2022 tacoma cat shield necessary?

I plan on installing a shield for the cats and fuel tank and an alarm system. It should be under a thousand for everything and I see it as an investment and my sanity. I would be very pissed off if I have to pay for repairs and then add protection, which I should have done in the first place. I will have alarm sensors placed on the shields and have the alarm horn(s) placed under the truck. When the alarm gets tripped the horn(s) go off and it will blast right in their ears, something is better than nothing. Besides in California you can't shoot someone for this type of issue, unless these thieves come at you with the intention of harming you. And it's been known to happen. So far I've seen cat shields for 4WD but not much for 2nd Generation 2WD and I would like the shields to be thick, 3/16" or thicker. Also I haven't seen anything for fuel tank shields. Any help is help for us all. Thanks

 

Last weekend, I was at Starbucks by 34th st & 290. When I was leaving, I noticed that a guy was under a tacoma that was parked about 5 cars away from mine. I stopped and asked if everything was okay. He told me that his cats were stolen. When I got home, I placed an order from Talons Garage. It took me about 30 minutes to install it.

 

Years ago I had my cat stolen twice on my 1st Gen Tacoma. After the second time I had it welded it. One day I came out to my truck and the bolts were laying on the ground under the truck but they weren't successful in getting it a 3rd time.

One way of "not worring" about something getting stolen is it just throwing your hands up and hoping for the best. Another way is protecting it. I also don't worry about my cat getting stolen because I've added a theft deterant.

Different strokes

 

Thieves stole the cats from my roommates Prius TWICE in two different parts of town. Her insurance took care of it both times, but would have been over $1,000 each time otherwise. The second time was recently and due to supply chain issues she wasn't back on the road for 6 weeks. We both got cat shields after that. It's never happened to me, but I don't want it to, so I got some security. So far we don't have a nationwide epidemic of drilling people's gas tanks, so no, no gas tank armor yet. But I guess it depends on where you live. If the thieves in your town aren't targeting cats, great, don't worry about it.

 

Painted and added the MillerCat guard, pack was missing a security screw and the top portion with a pro skid was a PITA - but all in all not too bad for $250 - TW discount is “protectmytaco”

 

The only option I've seen for a 4x2 is the MillerCat for $290. My comprehensive deductible is $250 and doesn't require crawling under the truck. I'll take my chances.

 

Was thinking about one of these…..

https://youtu.be/2TjL8CJ0g4E

 

I'm extremely low risk of having my cats stolen. I rarely park outside and don't travel to high crime areas. But I did add a Cat Security plate. It is not an entirely impractical mod since it does over some additional protection while off road. And at the very least I got to have some fun installing something on the truck.

 

My 2000 T4R got hit 2 times. My experience is it matters where you park. Both times it was at work, in a rear parking lot. I started parking out front where there is more foot traffic and it did not happen again.

 

Cool, don't worry about it then.

If others have a $500 deductible, then the cat shield deterrent pays for itself when a bad guy looks under there and walks away.
Just recognize everyone isn't in your boat.

Cat shield is $350 ish.
Peace of mind is priceless.

 

They hit my Highlander Hybrid parked at the side of my house in the suburbs (25 miles outside of Seattle). They don’t care about getting caught at this point. especially because unless they shoot someone while it happens, police will likely not pursue, and prosecutors won’t bother charging them because “it’s only theft”. While our deductible was only $250, the total bill was $4500+ (they were not clean about where and how they used their chop saw) and took our vehicle out of commission for 3 weeks waiting on parts. We are getting CatSheild for our Tacoma and will get an equivalent for our Highlander as soon as someone makes one. Will it prevent it from happening, no. Will it slow them down or make them consider someone else? Maybe.

 

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Please share if you find something for the highlander hybrid. My parents have one and I'd love to get that for them.

 

Every time I hear of someone "thinking" about taking an uber home after a night of heavy drinking I always ask them how many times they've died while drinking and driving in their life? So far the answer has always been the same, ZERO.

@ALI3N_123

 

Died, none
Popped for a DUI, I know a few that. Lose of license makes getting to work a PITA for most.

 

^^This. My deductible is high. I made it high because I'm a very defensive driver and live in a pretty safe area. The odds of me being in an accident or filing a claim are very low. I haven't file an at-fault claim in almost 10yrs. I also park my truck in the garage every night, a cop lives two doors down from me (and he parks his Police SUV in his drive way), so the odds of me having my cat stolen are low. If my cat got stolen, it would cost me an assload of money to pay the deductible. (almost 6 times the amount of the shield that I bought).

I do work in a shitty area and I know that it can be stolen anytime, anywhere. Regardless of location. That is why I had mine installed. A little MORE peace of mind. I refer to it as "The $350 insurance policy that I hope never gets used." It wasn't an unneeded mod, because it pulls double duty: Protection from thieves & protection (lightly) while on the trails.

If you're the type that thinks it'll never happen to you, or that it's dumb to install it...Great. I hope this never happens to you. Being victimized is an awful feeling. I never want you to feel that feeling. I'll be pre-emptive and do what I think is necessary to stay safe.

 

same, my deductible is $2k which is the highest I could go or I wouldve gone higher. I think doing damage to my own vehicle should come with a stupid tax for sub $2k work, and I really only have it for theft / major repairs / totaling

 

The other day I saw that RCI is selling a 'Catalytic Guard' and it can be retrofitted to be used with RCI transmission skid plate. Seams like a good option if you already have their skids. With that said, it seams kind of pricey for what it is. If I am understanding it correctly, its little "wings" that add on to the skid.

While I wouldn't enjoy spending money on a security system for my catalytic converter. This at least makes it easier to justify. The same mentality could be be had towards a gas tank skid.

 

I was a little worried about this with my 2.7 (it is even more exposed underneath) and started researching countermeasures. But in the end I decided to lower my comprehensive deductible to $100 and put it out of my head. It's like an extra $15 or 20 every six months.

(My collision deductible is still $500)

 

Please see photo. One from driver side and passenger