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loJack, or Comparable

dhcomp

dhcomp

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Location
Truckee, CA
Hey guys,

A number of recent attempted thefts in my neighborhood has got me thinking.

What does a lojack system cost?

Who uses other vehicle tracking devices?

I have nightmares thinking about Scott's experience, watching his last truck drive away from him where he couldn't do anything about it.

I've got full alarm with starter kill, which is a start, but thats it.

Ideas? Comments?
 
LoJack is great if your area, and a large surrounding area, also has Lojack coverage. Check their site for details.

If not, look into this:

http://www.amazon.com/cost-real-tra...=UTF8&colid=V0R7NWP952Z5&coliid=IDVQO1Z7XQUCV

You have to pay each month, so it may not be worth it.

There are also add-on immobilizers you can purchase that use an existing switch, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Megatronix-Passive-Immobilizer-Security-Included/dp/B000U3DU8G

Or that use a wireless device:

http://www.amazon.com/Megatronix-Gr...mobilizer/dp/B000U3BS0S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_2

Personally, I don't advertise my alarm. No blinky light. No warning.

A hidden kill switch for the fuel pump goes a long way, just don't put it somewhere under the dash or drivers seat, or somewhere a bad guy can see you hitting it.
 
Jessie James said:
Personally, I don't advertise my alarm. No blinky light. No warning.

A hidden kill switch for the fuel pump goes a long way, just don't put it somewhere under the dash or drivers seat, or somewhere a bad guy can see you hitting it.
Click to expand...


I disagree with this, but to each his own.

I'd much rather someone know i have an alarm before they break my window, than after.

The neighbor right across the street with a 2002ish F550 with a styled service bed had no alarm. Someone broke the window, and tried to start the truck.

I need to get around to adding another kill switch somewhere....
 
how much would it cost to "add a line" to your family's cell phone bill? $10-$30 a month? Even just a texting plan will get you some kind of GPS enabled phone. Stash the phone somewhere with it's DC powered charger hardwired to a source and forget it. If the truck gets stolen, search for the phone using your already set up "find a family member" app and there you go.


something like that, not sure if it's even possible

Anybody know of a good wireless "key FOB controlled" relay? Nothing like NOT having to hit a kill switch :D
 
also, for the rigs that don't see a lot a drive time, consider what happens when you CAN'T move the truck. They will start it, shift it, and that's as far as it goes :whistle:
 
K85 Octane said:
how much would it cost to "add a line" to your family's cell phone bill? $10-$30 a month? Even just a texting plan will get you some kind of GPS enabled phone. Stash the phone somewhere with it's DC powered charger hardwired to a source and forget it. If the truck gets stolen, search for the phone using your already set up "find a family member" app and there you go.


something like that, not sure if it's even possible

Anybody know of a good wireless "key FOB controlled" relay? Nothing like NOT having to hit a kill switch :D
Click to expand...

Not a horrible idea. Kinda trying to avoid the monthly fee though.

Is lojack monthly?
 
dhcomp said:
I disagree with this, but to each his own.

I'd much rather someone know i have an alarm before they break my window, than after.
Click to expand...
I used to work in a car stereo/alarm install shop. When a so-called thief knows about the alarm, his first step is to disarm it. There are a number of ways to do it. Most installers, for example, will hook up the alarm to flash the lights. However, rarely do they fuse that. So all it takes to defeat the alarm is to jam a screwdriver through your parking light lense and into the bulb, trip the alarm, and the instant it goes off it shorts out your alarm. Then they pop the door and off they go.

Other smart guys will simply crawl under and clip the wires to your horn and alarm. They can also slide a piece of plastic in to door to prevent the pin switch from moving when they open the door.

Basically, you advertise it, you lose it.
 
Get a Lojack, i've got them in all my vehicles now but I can't say what they cost as I did not pay retail for them since I have a friend who installs them and got me his pricing on them. The Lo-jack DOES NOT have a monthly cost, it is just an upfront purchase and that's it. They now offer something called early warning to go along with the system IF you chose which is a transmitter that installs in the vehicle then a fob to link with it and the vehicle will warn you if the vehicle is trying to be started without the fob.
 
When your truck is beat to crap, you can leave it at the Denver airport for a week with the keys on the seat.

Ask me how I know.

Would have been a shame to lose $12k worth of shocks.
 
I have seen guys rig all sorts of stuff, using factory knobs and such. A friend of mine rigged his old chevy to where you had to pull the headlight switch to atleast parking lights before it would fire it up. I would never put that blinking light anywhere in the truck, all that does is keep honest people honest, and let the fella planning on taking it know that he needs to do a little clipping and snipping before he can open the door.

In the end though, the most technological advanced security system in the world, has been cracked. If someone really wants something, they are going to get it, regardless of what you do. Best thing would be some sort of dead man switch, that either kills the fuel pump, or igniton, that only you know about.
 
