They tried to steal our truck!

[Bob86ZZ4]

I put an external antenna on since my rig is aluminum siding and I store it in a steel building. I didn't mount the antenna on the outside though. Hid it inside the rig but it is a higher gain than that little rubber one that comes with it.

[SunJuniper]

This happened in Livonia, MI (Detroit Suburb). We are working on being full-time in the next 4-6 weeks, so we won't have to worry about it much longer... Having the truck broken into is reason #129 for getting outta' Dodge, especially the Detroit area. It is sitting in our driveway right now, but that's not a great option either.

 

With just a quick search on YouTube I found a number of videos showing someone pick a truck door/ignition in 10-40 seconds respectively. I guess this is the true meaning of "Gone in 60 Seconds!"

 

We just can't figure out what this individual may have been thinking. Why back into and pull into the fence? Why go to the trouble of breaking into the truck and not steal my tools from the storage box that was easily accessed under the workstation seating? Why put the truck back right where it was previously? None of it adds up...

 

I am looking at possibly getting a Revelco (www.revelco.com/bigrig) installed, but may wait to get this done at the company HQ when we head to Texas for the winter. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone with room to store it for us, so I am looking for somewhere with better tech and security until we leave. I am also looking at the LoJack SureDrive system which would alert me if the vehicle leaves a pre-set boundary.

 

Additionally, I have talked to Miller Insurance and will be calling Progressive to talk about what would happen if the truck was stolen. I've heard some horror stories and don't want to be the next chapter.

 

Anyone have anything to say about the Ravelco, LoJack SureDrive or any other theft/tracking products? I already have some experience with the standard LoJack as I was a reserve police officer for a while and was trained on using the tracker.

sorry to hear about your problems.

 

ive run Ravelco stuff in all our vehicles including our Volvo. it connects to 2 circuits, most thieves will try to cut the armored cable (if they can manage to cut it) behind the ravelco itself and twist the wiring together which blows Both fuses and the truck aint going ANYWHERE. with the Ravelco in place , you cant even hotwire the truck at the starter. the way we installed our ravelco (my buddy is a dealer) , it takes out the power to the ECM and the starter circuit and mine is also paired with a Viper Alarm with Pain generators installed by both doors inside and another 2 in the sleeper and under the hood is 1 set of Train horns. (if theres no air for the train horns, system switches to regular sirens)

 

feel free to shoot me a email or PM and i can clue you in better on how this setup works great.

 

-Lou10

[Big5er]

I want to catch the crook not scare them off. It cost me about $350 for all the hardware. I installed it all myself (which means just about anybody could do it).

That sounds great...in theory. We get calls all the time...."truck stolen, tracker says it is here". By the time a unit actually gets there, I have seen the interior of the cab gutted and all the chains binders and straps gone. One guy drives while the other strips the inside to the bare walls, seats unbolted, dash taken, etc while moving down the road. They drive less than 15 miles, meet another buddy and unload the stripped parts, cb, gps, laptop and anything else in the cab are gone. Of course I live in a big city where law enforcement response times suck. It's not to say that they can't strip it where it is parked, but we rarely see that here. They all seem to be taken to some back alley, parked behind a store or strip center, etc.

I'd rather mine still be where I left it instead of tracking it while the bads guys are gutting it and the cops are trying to get a unit available to respond. Before I hit the road full time in mine, it will have a Ravelco. I've seen them damaged but never stolen with a Ravelco.

 

Lou, is your buddy anywhere down south??

[Bob86ZZ4]

Any security plan should be multi-faceted. There is no one thing that is the answer to everybody's needs. I'm certainly not saying the Risco system is the best thing out there and everybody should have one. Nor should anybody be saying a Ravelco is the be all and end all. Everybody needs to consider their individual situation and determine what their needs and risks are. I have decided that I believe my biggest risk is somebody breaking into my storage unit and removing items from my coach and the storage unit. That's why I went the way I went. Sure, trucks get stolen. No doubt about that. But for me I'm much more worried about some crook getting into the storage unit. I installed my system in the rig because if somebody does get into my storage unit they're certainly going to get into the rig. And when I'm on the road my rig is protected from un-authorized entry. (yes, my storage unit is not as secure when the rig is on the road, that's a risk I take to save the cost of another Risco and sim card service). I would bet there are many many more trucks and trailers and campers broken into and stolen FROM, than there are actually stolen. That's why I believe that is my biggest risk. I don't have any sort of tracking device so I guess Phil is talking to somebody else about that above. My storage unit is in a small town where the police respond very quickly to alarm calls and treat every one as if it's a crime in progress until they can determine otherwise. And when I'm on the road and away from my rig I'm usually not that far and if the alarm were to alert me to an intruder I would simply call 911 and give them the location where I last parked it and tell them I believe somebody has broken in. Now, if I were to install a hidden switch to disable the ecm, I'm pretty sure the rig will still be there when myself and the cops get there. Or if I installed a Ravelco same thing. But of course if I only had a Ravelco I would have no idea that somebody had broken into my rig until I got back. And who knows how much stuff they would have stolen from the rig? I'm rambling now, sorry.

[Big5er]

See Bob, there you go..getting all complicated and such. I can't even spell "multi-faceted", much less do it.

 

Like you said, everyone's needs are a bit different. My storage location is fairly secure. It is an RV repair and storage facility. There are some really noisy guard dogs that roam the storage area at night.....and if they bark loud enough, I step outside to see why. I could punch holes in my truck with the 12 gauge, through the wrought iron fence, from my trailers doorway. I'll call the co-workers after the fact.

[SunJuniper]

That sounds great...in theory. We get calls all the time...."truck stolen, tracker says it is here". By the time a unit actually gets there, I have seen the interior of the cab gutted and all the chains binders and straps gone. One guy drives while the other strips the inside to the bare walls, seats unbolted, dash taken, etc while moving down the road. They drive less than 15 miles, meet another buddy and unload the stripped parts, cb, gps, laptop and anything else in the cab are gone. Of course I live in a big city where law enforcement response times suck. It's not to say that they can't strip it where it is parked, but we rarely see that here. They all seem to be taken to some back alley, parked behind a store or strip center, etc.

I'd rather mine still be where I left it instead of tracking it while the bads guys are gutting it and the cops are trying to get a unit available to respond. Before I hit the road full time in mine, it will have a Ravelco. I've seen them damaged but never stolen with a Ravelco.

 

Lou, is your buddy anywhere down south??

Big5er,

ill get ahold of him and find out. its been probably 5 years since i talked to him and probably 7+ since we did the ravelco.

 

-Lou10