Defender thefts rise

[Ozzy50]

The latest issue of The Farmers Weekly is reporting a sharp rise in the number of Defenders being stolen ,theft claims on Defenders cost NFU insurance £1.8m in 2015 ,that's just one insurance company so how big is the total figure nationwide ? Be extra vigilant .

James

[HoSS]

I suspect that a lot are being broken for parts, that we sometimes unwittingly buy. We are also the market, hence vigilance in 'too good to be true' deals and dodgy characters should be applied.

[WesBrooks]

Without asking for people to give away little tricks they have used to protect their trucks are there good best practice guides available?

Other than the obvious nothing expensive on display, left in good places where possible is it simply good alarm, hidden tracker (these aren't cheap for a Thatcham one!), and obvious mechanical locking like steering or gear lever locks?

[Cynic-al]

I like the hydraulic valve with a key that disengages the clutch as its easy to use so your more likely to do it, discrete so thieves are less likely to realise the problem and time consuming to bypass in the event that they do know what it is. Obviously doesn't stop someone towing it.

I imagine most 'steal to order' type thefts happen from your property where people come prepared so out of sight is always best in my opinion. Whilst your out an array of security devices are best for opportunistic thieves as they don't have the time / equipment with them and you'd probably gone by the time they came back prepared.

Or buy something they don't want to take

[Ozzy50]

Secret cut out switches in the ignition system ,removable steering wheels (not road legal apparently but if you buy a quality multi spline boss and not the cheapo type they are very secure in use ) gear lever locks ,clutch Claw device ,pedal locks ,fuel line locks ,use as many systems as possible .When my 110 was in daily use it had 8 spoke wheels and I had a high security motorcycle chain that fitted through the spokes and wrapped round the chassis rail ,just don't forget to remove it before driving off !

[studmuffin]

I believe the NFU recorded an 8% increase since 2014.

To be honest I have to park mine on the front drive.

It has an immobiliser,alarm, and I always fit my Disklok, and SafeT pedal cover. The next thing would be a tracker.

I realised that I was getting obsessive when I went on to a holiday cottage in Cornwall and had to leave it parked 50 metres away, and kept checking it was still there.

You know, its started to take away the fun in owning one when you get too anal about it.

I realised that if it went, I would be seriously piddled off, but I could get another one or change to a Disco.

On the other hand, if my spaniel gundog was nicked, which happened twice to one of my mates, I would be inconsolable because she is irreplaceable.

I am not complacent but now I try to take the wider view.

Barry

[SPendrey]

Mrs P works in a library which is shared by the local Police (Wiltshire). They told her they've seen a huge increase in this area, North Wilts & South Glos over the last 3 months. Expectation is the same as above, that the vehicles are being stolen and broken very rapidly. However, the belief is that the parts aren't staying in the UK, but heading to eastern Europe.

[Farmerfred]

Theft of Land Rovers has been going on for years, my NFU insurance man said that as long as you don't leave the key in the ignition they won't penalise your cover or a claim for leaving it unlocked, the reckoning is that if the thieves don't need to force anything open to get in it then they won't do much if any damage which in turn, if the vehicle is recovered, it won't cost them (the insurers) so much, the logic being, if they want it they'll have it anyway regardless of any locked doors and other security devices so why encourage them to cause damage? A traffic PC I know told me that a few years ago the theft of an almost new RR was reported to them, it was fitted with a tracking device and activated, despite the tracker telling them where the vehicle was they could not find it, it was, according to the tracker travelling up the M5 towards Birmingham but they could not see it, turned out that it was in the back of an artic and when they stopped it and opened it up, there were several men stripping it whilst on the move, it had been virtually stripped by the time they found it. Friend of mine, about 12 years ago now, had both front doors taken off his Defender, 25 yards away from his house, virtually in the middle of the village parked with 4 cars on the side of the road that goes through the village, the road is not lit at night, he had the shock of his life next morning.

[Ozzy50]

Just leave a very aggressive dog in the landy so when some scumbag tries to Nick it the dog can eat them ,or maybe a lion ,or a werewolf ,become a werewolf yourself ,yeah that's the one ,oh if only this were possible ,wouldn't be a problem because whatever was left of em I could feed to my pigs ,all traces gone !

I am of course joking ,ahem

[Farmerfred]

Unfortunately there are only certain things you can do within the law to protect your property, as I said, if they want it they'll take it regardless, the best thing to do is put obstacles in the way, park your tractor behind the LR or anything that will block it in, chain it to a gatepost, you can get some good battery operated LED security lights nowadays, put up a couple of them. Making potential thieves take more time to get at it is a big deterrent.

[Arjan]

Hmm... Yes, if they want it they'll take it.

