Ditch lights stolen, Any anti theft hard ware?

Again, there is a significant difference between being sympathetic to someone’s situation and making excuses for their anti-social / illegal behavior. What did the upcoming birthday boy say: “go forth and sin no more”. Forgiveness, not excuses.

Being in a tough situation doesn’t mean you can make someone else’s life worse.

OK - I’m done with this exchange as it has nothing to do with the OP’s situation.

 

I don’t like thieves period. But I have empathy. If you live in a high crime area, take precautions.

 

Agree.

Crime happens everywhere. Oddly people think that gated communities are safer but in reality they have a higher per-capita crime rate in most cases.

But - you can go where there is LESS crime.
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/
https://communitycrimemap.com/

Before advising you to replace them or not. Go cheaper or not. Use theft hardware or not. I'd ask if these lights weren't the canary in the coal mine and it's a wake up call to look for a safer spot. I have lived in high crime areas in my youth. I did because I thought that was all I could afford. But moving out into a place that cost a little more saved me in the cost of replacing things. I also slept better. Our wake up call event was a home invasion though - maybe all you lose was a set of lights and not more. It's just a good idea to check you r neighborhood crime rates and keep an eye on it.

Then after you move (if you are in a high crime area) replace them with theft resistant hardware.

 

Fixing the real problem is difficult and expensive

 

I don't think better bolts would help. Going by those mangled brackets they look like they were ripped out.

Happened to me once, years ago. I had a set of cheap 8" halogens mounted in my grill. Someone stole them when I was picking up a Christmas tree, in a crowded parking lot, with regular security patrols going on. It didn't matter, and there was nothing I could do except replace them.

Dumb crackhead got no money for them, that's the kicker. They might have had the KC smiley face covers, but the lights themselves were a 20 dollar Western Auto aisle 6 special. Not to mention that the dumbass was so zealous that when he ripped them that he also ripped the wiring. What remained stuck in my grill were the gaskets, conduit, and soldiered terminals that also disconnected from the lights. So, um, enjoy your dirty light covers, I guess? I hope his fence-man kicked his ass on the pure principle of trying to hock that garbage.

 

How about a hot zap dot from the mig where the threads meet the nut ?
I tend to agree with the post above by Empty_Lord.
"Chances of damage to the truck are higher when they’re on with security bolts"

Surrender the lights to the bahstahds rather than replace the hood.

I'd be checking the classifieds..... (for a new place to live !)

 

If they were going for cats too, then they had cutting tools with them.
Trick hardware on your lights won't stop them. Broverlanding gear is like low hanging fruit.

 

Hey check out our ditch brackets, they should never bend like that. Ours are thick and will not do that: https://caliraisedled.com/products/2016-2021-toyota-tacoma-low-profile-ditch-light-mounting-brackets

 

I park my truck inside a garage at night. im sure if you had the option to do that you would. Next best thing is to make it as hard to see or inconvenient to get to the truck.

 

If you live in that kind of neighborhood, why would you put them on in the first place? You city slickers get ripped off all the time and then bitch about it. Sorry, but suck it up. This post has nothing to do with me, I'm just a bit toasted.

 

Was my first thought but they will probably just f up something else.

 

it looks like they bent the brackets for easier and faster access to undo the nut holding them on

you paying her for that?

nicest deal I ever had on rent gunshots were in the background

 

any security cameras?
I know law enforcement wont prosecute and the lights are long gone, but you never know what you may find out from the video.

 

or a dash cam that kicks on
at least for more supporting evidence to insurance like “hey this is clearly what happened” though that’s likely not needed

Lot of folks complaining

if it’s not your fault
Deductible is waived
Rates are not raised
You have insurance.

I don’t see the problem. This is part of life. It will not change.
Crazy shit happens in nice areas as well. Or parking at the movies.
Criminals target rich areas because of things of value. By driving there or hopping a fence.

every year somebody is going to bump into your vehicle, period. Whether soft or hard. Both causing damage.
Big difference is this is much cheaper. Ditch lights are cheaper than a bumper.

if it’s hard for me to install it’s hard for someone to steal.
This is a crime of opportunity. Low level. Not a high level professional criminal.
Anti theft deterrents reduce how easy of an opportunity.
good luck to whoever stole them paying bills due every month with a set of stolen unknown lights.

a stock nut any kid, tweaker, etc can loosen it with one pair of grips.

smoked lens would even downplay their appearance but idk how much that might reduce light output or if they need to come off for use.

same thing with wheels. Why certain upscale brands come with wheel lock set standard.

I don’t live in a bad area now. Still came out to find my ditch lights fucked with one morning.
Jokes on them. They’re garbage that came free with old Hooke rack that I put on to get it out of my toolbox drawer

you know who. The famous racer who lives in a nice house drove probably nearby to In N Out - got randomly shot at
Welcome to life

 

Damn, and we are in 2023? I think not. If I were you, I would install dashcam, some have parking dashcam too, it starts recording on motion around truck, connect to your app and it will notify you on motions.

 

Front and rear

 

Ditch light brackets that can’t be be bent? Yeah I’m not buying that for a dollar. Throw an 8 inch adjustable wrench on there and you’ll bend the bracket.

Hehehehe I’d rather have the brackets bend than jack the hood up.

 

This is why I use "alpena" brand ditch lights from walmart. Anyone who steals them is going to be just as disappointed in them as I was, and thats punishment enough.

 

I have spanner head machine screws on my lights. The goal isn’t to make them theft proof, it’s just to have a thief feel it isn’t worth their exposure time. But I’m also not running Baja designs or any other expensive lights. If my shit gets stolen I’ll be pissed but not having a heart attack.

The problem with ditch lights is you basically have to near weld the light mounting bracket nut to the actual hood hinge bracket, and then have tamper proof bolts where the light attaches to its mount. And even after all that, a thief with a sawzall or cutoff wheel is going to chop the led pod at its own mounts since they are usually super thin. If they really want them that is.