gjhinc

I never do too good with searching on CF. I'm sure this topic is somewhere. But... What do people (C1/C2/C3/C4 pre-alarm cars) do when traveling and parking overnight? Hotel parking security ranges from 0-sorta. I'm thinking a is better than nothing. Obviously this only works if parking is not remote or far underground. And, of course, like all security, the is no perfect 100% solution. I get it. Just looking for options. Thanks

Frankie the Fink

Get over it, member ptjsk had his 62 stolen in front of people eating dinner at a public place. Keep good insurance and ask the desk clerk if you can park on the far side of the lobby entrance, so as to have the car visible to hotel staff but not block guests registering. Its always a well-lighted, busy place in most cases with CCT coverage - I've never had one refuse.

All the electronic do-dads can be neutered by a $140 hand held jammer: Lojack, cell signals, GPS,

http://www.alljammer.com/handheld-gp...tch-p-463.html

Some try to park the car outside their room, but once asleep with the noisy A/C running and exhausted from hours of driving....an army could march past your room and you might not notice.

Signs ? A thief would get a chuckle out of it

gjhinc

I'm over it. I'll be doing some long range drives in the spring. Yea. "Advanced electronic" solutions are a waste of money.

Frankie the Fink

Hotel staff sorta like having some hubbub about a classic car out front, breaks up the boredom, gives staff and customers something to talk about, etc. I picked up a visiting friend in my 61 and stopped outside the lobby of a Sheraton near Disney to pick him up in my 61 (a forum member). The lobby dumped out and an ad hoc photo session took place for about 15 minutes.

So, give that a try on your next over-nighter at a motel.

Panama 58

I also have trouble coming up with aligned answers to my search on this site, so you are not alone. What I do is Google my question and almost without fail links to historical answers on CF show up in my search along with the other typical sources. Way easier to get the information I am looking for from the people I want it from.

gjhinc

Google does know how to index web pages. (They suck in many other ways.) I don't know what tech stack CF is built on. Very old school iFrames etc. But, I can't understand why they wouldn't update their search to something a tad more "modern". If a moderator is reading this... pretty easy to bolt on Elasticsearch on top of old RDB. Though I'm sure they know that.

capevettes

The best anti theft device for younger thieves is a manual transmission. If a real thief wants your car, they will get it, tow it or whatever it takes.
Any time I have done overnights in my older Vettes, I try to find old mom and pop single floor motels where you can park your car right in front of your room.

vettebuyer6369

The Search function on the site actually works quite well, even better than Google. If you use the ”Advanced” tab and learn how to manipulate the date ranges and other variables, you would be surprised how efficient it is despite its reputation.

gjhinc

I should have noted the advanced search. I give it a spin now and then. I get it. But, I also know how to write a sql select statement. I'm thinking full-text search with fuzzy matching for misspellings might be more useful. I'm lazy. But, I'll add, CF is a dispensable tool. Thanks

ptjsk

As Frankie said, I was hit by a frigging thief. In my case, the car was parked way up in a long driveway in a bed and breakfast inn. Plus it was turned and "tucked" into a small parking lot not any further than 12' away from people (several), eating dinner in the atrium. It was not really visible from the street and substantial foliage around the car. I suspect that we were followed at one point to see where the car was being stored.

Unfortunately, due to that experience, I now go over the top with security on the car. I have a cable, about 5/8" in thickness that is threaded through both front wheels with a massive lock retaining both ends of it. And...it's a pain in the **** to lay down and get under the front of the car to access the lock.

Additionally, I have another lock that is threaded through the rear wheel capturing the 4 bar link suspension. Plus....I have two additional kill switches, one that I think is pretty ingenious for the car.

All in all, as Frankie stated, if they want the car, they will more than likely get the car. But in my case, it's not going to be near as easy for them next time. A flatbed tow can ****** it pretty quickly, and I always keep that in mind when and where I place my car. Plus, we know these battery operated wheel cutters can make pretty quick work of cutting locks and cables.

I hardly ever....ever take the car on an over-nighter. In reality, it sucks because the previous theft has definitely planted a permanent level of caution and anxiety into my mind.

Pat

ptjsk

My wheels allow me to use the locks through the spokes.

Pat

bgprisms

If someone wants you car...they will get it some way....we had friends that while they were at work...a flatbed and 2 people loaded up their Vette from the garage and it was never to be seen again.
Parking at a hotel...I would tip the overnight clerk 20 bucks...park by the front door...and hope they watch it. Set your alarm....disable a wire...**** your locking steering wheel in to the curb....and wish for the best .....

Frankie the Fink

Yeah but the clerk you tip at afternoon check in is prob not the desk jockey on duty at 2 am

bgprisms

.......wait for the night shift to come on.....

93RubyRedCoupe

sleep in the car with a Glock 45 caliber and know the car is going nowhere. Short of that, all the other posts here are good advice. ARA

GTOguy

What Frank said, I'll add that I use a hidden kill switch to stop the joy riders. Insurance and a kill switch. Good insurance. You gotta go out and live sometime. If a car has spokes or holes in the wheel, you can use an old-time wheel lock like they used on Model T Fords. Works like a Denver boot. But a roll back with a winch can ****** anything in a minute, wheels locked or not.

gjhinc

Yea. I get the "defense in depth" approach. And, of course, no security is 100% safe. Check! But, here's my logic. I'm just staying overnight. Car's not gonna set in a parking space for hours/days. Just dusk to dawn. I know thieves move fast and a noise maker will just get a little attention for a few minutes. If I can't be in a room that's 100 ft from the car... wrong hotel. Good enough for me. That fails, call to American Collectors Insurance.

Yellow6t7

Had my car stolen. Parked it across the street from a movie theater, next to a bank, under street lights. Removed the coil wire and put in my pocket. Went into the movie house and came out and car was gone. All that was left were some tire marks from where they pulled it up onto a flatbed. Found car 5 days later stripped to the bone.

Factoid

Gary, you can get a camera and hot spot for your car that links via internet to your mobile. The camera will send an alert to your mobile in the event there is motion or any kind of contact with your car. Any camera video is sent to your mobile and stored there vs. the SD card on the camera. Personally, this better than trusting the night clerk who might be on the phone calling their friends about your car.

Frankie the Fink

Somebody missed my post about signal jammers.....all those remote gizmos can be neutered for cheap...
A few hours of parking doesn't protect you much either, somebody can follow you to a parking spot (read ptjsk's post) and Bubba staying at the hotel can call his second cousin, twice removed at the local "chop shop" and arrange larceny.

Seriously, you can drive yourself snake-**** over this stuff your insurance is the best backup plan and 1 0r 2 precautions like a kill switch for the opportunists, pros will be down the road with your baby before you can sneeze. And shooting somebody over a property crime will cost you a lot more than the car in legal fees in many states...although extremely satisfying.