We have taken some action but like to keep that a suprise.

Some are not legal in Europe but very effective.

Very..

[Snagger]

Drawing attention is a big deterrent, like alarms and PIR flood lights. I'm not sure whether CCTV cameras work, as they can be covered and the thieves can wear hoods and masks.

Next is making the car harder to shift, so that's where the various clamps and locks, immobilisers and such come in. If you can make the car a very unpleasant place to be at the same time, then so much the better, but think through the safety implications of a malfunction while driving; I had thought about a bright strobe to flash blind any thief, but having that go off in your face while on the motorway would be unhelpful. I won't disclose what I have done, but I think it'd convince a thief to leave the car alone. So, have a think about what you can do in a similar vein that won't cause a crash if it goes off accidentally while you're driving.

Trackers are no deterrent - I would keep its installation secret in the hope any thief would not bother with a jammer or shielding/screening. But as the above story says, it's probably too late by then,

[Lewis]

What would be really useful if all of those unfortunate owners who have vehicles stolen would list and describe any security measures they were using (which presumably were defeated by the theives). This would allow the rest of us to make an informed choice when selecting our own security products

[Ozzy50]

Lewis ,that's a good idea ,let's turn this into a good /bad list of security products ,known fails etc .

1: Wire your stop solenoid or ignition coil through an on/off switch ,either a hidden switch or an innocuous looking switch somewhere on the dash ,a friend of mine did this on his Ford Sierra after some joyriders borrowed it to get home one night ,a month later they tried it again and couldn't start it due to the switch ,they never bothered again after that .

2:If you have wheels with spokes or slots in them use a stout high security chain to lock a wheel to the chassis ,I have used this method for many years and touch wood no problem s to date ,I always put the chain so the padlock is hard to get to ,not brilliant if you're in your Sunday best though ,obviously I have no idea if it has put any potential thief off but I haven't had one nicked,yet ! You can also use this method in conjunction with a ground anchor ,the harder to get at the better .I would always chain my trailer to the vehicle when parked up aswell .

3: As FarmerFred says ,block it in with another vehicle ,trailer etc ,another method I use.

[dailysleaze]

Always leave it parked with only enough fuel to get it to the nearest petrol station

[Snagger]

Or just stick to proper, obsolete Rovers with leaf springs!

[Ozzy50]

Or leave it ,without engine and only half its bodywork ,parked in your workshop ,that's worked for my 110 for the last few years !

[Farmerfred]

Take off all the LR badges and replace them with Skoda badges, nothing against Skoda but might deter some thieves.

[mad_pete]

What you are trying to get to is the too much bother mark for the thief.

[Nigelw]

Trouble is a lot of folk think factory locks are sufficient.

Most people are too lazy to buy let alone regularly use security devices until they've had theirs pinched.

It's not just vehicles but the accessories that are being stolen too, I posted this http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=96579 late last year when high value winches were being targeted weekly.

Until the laws are reversed on reasonable force being used against thieves they'll continue to steal our stuff.

[Farmerfred]

If, and it's a big if, you caught them in the act, surely, it would not be your fault if a thief accidentally walked into an iron bar or a length of 4x3, would it?

[Snagger]

Sadly it would. Some British OAPs have been prosecuted for burglars cutting themselves on razor wire on the top of fences (a regular victim of burglary) and for falling through skylights. What the hell is going through the minds of the legal aids and judges is beyond me. If you were to whack them, the best thing would be to silence the thief permanently and dispose of the body in a cunning fashion.

[Bowie69]

I think the law was changed fairly recently to stop all that sort of thing happening, and reasonable force is now OK....

[Snagger]

I hope so, but when you have judges stating their admiration for the bravery of burglars, it doesn't give much hope in the judiciary.

[Nigelw]

I hope so, but when you have judges stating their admiration for the bravery of burglars, it doesn't give much hope in the judiciary.

Their admiration turns to venomous hatred once they have been the victim of such a violating crime where you begin to fear being in your own home or owning the car of your dreams, the same too can be said of members of a jury!

We had over the back gate visitors here when I first moved home, to see if there were any goodies left out in the locked back garden with it's 6 foot surrounding fence, needless to say encountering the border collie told them it was a bad idea, mum doesn't have a dog, but I do

I liked the air bag triggered by the owner trick, a lot of trackers have immobilization features, the one I saw was wired to the steering wheel bag, send the tracker a message and pop goes the bag. Very illegal in any country, but then again, so is theft!

Where is the harm in a bit of sport? If it's ok for them to attempt to steal our property, it should also be ok for us to attempt to protect it.

Saw alarms on internal batteries with shielded sirens, wired to roof mounted strobe beacons, that seemed a good idea.