Catalytic converter theft prevention plate?

[ulemon]

I keep hearing on the news thefts are going up and up and up, I park my car outside and it has a 2.5" front lift which I would imagine makes it easier for theft, since I can change my oil without a jack

I looked around but they seem to only sell plates for the toyota prius and honda element, any recommendations for our truck? I searched this forum and google and ebay but could not fine any plates for our car

 

[caulk04]

Look, the news talks about a lot of things.

There's no quiet way to remove the ypipe and cats even if you're in and area where it does happen.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

the low-life scumbags stealing cats are cutting them off....if they brought tools to cut off your cat then they will just cut through your thin sheet-metal plate as well

 

[G-Ride990]

^^^^ agreed... they will just zip through that plate with their battery powered reciprocating saw too.

That product looks like a way to make a few bucks from a sucker... pointless

 

[ulemon]

I agree that if someone is determined they can get through it quite easily, but the idea is that once they see it, they figure to move on to the next car. Same thing with bike locks, they can all be broken but the idea is that if your bike is locked up well then the thief will move to easier targets

 

[G-Ride990]

Bike locks are a bit different. Its pretty tough to get through the high end D shaped solid ones even with an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Check out the locklab on youtube or the lock picking lawyer for videos on bike locks.

A reciprocating saw will cut through that cat block off plate like butter. All the thief has to do is make one cut, bend the plate out of the way and then cut off the cat.

I have heard the same stories about cats being stolen but have never met or even heard of someone I know having one stolen before... (watch mine get cut off now haha)

I think you would be better off spending the money on a security system or camera that watched your truck.

 

[ulemon]

Bike locks are a bit different. Its pretty tough to get through the high end D shaped solid ones even with an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Check out the locklab on youtube or the lock picking lawyer for videos on bike locks.

A reciprocating saw will cut through that cat block off plate like butter. All the thief has to do is make one cut, bend the plate out of the way and then cut off the cat.

I have heard the same stories about cats being stolen but have never met or even heard of someone I know having one stolen before... (watch mine get cut off now haha)

I think you would be better off spending the money on a security system or camera that watched your truck.

So maybe a dash cam that has a front windshield and rear truck bed view? I think they sell a few cameras that come with a rear and you route the cable through to the front camera (i.e. not the ones that have a cabin rear camera, the ones that have an actual rear camera)
Think thats better?

EDIT: The car came with a viper security system, but I'm not sure if thats a good or bad thing, it has a shock sensor but I have no idea what setting its on. I hate this alarm system it goes off randomly, the remote start is nice though and the 2-way communication to tell me that 'yes, you actually did lock the car you forgetful idiot' is kind of nice

 

[G-Ride990]

Can you put a camera on the building where you park the truck? I would be concerned with voltage draw having a dash cam on all of the time.

Having a security system is good though. If you kick one of the tires does it make the alarm go off? I would imagine the vibrations from a saw would if kicking a tire does.

 

[ulemon]

Can you put a camera on the building where you park the truck? I would be concerned with voltage draw having a dash cam on all of the time.

Having a security system is good though. If you kick one of the tires does it make the alarm go off? I would imagine the vibrations from a saw would if kicking a tire does.

So I just went outside and kicked my tire, what do you know the car alarm went off
I never knew it did that ha ha ha

EDIT: I don't think I can put a camera up realistically, its a rental property

 

[White six four]

the low-life scumbags stealing cats are cutting them off....if they brought tools to cut off your cat then they will just cut through your thin sheet-metal plate as well

^^^^ agreed... they will just zip through that plate with their battery powered reciprocating saw too.

That product looks like a way to make a few bucks from a sucker... pointless

Couldn't agree more! I've seen people weld rebar as a way to block there's from getting stolen. I'm an ironworker and cut rebar every day on the job. It would take 10 seconds to cut through it. Unless of course it was a #10 or 11 bar.

