Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 10:39
Unfortunately, there's rarely a happy end to any vehicle theft.
4WD's are regularly targeted by car thieves and they're prized by thieves for the following reasons;
1. They can be stripped and the parts sold for top money.
2. They're robust and heavy and ideal for ram raids - and for smashing
police cars in chases, where the 4WD will keep going.
3. They're "high value", "high-demand" items and they can be placed in a seatainer intact, and shipped overseas within days.
The thieves will often trans-ship the seatainers to
places such as Port Moresby and other Pacific islands with lax Customs inspections, before they ship them to other
places such as the Middle East or China where they are sold with no questions asked.
Don't be in the least surprised if you spot your stolen 4WD ute carrying a machine gun in the back, in Syria or Iraq.
4. Joyriders will just steal them and then just burn them for kicks, and to avoid fingerprints.
There's plenty of things you can do to slow down 4WD theft. You'll never stop it, but you can always make it more difficult for thieves.
If you have to park anywhere, select a high-traffic area where thieves are more reluctant to work.
Keep your 4WD secured in a locked garage where possible.
Keep the keys in a simple small electronic safe - these can be bought for $50 or less.
Security systems are hard to bypass today, most vehicles are now stolen via break-and-enters, where the thieves are looking for the vehicle keys - that are usually sitting on the kitchen table or bench.
Tracking devices are cheaper than ever and can be placed in a hidden position inside the vehicle to try and find its location if it's been stolen.
Unfortunately, a steel or concrete shed can mute signals, making it hard to find.
Surveillance cameras are cheaper than ever. Buy a "trail camera" with IR capabilities and position it so you can get good images of thieves if they steal, or try to steal, your vehicle.
Install a simple, in-line, flush-handle, stainless ball-valve tap in the fuel line under the vehicle, and reach under, and turn it off when you leave the vehicle.
Nothing deters thieves more than having a stolen vehicle start and move a few metres, before it cuts out and won't start again.
They'll think there's some highly-sophisticated anti-theft device in place and they'll jump out and leave it. They never expect a vehicle to start and then stop again, and be unable to restart it.
Car thieves are lazy and always in a hurry, they will rarely waste time trying to find out why a vehicle stopped.
It's preferable to install the tap with screw-up fittings in a joint in the steel portion of the line - don't insert it in a flexible hose portion with barbed tails - that style of setup can be more easily cut out, and the hose rejoined.
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/fuel-line-taps/lma-competition-fuel-line-tap
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID:
539420
Follow Up By: Member - reggy 2 (VIC) - Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 19:45
Tuesday, Sep 23, 2014 at 19:45
Thanks Ron for your reply,it is all as you say it's bad when you have to go to such measures to protect your property
Cheers
FollowupID:
824081
Follow Up By: Inspectorbluedog - Wednesday, Sep 24, 2014 at 09:52
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2014 at 09:52
Could try putting the transfer case in neutral, hopefully their not that smart to realise or install a kill switch on the ECU it will never start just turn over.
FollowupID:
824099