How would you disable your 4Runner?

[Nelsonmd]

The club is great as my way of stopping some idiot whom might think a running 4Runner in a rest stop is an easy steal... problem is, first if he gets in, he's going to realize in under a second - the club... Next, still under a second will be TWO 100lb German Shepherds :boxer:

I think I've seen videos where the club can essentially be beaten with some refrigerant cooling the metal to a fragile brittle condition... then broken... If away from vehicle for the day, it might slow em, but I'm not convinced it stops em... For my use while in vehicle, it's a deterrent, although I've gotten to where I put foam insulation boards cut out for the windows to seal out cold and make my 4Runner private inside when I want... (CO detector to stay alive) With two heaters/dogs and a 10 deg mummy bag, usually only use that for frigid extremes or when lazy

No offense, but this scenario for defeating a club is a bit ridiculous. Cooling the steel to the point that it will fail when hit with a hammer is not a trivial task, and likely outside the capability/interest of 99% of the people that want to steal your vehicle.

I think like others have said, the MUCH more likely scenario in that they will smash your windows and take everything of value.

Remember, it is wasted effort to defend against the most unlikely attack. Just make it more inconvenient/difficult for them to do a quick smash and grab, and they will pass up your truck and go to someone who didn't prepare at all.

IMO better security would be to effectively hide everything of value, cover valuables in trash so that it looks like a truck full of Mcdonalds bags and dirty clothes, thus making the subaru or audi up the road look like a much more lucrative target, and worth the risk of getting caught.

If you are decking out your rig for expedition use or making it look brand new, or otherwise blinging/farkeling it up, then parking it for days on end, then you are basically putting a sign on it hat says "Come steal my $#&@, I have lots of stuff you can sell"

Something that would lock the wheels and keep it from getting on a flatbed would even be better... haha If I can think of it, others can too.... It doesn't have to be Compton, it just has to be a criminal mind that hunts for opportunities due to a strong desire to fulfill a drug habit or something similar... Expect the unexpected! ;-)

Who the F is going to take a flatbed truck out to BLM land, or go down backwoods roads looking for stuff to steal to feed a drug habit rather than hit a quiet road in town where there will be lots of cars to smash and grab (do many druggo's around you rent flatbed trucks?)? You're thinking about this completely backwards. If anyone robs you at a trailhead, it's probably someone local who knows the roads and doesn't want to keep lots of evidence of their actions, or a crime of convenience by someone who happen to be passing by.

Don't expect the unexpected BEFORE you prepare for the expected. Expect the expected first, that's why it's called "the expected"...

Well crap, now I've said "expected" too many times and the word has lost all meaning to me...

Seriously though, make your truck look like a poor person's truck and people won't bother/risk messing with it.

 

[Brian1973]

haha That's cute.... The area I'm thinking of parking is different than the area some are thinking in their minds. But thanks for the input. I agree with all of you... but I will still be as cautious as I can without "overdoing" it via my opinion of "overdoing" it I don't need to have a pretty truck to be inviting... a local person will know I am away and my reason for parking where I will be. The whole purpose of the post was just to search a way to disable the truck... I added some humor about the flatbed! ;-) Thanks to all those that gave input... I've got some good ideas now

 

[Brian1973]

BTW, at 41 yrs old, I've graduated from the Theory of Smash and Grab... Moving on to the Disabling the Truck 101 course. Maybe more of just something else to work on than boring hiding things and so forth ;-) As tried to state, it's not for the misery of loosing the truck as much as the idea of well being and SURVIVAL... the note, the hiding things are "given" in my scenarios... I'm taking it another step for my own reasoning that some may not care to invest in and that is fine by me. I'm not planning for a walk into Wally World to shop for an hour although, if a switch is there for other purposes and can also be used there, maybe, why not!?!? :biggrin2:

 

[gamefreakgc]

Wow, there's a lot of interesting opinions on this thread...

