Yella Fella STOLEN... - Page 5

pjpvi · 03-12-2010, 03:38 PM

I just talked to Jesse at Powerlock to find out what the fix was to make these work on our diesel vans and he really didn't have much to say. He did say that the gauge of wire may be very different depending on the starter size. I deduct from that that the Powerlock part may burn up if it is too light duty to handle the current of our starters.

He did say that they are completely out of stock and in the middle of starting a new production line. Should have more product by summer. He did say truckaddons.com probably is the only place with stock.

I'm just not sure I'm comfortable with it yet. Really do not want it to crap out on me in the middle of nowhere.

Phil

campervanbeethoven · 03-12-2010, 05:27 PM

A starter can go out just as easily as any other electrical component, when I know I'm going out in the middle of nowhere I have a spare starter, alternator and fuel pump.

bburrito · 03-16-2010, 08:30 PM

Sprint/ATT/Verizon/ALL have websites that any law enforcement officer can request access to that will give them:
a. a list of all of your phone calls
b. a list of all of your text msgs including the text of the message.
c. your current gps location
d. a gps track of where you have been.

And there is NO process in place to ensure that the officers have a search warrant before requesting the information. We know this because the director of this department at Sprint spilled the beans at a security conference.

Sorry to hear that Yella Fella got stolen. It hits close to home as I live in San Diego too.

NRL · 03-16-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campervanbeethoven

I have always thought a kill switch on the fuel pump would be hardest to overcome for a theif. I've also thought about having a delay of maybe 5 min. or 2 miles after you hit the switch, before it cuts out, (don't know if this is possible) so that a would be car jacker (say in Baja Norte), would get far enough away from a safety stand point, but still close enough by to possibly recover your rig. I know, I'm paranoid....

I just heard from my buddy that the Ford van's have a built in Fuel pump kill switch.
It kills the fuel pump appropriately in case of an accident (moving ball switch); if you tip over.

Needs to be confirmed and I'm not sure where it's located but that would be another spot for a kill switch.

yvrr · 03-17-2010, 09:01 AM

It is behind the kick panel on the passenger side under the dash. The owner's guide talks about it and they taught us about it at the SMB rallies. It is a good thing to find ahead of time and to remember...it is possible to have it be set off (as I recall) by really rough terrain. (Your vehicle doesn't have to be upside down.) It is like a circuit breaker and if the van starts but then shuts down like it is out of fuel, it could easily be this cut off switch. Just reach in behind the kick panel and reset it.

wanderer351 · 03-17-2010, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yvrr

It is behind the kick panel on the passenger side under the dash. The owner's guide talks about it and they taught us about it at the SMB rallies. It is a good thing to find ahead of time and to remember...it is possible to have it be set off (as I recall) by really rough terrain. (Your vehicle doesn't have to be upside down.) It is like a circuit breaker and if the van starts but then shuts down like it is out of fuel, it could easily be this cut off switch. Just reach in behind the kick panel and reset it.

correct!!

I've also seen them pop from a pothole...

this is an IDEAL place to tap in for the killswitch...

Angel · 03-17-2010, 05:20 PM

I went with an alarm with a one mile range pager. I also decided to do something different than Ravelco for less money but a thief will still not be able to start my van. Thanks every one for your information. I do not want to post everything I did because anyone can read this.

Rob at SMBW hooked up the alarm I ordered when I bought my SMB in 2008. He had it hooked up to the overhead lights instead of to the door (those buttons that get pushed in when the door is shut).
So, when I did not have the overhead lights turned on, which was most of the time, my alarm did not work. I sure had a false sense of security

Angel

Icebox · 03-22-2010, 10:43 PM

I too am sorry to hear of this. Another set of eyes will now be watching. There is not much more that can be added that has not already been discussed. Ex-AAA driver? Check. I did lockouts in a Southern California beach city and yes most vehicles are surprizingly easy and fast to get into. Remember that these vehicles are based on Fleet and Delivery and are not armed with high tech protected locks. They will get in. If they want it, and can't readilly start it, they will probably tow it anyway. Which brings up an interesting point, it would make sense to call all the local tow companys in the area to see if they by chance that one may have towed it. The company that I worked for had an answering service dispatch on the weekends and many transactions were handled by phone. Granted, most drivers will not always tow a vehicle without keys but do in the case of a private impound. Tow companys will report it to PD if it was a Private impound but if someone calls and says something like: I lost my keys and need this towed to this address xxxxxx here's a hundred bucks, keep the change. then it is not reported. Well you get the idea. It would be worth a shot. I know that a bright yellow 4wd van would stand out in my memory as a AAA driver.

Hidden in plain sight dual switches for both electric fuel pump and the IP are both valid considerations, but in the case of being followed, the thief may be able to observe where you are reaching to flip the switches so for me more thought is in order.

I sure hope that there is a happy ending to this crappy story. It sure has put alot of us on alert.

bluedog225 · 03-31-2010, 03:22 PM

I wonder if the police can track a cheap Tracphone.

Just buy a cheap model, wire a 12 volt charging plug somewhere (behind fridge, behind couch, behind sink). The thing would sit there with 30 minutes of air time on it (emergency phone, you would never have to use the airtime), and would charge whenever the van was run. If it went dead because you hadn't run the van for a while, it would charge when stolen.

If they can track the location, this may be the cheapest solution. Initial investment plus "add a year" to the time once a year.

Tom

JMyerz · 04-28-2010, 10:22 PM

Hey Everyone,

Not sure who I should contact here, but there can't be too many Yellow SMBs with those wheels and what looked like California plates around the west coast.

What I saw, a yellow SMB that looked like the posted picture on page 1.

Looked to be California plates

I was doing 70 on 1-5 North in Portland, OR and could not catch this SMB as it was going much faster than I.

This was at 3:30 in the afternoon today.

I believe the ODOT has traffic cameras on the "Terwilliger Cuves" portion of I5 so they may have this on file.

If this is / was a fellow board member than please disregard this post. I figure every little bit would help...

Thanks!

J