Well, I walk out of the hotel last night at 7:00 pm to get into my truck for my wife and I to head to the company Christmas party. I find my drivers door not closed all the way. I get a sick feeling and I look around. No one is around but us, and I think to myself that maybe somehow I coudl have left the door open. I then open the door and find that my glove box is open. The sick feeling sets in as I realize that I have been hit. I have been around this many times as an ex law enforcement officer, but it hurts when its you. Thankfully, the Christmas gifts that my wife purchased earlier in the day were hidden behind the rear seat. The stupid crooks didn't find them. They did steal my digital camera and a few DVD's.

They got into the truck by making a small hole with something similar to a flat blade screwdrive just below the door handle. If they woudl have locked the truck back, it would nearly impossible to even tell that it was broken into. I had a friend who had his Dodge broken into the same way a couple of months ago. They took his briefcase and locked the truck back. It was a week before he realized that his truck was broken into.

It seems that the new Dodges are very easy to break into. You can do it without causing much damage or attention at all. Beware where you park and what you leave in your truck. This is the time of year that thieves are on the prowl looking for Christmas gifts. Its sad but true.

It pisses me off so bad that I have a brand new truck with less than 6k miles that I now have to get body work done to. Although its very small....body work just the same. Its tough to have anything nice in this world.

 

Sorry to hear about your loss...

I've had thoughts about installing one of these: http://www.jimmijammer.com/Product,%20JJ.htm

And these: http://www.jimmijammer.com/Product,%20GK.htm

I've seen the jimmi jammer listed for $40 for front door and $30 for rear doors.

The gate keeper lists for $23.

Keep in mind these are deterrents...If they REALLY want your truck, they'll get it! However, deterrents work wonders against the opportunistic thief!

Tony

 

thats why the first thing i bought was a high quality alarm and my blue nose pibull always riding shotgun i pitty the fool who opens my truck hell have a 78 pound jaw locked on to his arm

 

Guy at work had to same thing down to his drivers door hadn't fixed it yet and a few days later some other thief did it to the passenger door

 

sorry to hear about that. my buddys 03 3500 was stolen from a fanct restaurant in the woodlands so it could have been worse

brett

 

I had my truck for one month and about 1000 miles when some jerk tried to steal my truck. Broke in the drivers door exactly the same way as MX29. I work near IAH in Houston. I now park the truck where I can see it from my office, and I have a CHL. I dare the punks to come back. Luckily, the immobilizer in the 06 trucks would not allow the engine to start. The idiot destroyed the ignition and surrounding plastic covers.

 

Shouldn't the factory alarm have sounded? I thought once it is activated and someone opens the door without the key or disarming it, the horn will sound?

 

that was gonna be my question also.. Or is the alarm as useless as other dodge devices?

 

Well, I knew the Fords were easy to get into but I didn't realize that our 3rd gens were just as easy it seems....eek....maybe the presence of a manual tranny will scare them off.....

 

I just finished removing my door panel and straightening out what was damaged. You can now not even tell unless you know it is there. That is how small of an opening needs to be made beneath the door handle to get into these trucks. What I learned from taking this off and looking at it is that your door lucks do adsoulutely nothing to someone with a tool and the know how to get into your truck.

 

So, let me see if I understand this. You can pull the door handle assembly away from the door pannel of the truck and open the door? Just now thought of it, but my brother in lay pointed out to me that the assy was pulled away from my truck a little. Could someone have tried to break in my truck? I'm going to look, but there did not seem to be anything missing or disturbed. This worries me. Time for an alarm...

 

I thought I had bought a truck with alarm standard, wrong. I don't understand with the stupid reverse backup alarm, it should be easy to program it to sound when door is open without keyfob being used. I have been looking for an aftermarket alarm. Can any one recommend one.

 

Sorry to hear about the break-in MX429. Jimmi-Jammers are a must have item if you want to protect your truck. They are very easy to install using only a few hand tools. But even more important than the JJ's themselves are the window stickers that come with them. Theives always prefer easy targets, and they hate making noise by breaking glass.

My two best mods so far have been the JJ's and my EVS-II dealer installed Sentry system. I stay in many hotels while on business and sleep better knowing my truck is as protected as I can make it. One other thing that I do is having a tote bag for my vehicle accessories when I park it overnight. This includes the faceplate from my aftermarket radio, my GPS, MP3 player, etc. Having a bag to put everything in helps me remember to take them along so they won't become theif-bait.

 

I thought about the Jimmy jammers. I still may order them. I do have a concern with them.

I wonder how far the thief/thieves that broke into my truck would have gone to get in. As it is, I have very little damage to the door and I lost some belongings. With the Jimmy jammers, they may have mangled my door trying to get in, and then just broke the window. All of this would have caused more damage than I have now.

The bottom line is that door locks, just like locks on the door of your house, keep your friends and relatives out of your stuff. Thieves will get in if they want to. The best bet is to limit your exposure and not leave valuables laying around. I learned the hard way. Having this in mind, I parked under a light and in what I thought was a safe location. Even that wasn't enough.

The sad thing is that it is hard to have anything nice. There is always some $hithead that is out there to looking to gain from it.

 

Try the Geno's Vault Safe. It is basically a safe that is a direct bolt-in between the two front seats. It is not huge but can keep valuables safe. There is NO WAY that they can break into that without using a torch or stealing the whole truck. The safe incorporates real metal plating and safe keys that cannot be picked.

http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....NSOLE_VAULT_06

Generation trucks, the Console Vault offers the best in center console property protection available. Made of sturdy 12-gauge cold rolled plate steel, it is designed with features that include rear locking pins (just like the ones used on bank vault doors) and a three point lock system that cannot be compromised, even by drilling. Installation is fast and easy. It bolts into your existing bottom console with the factory bolts. Additional features include a balanced spring assisted lid, a high-security cylinder lock with two keys, and an industrial grade powder-coat finish. The interior provides a large storage area as well as storage shelf for smaller items.