Theft prevention

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jasin1

i agree with the advice on multiple lines of defense but the air tag or tile will let you monitor your trailer from a remote location also ..easily see if it’s still where you left it.
it’s not foolproof but helps…there are youtube videos that describe how to remove the tiny speaker in it to make it even more stealthy..just find a good hiding spot

Airtags are an extremely low-reliability theft-proofing solution. Here's why. They're better than nothing, but not by very much.

The problem is that the requirements for a theft tracking device happen to precisely match the requirements for a person-stalking device. This opens up a legal problem that most manufacturers won't touch with a ten-foot pole. When Apple discovered this through personal experience, they neutered the device to near-uselessness. Now it's only a "loss" prevention device, and a poor one at that, since to communicate at all it requires some person with an iPhone or other Apple device to be in range.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by LHaven

Airtags are an extremely low-reliability theft-proofing solution. Here's why. They're better than nothing, but not by very much.

The problem is that the requirements for a theft tracking device happen to precisely match the requirements for a person-stalking device. This opens up a legal problem that most manufacturers won't touch with a ten-foot pole. When Apple discovered this through personal experience, they neutered the device to near-uselessness. Now it's only a "loss" prevention device, and a poor one at that, since to communicate at all it requires some person with an iPhone or other Apple device to be in range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OLzntLQS3U

think your wrong on this one but everyone has a their opinion..

[jasin1]

another one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAlxfWjOFg

[jasin1]

i have them and use them and they work…so i have 1st hand experience…i’m not reading about how they don’t work on the internet…have you considered the thieves are putting that propaganda out there so you don’t bother using them lol

not trying to be confrontational but it’s like saying why bother using locks at all if someone can just cut thru them? it’s because many things together can only help

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jasin1

think your wrong on this one but everyone has a their opinion..

I've been an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician for the past 20 years, but I won't "argue from authority." Just read and understand the article at the link I provided.

The video is interesting, but proves only that even a blind pig can find an occasional acorn. This is why I said an Airtag is "better than nothing," but just barely. This woman lucked out, plain and simple.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by LHaven

I've been an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician for the past 20 years, but I won't "argue from authority." Just read and understand the article at the link I provided.

The video is interesting, but proves only that even a blind pig can find an occasional acorn. This is why I said an Airtag is "better than nothing," but just barely. This woman lucked out, plain and simple.

well no need to “ argue from authority” i’m not sure your apple certification to work on their computer systems gives you the expertise to be an authority on their air tags anymore then it would make you an authority on their iphones or apple watches..they are a big corporation with many divisions and i appreciate your opinion but are you suggesting i just throw mine away? worthless? or hope to be a blind pig?

they require an iphone to transmit location but they use EVERYONES iphone in the vicinity as a network as long as they have bluetooth on…won’t work in the middle of the desert but if i have a chance of recovering something i will take it..pretty cheap also 4 tags for $99 four items i can track and probably millions sold

you do what works for you and i will do my thing..i appreciate your opinion on the matter but i actually have them and they work

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jasin1

i’m not sure your apple certification to work on their computer systems gives you the expertise to be an authority on their air tags anymore then it would make you an authority on their iphones or apple watches..they are a big corporation with many divisions and i appreciate your opinion but are you suggesting i just throw mine away? worthless? or hope to be a blind pig?

If you'll be satisfied only by an argument from authority, here's one:

“Apple does not advertise these products as a way of tracking down stolen items. It is not the usage Apple has in mind — they don’t want to encourage people to do it,” said Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital-rights organization. “The problem is it’s impossible to build a tool that is designed to track down stolen items without also building the perfect tool for stalking.”

The whole article is available at WaPo (no paywall) and worth reading.

If you're content to depend on a product for an off-label purpose that the manufacturer doesn't acknowledge, that's fine. I do it every day. Just know what you're getting into.

[jasin1]

I have these in all my vehicles…my wife is out now and I can see where her car is at this moment…and she can see mine as well we have them in case someone steals them….yeah I have insurance but it’s the principle that would make we want to get it back even if it was damaged

So I don’t know how someone could say it doesn’t work because I’m looking right at it
Even shows where she is parked at the store

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by LHaven

If you'll be satisfied only by an argument from authority, here's one:



The whole article is available at WaPo (no paywall) and worth reading.

If you're content to depend on a product for an off-label purpose that the manufacturer doesn't acknowledge, that's fine. I do it every day. Just know what you're getting into.

