I wrote this for the club I'm involved with when a member's son had his rig stolen (later recovered) and it spawned a topic on security. I had spent two or three hours a day for a week and a half researching these things beforehand, so I felt it necessary to share what I had learned.

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Okay, La Bomba's guide to 4X4 (Or 2X4 for that matter) vehicular security.

Almost all of this is gathered from a dozen or more different sources. There's also many more security features out there, but this can be used as a good start.

Disclaimer: I believe that all these techniques may be used on any vehicle (unless otherwise noted), but I've dropped in one or two bits of information about Toyota's since thatÆs what I own/drive/wheel, specifically an 83' pick-up).

Overview of Auto Theft
First off, there is one very important thing to remember about keeping your vehicle safe: There is no way what-so-ever to keep your rig one hundred percent safe. This really sucks because it can be discouraging, but it's true. Stories have been told about sports cars being hauled off with a crane; Granted our rigs aren't sport cars, but the point is that a determined thief will get your rig and you can't stop that. The point that must be made in security is two fold:

A) Ninety-nine percent of thefts are by punks who are looking for a quick grab. If you can lengthen the time it takes someone to steal your rig, the odds vastly increase that they will give up.

B) If you have visual displays of security (which will be covered later) a thief will be more likely to turn around and grab that other truck/car down the street that left it's window's down and parked down that dark ally.

Remember that different people want a vehicle for different reasons. Some just want that shinny radio in the dash. Other's may want all the accessories (CB radio, subwoofer's, radio, cell phone left on the seat, etc.). Some may want the vehicle complete for either parts or to sell as a whole. If they sell it as a whole you've got a chance of getting it back, either when the new buyer tries to register it and the DMV's alarms go off, or when they get a parking ticket and the nice police officer see's the warning on his computer.

Remember that most are aiming for a snatch and grab and aren't fans of the "figure out the safe combination" type of theft. If you can start your rig than someone else can too, but what you've got over them is that you know what they don't. If you can cause it to take too long to figure out your security, then most will run.

Most importantly, KEEP YOUR SECURITY FEATURES A SECRET! I told my best friend about my kill switch in case I were ever sick or in an emergency. Two weeks later a relative of his I don't even know asked me about my kill switch. That's not what I intended. I still trust my friend not to steal my truck, but whoever you tell, they may tell other's that you wouldnÆt trust first hand yourself.


Kill Switches
This has got to be the most popular way to guard older vehicles without the highly technical electrical systems that newer cars have, I assume it would still work on new vehicles but I don't have any experience with such things. This topic can be divided into two sections: What type of switch and where to put it....

-Types
That I can think of, there's three popular switch types. One: a removable link. Pull the fuse from your fuse box, have a link that can be pulled, or even take a part out of the circuit. Two: Buy a dollar fifty switch from Radio Shack and install it in the circuit of whatever you're guarding. The best thing to do with these is to hide the switch. Some hide them under their seat, some use glove boxes and others are under the dash. Three: My friend taught me this one; use a switch that's already in your dash. The most effective hiding place is sometimes in plain sight. Many use a rear defrost switch as a kill switch, other's use air conditioner buttons. Different vehicles have different switches, just be creative, be careful, remove the ground before you try it, and make sure you can live without whatever circuit you're donating to the new cause.

-Where to put it/what to cut
Many examples exist for this. If you have an electronic fuel pump than you can kill that. You can also kill the ignition system (which produces noise from the starter but won't allow it to start). Another idea is a battery disconnect; these can be installed in the bed of a pickup or even under the hood with a box around it so anyone in the cab won't be able to do anything nor see the cause; no power no nothing. I've heard some models even have capacitors built in that hold enough energy to power radio presets, car alarms, etc. but drain dead instantly when the starter tries to start. Note: Don't use a radio shack switch for something like this, too many amps means BOOM and you won't start, be the switch on or off. Lastly, a switch in the starter relay is a good idea. While this doesn't produce starter noise it does make it hard to start, ain't no one gonna start that thing. (Toyota note: Many people have said a Toyota ignition can be started with a screwdriver or one even said a penny! Supposedly Toyota only made 15 different sets of keys for the early and mid 80's 4runners and pickupÆs. Personally, when a friend bought his pickup I got in a drove off, freaked him out!)

Alarm Systems
I won't list brands because I'm not trying to endorse anything, but alarm system's vary by a large amount. Some, when activated will ground the ignition system preventing the vehicle to start, other's simply blare an annoying alarm. Mine goes haywire occasionally and sets itself with me going down the road. The alarm is annoying but I've driven over a mile to find a drive way to disconnect it without it effecting the truck in any way. Personally there's so many to describe that I won't go into it to much. There's always new systems being invented, and thieves are always learning new ways to work around them. Some alarms are motion sensing (one person said they could use half doors in the summer and the alarm would protect it from theft, five feet and it would go off). Some will alert you if your vehicle leaves a predesignated area and e-mail you, call you, page you, AND inform the local police. Other's simply provide you with a pager like device with a range of approximately two miles, which goes off if something is wrong. Something that must be considered though, while the alarm's purpose is to get other people's attention, many will ignore car alarm's because so many go off nowadays. It really depends on luck and your thief.

