Best theft deterrent? Kill switch & tracker?

One of my dad's favorite stories: his buddy bought a KZ1000 when they were brand new (fastest 4-stroke bikes made) back in '77. It got stolen immediately. Bought a second one, it got stolen, too. Bought a 3rd one and gave it a shitty paint job, no one messed with it again.

I have lived by that motto my whole life with no issues. I don't even lock my doors. My nice stuff lives inside. If it gets parked on the street, I make sure it's filthy, ugly, or broken.

These days you can even use plasti dip spray paint, or a really quick and dirty wrap, and it'll protect your real paint.

 

I put an Apple air tag in my truck. It has MANY limitations, but does let me see if my truck is where I left it. Not a deterrent.

 

I put a AirTag in every vehicle I own.

 

I have the steering wheel club. It's not much but it'll give your average thief a much harder time. However if they lockpick their way into the truck (cause no coded keyfobs) they can pick the ignition and club too. So I'm looking into some better solutions. A friend informed me of a system that would lock your steering column. Of course, someone broke into his camaro and tore the driver interior apart trying to get it off. Easier than replacing your entire car tho, so it may be worth a shot.
And like mentioned above, people really intent on stealing your car will just trailer it away. Get an airtag or GPS tracker for that.

 

If an apple phone comes within a certain distance of an air tag I think it updates location. Is this true?

 

Best thief deterant nowadays days is a clutch and a keyed ignition

 

Throw enough complexity in your kill switch to make a veteran tech barf from looking at the sheer number of wires being routed to different systems - then have an arduino with an rfid reader present (with a pin pad as backup) required for engine starts.

 

Best plan is probably and armed guard that you pay to hang tight at the truck and surprise the F*** out of the would be POS.

I can assure you that doing anything is better than nothing. Though… you will be ultimately hoping nothing bad happens.

but if it does… you will at least have done “something”. Instead of NOTHING.

In the age of cordless grinders, the Club on steering wheels and such are not nearly what they once were.

but as a past poster stated; you are hoping to make your ride, less attractive than the next. Sigh.

 

That doesn't work that way, it can happen anywhere...

Unless you move into gated subdivision, they can't get in unless thief got gate code from insider or hacking device.

Better way to keep it from stolen: keep it in the garage.

Keep your FOBs turned off when not use.

Kill switch.

Aftermarket alarm.

Outdoor cameras to capture those lowlifes then report to police as long as faces are present in the video, not cover with masks. But video can help the insurance which you can get a replacement truck.

 

It absolutely works that way. Zip-code determines expected life span, odds of filing a auto claim, odds of going to jail, odds of getting shot, stabbed, mugged etc.

 

I put one of these in our Taco. Cheap device and the service plans are reasonable. It works for weeks if power is cut. I ran it without it hooked up to trickle charge and I think it went almost a month. Not perfect but for the price it does what I want.

https://trak-4.com/

 

They can go wherever and find whatever they look for... no matter what zip code they go to.

Thieves do not care about cameras but all they do steal as quick as they can without getting caught on the spot.

I saw a video that thieves went inside a house while indoor cameras were on... they got what they wanted then left the house mess like tornado hit before police show up.

 

Only every time I miss a payment

 

The overwhelming majority of crime is local and not random. Its about opportunity. It’s generally someone who is known by the victim. More importantly someone who knows the victim(s). Perpetrator is the scum buddy of the younger brother who likes to talk about his fathers 1911 who he left to his big brother.

 

Or get a mock hand grenade as your start button with instructions saying
“To Start:
1. Pull pin
2. Count to 4
3. Realize you just armed an explosive
4.
“

 

I'm getting reallllly good ideas reading what you guys posts. Paying it forward/pay back, I want to share. I read in a different thread about a guy that put a WiFi connected smart home motion sensor in his truck. His truck sits in his driveway, so it within range. That's great. Not all of us can park in our driveway, so quickly/likely we are out of range. And then it hit me.

Some of the IoT devices that I use in my home, hmm outside my home too are from a company called Yosmart.com Yes, they use a hub. Hub cost about $22. Hub connects to WiFi, but devices connect to hum using protocol called LoRa, for Long Range. The range is loooonnng. 1,000 feet to 1/4 mile. Stuff works great. I have a motion sensor in my mailbox that is 145 feet from my garage. And it works every time the postman opens my box. And I have different alerts triggered inside my home, courtesy Alexa. WifI lights turning on and off, voice alert, Amazon Glow comes on for 15 minutes, all via Alexa triggers.

Oh, and I found a video of a guy that has used one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgTF7hDDy2I&list=PLH1fufFxk17tbHqlWLFCXopAshEqMCGfU&index=3

I say again, the big deal here is the 1,000 feet of range. Park on the street, two-three doors down and the motion detection will still work. Drive way and lose signal, and you don't care, until you get home and it automatically reconnects to your hub. One more tip, the battery life is 1-2 years on most of their products.

You can find this stuff at Yosmart.com and on Amazon under the devices names Yolink. Check it out.

And thank you for even just the dozens of ideas you have planted in my head already.

 

Manual transmission + Apple Air tag + kryptonite cable lock from the steering wheel to seat frame (they will need bolt cutters or a hacksaw). Not perfect but will definitely slow them down. More concerned about the cats actually or someone coming with a tow truck (how the real pros do it).

 

What would be nice is if one of you techo genesis would come out with a modded under dash pump relay with a cutoff switch built in....
could be real simple....like a straight to ground slunt....like a lawnmower kill...

Id pay for that......relay on mine is like $50.........
mine is the simpler square 4 pole $50 one.......as opposed to that green $120 5 pole one......

Anyone want to make some money......

 

A switch would work nicely for that. The GPS tracker I linked to in post #2 would allow you to activate that remotely as well. It's designed to cut the starter circuit, but it's just a relay contact. Takes some wiring work to get installed though.

 

wow... I'm not tech savvy or mechanically inclined, but if you are ever inclined, would pay you to get my taco all hooked up!