STOLEN

Clintoops · Feb 28, 2022

Those that steal cars look for kill switchs but you can pull a relay or two that will do it

Cymruflyer · Feb 28, 2022

rustysteel said:
Thank you! These are excellent suggestions! My preference would be to prevent the theft in the first place. I agree with your idea and have considered a back up switch for cutting out the fuel pump. For anyone else reading this, I have heard of people rigging something up to the outfitter switches on the superduty fords. Thieves are already on to this as recovered vehicles or botched thefts have people reporting the outfitter switches messed with.
I am considering the tracking tags but not seeing anything that would work long range or lasts more than a few days but ill keep looking.
Thank you!

The AirTag from Apple has a battery that lasts more than a year, here is the info off their website.
" ..AirTag is designed to keep going more than a year on a standard battery you can easily replace.2 And your iPhone lets you know when itʼs time to pop in a new one.. "

Also, anyone with an iphone, iPad or iPod will be sending you the info as to where the vehicle is, if they are close, through iCloud so you can see it on a GPS map and then get directed to the location. This is perfect for when it first goes missing, because you could effectively follow it to find where it is going to. Just go to AirTag on google and it will take you to the Apple website where you can read all about it.

Quite possibly the thieves will have iphones and be sending you the trucks location as they drive it away. That coupled with an alarm that sends you a signal to your phone, the moment it is moved, should allow you to find your truck in the future along with the police, within minutes of it being stolen.

Cymruflyer · Feb 28, 2022

Clintoops said:
Those that steal cars look for kill switchs but you can pull a relay or two that will do it

The one I fitted to my car was a pressure switch that needed to be stepped on to be able to start the car. It was hidden under the floor mat and discretely wired into the engine/ignition system, not in an obvious way. To prove how unknown this system is, let's ask anyone reading here if they had previously known about such a system.

Tufargon · Feb 28, 2022

Clintoops said:
Those that steal cars look for kill switchs but you can pull a relay or two that will do it

This is a video I had saved a while back that I thought would be cool in my truck and forgot about till now. You could do both of these together in line and they'll never figure it out (switch needs to be turned on then button pushed). If they find the switch they'll be like BINGO but it still won't start when they turn the key.

Here's a kill switch that gives a good idea on where to hide it.

JoelP · Mar 5, 2022

I am using Tiles for this purpose. Originally I bought these to find lost keys, but have since bought them to attach to my ebike, luggage etc. With a Premium subscription these can be track around the world. With that subscription they also provide free batteries when replacements are needed. It would be a simple matter to hide one of these under the foam in a drone case.

Sadly this won’t help the OP who has paid a lot of tuition for this education.

ZenMatt · Mar 5, 2022

While AirTags would seem to be a great way to track your car, in practice it probably won’t work—especially if the thief also uses an iPhone. To prevent AirTags from being used for stalking, current iPhones will notice if an AirTag that has been separated from its owner device is traveling with it, and that phone will be alerted. Within a certain time, less than a day I think, away from its owner device, the AirTag will started making noises to make it easier to find. Also, if the thief uses an Android phone, there is an Apple app that will actively search for a nearby AirTag that is away from its owner device.

Again, these are features intended to prevent stalking and other illicit tracking, and very positive and reasonable features to have. The AirTag is intended to help users find misplaced stuff, not be a security system.

TruGreen · Mar 5, 2022

I had my 99 F-350 stolen early Nov of last year. luckily I had taken my M2P out of it the evening before hand to charge it up. wake the morning to a missing truck was deff not a good feeling. Specially cause mines the 7.3 diesel. thats the crappy thing on Ford, they only use so many keys and they wear out and work in others. i have a different 99 F-350 and i could use either trucks key to start each of them. but the theives who stole mine busted out the lock from the door handle then broke the ignition. my truck was recovered in one piece a few weeks after being reported. so keep a positive attitude yours will be found. most likely though the camera gear and any loose valuable inside will be gone though

svenf · Mar 5, 2022

Very sorry about that loss of yours! I'm sure the truck will be found sooner or later; your gear will obviously be much easier for them to turn into cash - monitor the usual marketplaces people use (eBay, Craigslist, Facebook etc.) and see if you can find any items that look suspiciously like yours, then ask the seller some innocent questions geared towards finding out if it's your gear. Not necessarily a highly promising route, but one that certainly worked for at least some.

NorthEastJohn · Mar 6, 2022

rustysteel said:
Thank you all for the kind words and information.
Ive reached out to DJI to see if they can "block" my drone so it wont fly again because it is stolen, havent heard back yet.
I always had the impression that an insurance payout would allow you to "level up". We were well insured but as I am learning insurance only kicks back some, not all of what was lost. You get item value, not replacement cost. For example, I paid about half of market value for my used MP2/tablet/batteries/charger. Insurance will give me what I paid, not the double amount it costs to replace it.
Additionally my insurance has a cap. I am compiling a list of everything lost and so far I am at 4x the cap for replacement cost.
This is going to hurt.

Sorry for being the victim of some jerk. Note to anyone checking their coverage policies. PPA does have current cost replacement on the Hull insurance. Mine is renewing in two weeks. They are the cheapest of anyone that I have found for Hull and equipment coverage. Note: I get my liability coverage from someone else. Best of luck my friend.

Clintoops · Mar 6, 2022

svenf said:
Very sorry about that loss of yours! I'm sure the truck will be found sooner or later; your gear will obviously be much easier for them to turn into cash - monitor the usual marketplaces people use (eBay, Craigslist, Facebook etc.) and see if you can find any items that look suspiciously like yours, then ask the seller some innocent questions geared towards finding out if it's your gear. Not necessarily a highly promising route, but one that certainly worked for at least some.

Pawn shops check those also