Someone tried to steal my '06 Ram.

[Nine Ball]

Yesterday, in broad daylight. 5:30pm

Location: Wal-Mart at FM 1960 near Lake Houston Pkwy (Atascosita, TX - Houston area)



My wife took the truck grocery shopping and was only inside for 15 min. Came out to find that someone had pried under the door handle with a screwdriver, and the ignition switch was messed up, like a flat-tip screwdriver was jammed into it and tried to turn it. They didn't steal my Passport radar, or the CD case, or the Oakleys that were sitting there. This is a nice area of town, didn't think this would happen here.



Well, I guess they didn't get it started, or someone spooked them. Just minor damage. The outer door lock no longer turns with the key, and the ign switch is messed up looking, but still works. Truck just has the factory honk-honk alarm on it. I plan on getting a Ravelco plug installed now. www.Ravelco.com



Anyone have an '06 get stolen yet?



Tony

 

[mwhals]

Was your alarm dealer installed or factory installed? Mine is dealer installed, so using the key won't disarm it and I assume lifting the rod from under the handle won't disarm it either.



With a factory installed alarm, the alarm is disabled when the key is used to unlock it, so maybe the same is true for the rod being lifted from under the handle.



I HATE thieves! #@$%!

 

[Nine Ball]

I called Ravelco, they will be installing the plug tomorrow. Basically, $300 installed, and they come to my job and do it on site. Takes about an hour to install it.



My alarm was factory installed.

 

[MFalkinham]

Time to buy some Jimmi Jammers. I just put them on my truck, and now I feel somewhat better about leaving it out of my sight.

http://www.jimmijammer.com/

mwhals, your logic sounds correct about the dealer installed EVS-II vs factory. Makes me kind of glad that using my key in the door won't stop the alarm.


Nine Ball, does your truck have the Sentry key system in the ignition? I'm wondering if they actually cranked the truck over but it wouldn't start thanks to the Sentry.

 

[DaveK98]

Nine ball,



I live in Kingwood so I know right were you are talking about.



I think the ravelco and jimijammers are a great idea.



I only use my truck to pull my 5th wheel so it lives in the garage most of the time. The one time I had to park in a "shady" area I pulled out the 3 relays so it couldnt' be started.



If you put the jimijammers on send me a PM. I'd love to help/watch so I'd have experence putting them on and then put some on my truck...

 

[Todd T]

Glad to hear they didnt get your baby or worse yet your wife surprise them in the act and get hurt.



Alarms to me, are not effective. I think the general population has become hardened to hearing them go off in parking lots etc. I dont give them a second look when I hear one honking in a parking lot, just point and make fun usually LOL



I have some sort of plug in my truck to disable the ignition but i've never used it. I have a hard enough time remembering to remove the keys when i get out. (farm-boy)

 

[Nine Ball]

Nine Ball, does your truck have the Sentry key system in the ignition? I'm wondering if they actually cranked the truck over but it wouldn't start thanks to the Sentry.

I'm not sure. My '06 has a black key with the lock/unlock/panic buttons built into it. Would that be a Sentry key?

 

[Nine Ball]

If you put the jimijammers on send me a PM. I'd love to help/watch so I'd have experence putting them on and then put some on my truck...

I just ordered a pair from TruckSecurity.com, $39. 95 plus $8 shipping. I'll let you know when they show up.



They probably won't keep a thief from messing up our paint though, but should make a screwdriver useless for anything other than busting the glass.

 

[MFalkinham]

I'm not sure. My '06 has a black key with the lock/unlock/panic buttons built into it. Would that be a Sentry key?

I'm not sure either. Prior to '06 a grey key was Sentry, and a black key was non-Sentry. You could tell by having a plain key cut at a locksmith for a couple of bucks and see if it starts your truck. If you do have Sentry, then hide this new non-Sentry underneath somewhere in case you get locked out.

The best part of buying the Jimmi Jammers is the window stickers that you get. Just having the JJ stickers might cause most crooks to move on to an easier target, assuming that they can read English.

 

[JohnCooper]

They probably won't keep a thief from messing up our paint though, but should make a screwdriver useless for anything other than busting the glass.

And they won't stop the thief from just prying at the top of the door frame, twisting the door to open gap big enough to stick a grabber down to pull up on the door lock push button. I wouldn't do this to get into my truck for fear of blowing up the window, but crooks don't give a crud about the window.

