Keep you Truck Hopefully at Home

[John Rogers]

Every now and then there is a post of how a truck gets stolen, like the one with the trailer and Gia. I did not look close enough at the pictures to see if it was a diesel but these things will work on a gas engined truck too. When I bought mine I was worried and got these off the Powerstroke forum.

If you have a diesel, get a "jake brake" or if it has an exhaust valve that is normally used for warm up get one of the brains and switches that make it into a jake brake. To help prevent the engine starting, manually set the valve closed so the engine will stall as soon as it is started. Hide the switches any place except under the dash.

For an automatic there is a small brain that can be used to manually lock the torque converter, which works with the jake brake to help with downhill braking. Hide the switch so you can use it when driving but not under the dash.

For F350 and F250 Fords, there is a steel re-enforcement plate that goes behind the door handles so they can not be jimmied and they really work.

Hopefully these will help keep some of these very expensive trucks safe at home.

[notmytarga]

Not a truck.... but I wired my '67 bug so that the ashtray had to be pulled out a bit to throw a switch on the ignition wire. Initially I also set it up so that the heater cables under the rear seat closed a high amp switch from the starter wire to the battery (also under the rear seat). I had a fast preflight procedure to start it up that was subtle enough that a passenger would not even notice.

[Evans, Marv]

John, those steel plates that go behind the outside door handles are Jimmy Jammers (Sp?). I bought a pair after my truck was broken into when I was down in TJ. Right after I bought the truck, I bought a thing called a Cyclops. Don't see them advertised, but I found out about it on one of those internet boards for PSD's. It's a small transmitter and a signal actulated fuel relay replacement for the one that comes with the truck. You replace that with the one that comes with the Cyclops. In order for the fuel pump to operate, you have to push the button on the transmitter, otherwise the engine just cranks over without starting. There are probably lots of variations on it available. Whether it offers any better security or not, who knows, but I feel a little better.