Extra security

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Immortaldaul

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Just got my rack n pinion replaced on my truck Tuesday and my mechanic pointed something out to me. Somone has been trying (and failing) to steal my truck. There are scratches all around the door handles on the front and back drivers side trucks. There's even a spot where you can tell they tried to pry the handle off. Can I install something other than my alarm system to prevent successful theft? Worked to hard for my **** for someone to make off with it.

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pavementprincess

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Steering wheel club. I got a 2002 1500 with no alarm system but I got a steering wheel club, never been stolen yet. My whole family uses them too and never got a car stolen. I use it all the time, whether its in a gated neighborhood, work, or walmart for 10 minutes. Someone would either need to have a copy of your key for the club, be able to chisel off the steel, or just be driving straight to where ever there destination is. Better be safe than sorry.

Another deterent is having a manual transmission as many people now a days cant drive manuals.

Finally, I haven't installed it yet but I was told by someone that the door handles on the 2002 rams are very easy to pry off (probably why someone has been trying to pry it off) and that they make either some sort of cover or a whole new handle that prevents them being easily ripped off. Your gonna have to look into that yourself though as even I want to install those but just have not yet and have no leads where to get them or even what theyre called.

However the steering wheel club is prime you can buy them at the auto parts store or walmart
 
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Immortaldaul

Immortaldaul

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Looked it up its called the jimmi jammer it's a steel plate that goes inside the door panel to prevent such theft. Wonder if mine has em because they failed to steal it suppose I'll have a look
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Steering wheel club. I got a 2002 1500 with no alarm system but I got a steering wheel club, never been stolen yet. My whole family uses them too and never got a car stolen. I use it all the time, whether its in a gated neighborhood, work, or walmart for 10 minutes. Someone would either need to have a copy of your key for the club, be able to chisel off the steel, or just be driving straight to where ever there destination is. Better be safe than sorry.

Another deterent is having a manual transmission as many people now a days cant drive manuals.

Finally, I haven't installed it yet but I was told by someone that the door handles on the 2002 rams are very easy to pry off (probably why someone has been trying to pry it off) and that they make either some sort of cover or a whole new handle that prevents them being easily ripped off. Your gonna have to look into that yourself though as even I want to install those but just have not yet and have no leads where to get them or even what theyre called.

However the steering wheel club is prime you can buy them at the auto parts store or walmart

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17CrewCab1500

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http://www.jimmijammer.com/

I've been using them for years, but not sure if this is still a problem with the later 4th gens.

I had this problem with my Chevys - even my wifes Chevy.
 

justin13703

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Personally that seems like a little bit of a stretch to assume that someone has been consistently trying to steal your truck. If they want it they’re just gonna break your window out. I’m not saying it’s not true, just seems to be jumping to conclusions a little.

I don’t know if 02 trucks have chips in the keys. If they do, it’ll be pretty difficult to get away with one. Also, any time I installed an alarm system I installed a “starter kill” relay with it. This is a relay that physically breaks the starter circuit when the alarm is going off. So even if they get in and have a key to the truck somehow, or find the correct wires to manually “Hotwire” the truck (which is a lost art lol, people these days are dumber than **** and can’t do that stuff anymore), they still wouldn’t get it to start due to the relay breaking the circuit. So find out if your truck has a starter kill relay installed, and if it doesn’t, get one installed.

With a starter kill and possibly a chip in the key, I wouldn’t be very worried about someone getting away with the truck. I’d be more worried about someone getting in it, trashing the interior and getting away with whatever you had in there.
 
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Immortaldaul

Immortaldaul

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Personally that seems like a little bit of a stretch to assume that someone has been consistently trying to steal your truck. If they want it they’re just gonna break your window out. I’m not saying it’s not true, just seems to be jumping to conclusions a little.

I don’t know if 02 trucks have chips in the keys. If they do, it’ll be pretty difficult to get away with one. Also, any time I installed an alarm system I installed a “starter kill” relay with it. This is a relay that physically breaks the starter circuit when the alarm is going off. So even if they get in and have a key to the truck somehow, or find the correct wires to manually “Hotwire” the truck (which is a lost art lol, people these days are dumber than **** and can’t do that stuff anymore), they still wouldn’t get it to start due to the relay breaking the circuit. So find out if your truck has a starter kill relay installed, and if it doesn’t, get one installed.

With a starter kill and possibly a chip in the key, I wouldn’t be very worried about someone getting away with the truck. I’d be more worried about someone getting in it, trashing the interior and getting away with whatever you had in there.
No chip in the key but I do live in Texas and truck theft is common. Even one attempt is one too many

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justin13703

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No chip in the key but I do live in Texas and truck theft is common. Even one attempt is one too many

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I didn’t think 02s had chips but I wasn’t sure. But like I said make sure you have a starter kill relay in there.

Next step would be getting one of the alarms with the cellular connection in it, that way if anything happens you get a notification on your phone. You can see if the system is armed, arm it, disarm it, see if the doors and hood are open or closed, and if it’s the remote start version you can start and stop it all from your phone. Personally I don’t think it gets any better than that because as soon as the alarm goes off, you get a notification on your phone, no matter how far away you are.
 

MaximumSteel18

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Steering wheel club. I got a 2002 1500 with no alarm system but I got a steering wheel club, never been stolen yet. My whole family uses them too and never got a car stolen. I use it all the time, whether its in a gated neighborhood, work, or walmart for 10 minutes. Someone would either need to have a copy of your key for the club, be able to chisel off the steel, or just be driving straight to where ever there destination is. Better be safe than sorry.

Another deterent is having a manual transmission as many people now a days cant drive manuals.

Finally, I haven't installed it yet but I was told by someone that the door handles on the 2002 rams are very easy to pry off (probably why someone has been trying to pry it off) and that they make either some sort of cover or a whole new handle that prevents them being easily ripped off. Your gonna have to look into that yourself though as even I want to install those but just have not yet and have no leads where to get them or even what theyre called.

However the steering wheel club is prime you can buy them at the auto parts store or walmart
I don't want to upset you but I watched a guy remove a steering wheel club in 10 seconds
 

pavementprincess

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I don't want to upset you but I watched a guy remove a steering wheel club in 10 seconds
How? Was it unlocked? I don't really see a practical way to remove one without either picking the lock, having the key, cutting the metal, or if someone did not expand it all the way in the steering wheel
 

MaximumSteel18

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How? Was it unlocked? I don't really see a practical way to remove one without either picking the lock, having the key, cutting the metal, or if someone did not expand it all the way in the steering wheel
He took a hack saw and cut the boss off that holds the tumbler for the key, its soft metal.
 

17CrewCab1500

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Funny this isn't the video I was looking for but this guy is more of a girl than a man.. haha

But yeah, seen people cut the wheel instead and slide it out.

If they want your truck bad enough - it's gone.

Texas/AZ - with Mexico so close - these trucks are stolen a TON and turned into a MAX MAD thing from movies to transport drugs. My ex neighbor was a border patrol agent and the photos he would show me would amaze you! haha
 

pavementprincess

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original video:
These are just some ideas I read that sounded helpful. The fusebox ones seemed pretty smart. I mean if you had the jimijammer, steering wheel club, possibly cage like guards on the windows, manual transmission, and pulled some fuses, along with the alarm system you already have in place you'll be pretty good. You can never prevent 100% theft but can definetely discourage it.

This video has some pretty good methods too, again I'm no expert but some of these seem worth a try:
 
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Immortaldaul

Immortaldaul

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I'll look into a couple different options. Actually gonna look into full coverage though just because I can at least get a down payment for another truck if this one isn't recovered

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