How can I prevent someone from releasing parking brake?

Richard Brust

Richard Brust

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
48
Location
El Dorado Hills, CA
OK, I have a 98 TJ with the hand/pull parking brake (also have a YJ with the foot/push brake), and was wondering if there's some device like "the club" for steering wheels, but for the hand-brake? I run w/o doors and top 6 months or more throughout the year, and both are stick shifts.

For the TJ hand brake, I was thinking there should be some triangular "ratchet" device that wedges in to the open space, and you then lock it open as far as the hand brake is pulled up. For a foot brake i have no bright ideas right now.

Thanks...
 
Seems like something you could fabricate without much difficulty. For the hand brake perhaps a chunk of plate that goes onto the slot of the center console and has a hole drilled in the top, as well as drilling a hole in the hand brake. Then put a small padlock through the hole to connect em.

For the foot brake, make a J shaped section of plate so it can hook around the pedal. Then bold a small L bracket to the floor, again drill matching holes and put a padlock through.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
MallCrawlOnTons said:
Are you worried about someone pooping the brake off and sabotaging the Jeep?
Click to expand...

Yes, if someone "poops" the brake off, the $#!t will hit the fan. Seriously, it's somewhat of a "don't want them to mess around" combined with a safety issue. What if it's on an incline and it rolls back into another car/house/person/etc?

Around town, prob not an issue, but if I ever drove to the big city (we're near Sacramento) or my kids take it to Chico (college town with many students majoring in How to be an Idiot), you never know if someone is drunk enough to say "wonder what would happen if we...?"
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: BigWheel88, Tranz Zam and Jamison C
Richard Brust said:
Yes, if someone "poops" the brake off, the $#!t will hit the fan. Seriously, it's somewhat of a "don't want them to mess around" combined with a safety issue. What if it's on an incline and it rolls back into another car/house/person/etc?

Around town, prob not an issue, but if I ever drove to the big city (we're near Sacramento) or my kids take it to Chico (college town with many students majoring in How to be an Idiot), you never know if someone is drunk enough to say "wonder what would happen if we...?"
Click to expand...
A prankster would have to jump from a moving vehicle to release the brake which seems a highly unlikely scenario. Like @JeepZilla380 says, curb your wheels properly and you wont have issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rasband
LukesfirstJeep said:
Is there an anchor point to use a cable lock like this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010IBDS04/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Click to expand...

I don't think so, but I actually did think about looping something over the roll-bar, but there would prob be too much movement at the handle to really keep it secure.

Also:
1. regarding "In all my years ..." - true... in the 5+ years I've had it, no one has messed with it, so maybe I'm just unnecessarily worrying (first-world issues I guess), and
2. regarding "A prankster would have to jump from a moving vehicle " - not at all, it's not even an arms length to the hand brake, you don't even have to lean in really to release it - I do it all the time in the garage when I'm pushing it around.
 
Richard Brust said:
2. regarding "A prankster would have to jump from a moving vehicle " - not at all, it's not even an arms length to the hand brake, you don't even have to lean in really to release it - I do it all the time in the garage when I'm pushing it around.
Click to expand...
Forgot not everybody has full doors, my mistake.
 
Richard Brust said:
Yes, if someone "poops" the brake off, the $#!t will hit the fan. Seriously, it's somewhat of a "don't want them to mess around" combined with a safety issue. What if it's on an incline and it rolls back into another car/house/person/etc?

Around town, prob not an issue, but if I ever drove to the big city (we're near Sacramento) or my kids take it to Chico (college town with many students majoring in How to be an Idiot), you never know if someone is drunk enough to say "wonder what would happen if we...?"
Click to expand...
Yeah, if I know I'm going downtown, I'm not taking the jeep.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rasband
JeepZilla380 said:
Also cut your wheels towards the curb on a down hill, or away park on the uphill. Atleast that way your Jeep can only roll so far.

In all my years parking Jeeps with the top and doors off Ive never had anyone mess with my parking brake.
Click to expand...

This is what I always do. My Jeep is parked on a hill at my house most of the time so I just turn the wheel into the curb so even without the parking brake it isn’t going anywhere
 
For short periods of time you can use a hydraulic line lock to engage the service brakes. I wouldn't trust that overnight though. And with the engine off you'd want the manual kind instead of the solenoid kind to prevent battery drain
 
I think this is what your after mate....Amazon to the rescue ;)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008EM0NGM/?tag=tjforum0a-21
41cnzsHi-sL.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sam Solo, Cisco Kid, DaYooperTransplant and 3 others
Kiwi TJ said:
I think this is what your after mate....Amazon to the rescue ;)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008EM0NGM/?tag=tjforum0a-21

View attachment 99930
Click to expand...

(y)🤩👏🏆 I was going to invent something and become a millionaire - but now I see someone beat me to it. However Amazon says:
No sellers are currently delivering this item to the United States.

... but I found some on eBay - 4x as much, but I found them. Thanks much - again, this is not really b/c I'm worried about my Jeep, I'm worried about what it would do to something else if someone felt like being an a-hole.
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: Woodstock67 and Kiwi TJ
People being a$$holes are everywhere.... I remember being in my Jeep doors off going through town and a drunk guy jumps in the passenger seat while Im at the lights..scared the shit out of me as I wasn't expecting it...turns out he wanted a another drunk mate of his to take a pic...Lights turns green and he jumped out quicker than he jumped in.
 
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: JeepZilla380 and DrDmoney
I have seen this done to military trucks in order to make them theft proof.
Find a short, perhaps 4" long stick of pipe that fits over the parking brake lever. Weld a length of chain to it. Place the Jeep in park with p-brake fully applied. Run the chain back to something solid(seat base, etc.) and shorten the chain so it's tight, then padlock the end of the chain so that the parking brake cannot be released.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cisco Kid, Richard Brust and Kiwi TJ
Richard Brust said:
(y)🤩👏🏆 I was going to invent something and become a millionaire - but now I see someone beat me to it. However Amazon says:
No sellers are currently delivering this item to the United States.

... but I found some on eBay - 4x as much, but I found them. Thanks much - again, this is not really b/c I'm worried about my Jeep, I'm worried about what it would do to something else if someone felt like being an a-hole.
Click to expand...

Hi -
I found this listing on Ebay - a little more than the original post but not by much :)

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=392313528246
 
  • Like
Reactions: Richard Brust
This site contains affiliate links for which Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum may be compensated.
Richard Brust said:
Yes, if someone "poops" the brake off, the $#!t will hit the fan. Seriously, it's somewhat of a "don't want them to mess around" combined with a safety issue. What if it's on an incline and it rolls back into another car/house/person/etc?

Around town, prob not an issue, but if I ever drove to the big city (we're near Sacramento) or my kids take it to Chico (college town with many students majoring in How to be an Idiot), you never know if someone is drunk enough to say "wonder what would happen if we...?"
Click to expand...
I had my former YJ at chico state and nobody messed with it. (Soft top or no top) I would say turn to the curb and walk away. I've also had my tj topless in San Francisco and Sacramento without issue. I would be more worried about some low life popping the hood and taking the battery.

Let your son know there is lots of exploring up near cohasset. Lots of logging roads and even a cliff near the old helipad we would shoot clays off of.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kiwi TJ, Richard Brust and Allstar424
Top Bottom
Back