"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
09/27/2019 at 17:50 • Filed to: Jeep, car security
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"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
09/27/2019 at 17:50 • Filed to: Jeep, car security | 3
| 8 |
As you may recall, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . In fact, the Jeep was hit twice in four days, apparently by two different people (although I suspect the timing wasn’t coincidental). Both times in the same parking lot at work.
Nothing too much stolen, just my sense of security, a few odds and ends, and expensive prescription sunglasses for the second time this year. I have a pricy prescription.
Anyhoo, this has led to some changes, unsurprisingly.
Most obviously, I don’t park in that lot any more. It’s well-covered by cameras, but apparently that’s insufficient to deter theft.
Which in turn means I get up much earlier in the mornings to get a more secure lot, or at least it feels more secure. It’s on the corporate campus proper, and you’d have to be pretty bold to ransack a vehicle there. It’s also twice as far from the building where I work, but it’s still only(?) a 5 minute walk.
I also keep far less stuff in the Jeep, which is annoying.
T he biggest financial impact has been a large purchase of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! gear. Practically everything they offer for my model, in fact. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
As it turns out, installing this gear has been a major headache. I had multiple family members help me out Sunday, but it still took about 6 hours just to get the two largest pieces installed.
(And we managed to break my back seat; I can no longer flip it forward. Probably a relatively simple fix...but I suspect I’ll have to r emove and then re-install the new storage drawer, which will take multiple people.)
As it got dark we tried to install the glove compartment, but as it turns out my LJ is one of the relatively rare ones that has a different air duct layout behind the compartment. Tuffy has never actually seen one in person, but they’ve gotten a few complaints over the years. If I lived in Colorado , I’d definitely let them take a peek at mine.
Fortunately there’s a fairly easy fix, once I decide to tackle it: use a heat gun on the ductwork and gently mold it out of the way. I have no desire to end up with yet another expensive repair, so I’ve been procrastinating. (Plus I’m not sure off-hand where my heat gun is...or even if I’m remembering correctly that I have one.)
So, yeah, for probably $50 worth of value to whoever stole my stuff, I’ve spent at least $1400 and many hours recovering, I won’t be buying that XJ (probably), and I have more time/hassle ahead of me . Theft sucks.
( On the plus side, the Tuffy gear despite the installation pain is really solid.)
JeepJeremy
> Just Jeepin'
09/27/2019 at 18:08 |
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Bro I know the feeling. I didn’t have my Wrangler very long until someone took a knife to my plastic windows and jacked all my shit inside
Lost my stereo face, an iPod and some CDs.
I always wanted one of those locking armrest consoles like you just installed. I bet it’s handy.
I wasn’t in a position to drop extra $$$$ on security stuff so my solution was simple: I just stopped keeping ANYTHING in my Wrangler. Like not a thing. And I never locked the doors. My mindset is that only a person with things worth taking would lock them in a car.
I had a few other unlawful entries (you could always tell because they’d leave the overhead lamp on after their visits)
But I never had anything taken again or had my windows cut
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Just Jeepin'
> JeepJeremy
09/27/2019 at 18:11 |
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I’m not sure how to prevent the windows being cut, sadly, especially since the LJ is long enough that it’s not trivial to get the back except through an open window . Even if I don’t have anything available to steal , how will they know?
If I get sufficiently paranoid I may put the hard top on for the first time in 5 years.
Sovande
> Just Jeepin'
09/27/2019 at 19:50 |
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So the no doors, side curtains and a cloth roof isn’t keeping people from stealing stuff? Crazy.
I keep nothing in my car aside from a phone charger, my hard hat and safety vest. And it has windows and doors.
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Just Jeepin'
> Sovande
09/27/2019 at 19:51 |
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It worked for over 4 years.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Sovande
09/27/2019 at 20:14 |
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Windows don’t work either. They just leave a bigger mess when they’re broken.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Just Jeepin'
09/27/2019 at 20:17 |
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I’ve had two side windows smashed on two different rental trucks. The last time happened in a busy restaurant parking lot and the thieves got away with my work laptop, my iPad, external hard drives, a couple of expensive bags, and a ring that was very important to me.
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Just Jeepin'
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/27/2019 at 20:23 |
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Ugh. Sorry to hear that. I’ve hopefully limited future damage to the Jeep itself, which...ugh.
facw
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/28/2019 at 01:35 |
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Yep, living in Baltimore, it quickly became clear that the thing to do was never to have anything remotely valuable (or even hinting that there could be anything valuable) in the car when it was parked.