 

[MFalkinham]

And they won't stop the thief from just prying at the top of the door frame, twisting the door to open gap big enough to stick a grabber down to pull up on the door lock push button. I wouldn't do this to get into my truck for fear of blowing up the window, but crooks don't give a crud about the window.

True enough, but putting the wedge into the top of door and sticking the 3-foot rod inside will attract a lot more attention than using a screwdriver under the handle.

I once watched an Avis guy do this on a rental car where the keys were locked inside, and it took him almost 5-minutes before he managed to hit the power unlock button with the rod.

 

[Nine Ball]

funny story. Buddy of mine locked his keys inside his '03 GMC truck. We were able to unscrew his radio antenna and stick it in thru the top of the door frame and hit the unlock button. lol

 

[jelag]

Almost all wal-marts have camera's in the parking lot... . have you talked to their security people to see if they have a video you can get to turn over to the cops... .



They recycle, or tape over these usually in 48 hours or so..... so you'd have to hurry...



Please let us know what they told you... . I'm interested... .



And thanks for the input...

 

[Nine Ball]

Yes, Wal-Mart caught some footage on tape. Unfortunately, they could not allow us to view the video until the cop that wrote the report comes back to review it and turn it in as evidence. The cop said pretty much nothing ever happens in these situations, like it was a waste of time to pursue.



It's the lack of penalty that keeps these crooks in business. They aren't scared of video cameras if they know nothing ever happens with them.

 

[JVolpe]

Sorry to hear about the truck. There is no place in the Houston area that is safe anymore. They tried to get into my 2003 Ram QC, never made it inside. They did what looked like minor damage to the key lock on the door. Estimate to fix was about $650. Had to take off door, strip down, replace all key lock parts, issue new chipped keys, repaint the door and reassemble.



Take a look at the video if possible. See if you can see the suspects(b******ds), you never know, you might see them around the area again. Keep the CHL up to date and eyes open.

 

[COWBOYDUALLY]

Wheeeew

Man sure glad you got to keep your new truck... . just to think, I wasnt in your part of town (I dont think) but I went to Dyno my truck at Horespower Entrerprise and left it runnin in the parking lot with no one around, Dumb#$^ me... Just goes to show what times we live in... . Jeremy

 

[TWalley]

Nine Ball,



Sorry to hear about your truck. I'm glad it was minor damage only. I was in Nashville about a month ago. We came out of the hotel one morning to find the driver side windows all beat up. Someone tried to get in but two things stopped them: 1) the 2006's now have laminate glass in all the doors and 2) a hotel worker scared him off. I guess he didn't know the door handle trick (My J. J. 's go on soon!). I don't know if he was going to steal it or if he was looking for electronics. I bet you were the same way I was, happy to see my truck still there, but annoyed as hell to see it damaged! I am also adding an alarm system on Saturday. I guess if they really want it, they will find a way to get it, but I refuse to be an easy target! Hopefully. I have done enough to make them pass mine up.

 

[Silver600]

They probably won't keep a thief from messing up our paint though, but should make a screwdriver useless for anything other than busting the glass.

Sorry to hear about the truck. Back when I had my 88 Chevy it was common for those trucks to be broken into by prying the door handle too. I changed my door handles out to the type that were on the 3500HD and Kodiak which had a handle that stuck out (easier to open with gloves on) and it had a rim around the outside that overlapped the door, plus they were all metal instead of plastic. I was at the state fair and some theives decided to try to pry into it, the door handles stopped that so they busted the glass and stole my stereo all while the alarm was sounding.

 

[RailroadJim]

Houston is turning into a cess pool, a few years ago people wouldn't live in Galveston just 1 hour south, now it's the other way around, we got some crack heads down here but they're usually too emaciated to try anything that labor intensive. Make sure the wife carries mace on a key chain just in case they get real bold, it saved my mom years ago at a grocery store.

 

[Nine Ball]

The guys from Ravelco came to my work today and installed the system in the parking lot. Took them about 45 minutes, not bad. The cables under the dash are protected with a metal wire loom, so they can't be easily cut. This passes thru the firewall into the engine bay, where all splices are made. Disables the starter, fuel pump, and computer. If you remove the plug while the engine is running, it kills the truck immediately. It's like a super-kill switch



I have confidence that this will prevent theft of the truck, unless someone tows it away.