Well the skeptic in me thinks that these newspapers and apple themselves probably don’t want to encourage people to go harassing the poor misunderstood criminals…but I respect your opinion and I hear you. ..will keep it in mind

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by jasin1

I have these in all my vehicles…my wife is out now and I can see where her car is at this moment…and she can see mine as well we have them in case someone steals them….yeah I have insurance but it’s the principle that would make we want to get it back even if it was damaged

So I don’t know how someone could say it doesn’t work because I’m looking right at it
Even shows where she is parked at the store

I have to “poke” a little in a friendly way. I would really hope that the AirTag on your wife’s car shows where she is considering, I assume, she has an iPhone, and the AirTag runs off nearby iPhone signals….

Just like Find my iPhone could find my kids, unless they were in a steel building, in which case half the time it would give a 5 miles radius they *might* be in. Or when it would just “malfunction” a little and show them one town over from where they really were because there is no cell signal where they were (basement, steel building, etc) so it best guessed based off an old location…

However, in areas where there is no cell phone signal (and yes, they do exist!), an AirTag is close to worthless. Or, another example, is our winter camper storage place. We park the camper there in September/ October and can first come back to get it out in April. In the meantime, we get temps that go down to the -30°F’s, and can stay in the -20°’s for a couple of weeks at a time. Batteries just don’t like to last in temps like that for 7 months. And again, we cannot get in there to change out a little button battery. In this case, an AirTag would be pretty worthless, even if it was free. I’d rather pay for our insurance that will cover our camper being broken into/ stolen.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by vampress_me

I have to “poke” a little in a friendly way. I would really hope that the AirTag on your wife’s car shows where she is considering, I assume, she has an iPhone, and the AirTag runs off nearby iPhone signals….

Just like Find my iPhone could find my kids, unless they were in a steel building, in which case half the time it would give a 5 miles radius they *might* be in. Or when it would just “malfunction” a little and show them one town over from where they really were because there is no cell signal where they were (basement, steel building, etc) so it best guessed based off an old location…

However, in areas where there is no cell phone signal (and yes, they do exist!), an AirTag is close to worthless. Or, another example, is our winter camper storage place. We park the camper there in September/ October and can first come back to get it out in April. In the meantime, we get temps that go down to the -30°F’s, and can stay in the -20°’s for a couple of weeks at a time. Batteries just don’t like to last in temps like that for 7 months. And again, we cannot get in there to change out a little button battery. In this case, an AirTag would be pretty worthless, even if it was free. I’d rather pay for our insurance that will cover our camper being broken into/ stolen.

no offense taken Lynette
my wifes car was at a store where probably 10 other people had iphones that walked nearby..and probably 1000 more that would potentially walk by in a day or so….she has a very nice car that is very desirable and they are stolen quite often so i threw one in there..may or may not work if it’s stolen but it’s an extra layer of defense…where i live cars are stolen in the county then taken into the city and often times just parked somewhere….sometimes for weeks before the police find them…sometimes they end up at the impound lot..the police in our area don’t have the time or resources to care about every abandoned car…Reddit posts often ask people to be on the lookout for a particular car in the city

I believe in multiple lines of defense and safety..that’s just how i am..I have an old jeep that i use to run around my neighborhood that i pull the fuel pump relay when i’m not using it for awhile

i have a Garmin inreach for my daughter for her camping and hiking trips all over the country and Canada…i put it in my sons boat when he went on a very long trip to Cape May and offshore fishing with his knucklehead buddy’s to keep track of his boat ….I have heavy motorcycle chain locks for my ebikes along with airtags

And i have insurance but i can tell you that unless you have gap insurance on some of these trailers bought in the last two years you may be surprised at what the insurance company gives you on your marked up unit because we all know the insurance company has YOUR best interest in mind when you file a claim lol


I’m gonna use them because if i’m a thief and probably not super sophisticated maybe just a bunch of teenagers and i get an alert that says an airtag is in the vicinity i’m probably gonna bail out and leave the car and not take hours to search for it

Its all good….. i know everyone has there own way of doing things and that’s why the forum is interesting most of the time

[JRTJH]

Here's an interesting article on GPS trackers by Car & Driver:
https://www.caranddriver.com/car-acc...0Non%20Openers

And the Apple Air-Tag writeup: https://www.caranddriver.com/car-acc...4-a536400c8ec3

They list the Apple Air-Tag as the "best no-subscription option"...

A "good read" about the current offerings, many of which could/are easily adaptable for RV use.

[Max23]

I don't have any comment on what works and doesn't work to track your item. All I know is, I'd rather pay for decent insurance and just get my unit , car, truck,camper whatever, replaced as generally speaking, once a thief has taken your item you generally don't want it back because of the general way it has been abused in a very short period of time. Never know what your getting back. Obviously just my opinion and again, cut rate insurance is not gonna pay well, it's all personal preference. Yes I'd rather it not get stolen in the first place and that's where I'd place my highest level of concentration.

