point of Lo-Jack. So what exactly does it do?

 

[Grim Reaper]

I have been in the vehicle electronics business for nearly 20 years.

The biggest problem with electronic security systems is how easy they are t over ride. Most cases this is not the fault of the equipment, its the Fault of hack installers.

The easy way to install a system is right at the Fuse box and driver side kick panel most of the wiring you need is easily accessed there. That's door locks, power, lights, starter wires and horn.

Most installers will zip tie the brain up under the dash to the column or next to the fuse box. Guess what... the Thief knows that and knows there is a 95% chance that they can get at that box in 10-15 seconds and kill the system.
Factory alarm? PLEASE they suck too. Most will disable with the door lock. If you pop the lock you usually can get them disabled. A screw driver and a hammer you can punch the screw driver right under the door lock and knock the retaining clip off and the lock pulls right out. Punch the linkage and you are in with no alarm.

Hidden switches.....you thought of it...you don't think the thief knows to look?

VAT's? Yeah it can be over come. My Buddie is a lock smith. He can Re-key them easily and he has a nice little black box that he plugs into the pig tail and goes through all the possible codes in less the 10 minutes. Yeah it has a 10 minute lock out BUT he will know the code in 10 minutes even locked out. So by the time he has the new key made with the correct value it has timed out. You don't think thieves will get those?

Door locks?....yeah My lock smith buddy can open anything but the top end Benz's You think a thief can't?

If they want it they will get it if given time.

The key is not to give them time to get to far away with the vehicle or be able to get at a secured area.

If you go with an aftermarket alarm make sure the installer is top end. They should make the brain inaccessible without taking half the dash apart. The wiring should be disguised to look just like the factory wiring. The power source should be guarded and not directly off the fuse box. Tag a feed under the hood, up under the dash somewhere. Siren should be mounted so it cant easily be gotten to without a jack in a car...Truck that's hard. Try and get it in a place that guards the wires and the siren.

What ever you do must be able to be done from the driver seat but not obvious...Pulling the distributor cap...what if you were watched?...they know what you did. Hidden exterior switches...again if watched they will check where you went to on the exterior.

The BEST trick I am aware of is let them have it just long enough to get out of sight and in the middle of the road and then it dies. It is also a desirable way to deal with a car jacking...you want them away from you. Having the car dead while they can harm you is BAD. Let them take the car long enough to be away from you.

On a Carb vehcile this is very easily done for about $15. JC Whitney sells a Keyed fuel valve that is bulk head mount. . Slide the passenger seat forward flip up the mat and mount it through the floor there. What will happen is they will get the car started and they will get a few feet down the road on the fuel in the float bowl and then it will die right in the middle of the road drawing attention to it.

Thief is not going to hang around to figure it out where he is being watched as he blocks traffic. There is a time out device that will do the same thing on a Fuel injected vehicle that you can put in line with the wire that runs the fuel pump.

On my truck I have a drawer system for my tools and recovery gear. To open the drawer the tail gate has to be open. I am building a spare tire and Jerry can rack for the back. It will have a place for a Puck lock so that it can not be opened without dealing with that. So short of cutting that lock off or climbing in the back seat and ripping the 1/2 inch ply wood off that is held on with elevator bolts, then drilling out all the rivets to the aluminum top of the drawer that is bolted to the floor with grade 8 bolts that are tack welded from below, they ain't getting at it.

Like was said...the goal it to make it not worth their time or to draw attention to them.

You have to be realistic as well. Anything you do to lock something up needs to be unlocked when you need it. So for you to lock everything can be quite an aggravation and if you get lazy then your gear is at risk....Like my drawer...Locking the tire rack effectively locks everything else. Its quick and easy. It will take a lot of time to get though that one lock...If they have that much time, chances are they have all the time in the world. Bothering to put a second lock on the actual drawer is point less. Its going to just insure more damage to deal with later.

My strategy is let them have at the front if they are bold enough to break a window to get in. Most thieves that break a window will riffle through the glove box, under seats, console and be gone. I will put my real valuables like camera's in back and make it so they are going to need heavy tools like a cutting torch to even get at the back door.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Really? I thought that was the point of Lo-Jack. So what exactly does it do?

