***stolen truck! Please read***

[Timex]

Probably runs better now it got blown out!

Sorry for all your trouble.

One consulation out of this...nobody steals a piece of junk!

[Triguy]

Sweet!! But sorry to hear about the damage. Let us know how this works out for you. I hope they release it to you soon for estimates and repairs.

[FreedomTracker]

Cowracer,

Glad you'll be getting your SUV back.... what a helava story!!!!

When you do begin to fix it back up, I'm sure you'll want add'l security. I once heard a professional car thief now employed as a consultant to the insurance industry talk about stealing cars. He said the best method of deterance was to install a simple "kill switch" somewhere in the vehicle. This could be togle switch and very cheap like the ones on bass boats. It will stop all amature thieves... the pro may know you have one in there somewhere but may not want to take the trouble to locate it and move on.

However, he said if a "pro" really wants your vehicle and has the time, nothing will prevent him. As an example, he was asked if the were 2 identicle vehicles sitting beside each other and one had a steering wheel bar lock and one didn't, which one would he steal? He said if he wanted that vehicle model, he would steal them both!

Then proceded to break into each and start the engine. Took about 8 seconds on one and 15 seconds on the other. On the car with the steering wheel lock, he simply sawed the steering wheel with a hack saw and the lock simply fell off!

Good luck and safe travels!

[Timex]

The next time you hear a car alarm, notice how many people come running to see what's going on. Most people are numb to car alarms. The hidden kill switch is the best plan.

Do I have one? No. If a thief wants my vehickle, he is going to get it anyway. Might as make it easy for him so he won't tear it up stealing it.

I also pay insurance premiums for such shenanegans. Plus, I don't have anything worth stealing!

[TURBS]

I'm glad they recovered it.
They won't release your truck for quite some time.
Unfortunately my 3rd eldest son was involved in a drug related instance (victim by circumstance) back in may of this year.
His car has still not been released .
4 mo. just an fyi.

Turbs

[Hob]

Glad you had the truck found. I really figured it to be in East St. Louis.

[RattVader]

Man it is a strange world we've come to live in!

[Rotorhead102]

Glad you got it back. I had a 2005 Ford F250 stolen while leaving in El Paso for a short time. Went straight across to Juarez and still hasn't been found. Nothing worse than a thief.

[Cowracer]

Normally I wouldn't stress a theft like this... That's why I have insurance. Steal my motorcycle and the little British lizard will buy me a new one. But The Big Unit is my baby. It is my Millennium Falcon. My trusty steed.

I have a viper smart start on it. The truck has a 3g receiver and I can use my cell phone to unlock, lock or start the truck. I can be in California, and the truck sitting in my driveway in Missouri, and I can start it. On Saturday morning, I tried to see if it would respond. I locked the doors and it reported back that it received the command. That told me it was still alive. It has a panic alarm that blows the horn and flashes the lights. I started setting off the panic every 15 minutes or so all day. I figured that maybe someone would get upset with the noise and call the cops.

Anyway the newest version of the Viper Smart Start has a GPS feature. It will show the vehicles position and speed on a map on the phone. Guess what I'm gonna by the day I get it back? I cant stop a dedicated thief from stealing my truck in the future, but next time, I'll be able to direct the cops right to where it is.

Tim

[Glenn5995]

Glad you got it back!

Originally Posted by Cowracer

...Anyway the newest version of the Viper Smart Start has a GPS feature. It will show the vehicles position and speed on a map on the phone. Guess what I'm gonna by the day I get it back? I cant stop a dedicated thief from stealing my truck in the future, but next time, I'll be able to direct the cops right to where it is.

Tim

Unfortunately alarms require someone to intervene which is not always successful even if someone hears it and is willing to get involved and it is not necessarily the safest thing to do. Locator systems find it after it is gone and quite a bit of damage could already have been done.

That is why I recommend (as I previously posted): http://www.ravelco.com/

It is best they never get it in the first place. Sure the window might be broken, the door handle broken or column cracked in the attempt, but I'd rather deal with those small issues than have to deal with the potentially long term issues with drive train and electronics from the abuse stolen vehicles can be subjected to.

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by Glenn5995

Glad you got it back!



Unfortunately alarms require someone to intervene which is not always successful even if someone hears it and is willing to get involved and it is not necessarily the safest thing to do. Locator systems find it after it is gone and quite a bit of damage could already have been done.

That is why I recommend (as I previously posted): Ravelco Anti Theft Device

It is best they never get it in the first place. Sure the window might be broken, the door handle broken or column cracked in the attempt, but I'd rather deal with those small issues than have to deal with the potentially long term issues with drive train and electronics from the abuse stolen vehicles can be subjected to.

