Overnight parking security

[jeff oakley]

If I am in a hotel find the night porter and give him a drink. Usually they let you park in a disabled bay, if there are no guests arriving, or at least near the door.

 

Never worry too much as if there is a determined thief it will go but with any of the devices mentioned and leaving in a lit area they are usually fine. 

 

I fear parking in supermarket car parks as many dimwits do not see them when reversing

[shrops-paul]

I’ve got a GPS tracker in mine. Fairly cheap and all you need is a cheap SIM card. Always know exactly where the car is and it’s set up to alert me for vibration and if it goes over 10 mph. 
 

[Oily Steve]

@shrops-paulDo you have any info on the tracker and the SIM card you use please?

[shrops-paul]

45 minutes ago, Oily Steve said:

@shrops-paulDo you have any info on the tracker and the SIM card you use please?

Hello.

 

As with all/most good things, it came form Amazon 😄 Link below. I paired with with a cheap (£5) EE PAYG sim which I can top up from my mobile or the internet as & when needed. I find £10 of gredit lasts about 5 months ish depending on the settings of the tracker - normally its set to alarm on vibraiton & over 10mph and ping its location 1 every day. These arrive as a text alert form the mobile number of the SIM card. Theres also an app that can be used to do geo fencing etc but ive not bothered much with this. It could be hard wired in but I dont want it drainng my battery so about once every 3 months i take it out of the car for a day to charge it up then po it back hidden inside. It alerts you when the batter starts to get low. And I charge it via USB in car when I'm out to boost it up.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KX9HFWI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

[dhutch]

As said, depend where I am and what the risk is.

 

But; tonneau cover, unplug crack sensor, remove ht leads, get parked/boxed in.

If more routine I would look at a wheel lock or motorbike chain.

 

Fortunately while the security is poor, the resale opportunity appear to put off a lot of people.

 

 

Daniel

[TAFKARM]

Everytime I park mine up, I strip it down to its bare components, engine out, gear box off, rear clip completely removable, sides off, nosecone off, remove all 4 wheels, take the steering wheel off (not quick release so that will slow them down further), unbolt the seats, take the ECU out, remove the diff and propshaft, take the headlights off, unbolt the aeroscreen, take out the gauges and carefully remove the dashboard, unbolt the roll cage, unclip the harnesses, take the bonnet with me obviously, take the steering column and rack off and finally remove the fuel tank.

 

You can't be too careful round here.

[Andrew]

34 minutes ago, Johnny Phartipants said:

Everytime I park mine up, I strip it down to its bare components, engine out, gear box off, rear clip completely removable, sides off, nosecone off, remove all 4 wheels, take the steering wheel off (not quick release so that will slow them down further), unbolt the seats, take the ECU out, remove the diff and propshaft, take the headlights off, unbolt the aeroscreen, take out the gauges and carefully remove the dashboard, unbolt the roll cage, unclip the harnesses, take the bonnet with me obviously, take the steering column and rack off and finally remove the fuel tank.

 

You can't be too careful round here.

 

You obviously don't value your mirrors.. leaving them attached is just asking for them to be stolen! 😀

[TAFKARM]

3 minutes ago, Andrew said:

 

You obviously don't value your mirrors.. leaving them attached is just asking for them to be stolen! 😀

They’re attached to the cage!

[Alan France]

I can remember a time when cars when left on bricks to nick the wheelS.  During the building strikes the bricks went as well.

[Kingster]

2 hours ago, Johnny Phartipants said:

finally remove the fuel tank.

I really must convert my car to your style of removable rear panel as I just can’t get the fuel tank out  when I park up as it is...

[Lyonspride]

On 24/01/2020 at 14:45, dhutch said:

As said, depend where I am and what the risk is.

 

But; tonneau cover, unplug crack sensor, remove ht leads, get parked/boxed in.

If more routine I would look at a wheel lock or motorbike chain.

 

Fortunately while the security is poor, the resale opportunity appear to put off a lot of people.

 

 

Daniel

Used to be the case that nobody would try to steal this kind of vehicle, but these days I think they'll steal anything.
Recently someone broke into a house across town just to steal a 6 year old Nissan Micra, there's been a large increase cat/exhuats theft recently, and there's a van driving around on cloned plates stealing childrens bikes from the roadside. It'd be quite easy for a few burly guys to bundle a Westfield into a LWB transit, strip it for parts and flog the rest as scrap metal.


 

[Alan France]

A friend had his old Cavalier broken into and rolled back down his drive onto the road to gain access to, and nick, the Cosworth further up his drive.

 

I like the handbrake/gear change combo. Always worried that left on a hill someone would just select neutral and release the handbrake for the hell of it. I do try to remember to leave full lock on the steering but that’s only a partial solution.

[dhutch]

3 hours ago, Lyonspride said:

Used to be the case that nobody would try to steal this kind of vehicle, but these days I think they'll steal anything.
Recently someone broke into a house across town just to steal a 6 year old Nissan Micra, there's been a large increase cat/exhuats theft recently, and there's a van driving around on cloned plates stealing childrens bikes from the roadside. It'd be quite easy for a few burly guys to bundle a Westfield into a LWB transit, strip it for parts and flog the rest as scrap metal.

I agree there is always mindless vandalism, metal theft and or joy riding.

Has there been a noticable increase in theft of our types of car, I have not really noticed reports of it.

 

Obviously almost always, they are not left out overnight. Although mine lived in a covered box trailer on a very visible driveway for two years.

 

2 hours ago, Alan France said:

Always worried that left on a hill someone would just select neutral and release the handbrake for the hell of it. I do try to remember to leave full lock on the steering but that’s only a partial solution.

Yes, its terms of 'for the hell of it' especially if left with no roof/cover it scary easy to roll it down the hill.

Fortunately the only time I have had that was my mates at uni moving it to another space in the same carpark.

 

Maybe chain around wheel and wishbone is a good call. Shame most don't have drilled disks because the motorbike disk locks are very small and natty.

 

 

Daniel

[GaryH]

Given the above about putting all the weather gear you've got for long away stopovers,  here's what I'm using as my visual anti-theft this year. Simple, light and clearly visible. I'm thinking it will at least slow them down a bit, and might put a casual off.

 

Gary

[tex]

Cheaper alternative to the tracker sim.. Try giff gaff, load it up.. Use once every few months just send one text to keep giff gaff account open.. Cheap as.. 

 

BTW careful what you divulge! Security works best if no one knows what you do