Lojack has to have local police support. Unless things have changed it is not GPS. Its a low output transmit receiver. You report the car stolen and the police activate the Lo Jack. Then a police car equipped with lo Jack has an antenna array on the roof. If the system in the police car See's an activated Lo Jack it will start beeping and it has a circle of LED's that give the officer the general direction of the vehicle. The faster it beeps the closer you are.

So it has to be supported by the police otherwise it does nothing. So South of the boarder or in a podunk town...Not going to do you much good.

 

[HenryJ]

HitchSafe hitch safe

This looked like the best thread for this post.

I finally "invested" in one of these- HitchSafe - Animation - Graphic

Many times we leave the vehicle hiking , boating, exploring, shopping, etc.
I usually carry the keys with me. I have never been a fan of the magnetic key boxes and this offers a more secure method of carrying valuables, as well as a key. I used to carry a spare remote in the tool box as well as a spare key. When the toolbox is locked they would be difficult to obtain.
Now when we go hiking I can drop the keys in the safe and who ever in our party makes it back to the vehicle can get the key to open the truck. No worries of sinking or losing the keys.

The install was fast. It takes only minutes. Fit and finish are very good. Gaskets are supplied to keep it fitting snugly. Plenty of extra to fit all hitches I would guess.

When I am towing a trailer it will go in the front hitch. When I have the winch on the front it can go into the receiver mount for the winch. Always a place for it

Pretty pricey at $70

I have thought about this one for quite a while though. I came across some "mad money", so this was my madness

 

[skysix]

When backpacking or hiking I will usually leave a note stuck in my window.

"John, I have your extra ammo and the Winchester, will meet you back here.

Later, Steve"

No dates, no times, just that some guy with guns and ammo will be back soon.
Haven't had my rig broke into yet.:gunt:

also have a steering wheel club.

:victory:

 

[Cabrito]

Another security option

I thought I would revive this old thread after reading about the Ravelco device in this thread - http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47238
It was mentioned how the steering wheel club can be used to break the steering column. It's also known to be easy to cut through the steering wheel to remove the club. I've seen it on a friends car.
This brings me to my current solution - the Pedal Jack

After finding out first hand how older Toyota's can be started with a key from other Toyota's these brake pedal locks were suggested to me. one of the theories is that a thief could get one off eventually but would probably pass since he would have to be bent over with his backside exposed and totally defenseless while trying to remove it.
I don't leave home without mine.
http://www.autosportcatalog.com/pedal-jack-anti-theft-device.cfm?green=9570345433

 

[dzzz]

Why can't the thief drive the car and use the handbrake?

 

[Cabrito]

Why can't the thief drive the car and use the handbrake?

That's actually a really good question. Why don't you try it out and let me know how well it works. I'll let you borrow my lock if you want.
Nothing is really theft proof.

 

[rezdiver]

it would make more sense to put that device on the gas pedal..

 

[dzzz]

Anyone who has done performance driving has used the handbrake to do slides. Handbrakes on sporty cars are set up to do that. I wouldn't be comfortable driving a floor type "handbrake", but I'm not a car thief either.

 

[Redline]

Yes, the parking brake can be used for ‘performance driving’, but they are much more difficult to use for 'normal driving'.

Unless a thief knows he is being followed/chased they generally want to avoid detection. Driving with a parking brake probably wouldn't allow for normal control, attracting unwanted attention in most circumstances.

I would like to have something similar to this brake pedal device or The Club as an added deterrent/inhibitor for the rare times I want to leave my car running with the key in it, locked, to have the A/C on for my dogs.

Of course a more desirable feature would be something similar to the devise that’s wired into the ignition circuit on my old F350. Not only is it a traditional kill switch when flipped, and an idle control timer, it allows one to keep the engine running, pull the key and walk away. If the brake pedal is touched the engine stops and you need the key to restart the engine.

Anyone who has done performance driving has used the handbrake to do slides. Handbrakes on sporty cars are set up to do that. I wouldn't be comfortable driving a floor type "handbrake", but I'm not a car thief either.