Had my old van stolen a few weeks ago. They bypassed the alarm, rolled it downhill, and away they went with thousands of dollars of tools inside.
The officer who took the report basically said alarms are worthless.
I will certainly install fuel and/or starter kill switches. But I’m considering paying Ravelco to do that for a whoping $470. Supposedly the system kills both at once, is very hard to detect and therefore bypass, etc.
Aside from sparing me the hassle of installing myself, I wonder if the Ravelco system is worth it. There are plenty of chat room comments (elsewhere) about it. Do it yourself, waste of money, etc.
But I have not seen anyone say their vehicle was stolen with a Ravelco installed. So that is my question to this brilliant group:
Anyone have direct knowledge of a vehicle stolen with a Ravelco installed?
Answer to your final question, no. Yet I’ve never even heard of Ravelco in my thirty five years in the auto parts business.
Installing your own kill switch or switches in the oddest only-you-know places is your best defense. The odder the better. Most thieves know all the usual hiding places.
If they’re inside your van and can’t start it, they’ll still take your tools and even vandalize the truck in spite.
( I’ve mentioned before that vandalism cost me more when they found nothing to steal than if I had left all my CDs and tools in my car. )
I agree with Ken on this. A hidden manual kill switch, I’d suggest in the fuel pump line, is your best defense. I like the fuel pump line because the vehicle won’t start and by the time the potential thief realizes it they’ve already spent time trying, assume it’s just a hard-to-start vehicle, and might just abandon the effort and look for something that’ll start.
For your tools you may want to mount to the floor a lockable metal storage cabinet.
Oh, I’ve never heard of Ravelco either.
My best suggestion would mimic the old VW’s. They had a lever that was on off or reserve. If you turned it off, the engine would start and run long enough to get a few blocks away and stall. Most thieves would then bail and leave the car.
If they can’t start the van they simply steal the tools out of the back. I would not bother with an alarm. Maybe a better place to park if possible.