OK all you bottom-line pragmatic no-BS truck people. I want to penetrate the market bull about alarms, since my last F150 probably ended up south of the border against my wishes.

I'm looking for recommendations on alarms that actually slow down the thief, rather than the owner's cash flow. I can't say price is no object, but I would actually PAY MONEY for something that worked for ME, rather than the alarm company's revenue. Every single sales guy said "our alarms cannot be defeated, trust me". Sigh, where have truth and honor gone in this world?

Virtually everything I see can be easily disconnected from inside the cab given 2 minutes. (Noise does no good to speak of, since there are so many false alarms out there. Plus, try parking it out on a trail for a few hours or days.) Engine immobilizers are similarly useless if you can "remobilize" them via a few wires in the cab. None seem to go into the engine compartment where they could be locked up.

And, since folks lose their key fobs, all the alarms I have seen allow a "company qualified technician" to add his own key whenever he likes. Gee, how many "company qualified technicians" have thieves for a brother in law, or post the secret method of adding a key on the internet???

Lojack helps a little, but is still "after the fact jack". An ounce of prevention is worth pounds of argument with your insurance company. And, Lojack has no coverage in the most remote and interesting places to go!

So, American-purists, what do you know? What really works? Any actual ex-car thieves out there who can share their knowledge?

 

Couple of cheap creative ideas. (Thieves hate creative alarms) Wire in a couple of hidden switches to your fuel pump, coil, and/or starter solenoid. An oldie but goodie is your truck is in an area where it might be stolen, pop the hood and pull off the the plug wire that goes between the coil and distributor. The more time it takes a thieve to try and get your truck, the more likely they will move on to something easier.

 

You might try putting in a brake line lock. You push down on the brake pedal and simultaneously (at the same time) pull up on the ****. It locks your brakes down. You could try putting the lock under the drivers seat. It might require some acrobatics to set, but it would take the thief a while to find it.

 

Or you can allways carry a shotgun around and make them thevies think twice..

 

Search here for www.brakelock.com. It is an awesome system and the only way to take the vehicle is destroy the lock (no brakes), cut the brake lines, or tow the vehicle.

What I put into my vehicles:
brake line lock from www.brakelock.com
alarm from www.autoloc.com with starter cut out

I chain down my hood with a 3/8 chain behind the grill attached with a padlock and eyelet. I wrap the chain in electrical tape so it is black, does not flop around, and is barely noticed. I use an all weather master lock with the vinyl coatings.

Turn your wheels almost to full lock before turning off the truck.

If someone is going to smash out my grill, cut the chain or lock, then cut the battery cables to disable the alarm, (rewire under the hood if they want to start it), and then cut the brake lines, and tow the vehicle away, there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Of course someone with a winch and flatbed would make short work of it, but, most people with flatbeds are not looking to get caught by the cops.

People using tow trucks to steal cars do not want something with locked wheels, an alarm going off while they are driving, or spending a lot of time at the crime scene.

If you install the line lock on the firewall under the hood, it can not be easily seen in the truck or under the hood. Imagine the surprise after they have done all that work disabling the alarm and hot wiring everything and having a truck with locked brakes.

How they start to steal most cars is they cut the battery cables from underneath the car/truck. Then many thiefs destroy the steering column or move the linkage under the car so they can silently roll the car to another spot to work on it. If they can not roll the car somewhere, they can not steal it even if they cut the cables or move the linkage.

 

Afuel line lock is one good idea! You can hide it in several places and if you look at the vehicle for some time, you will find that special place that is very hard to get into form the key side and the line side! This will slow them down. They may get a block or so but that is about all. When it dies they will usually leave the vehicle where it stopped.

 

Put a real truck airhorn under the hood (or on the roof), supplied from a suitable air tank, and link the air valve to the hood, with some unobvious way to bypass it.

Apart from that, mount the alarm brain someplace where it's protected by at least 1/4" of steel, along with the siren and a backup battery. More than one siren or horn, in protective cages, with cables run securely (inside the body or frame, or in conduit).

Study the engine computer and transmission wiring: there's gotta be some clever places to patch in a switch or relay. Maybe there's a sensor that you can ground out that'll prevent the engine from starting; study the EFI troubleshooting guide, and see if there are any fatal conditions that can be simulated to fool the computer into refusing to start.

Disable the transmission shift linkage.

 

Erik, I am an installer and I will tell you that no alarm is fullproof.
besides that we have a limited time on installing the average alarm.You have to talk to the installer not the salesman, let the installer know what you want and expect from your alarm. If he is creative and talanted enough he can make your truck pretty much theft proof. Just remember that if they want it they will get it no matter what you do. Another word of advice stay away from the chain stores (best buy, circut city,ect.) I have fixed to many of their alarm installs, if you have any ??? just E-mail me and I will tell you some of the things we do to stop/slow down car thieves.

 

there is a company that makes alarms you can install yourself......problem with them is they post everything on their website.....ignition wires....starter.....every wire you need to hotwire anything is on their site.......even wires for disableing anti-theft devices.

 

First off, NO alarm is theft proof. If they want your car, they will get it, no matter what. I live/grew up in the Bronx, NYC, and knew many car theives. Some guys I knew got busted on 60 minutes selling hot rides to the feds many years ago. I knew a kid that could get into camaros/firebirds faster than someone using the key. Anyway, the name of the game is TIME. The longer a theif has to spend on getting your vehicle, the more risk/exposure he takes. Unless you have a Lamborghini (which means you can afford to buy a new one if it gets stolen) there are hundreds of copies of vehicles out there, so they will look for a vehicle with the least amount of risk possible. Of course, carjacking and just plain towing the car away is on the rise, the theives are getting lazy...
The low $$$ suggestions listed above really do work, the more unconventional the better. Most thieves can tell you the exact wires, locations, colors, etc. to cut to defeat factory and even aftermarket alarms. So don't make it easy, wire your kill switches in all the same color wire, run the wires in hard to cut/reach places, cover them in OEM style split loom tubing. Some of the better security companies (DEI for example) make "kill" type switches that utilize an existing switch on the dash ! Hidden in plain sight !
I could go on for pages & pages, but the name of the game is TIME. The more controls a theif has to defeat, the more time he has to take.......... A good alarm system, multiple sirens, back-up batteries, hood locks, kill switches.....just pile it on. The odds are the thief will move on to the car with the windows left open.
As far as Lojack, I have heard mostly good reviews, but, there is a new player in town. This system uses GPS technology to locate the vehicle. This means GLOBAL coverage that you can personally track, in real time, from your PC. Keep tabs on your kids, wife, etc. You can even get MPH readings as well. Check it out on www.directed.com
My latest addition is a full featured alarm/remote start with a 2-way pager housed in the remote. It can tell me when my alarm is going off, as well as what zone set it off. The system goes for like $500-600 installed, but if you are so inclined, the kit goes for like $250. Anyone looking for suggestions can email me.........

 

any body have any experience with the Ravelco system???
it uses a 16 pin connector on the dash, you take the mating part with you when you lock up.
I am interested in it as part of a multi layered anti-theft system.

 

also interested in the homemade/unconventional approach,
working on a system to lock the drivers seat all the way forward and folded up, in order to limit anybodies access to ignition and alarm wires. hopefully get him to go jack my neighbors car at least.

 

hide a switch or somthing somewhere that will ground somthing out creating a condition that will not let the truck start.......ignition or computer...

 

the thing that concerns me about that is the reliability of that switch. what type of switch is durable enough???

any ideas about how to run the wires and conceal the connections?

 

as far as i'v gone with this is an idea......i havent even started on it.