[Jim2366]

Looking at the price of truck's I have been concerned about theft on my truck. It would be hard to buy a new truck because the prices are crazy high and so are used ones. It was interesting reading all the comments I agree with making it harder to steal than the other ones on the lot, and having good insurance. Hopefully the manufacturers will come up with way to track the RV's and vehicles.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Here's an interesting article on GPS trackers by Car & Driver:
https://www.caranddriver.com/car-acc...0Non%20Openers

And the Apple Air-Tag writeup: https://www.caranddriver.com/car-acc...4-a536400c8ec3

They list the Apple Air-Tag as the "best no-subscription option"...

A "good read" about the current offerings, many of which could/are easily adaptable for RV use.

I didn’t realize there were so many options

I think a likely scenario that happens is thieves nowadays steal something and park it somewhere and see if any activity happens around it for 24-48 hours..gps trackers, onstar or uconnect sirrius etc ..if nobody comes looking for it they then move it again and use it like it’s theirs…this is when a gps tracker pays off

A rv is a large vehicle that sticks out like a sore thumb…i could see it being parked somewhere on a dead end road or in a dense neighborhood somewhere and the thief waiting for an all clear before proceeding….that is when you have the window to get it back …it’s more of the principal for me because i don’t want to see a thief get for free what i worked hard to afford….then i can deal with the insurance company.

And i purchase my fifth wheel in Oct of 2020…the same price for the same rv is much higher now,..and it shot up a year after i purchased mine…My truck is the same scenarios…i bought mine with employee pricing right before trucks shot up..my same truck is around 100k now …insurance wouldn’t make me whole again..it would cost me money to replace plus my insurance rates going up i’d imagine.

If you have ever had anything stolen before ( i have) you know the feeling of utter hopelessness that you deal with hoping you could have some clue to help you find your property…in some cases the stolen thing is within a mile or so of your location …i Had an old ford truck that i left parked overnight years ago that was stolen and it was found couple of miles away after a few days…

The police do not go out actively searching for your things like it’s a detective show on tv and the average thief is not like Thomas Crown

[Domino3665]

This would require a little effort but…

Have you thought about removing the wheels just on one side?
Get some auto floor jacks to support the one side.
Thieves are opportunistic and lazy.

[Mr Mojo]

I have this, so far so good. I even saw where they tested the hitch pin from this manufacturer and it was the only one that passed.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Domino3665

This would require a little effort but…

Have you thought about removing the wheels just on one side?
Get some auto floor jacks to support the one side.
Thieves are opportunistic and lazy.

Yeah, but what happens when those thieves steal your $150 jacks and leave the hubs sitting on two concrete blocks they "lifted" from behind the trailer next to yours ????? Lock the trailer or alternatively, an hour of work to remove the wheels and lock the floor jacks ???

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Mr Mojo

I have this, so far so good. I even saw where they tested the hitch pin from this manufacturer and it was the only one that passed.

A 18 volt Ridgid hand held angle grinder would "zip" through that circular strap over the coupler lever in about 10 seconds.

Locks are great for keeping honest people honest, but just think back to 1950 when cars didn't even need a key to start them. Just turn on the "key lever" and push the starter button.... Now days, theft of cars and trucks are "through the roof" even with all the sophisticated digital keys, security systems, onstar tracking and engine immobilizer "after market systems"...

As posted several times above, "About the best you can do is make yours a bit harder to steal and hope it's a "lazy thief" that's working your parking space on the night in question.....

If they want it, they'll get it, no matter what you do.

Example: There is an old Airstream about 2 miles from us, sitting on a concrete block foundation with no axles and no wheels/tires. Last summer, it "disappeared".... They found it "out in the woods with indications it had been used as a "meth lab"..... Locking the coupler on that trailer wouldn't have done much but slow them down as they used a forklift/front end loader to put it on a flatbed trailer and haul it away.....

[fchampneys]

Check out Fort Knox Locks https://ftknoxlocks.com/ for part of the solution. Also, not to be disagreeable, however, an Apple Airtag or similar tracking device is also an excellent way to keep you informed if your trailer (or anything else) has grown legs. The idea is to discourage would-be thieves from targeting your TT or 5th wheel and have them look elsewhere. Thieves are everywhere and there are plenty of them to go around. However, from a retired LEO’s perspective, most of these deranged souls will choose the path of least resistance.