Theft prevention

[skipperG]

I thought my 2021 Expedition couldn’t be stolen. Is there an anti-theft measure I should be aware of and incorporating? Thanks for guidance.

 

[apex96]

Not sure why someone would think an expedition couldn’t be stolen. If a thief is motivated enough, your vehicle will become theirs. Anything you want to add would just be another deterrent on top of the factory theft deterrents already in the vehicle.

You can place a master switch on the power cable running to the fuel pump. No fuel no start. Would be a good deterrent but doesn’t guarantee that a chop shop won’t employ a flat decked wrecker and slide blocks to take it…

 

[LokiWolf]

Any vehicle can be stolen…period. Like @apex96 said above you are just increasing the trouble and work it takes. Biggest deterrent most of the time is where the vehicle is parked. In a regularly monitored location that is well lit.

 

[mwestexp]

I use my 09 to tow my enclosed trailer with my race car and all the stuff that goes with racing in the trailer, tires, tools, parts you name it, it's in there. All of my track events require at least 1 over night at a hotel, most require 3 some 4. I feel like my Expedition and trailer when parked overnight at a hotel are like a neon sign saying here I am come and steal me and open the big box for a surprise inside. My rig takes up 5 or 6 spaces, so I need to park it away from other cars to not take up prime spaces and put myself in a position where I won't be blocked in by other cars. But, this often makes it very visible from the road. Even when my trailer is at the track and the Expedition is at the hotel not hooked up I think it's still very vulnerable. I found the simplest method to prevent it all from being driven away is removing a few fuses from the engine compartment fuse box. Starter Relay removal shuts everything down. When I try and start it it does not make a sound. Dead quiet. And I also remove fuel pump fuse. Then I replace both of those with the exact same fuses, but they are blown out. I don't believe any thief no matter how motivated will take the time in the middle of the night to figure out why this thing won't start. If they do manage to get it rolling, I've got multiple Apple Trackers in the Expedition, Trailer and Race Car. In those I've removed the audible beeping sound from the Apple trackers so anyone using their iPhone will not be able to hear the Tracker and find them. Hopefully it will never come to that.

 

[DieselMonk]

I thought my 2021 Expedition couldn’t be stolen. Is there an anti-theft measure I should be aware of and incorporating? Thanks for guidance.

I’d say that depends on in what way they stole it. I guess you got to elaborate the circumstance what happened. Did they steal it out of your driveway?

 

[Samantha1]

I use the Club for a visible deterrent when I park in an area where I feel it's needed.

 

[SyndicateZ]

I use the Club for a visible deterrent when I park in an area where I feel it's needed.

What areas are those?

 

[Samantha1]

Always when I'm traveling - hotel parking lots, if I park and at a restaurant and it's not in my sight, etc. Around town I usually drive my 96 Bronco.

 

[5280tunage]

Two things I did, I added the Ford factory shock sensor. Easy to install, built the mounting plate myself, and so far so good. Definitely falses just like any shock sensor when a harley or a truck with glass packs drives by, but it's better than nothing. I like that it integrates with the fordpass app to notify me when it's triggered by the shock sensor.

I also put on massive skid plates with Cat covers, love that my aftermarket cats can't be easily accessed and cut off.

Other than that, be smart, don't over-tint anymore, don't leave a bunch of stuff in the car. Park in smart spots which may not always be the most convenient. But as others have said, these days, with electronic counter systems anyone can buy on ebay, given a chance they can defeat just about anything.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Well, whenever I have to park in places that aren't that secure, I have found that the Club, my .44 Mags, and my prominently displayed dbl barrel 12 GA shotgun generally gets more attention than the truck itself, hahahaha

What areas are those?

It is a steel bar device that clamps & locks onto the steering wheel & has ends that stick out so far beyond the steering well that it makes driving essentially impossible. Unless of course, your thieves happen to bring along a heavy duty cutting torch or a laser drill, hahaha

 

[SyndicateZ]

Well, whenever I have to park in places that aren't that secure, I have found that the Club, my .44 Mags, and my prominently displayed dbl barrel 12 GA shotgun generally gets more attention than the truck itself, hahahaha

It is a steel bar device that clamps & locks onto the steering wheel & has ends that stick out so far beyond the steering well that it makes driving essentially impossible. Unless of course, your thieves happen to bring along a heavy duty cutting torch or a laser drill, hahaha

I know what they are. My father used on in the 90's. I was asking in what areas that you park at should we use the club? South Central LA?

 

[aksarben]

Theft prevention? Locked garage outta site.... yeah, unlikely on many trips.

