Let's talk Security

[twogone]

I was discussing an idea with a good friend (and Forum member) about putting a pepper gas system in so that if a door was opened, p-gas sprayed on all four sides of the van. He had a better idea, that I'm still lmao about... put a bunch of super-keen treble hooks on titanium wires (hard to cut) under the drivers seat, as this is a place a thief will check, and the thief will still be there when you get back.

We refined that to short wires attached to a pepper gas system, so that the thief would have to be very still for the duration.

[Ford_6L_E350]

Originally Posted by daveb

Fairly sure you can do bad damage to a diesel engine if you shut down the fuel while running. I could be wrong but would check into this before installing a fuel cutoff switch.

I don't think so Dave. The ECU always shuts off the fuel when you take your foot off the throttle and coast down from speed.

Mike

[Vegasrandall]

What's the perfect magnetic door sign for vans? Something that would make people stay away like Adult diaper service, poisonous reptile transport, hazardous medical waste, there has to be something that would work for stealth camping and parking.

[IheartDieselVans]

[/quote]
You can't cut in a switch to the wire going to the starter so it won't crank over? Sorry should have said key switch. Figured the starter works the same as a gas engine starter[/quote]


I worry that anyone hotwiring my van would be in there around the ignition, and would see my splice and easily reverse it. The stock engine kill switch (fuel cut-off) down by the passenger's feet is in such a random place, and add to that the randomness of where I placed my additional switch, and how I ran the wires, I think it would be a long time before even a Ford tech would figure it out.

Good points about depriving the engine of fuel...I suspect it's fine. If I could just remember when I've disabled the pump, it would be a non-issue.

Anyone else have any good anti-theft ideas?

[Viejo]

Originally Posted by daveb

Fairly sure you can do bad damage to a diesel engine if you shut down the fuel while running. I could be wrong but would check into this before installing a fuel cutoff switch.

No first hand knowledge but I'm pretty sure Dave is right. It's my understanding that fuel starvation in a modern diesel is a quick way to turn your fuel injectors into scrap iron.

[daveb]

I would just wonder about air entering the system if you crank and crank the engine. Maybe it doesn't do any harm if no fuel is being pulled through the injectors as the fuel pump pushes fuel. Far from understanding how these things work but I always thought the HPOP pushed fuel through the injectors. My point about interupting the starter is you won't be able to crank it over. if a simple module can be inserted into the fuse block, you wouldn't have to cut any wires and just carry the original module if the remote activated one fails in the field.

[tildadog]

I don't want to discourage everybody from deadbolts and other security devices but all ford vans have exterior pins on the outside of the rear doors. I once wanted to get into a locked van in a junkyard, just 4 minutes with a chisel and hammer and both rear doors just fell off the back. I offer no easy fix, just wanted to point out the design flaw in all of the security devices discussed. Unless you want to weld the rear door pins, all of the locks and window screens etc. are easily defeated.

Kyle

[bigdog]

I have the car pager alarm, motion sensor etc. But to address the smash and grab interior - valuables are are in a locked pelican cases. Those cases are cabled locked to hooks in various "hidden" spots in the van.

[prally]

I was trying to find more on securing the windows. Honestly I would love for the windows to be more break resistant in general, but this does appear to be a good start. It looks like most of the links I saw in this thread are dead, but I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/Security-Window-F ... urity+film

~$74 for a 30" x 15' roll which is enough to do about half of the glass in a window van.

I would much prefer to simply trade out the glass with something a bit more durable, but that option is extremely expensive I am sure! I like the exterior pepper spray nozzles as a deterrent. I think you could build a sweet system that give a small little shot of pepper spray when someone touches the van and then a warning "That was a warning shot, In 5 seconds I will saturate the area in pepper spray"

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by prally

I was trying to find more on securing the windows. Honestly I would love for the windows to be more break resistant in general, but this does appear to be a good start. It looks like most of the links I saw in this thread are dead, but I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/Security-Window-F ... urity+film

~$74 for a 30" x 15' roll which is enough to do about half of the glass in a window van.

I would much prefer to simply trade out the glass with something a bit more durable, but that option is extremely expensive I am sure! I like the exterior pepper spray nozzles as a deterrent. I think you could build a sweet system that give a small little shot of pepper spray when someone touches the van and then a warning "That was a warning shot, In 5 seconds I will saturate the area in pepper spray"

From the Amazon description: "Do not apply film to [...] motor vehicle windows."