I had one of those on my old blue dually. In 7 years of ownership, I took the 'key' out exactly once. I absolutly guarantee you that if I had a ravelco in the Excursion, they would have stolen it with the 'key' plugged in.

If someone dedicated wants to take your stuff, they will take it and there isnt anything you can do to stop them. Rather than just deter a lazy crook, I'd prefer to hunt them down get them sent to federal 'pound-you-in-the-*** prison'. If for no reason that to spare the next guy the headache.

tim

[Glenn5995]

Granted, it is a complete waste of $$$ if you don't use the system. Leaving the key in is the same as not having the system in the first place, except you are out the $$$.

[dwaynerz]

you didnt butt start/unlock it did you? he may have been walking by, heard it running and thought ..." somebody wants me to have this. how smart am i...."?

we know the end of the story, so he isnt as smart as he took himself to be. what a maroony

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by dwaynerz

you didnt butt start/unlock it did you? he may have been walking by, heard it running and thought ..." somebody wants me to have this. how smart am i...."?

we know the end of the story, so he isnt as smart as he took himself to be. what a maroony

Negative. The parking lot is deep on company property, the public cant just walk by. Butt-dialing the truck would start it, but as soon as you hit the brakes, it dies unless you turn the key on.

Besides, him and his accomplices were seen in the parking lot parked next to my truck and then following my truck out. He defiantly came with the purpose of getting my truck.

I talked with a deputy today. this guy is major bad news. He's already done time for meth possession and assult. He is up for multiple felonies from this. Assault with a deadly weapon (he rammed and disabled a St. Louis county cop car), armed criminal action (he bailed out of the truck with a revolver), Felony evasion, Burglary, vehicle theft. and a whole pot full of traffic violations. He has stated to people that he will not go back to prison and will die happy if he can take a few cops with him.

The police are in a nasty mood over this guy. I hope they are careful.

Tim

[Rotorhead102]

Originally Posted by Glenn5995

Glad you got it back!



Unfortunately alarms require someone to intervene which is not always successful even if someone hears it and is willing to get involved and it is not necessarily the safest thing to do. Locator systems find it after it is gone and quite a bit of damage could already have been done.

That is why I recommend (as I previously posted): Ravelco Anti Theft Device

It is best they never get it in the first place. Sure the window might be broken, the door handle broken or column cracked in the attempt, but I'd rather deal with those small issues than have to deal with the potentially long term issues with drive train and electronics from the abuse stolen vehicles can be subjected to.

I'm with you glenn5995, once it is stolen I don't want it back. No telling what the thief has torn up. Ravelco is the best.

[dwaynerz]

sounds like he wont be on that tlc show "meth busters". supposed to be filmed in jefferson county i do believe. glad they caught up with him before he came across the river to my neighborhood.

[Rod Johnson]

Glad to see you got it back and mostly in one piece. I had a car stolen a few years back. It was 'vandalized' and a total insurance right off. It was just a Cavalier, but I was 19 or 20 at the time, and had put a lot of money and work into.

The guys who stole it were from a shop that had been working on it. They had made a key and just drove away in it. The car was supposed to be a big advertisement for them, to get their names out there when it was at car shows. They had put so much time into it (4 months) I never suspected it was them. I should have known, the day the last check I wrote them cleared, it was taken. Didn't find out about all the other other info that led me to believe it was them until months and months later.

Kinda sad. I have the police reports and some pictures I took of it in the junkyard in one of my photo albums.

[HemiCab]

I know my 2008 Ram has a Sentry key security system, could they steal the truck without my key?

HC

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by HemiCab

I know my 2008 Ram has a Sentry key security system, could they steal the truck without my key?

HC

Short answer is Yes. Yes they can. Here's the thing. If a motivated thief wants to steal your truck there is literally nothing you can do to prevent that from happening.

All you can do to protect your truck is to ramp up the motivation level required. Leaving your keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked means someone with very low motivation could steal it. Locking the doors means it takes more.

Encasing your truck in a concrete block and storing it at the bottom of a 1000 foot mine shaft will weed out all but the most highly motivated thief. But even that would not render your truck theft-proof.

In my case, the thief was highly motivated, Yes, leaving my keys in the console made it easy on him, but he had a slide-hammer, bolt cutters and a set of alligator-clip jumper wires with him (which he left in the truck when he bailed out). He was gonna get my truck no matter what.

Tim

[HemiCab]

Thanks for the reply!

I am hoping that everything on your truck turns out well and can be fixed with cosmetic repairs.

HC