Security:

[78 Chevyrado]

Get personalized plates that say CORLEONE.

When thieves see that you're a made man they won't mess with your ride

Just get a tag that says STOLEN   ...lol  itll draw attention wherever it goes...

[VileZambonie]

i'm probably going to get a boot and possibly 4 boots.  i'd like to discuss mostly mechanical type theft devices for now----such as clubs, collars etc.

You must live in the Mega-Ghetto.

[zieg85]

I will put a kill switch but look what came with my 85 C-10 I just picked up.  It has CarGard sticker on it.  With tilt set straight you slide it through the tilt/turn signal stalk and it covers up the key switch.  It was a "Oh by they way behind the seat" after I bought it.

[slammed79]

I run a Cat disconnect switch on the 74.  I mounted it on the passenger side inner fender. Just split your negative battery cable. Removeable key helps.

http://www.tornadoparts.com/servlet/the-57/Caterpillar-Equipment-Battery-Disconnect/Detail

[txchainsawgogi]

What about something other than glass for the windows as a deterrant? I've always wanted to do that. My cars have only ever gotten broken into that way.

Ps, in texas you can shoot a man for breaking into your car on your property

[Irish_Alley]

in tx cant you just shot a man for being on your property lol

[txchainsawgogi]

basically.

[Lt.Del]

i'm moving to the Lonestar state.  They have common sense down there.

[zieg85]

i'm moving to the Lonestar state.  They have common sense down there.

I lived there from Jul 91- Jan 96. I will agree in many ways, didn't like the insurance and tax structure compared to Indiana however the rust free stuff was nice to see all the time.  No state income tax at the time but cost of living was more with everything else added in to it.

[VileZambonie]

I run a Cat disconnect switch on the 74.  I mounted it on the passenger side inner fender. Just split your negative battery cable. Removeable key helps.

http://www.tornadoparts.com/servlet/the-57/Caterpillar-Equipment-Battery-Disconnect/Detail

Easily bypassed with even a jumper cable

[slammed79]

Its tucked back in under the AC box, most won't dig deep enough to try and find it. Its not perfect but it works.

[Stewart G Griffin]

i'm probably going to get a boot and possibly 4 boots.  i'd like to discuss mostly mechanical type theft devices for now----such as clubs, collars etc.

You must live in the Mega-Ghetto.

Not really, it's just these trucks are too easy to steal;  We've got to do whatever we can to make it as difficult as possible.

Still exploring random thoughts here and there before i go to "stage 2."   Another thing i was thinking about lately is if you have a lockup converter, switch it to manual control, hide the switch and leave it engaged whenever you park.  This will make it difficult if not impossible to start and if it does somehow get started, it will stall out everytime at a light or stop sign----makes it hard to get away with.

[DnStClr]

I think a better idea would be the Lojak system- if the truck is going to get ripped off anyway, at least it would have a tracking device installed.

[roger97338]

My truck has the original, exterior hood release, which isn't very secure at all. When I've felt the need to have the hood secured, I lay under the front of the truck and run a very large chain (hardened chain, so even if someone has bolt cutters or a hack saw, they're gonna be there for a bit.) around the frame, then through some of those holes on the underside of the hood, and lock it up with a nice, heavy Master lock. Maybe I open the hood, run the chain through the holes, then carefully close the hood....it's been a while since I've done it.

I think the 15 year old Pioneer tape deck, with a few missing buttons on it, probably discourages people from breaking in to steal anything. I also have an alarm on it, and a kill switch under the dash. Yeah, someone can disconnect the alarm, and find the kill switch, but why would they bother? The way I see it, I don't have to make my truck impossible to steal or break in to. I just have to make it a little bit harder, and a little less appealing, than my neighbor's truck, or the truck parked three rows away from me.

My favorite theft deterrent is on my garage, not my truck. I have two windows on my garage, one of which I boarded up. The window that's in there opens by pivoting on the bottom, with the top portion folding inward. There are two sliding bolts that secure the window. If you break the glass and reach in to release those bolts, you'll cut your arms to shreds on the razor blades that I screwed to the window frame in front of the bolts. They're positioned in a way that would make it unlikely I would cut myself opening the window from the inside. If I do, I should have known better.

I got the idea after reading about someone who lined the underside edge of his dashboard with razor blades, so that if anyone tried to reach underneath and bypass his kill switch, they'd get cut to shreds.

And if anyone DOES get into my garage, I keep EVERY tool locked up. They aren't going to use my tools to break into my truck. Or out of the garage. (I've got four separate padlocks on the garage door. Two outside and two inside.) I also keep outside lights on at night, plus I have motion sensing lights in other areas. And, of course, shotguns and rifles in the house.

Don't forget the demographic that you're working with, either. Most likely, you're not going to have someone with experience, or even education, trying to swipe your ride to make a boat load of money. It's either gonna be some crackhead jacking your stereo, and whatever else he can grab while he's in your vehicle, so he can trade it for drugs. Or some punk that wants to go for a joy ride. If someone is lusting after your rig bad enough though, he's gonna get it.

[1979C20]

Thats one reason I wanted a manual. Most average people dont know how to drive stick.