Just an FYI - here are the Lojack coverage areas. They do NOT have very good coverage everywhere. In fact, some criminals are smart enough to simply quickly drive a stolen car out of the coverage area.

https://www.lojack.com/Buy-LoJack-Products/Check-Coverage

Arizona - Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz.
California - Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Stanislaus, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo.
Colorado - Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, and Weld.
Connecticut - Fairfield, Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Tolland.
Delaware - New Castle.
District of Columbia - All.
Florida - Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake County, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Saint John's, Saint Lucie, Sarasota, Seminole, Volusia.
Georgia - Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Jackson, Newton, Oconee, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton.
Illinois - Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will.
Louisiana - Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint James, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, West Baton Rouge.
Maryland - Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's.
Massachusetts - All counties.
Michigan - Allegan, Bay, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Ingham, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Muskegon, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Tuscola, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne.
Nevada - Carson City, Clark, Douglas, Storey, Washoe.
New Hampshire - Hillsborough, Rockingham.
New Jersey - All counties.
New York - Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester.
North Carolina - Alamance, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange, Randolph, Rowan, Union, and Wake.
Ohio - Cuyahoga, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Geauga, Lake, Licking, Lorain, Madison, Medina, Summit, Union.
Oklahoma - Cleveland, Creek, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Osage (Tulsa City only), Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner, Nowata, City of Yukon in Canadian
Oregon - Clackamas, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, Yamhill.
Pennsylvania - Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia.
Rhode Island - All counties.
South Carolina - Anderson, Charleston, Cherokee, Darlington, Dorchester, Florence, Greenville, Horry, Kershaw, Lexington, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York.
Tennessee - Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Fayette, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Tipton, Williamson, Wilson.
Texas - Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Chambers, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson.
Utah - Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Weber.
Virginia - Counties: Arlington, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Fauquier, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, King George, King William, Loudoun, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, Prince William, Southampton, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Surry, Sussex, York.
Virginia - Independent Cities: Alexandria, Chesapeake, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredricksburg, Hampton, Hopewell, Manassas, Manassas Park, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Richmond, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Winchester City.
Washington - Clark, Cowlitz, Gray's Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, Thurston, Whatcom.
Click to expand...
 
The problem with Lo-jack is that it relies on your local PD to track it. AFTER the vehicle is stolen, you report it stolen to the police. The police will enter it into NCIC (the national data system). The lojack company will then be notified and they will activate the beacon they've hidden in the vehicle. Your local PD must have lojack trackers installed in their patrol cars, the systems must be turned on, and the officers must be trained to use the system in order for it to work.

We only had lojack in two of our patrol cars (out of 10). The guys rarely turned them on because they were always getting false signals and beeping. Most of us were never even trained to know what to do when it did beep or what the signals meant.

You're much better served w/ a GPS based system like GM's OnStar or Mercedes' mbrace systems. I've recovered a number of vehicles w/ these systems. I've even had the Mercedes operator give us turn by turn directions as the suspects were getting away then remotely disable the engine when we caught up to them.

For older vehicles, get a good alarm. A good alarm company will hide the components up under the dash and use the factory wiring. That way if some wires are cut to bypass the alarm, it will still disable the vehicle. I do like a light blinking inside the vehicle because it is a deterrent.
 
runamok151 said:
The problem with Lo-jack is that it relies on your local PD to track it. AFTER the vehicle is stolen, you report it stolen to the police. The police will enter it into NCIC (the national data system). The lojack company will then be notified and they will activate the beacon they've hidden in the vehicle. Your local PD must have lojack trackers installed in their patrol cars, the systems must be turned on, and the officers must be trained to use the system in order for it to work.

We only had lojack in two of our patrol cars (out of 10). The guys rarely turned them on because they were always getting false signals and beeping. Most of us were never even trained to know what to do when it did beep or what the signals meant.

You're much better served w/ a GPS based system like GM's OnStar or Mercedes' mbrace systems. I've recovered a number of vehicles w/ these systems. I've even had the Mercedes operator give us turn by turn directions as the suspects were getting away then remotely disable the engine when we caught up to them.

For older vehicles, get a good alarm. A good alarm company will hide the components up under the dash and use the factory wiring. That way if some wires are cut to bypass the alarm, it will still disable the vehicle. I do like a light blinking inside the vehicle because it is a deterrent.
Click to expand...

While you are correct on how the system works i'm sure it all depends on where you live as to what the local PD sees fit to do with their system, around here vehicle theft is high and they always have the system on in their patrol cars. You are correct that not every car has the system in it but around here they DO use the system.
 
Hi guys, I work for LoJack and company bias aside, I have it on my personal vehicle and it affords me great peace of mind. You are correct 4x4 there is no monthly fee, and others are correct also that is really depends where you live to judge whether its worth it or not. In some areas, sure LoJack wouldn't be advisable and there are definitely other options. My advice is if you live in our #1 market for thefts/recoveries, California, you would have to be crazy to to have a LoJack on your vehicle. Same with states like Texas, Arizona, NY/NJ and Florida. Check the lojack site... 90% recovery rate on cars and trucks and money back if police don't find your car within 24 hours. I may be able to get people a discount PM if interested. Thanks.
 
Welcome aboard, I just sent you a PM for more info on the early warning system.
 
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