Door Locks
(First off, Toyota specific: I've heard a simple hammer and sharp object like a punch can take out a pickup/4runner door in one hit, Toyota door locks are one notch above duct tape) One idea is to swap lock brand (Ford in a Toyota, Chevy in a Jeep, etc.). Few would suspect something like this, but there is a possibility that a larger lock won't fit your door. Basically you should experiment and see what works. Another feature (which I like very much) is a setup with a completely wireless key entry. No locks whatsoever. Sure would freak a thief out when they go to punch your lock in and you've already patched up the hole. Nothing to punch! A problem with this though is dead batteries. If this were to occur, you're stuck and dead in the water. Plus, that's one more electrical part to go wrong instead of a mechanical one. As a last resort, wear down your door lock like crazy. One guy said that opening his door is like opening a combination lock, and he was using his key to do it!

Deterrent
Like previously said, if you can discourage someone from even trying to steal your rig, you've already won the advantage. If you have no alarm; install a simple, flashing LED in your dash. This has been successful in deterring people when there was no actual security installed! Also, always park in public places. I always park in the most noticeable spot on my college campus. Granted probably half of the student body have seen my truck there, and hence more possible thieves, but this position has someone walking past it every fifteen seconds or less. Too many people to make it a viable steal. I've seen broken glass on campus all over, but the closer to the buildings I walk (and hence, more people traffic and visability), the fewer and further between the piles of glass are. If you park your vehicle at your home, park under a security light or light pole and not out in the street. Speaking of home, if you have a smaller vehicle park in the garage (if your lift doesn't block you from hitting the roof). If the perpetrators can't see what they're stealing, how can they steal it? Besides, add a few pit bulls to the equation and it can get rather interesting too. Other visible deterrents are security stickers. Not exactly highly effective, but many security installation places have piles of these in the garbage. If they're free or incredibly cheap, slap a few on your windows, wouldn't hurt. Additionally, don't tempt the tempted. A shiny CD player, CD radio, humongous subwooofers and other things fuel one's greed. If you can, remove the CD faceplate, cover your cb with a dark cloth, and install your speakers under the seats (or behind them if you can). A personal favorite (although not perfect) is to install a quick release system on the steering wheel (or carry a screw driver/wrench with you). It's hard to steer without one. A down point though; people have taken vise clamps and steered with those, so it can be worked around. Lastly, get a locking club. DonÆt get "the club" because that's roughly ten seconds of skill saw away from being slipped off (they cut the steering wheel and slip if off through the cut). Many companies produce clubs for the brake that when locked fully apply the pedal, locking the vehicle in place. These work along similar guidelines, but it's harder to cut through a seat or a brake pedal than it is through your steering wheel.

Extreme Circumstance's / Buggy Security
Man this is getting long.... I put these two together because some of the ideas are more long term or long preperation techniques rather than easier ideas for daily drivers. A cool idea is Lexan windows (or some heavy duty plastic). Make sure it's not easily scratched, and use it in place of your glass windows. If they can't get through the lock, or if they're just looking for a snatch and grab, many people will throw a rock through the window to gain access. Imagine what would happen if it bounced back instead of breaking through. This can get expensive, but hey, it's the extreme category, I can do that here. A crazy idea is attach a smoke bomb to a basic alarm. If it goes off, ten seconds and your cab is full of smoke. Kinda hard to see through, nonetheless drive through. I didn't like this idea though because simply rolling the windows down could fix this. If parked for a long time, pull your battery. I've never seen a thief carry their own twelve volt battery with them. Besides, I've heard this can be healthy for the battery too, donÆt know about that though. If you're a buggy, drive up with the battery in your hauler, switch it to your rig, wheel, switch again to go home. Either way, whatever your NOT driving is protected. If parked for a while, get some heavy duty chain and attach it to a wheel and a pole, or concrete slab. A joke technique is to wire your battery through the door handle, but I would advise against this. The last cheap technique is to use kill switches, but wire like ten in a row (I couldnÆt believe this, but someone claimed they actually use this technique). The supposed idea is to get a handful of three way switches and wire them so they correspond with your social security number. Even is up, down is odd. Personally, that's too much work, but is there such a thing when it comes to security? Lastly, and probably most expensively, is GPS tracking (this is probably the only feasible/reasonable idea in this section....). While this won't keep your car/truck from being stolen, it can help track it down. Many can even deactivate your car from satellites causing it to roll to a safe stop. Imagine a thief, celebrating the fact he just stole your rig, suddenly have everything go dead while going down the freeway and hearing a voice saying "you've been caught" from the stereo (recordings can be programmed).

Whatever you do, be creative. Like I said, if someone's determined enough to steal your rig/car it's gone, but those professional thieves are few, far between, and they're usually looking for Ferrari's and LamborghiniÆs and not your rigs. Remember, kill switches are popular but many people use these and thieves may start looking for em'. Creativity/uniqueness make it much harder to figure out why your truck won't start, and this may very well turn your rig from gone to simply missing some glass.

Oh, and if all else fails buy a Glock. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

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I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but I've spent a lot of time previously covering this for my personal purposes, but with this thread I felt it right to spread this around. I'm by no means the king of security, I just read threads a lot. Additionally, I never realized this would be so long. Sorry about that.....

Note: I've used Google as well as the forums from Marlin Crawler, 4x4pirate, and 4x4wire to assemble this article. While I did install a kill switch the fourth day I had my truck, I by no means "invented" any of these.

An additional note for this specific post, many of these ideas were taken from these very forums, so some of you may recgonize your idea on the list. Sorry...