Let me share a few things that might help others. I lived near Stockton, CA which has the highest auto theft rate in the entire country. I've seen many a car stolen (including my brother's) so I know how to avoid it. I currently live in Citrus Heights, which isn't exactly car friendly either. Here's the top 5:

1. Theives are most commonly 18-25 males with drug addictions, and yes I'm profiling. They are looking for the "smash and grab" items that sell quickly and with no questions asked (Craigslist) The cars and trucks that have tons of stuff just hanging out in the front seat and center console get broken into first. Seen it first hand.

2. The more accessories you have on the truck the more likely it will be broken into. This means those custom rims and tires you just put on (4 jack stands from Harbor Freight they are gone), and the awesome booming stereo you like to show off to your friends and come booming down the street with.

3. Location. Do you park your car in a dark alley or on the street? Watch out. A car/truck that is in a garage or in a well-lit driveway is much less likely to be broken into. I just finished cleaning out the garage and installing a new garage door opener just to protect our vehicles from theft by parking in the garage. Which is more important, the $3000 in stuff sitting in your garage or the $30,000 in vehicles sitting on your driveway?

4. More common models are more commonly broken into. The most common cars that are stolen are Toyota Camrys, Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas. Why? There's so many! The thief learns how to hotwire a 98 Civic and then just hunts out other 98 Civics since he knows how to do it. The fact that there is a lot of 3rd Gen 4Runners on the road doesn't help us here, it hurts us.

5. Theives work in groups. There is a "spotter" who will scope out neighborhoods and look for easy targets (see items 1-4). Once a target is found they will take what they can as fast as they can. In my brother's case, they were able to start the car, drive it to Stockton and strips it all in one night.

How do I go about wiring a kill switch that disables fuel pump? I searched but couldn't find any instructions specific to 3rd gen T4R.

First off, if there was write-ups explaining on how to wire a kill switch, it would defeat the purpose. Said criminal would just reconnect the wiring and bypass your switch. Your best bet is to find a wiring diagram and locate the fuel pump wire and wire a switch and relay. And yes, you will need a relay. The fuel pump passes a lot of amps and if you wire a switch straight into the wire you'll melt the switch and strand yourself.

 

[TheDurk]

First off, if there was write-ups explaining on how to wire a kill switch, it would defeat the purpose. Said criminal would just reconnect the wiring and bypass your switch. Your best bet is to find a wiring diagram and locate the fuel pump wire and wire a switch and relay. And yes, you will need a relay. The fuel pump passes a lot of amps and if you wire a switch straight into the wire you'll melt the switch and strand yourself.

Not necessarily. The fuel pump is already controlled by a relay known as the Circuit Opening Relay. If you wire your switch into the COIL side of the COR, you don't need another relay. Such a switch could interrupt either the green-yellow or the black-blue wire to the COR in the attached diagram. How you do it should be your secret.

 

[Brian1973]

Great info guys! EVERYONE To live in a bubble and think it will never happen to you is silly... We can plan to try to make it harder to take our trucks but ultimately, where there's a will, there's a way... Not everyone thinks the same way... especially those with nothing to loose... For my purpose, it's just an ounce of prevention that will hopefully leave my truck rooted if left for 8 hrs and someone knowledgeable comes along seeing an opportunity... yes, they will likely smash and grab and be done (although the camera and prolly most of the expensive stuff will be with me)... my purpose as originally mentioned is just to keep my home there to shelter and eat... a few minutes fooling with a wire and adding a switch to the appropriate mechanical/electrical component is worthwhile to me IMO.

My truck isn't flashy but for someone with a POS, it might look inviting! Doesn't need fancy wheels or bling... the picture of a 4x4 in the middle of desert BLM land with a hitch caddy and a rooftop carrier is a dead give away I can not hide! Likelihood of it happening maybe 1 in 1 million... yes, there are certain criminals EVERYWHERE.... some are comfy in suburbs or city... and there are opportunists that are not there to steal a 4Runner in the desert, BUT, might think about it if they can do it easily! If I've added a switch because I just WANT TO for my own piece of mind, I feel the chances of it moving are even slimmer and it didn't take much to do... If it's a hidden switch and unbeknownst to the criminal, they will probably leave the truck alone... my point about "the club" was more analogical with the mindset that if a criminal were to see what is stopping them, they are more likely to try to break, tear, rip, etc in order to get around that obstruction!