How do you secure stuff in your truck in urban areas?

This is really a simple solution and won't cost a dime. Only spend is a little bit of time.

Leave your gear at home. Load the gear when you are going out.

Empty truck has nothing to grab-n-go.

Nice little bonus....the reduced weight in the truck will help your fuel go a bit farther.

 

Thanks for the link!

I ordered my Tailgate Lock yesterday and it shipped out today.

This guy explains install a little better than that other guy.



Ed

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I consider my dark tint a HUGE deterrent for theft. I store nothing in the front seat and, if I have to leave something in the backseat, it goes on the floor. Preferably black in color, or covered by something black. Otherwise, locked tailgate and hard tonneau cover. I parked in downtown Sucramento for 2.5 years without issue but was in underground parking with security. Others in the same structure did get burglarized though.

 

Tint helps but most those kids have a flashlight. I’ve seen them walking the streets of SF just going from car to car, if you had dark windows the flashlight comes out. In the end if you have something they want, they’ll take it. I knew someone that got his Honda broken into for a case of water.

 

SF, Berkeley, and Oakland are at a whole different level when it comes to break-ins. In the unfortunate event that I have to park my car in SF, everything goes into the trunk! I'm sure tinted windows or such simple measures are hardly a deterrent in SF. I've seen people leave a note on their cars saying "Nothing of value in here" and I vaguely remember one occasion where someone left a few dollars bill stuck to the vehicle saying "Take this instead"! After all, sometimes the cost of replacing the glass is way higher than the value of what was stolen. I have great respect for the resilience of those that live in the city, for I could not. The rest of the bay area, where I live, is a lot better -- but things are getting worse here as I understand and one can never be too careful about protecting their valuables even out here.

 

Agreed. Zero chance my truck ever goes to SF. It's on my list of places that will never get a sales dollar from me due to their stance on crime/criminals.

 

Don't leave anything in your truck your not willing to lose.

 

Without touching politics, what is their stance? I'm from there but pay it almost no mind since I'm in LA and spent a good portion of my formative years in the Midwest.

That being said my 2nd gen got broken into for a sirus satellite radio that didn't work without the base it was attached to. Also after a few siphoning attempts I never filled it past halfway unless I was leaving town.

 

I live in SF and keep my Taco locked in a garage. I don’t ever use it to drive locally or park on the street. I (walk or take bus). I use truck to drive out of or back into town. SF has rampant car break-ins. We are reportedly short of police officers (possibly 400). Street crime is reportedly by organized gangs and this week our mayor announced a 100k reward for information leading to arrest or ID of gangs that break into cars and do other street crime. It’s bad here and they will break your window even if your car has nothing in it. Something has to be done.

California has a limit of $950 for a property crime to become a felony. Below $950 it is usually handled by a ticket (promise to appear). Most are never caught and/or don’t show up in court. Our DA is accused of being soft on crime and is being recalled at a high expense to taxpayers. No matter who is DA, you can’t change the way laws are written. It’s probably going to take a major increase in police presence to fix our problems. That’s where I believe the $ should go. Lot of help needed here in SF.

If you visit, I recommend leaving your car/truck outside of town or in a parking garage and explore SF by walking or taking our many busses. ( but hold onto your wallets!).

 

Besides the look that's the reason I got the RSI EVOA Adventure cap...

 

Motion sensor and Smith & Wesson motion preventer.

 

Thanks for that. When I lived there my mom took me on mini all of the time and BART when needed. I'm gathering it's worse now but I do remember my dad telling me that their Honda got broken into several times.

This is weird to me, due to the nature of my job, I am all over LA and what was traditionally known as high crime areas and I've rarely had sense that there would be a problem. That being said I only carried what I needed in the truck and would empty it at the end of the day.

 

How long have you had the Retrax? How does it handle rain?

 

I always lock my tailgate

 

The $950 limit was instituted it can be changed.

 

This is obviously the best and most sound advice, but it's sometimes hard not to -- like you're on a long road-trip and have to leave your heavy laptop backpack before you go into a grocery store for supplies or such. A theft deterrent would be nice.

 

Huh, I thought siphoning wasn't a thing anymore!

 

I don’t go to urban areas, however urban sprawl is coming to me.

 

I'm pondering this as well