At one of the Denver Airport hotels last year a group of motorcyclists from PA had parked their truck and unmarked trailer (still attached to truck with all the locks possible) for the night. Whole rig was stolen and found about 24-36 hours after the theft about 6 blocks away. The thieves had stolen a wrecker and then lifted the front of the truck and dragged their whole rig away. Trailer had been opened and all their bikes were gone. AirTags helped them recover a couple of them.

So maybe try to find hotels/motels that aren't right along obviously busy freeways etc that clearly are full of people traveling with gear of some sort. In the motorcycle community, we all bring our bikes into the motel room if possible and lots of motels will allow motorcycle parking right at their front doors. Denver Airport and area hotels are notorious thefts targets as it had the hight theft rate of anywhere in the US recently. Also a haven for dudes rolling under your cars and higher profile vehicles to sawmill your catalytic cover off in about 10 secs.

Thieves, really suck to steal another person's honest hard earned belongings. Maybe Airtags will help, plus if you advertise there are multiple AirTags in your vehicles?

 

[GlennSullivan]

Unfortunately, it is hard enough to find a Hotel that has sufficient space to park the truck and trailer - which in my case is 42' - let alone the well lit / highly trafficked area near the front of the hotel. High traffic areas close to the building entrance fill up first and no hotel is going to let you take up 5 spaces anywhere near the front of the hotel.

The larger / available spaces are at the side or rear of the buildings. We make a 1250 mile trip twice a year and do 1 or 2 overnights each way. We have found several hotels that work out Ok, with available well lit parking. We also take other preventative measures, which I'd rather not post on a public form with my name listed, LOL.

 

[5280tunage]

Theft prevention? Locked garage outta site.... yeah, unlikely on many trips.

At one of the Denver Airport hotels last year a group of motorcyclists from PA had parked their truck and unmarked trailer (still attached to truck with all the locks possible) for the night. Whole rig was stolen and found about 24-36 hours after the theft about 6 blocks away. The thieves had stolen a wrecker and then lifted the front of the truck and dragged their whole rig away. Trailer had been opened and all their bikes were gone. AirTags helped them recover a couple of them.

So maybe try to find hotels/motels that aren't right along obviously busy freeways etc that clearly are full of people traveling with gear of some sort. In the motorcycle community, we all bring our bikes into the motel room if possible and lots of motels will allow motorcycle parking right at their front doors. Denver Airport and area hotels are notorious thefts targets as it had the hight theft rate of anywhere in the US recently. Also a haven for dudes rolling under your cars and higher profile vehicles to sawmill your catalytic cover off in about 10 secs.

Thieves, really suck to steal another person's honest hard earned belongings. Maybe Airtags will help, plus if you advertise there are multiple AirTags in your vehicles?

DIA is terrible, higher theft rates than downtown Denver.

 

[5280tunage]

Well, whenever I have to park in places that aren't that secure, I have found that the Club, my .44 Mags, and my prominently displayed dbl barrel 12 GA shotgun generally gets more attention than the truck itself, hahahaha

It is a steel bar device that clamps & locks onto the steering wheel & has ends that stick out so far beyond the steering well that it makes driving essentially impossible. Unless of course, your thieves happen to bring along a heavy duty cutting torch or a laser drill, hahaha

and or remember there are a ton of folks these days that would burn the truck down to get the guns. May inevitably attract attention, just my .02.

 

[aksarben]

Unfortunately, it is hard enough to find a Hotel that has sufficient space to park the truck and trailer - which in my case is 42' - let alone the well lit / highly trafficked area near the front of the hotel. High traffic areas close to the building entrance fill up first and no hotel is going to let you take up 5 spaces anywhere near the front of the hotel.

The larger / available spaces are at the side or rear of the buildings. We make a 1250 mile trip twice a year and do 1 or 2 overnights each way. We have found several hotels that work out Ok, with available well lit parking. We also take other preventative measures, which I'd rather not post on a public form with my name listed, LOL.

Looking at your pictures, the best theft protection for that rig would be another car parked in front of your EXPY. If you think of my example from DIA, they STOLE a Tow truck and then stole a truck still that still had the trailer attached. So, your vulnerable here with these picture to that happening. Dam thieves....

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I use the Club for a visible deterrent when I park in an area where I feel it's needed.

What areas are those?

Hill Valley, CA.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

and or remember there are a ton of folks these days that would burn the truck down to get the guns. May inevitably attract attention, just my .02.

Probably not while said guns are all loaded AND pointed straight at them

 

[GlennSullivan]

Yeah, I would not leave guns visible in the vehicle if I were not in it. Brick through the glass and away they go.