 

[G-Ride990]

So I just went outside and kicked my tire, what do you know the car alarm went off
I never knew it did that ha ha ha

EDIT: I don't think I can put a camera up realistically, its a rental property

NICE! Sounds like the alarm might be able to help at least.

Can you see the truck from a window in your house? You could put a camera there looking at the truck without messing with the house. Or, there are tons of battery powered cameras available now.

Is it enough of a problem in your area that your neighbors are having theirs stolen?

 

[chris1126]

i never knew that the cat converter stealing business was that big that someone/anyone woukd need to secure theirs from being stolen. maybe it is though.

 

[GTyankee]

Around San Diego
Catalytic Converters for those foreign cars that younger drivers zip around in, the lowered fat tire Nissans, Subaru, etc.
Are ripped off all of the time from Older owners
I don't know if lowering those cars, tear out the whole exhaust systems, when they bottom out or what

I know that in Tijuana, Tecate, & Mexicali, Baja Mexico.
There are shops that specialize in 'exhaust' systems

The Mexican Border Officials see truck loads of gently used auto parts entering Mexico constantly & they turn their collective backs if they are given the right amount of Mordida

 

[JayLeonard]

i never knew that the cat converter stealing business was that big that someone/anyone woukd need to secure theirs from being stolen. maybe it is though.

A couple of weeks ago we had to rent a u haul trailer at a place in SC. Almost couldn't because 11 of the local uhaul places had ALL the cats stolen from every truck. Those that had a reservation for a truck had to rent a trailer and they were all committed, except for one. I was lucky.

 

[PoMansRam]

The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach and feel fortunate I live where I do and pretty much never go anywhere sketchy.

Has there been any Ram owners here that had their CC's stolen off their truck? They look pretty easy to get at on our trucks, where as the pentastar powered Rams have the CCs bolted directly to the cylinder heads, so they are harder to get to.

I blame this whole thing more on whomever is buying these "gently used" catalytic converters. Seriously? Where do you think they're coming from? That part of the equation needs to be addressed first.

In states like NY, a shop can only install new OEM catalytic converters. Figure on thousands of dollars to replace a system on a V-block engine these days. If the item is no longer available or backordered? You're screwed. Forced to retrofit something yourself that will still pass yearly inspection, or the vehicle is off to the crusher. Then if the crackhead that stole the CCs cut all 4 O2 sensor harnesses? More money.

 

[Treburkulosis]

My neighbor had his stolen at work.... Insurance replaced it and the shop that did it screwed something up and he said every 2 weeks the CEL would come on...They ended up having to buy a new suv...

 

[ulemon]

NICE! Sounds like the alarm might be able to help at least.

Can you see the truck from a window in your house? You could put a camera there looking at the truck without messing with the house. Or, there are tons of battery powered cameras available now.

Is it enough of a problem in your area that your neighbors are having theirs stolen?

To be honest, I'm in middle of nowhere Iowa and its not much of an issue at all, only heard of a handful of cases in my town and from what I heard they were mostly prius's
I think I'm feeling a little better knowing that my car alarm might be a deterrent, so I might just leave it since I wasn't sure how it worked before.

My neighbor had his stolen at work.... Insurance replaced it and the shop that did it screwed something up and he said every 2 weeks the CEL would come on...They ended up having to buy a new suv...

Yup... all that so a thief can make about $100 per cat, maybe less (at least thats what the news was saying, they get less for the cat because of its questionable origin)

 

[srv1]

My truck is parked about 15ft. from where I'm sleeping,with a motion light and 2 cameras on it.I don't worry about my truck as much as I am worried about what happens to me after I do what I do when I catch the scumbag.I've always lived by a simple rule,prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[PoMansRam]

My truck is parked about 15ft. from where I'm sleeping,with a motion light and 2 cameras on it.I don't worry about my truck as much as I am worried about what happens to me after I do what I do when I catch the scumbag.I've always lived by a simple rule,prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

We live pretty close! I'm just outside of East Aurora.

 

[srv1]

We live pretty close! I'm just outside of East Aurora.

howdy neighbor.