Picture for interest, not my truck. First of all, my truck has not been stolen. Everything is fine right now. I park it in my garage every night and will likely have a hidden ignition cutoff switch in the near future. These rigs are getting more and more popular in WA and two have been stolen in the greater Seattle area in the last month. Question: Do any of you use a vehicle mounted GPS tracking device in case of car theft and if so what is it? For reference, my phone is a Google Pixel and I'm not willing to shell out $800 for a Lojack. Edit: I found this video pretty informative but I have a feeling Samsung tags are way more prevalent in Australia.
I saw those theft reports in the local kei vehicle group and have been thinking of getting something, like a The Club. Very interested to know what the other options are.
IMO, you can slow or discourage an amateur, only. Even modern cars, with complex systems, including anti-theft, get stolen. Father-in-law was a retired L.A. cop and had a low opinion of "The CLUB"a efficacy. These truck are so small and light that they don't need to run to be stolen. That said, I'll likely use an ignition or battery shutoff, but it has to be HIDDEN and easy to use [or it won't be...[much]. Then hot-wiring is easy and effective. Some say a manual tranny is effective, as so few can drive one. Years ago I used a VIN etching kit for the glass on a Corvette, as on that car, the glass was valuable to thieves. Maybe a Pit Bull sitting inside?
I use TILE on my vehicles and things, then turn the sound and broadcast off. This way unless the person is using a blue tooth finder, they will not know the item has one. I do use a CLUB and I am installing a vehicle alarm in all my vehicles. My neighbor three doors down on our cul-de-sac had a vehicle stolen a 2nd time this month. This time he had a Tile or Apple tag, they stole his car in about 60-90 seconds, and as they were exiting the street they were able to follow the stolen car, and call the police, and direct the police to the area while following the stolen vehicle. When the police showed up for the live chase, the thieves ended up ramming the stolen vehicle into the vehicle following them, and ditched the stolen vehicle. I do not know if the police caught the thieves. I think the KIA/Hyundai is still in the shop or maybe totaled since I have not seen it around. When I lived in MA in the 1990s, I worked at a dealership and met a mechanic that worked in the same crime ridden city that I did. We became acquaintances. How he handled crime was he put razor blades on the back of his radio, that took care of a few people, then custom flash bangs that would go off while they were under the dashboard or sitting in the seat, then electrified door handles, then when they still insisted on trying to mess with or steal his car, he would shoot them in the butt with a BB gun and make sure the pellet went into the skin. It was basically a mild form of Death Wish III, without Wildey and famous quotes. One person called the police and their response went along the lines of "so, you are telling me we will find your finger prints on his vehicle?". I noticed the mafia leg breakers gave this scrawny bearded guy a wide berth and was told when he saw my friend pulling into the dealership the first time and saw a .44 magnum on the front passenger seat, he decided not to mess with him. My cousin was a police captain and he bought my deceased uncle's rural house. He thought the neighbors hated him because he was a cop, they would not even return a hello wave. My uncle never had kids because mental illness ran in his side of the family and he was one of the few men or women that did not commit suicide or end up in prison. I worked at the dealership my uncle did about 10 years after he died and people told me about some of the things he did, he made an impression :-D Come to find out the neighbors were so terrified of my uncle, even years after he was dead and buried, they were too scared to have anything to do with anyone related to him. Plum crazy goes a long way towards preventing car thief, imho.
Update, in the fall I pre-ordered a Pebblebee Card - https://pebblebee.com/ . Then a month or so ago Google finally turned on their Find My Device Network, so Pebblebee started shipping their trackers. Just got my Card today, the battery lasts for 18 months and it's going to live hidden in my Sambar. I'm so happy!
