Your theft really pisses me off, my TJ was also stolen in San Diego 10-11 years ago. Yours is very likely already in Mexico, they're popular down there. I wish you good luck getting it back but I never saw mine again.
Stolen! (no meaningful questions or insights in this thread unfortunately, just a story)
- Thread starter jeskandarian
- Start date
Grand and garnet avenues are loaded with businesses and cameras.... not to mention all the homes with nest and ring cameras.
Did the police even get a description or any leads?
Did the police even get a description or any leads?
OP
Thanks for all the kind words everyone! I'll miss owning and working on an old Jeep and again I appreciate all of the support I found on this forum.
Next project for my idle hands and tools: Buy a Sprinter cargo van and build a camper! Hope I can find a forum for that as supportive as this one.
Next project for my idle hands and tools: Buy a Sprinter cargo van and build a camper! Hope I can find a forum for that as supportive as this one.
OP
She lives right on Garnet. The police just took the report over the phone and we never heard back from them.
I think everyone knows it was in Mexico before it was even reported stolen. Not a very difficult theft to pull off. Theft deterrent would have been nice but we live in South Orange County so never really worried about theft here. She rarely had the top on!
I'm sorry your daughter lost her Jeep. SoCal is a primo location for ripping off Jeeps and heading south. We have the same issue in SoTx; it's a straight shot from SA to Laredo and gone!
I've read all the posts on all the boards regarding alarms and security for TJs and LJs. Most conclude with "If they really want it, they are going to take it." Well, I don't accept that. It's 2021. We are launching civilians into space and talking about going to Mars and returning to the Moon. My watch is 'smarter' than the Space Shuttle. Why can't we protect and track our Jeeps? There has to be some kind of alarm system that will deter or track the thieves to their lair.
Things I have considered:
Chaining the Jeep to a large tree — too much hassle, thief could have a chain saw or heavy duty bolt cutters
Putting a couple of blocks of blocks of C-4 under the cab wired to a cheap alarm — illegal and messy
Fuel pump switch, removing battery, ignition interrupter — won't stop a tow truck
Really loud siren and hood lock — did this, we'll see
I don't know enough about alarm systems to know what I want. I do know that all of the alarm shops in SA look like crack houses. There seems to be little choice - crack house or dealership. I had a dealer Mopar alarm on my '04 LJR, but it went off every time it rained and did not have any tracking capabilities.
Anybody have any ideas?
I've read all the posts on all the boards regarding alarms and security for TJs and LJs. Most conclude with "If they really want it, they are going to take it." Well, I don't accept that. It's 2021. We are launching civilians into space and talking about going to Mars and returning to the Moon. My watch is 'smarter' than the Space Shuttle. Why can't we protect and track our Jeeps? There has to be some kind of alarm system that will deter or track the thieves to their lair.
Things I have considered:
Chaining the Jeep to a large tree — too much hassle, thief could have a chain saw or heavy duty bolt cutters
Putting a couple of blocks of blocks of C-4 under the cab wired to a cheap alarm — illegal and messy
Fuel pump switch, removing battery, ignition interrupter — won't stop a tow truck
Really loud siren and hood lock — did this, we'll see
I don't know enough about alarm systems to know what I want. I do know that all of the alarm shops in SA look like crack houses. There seems to be little choice - crack house or dealership. I had a dealer Mopar alarm on my '04 LJR, but it went off every time it rained and did not have any tracking capabilities.
Anybody have any ideas?
That is a sad story! Though agree that it's probably in Mexico being chopped up or used for crime.
This is why I always park mine in the garage and refuse to leave it outside.
This is why I always park mine in the garage and refuse to leave it outside.
Of course there is nothing you can do to 100% protect your Jeep but you can definitely make it safer. Fortunately our Jeeps are of more interest to petty thieves who know they are easy targets. "Pro" car thieves will be going after vehicles with much greater value. Consider the Jeeps doors as weather protection only. They are defeated as quickly as you can use your key. There is no need for a thief to break a window or cut a soft top. Your Jeep can be opened in broad daylight in a crowded parking lot and nobody would give it a 2nd glance. While passive theft deterrents are a great addition and should also be used it will not save your Jeep from the destruction that would be done before a thief would give up. Steering wheel locks can actually be a very effective detergent providing you get the right one. Make sure to invest in one that locks around one of the metal spokes in the steering wheel so that it can not be simply removed by breaking or cutting the wheel. Get one and make sure it is HIGHLY visible. If you have dark tint consider removing it or getting a lighter tint. When I was daily driving my Jeep I even went as far as to install remote locks and removed the door lock cylinders entirely. My thought was that if somebody went to break in they would pause, look, and realize I had hardened the Jeep to theft and that it would be too much trouble. It did work. I had 2 attempts made before I did everything and none after. On a manual, clutch locks can be used but aren't as visible from the outside. GPS trackers work but I have read plenty of stories where the vehicle position is know but the police have little interest in attempting to recover it. It seems they are more useful for leased vehicles to help with repos. Unfortunately the best deterrent is a criminal system that holds people accountable for their actions. Sadly a vehicle theft is considered non violent and there is little or no punishment for those who do it. That leaves us honest folk paying extra for better insurance and spending more money pleading with these scumbags not to take what we worked for.
How long does one of these hold battery? I've got (more than) a few old vehicles that are apparently desirable and I'd like at least a way to track them down should something shitty happen.
Doesn’t the tile rely on other phones?
Something like this would be a better poor man’s LoJack
https://trackimo.com/
Something like this would be a better poor man’s LoJack
https://trackimo.com/
That's what I've done... Alarm remote has about a 1 mile range with 2-way notification. I've been woken up at night to my remote beeping. Someone either hit my Jeep or a Harley's exhaust set it off. Been great for alerting me to issues when I'm out of earshot of the alarm. Also added the cellular option so I can access the alarm from my cellphone and track it via the app. When I parked it overnight at the airport, I checked the Jeep's location a couple times from several hundred miles away.
Yep, me too! I am looking into LoJack as well but their website doesn’t seem to mention anything about where you can buy it.
I looked into that a while ago. Here is what I found out!
https://www.ceoutlook.com/2021/01/20/auto-security-company-calls-it-quits/