Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: WillLloyd on July 17, 2022, 04:38:38 am
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There have been posts here and elsewhere about Cat theft. Our local Ford shop had six RV’s in for Cat replacement, apparently they are on backorder from Ford from all the thefts. The State Police told them of stories of people leaving their RV in a Walmart parking lot and having the Cat taken while they were inside shopping.
We are getting ready to leave for a long trip and didn’t want to chance the trip being ruined over a theft so I contacted a friend who does custom metal fabrication. The first thing he told me was that 22 trucks were hit in his industrial park area, then we started to look at a solution for our E450.
We came up with a custom ventilated “skid plate” that will make it very time consuming for anyone to get at ours. Given enough time they can get through it, but the idea is they will move onto easier/faster targets. The pictures were taken with the front end as high off the ground as it will go with the jacks, that is the only way you can get the skid installed/out of the way. All exposed bolts have Red Locktite on them. When sitting on the tires there is hardly any room to work at it with a saw or grinder.
If interested I can share his name/number. He is in northern Virgina.
See before and after pics.
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Just curious, what did he attach the cover to? Looks like an interesting idea, just can't figure out the attachment method.
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We drilled one new hole. Otherwise we used all existing holes in the frame rail and the pillow block mounting bracket.t
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Very impressive! For an additional layer of deterrent, I have heard some recommend painting the catalytic converter a bright color with very high temperature paint. The thought is that the paint would make the catalytic converter stand out and harder for a thief to resale.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CPIMV2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=Tyche-6022-20&th=1
The only deterrent I have done so far is store my RV in a garage with a security system. But with reports that they are stealing off RVs in Walmart parking lots, I will need to do more.
Thanks for the post,
JJ
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The people that will buy them don’t care what color they are… lol. I know in Virginia, the laws are changing due to all the thefts. Not sure about other states.
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The people that will buy them don’t care what color they are… lol. I know in Virginia, the laws are changing due to all the thefts. Not sure about other states.
You are probably right, but a lot of people are giving it try.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wGrB4_i0_4
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That’s one of the best ideas of seen. I’m assuming the steel is thick enough that they can’t slice right through it? They slice right they the cat strap cable set ups with ease. I’m guessing the only down side is if it’s thick enough to slow down a cutting wheel I’m guessing it’s a pricey upgrade?
Even then it might be well worth the expense.
I hadn’t heard of people being hit in Walmart parking lots in daylight. I have to question the theft when someone went in to Walmart shopping. They were either gone a long time or it’s BS. Those things get so darn hot I can’t imagine anyone cutting it out when it’s hot.
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Will,
That is the best deterrent I seen for the E350/E450. If your friend decides to take orders, please put me on his list quickly.
Oh, I see you are offering to share his name and phone number. Please PM it to me.
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He does very nice work. Everything he fabricates looks like a factory piece. I suspect the cost would be under $500 but that’s something you have to work out with him (ours was the first and I paid him handsomely since he stayed with me until 2 o’clock in the morning several times to get it installed before our trip). Even if it’s more you have to balance that against the hassles of having one taken and any trip interruptions. The original plan was to use 3/16“ steel. He built a mock up using 16 gauge, after that we settled on 1/8”. They can still cut through it, but I’ll bet it will take better than 20 minutes to get the thing out of the way. As noted above we used all factory holes except one. I would be curious if factory hole locations are the same from year to year and even chassis to chassis. That something you might want to talk to him about if you’re not going to actually go to his shop. His name is Eric Shearer. His phone is (703) 568-9546.
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I wouldn’t consider $500 out of line. Of course then there’s shipping you need to add on. You right though I wonder about mounting holes, if anything’s changed.
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Thanks for the fellow's name and number. I will call him.
My PC is built on a 2007 Ford E350 chassis. I should be able to deal with any such differences with mounting hole locations. If there are differences, and Eric wants to sell these abroad, that would be useful information for marketing purposes.
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Thanks for the fellow's name and number. I will call him.
My PC is built on a 2007 Ford E350 chassis. I should be able to deal with any such differences with mounting hole locations. If there are differences, and Eric wants to sell these abroad, that would be useful information for marketing purposes.
Also interested in the E350 frame fitment. Please post an update if you decide to do it.
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Just following up here.
I am in contact with Eric Shearer of Freaky Tree Fabrication in Virginia. He says they are located near Washington D.C. so if in the area with our PC, it would be worth swinging by for fitment.
BUT for now.........
Our PC is built on a 2007 E350 DRW 11,500 GVWR chassis with an unmodified (not stretched) 158" wheel base. This means the driveshaft is stock, a good thing. A consideration for those of you with a long stretched chassis will have tie points for your segmented drive shaft. Those tie points need to be considered for fitment.
I will be taking pictures of my catalytic converter area with a yard stick in-place for measurements, then pass those pics on to Eric.
His shop is thinking this could be a business opportunity, offering theft deterrent cat shields. He now knows from WillLloyd how it fits with a recent model year stretched E450, so my 2007 E350 will provide a good idea concerning fitment for older model years. Hopefully any potential differences will be easily accommodated through adding holes for bolt-up point variations.
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Ron , I’m hoping those bolt on points are difficult to get at. If not cutting the heads off those bolt heads will only add a minute to the theft. Maybe after install tack weld in a few places?
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If it helps, ours is a 2022 E450 with a standard/unstretched chassis.
Regarding the bolts, they are accessible from below. However, The way the skid plate fits into place you have to jack the RV up in order to get it out of the way even when it’s unbolted. The idea is to add so much time to their effort that they go someplace else.
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Will. Thanks that’s my concern. The cat strap and other deterrents they will spend the extra time to get it. When there in an enclosed yard they don’t care if takes an extra 5 minutes. It’s still easy money to them.
This one looks like a better option. My biggest concern might be cost. Shipping can add an extra 100-130 easy.
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Yea...
https://www.foxnews.com/us/houston-police-busts-catalytic-converter-theft-ring-million-stolen-goods-guns
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https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/state-farm-slammed-rising-theft-catalytic-converters
And the beat goes on....
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Order your skid plate today….
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Has there been any new info on this? Cost, availability etc?
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I'd be curious too. I know he spoke to several people. I suspect, given the fitment and potential differences between units, he wants to see the RV at his shop but don't really know.
Ours worked well over an 8500 trip earlier this year.
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Will, I imagine that not every idea to mass produce etc works out financially on paper in the end.
It’s a Great design over anything else I’ve seen. If I lived near them it would be a done deal.
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I spoke to Eric yesterday. He received about a dozen calls from this and other forms. Only one local couple is having one installed. Most others have RV’s of a different year or different manufacturer. As we know even rigs of the same year could have things installed differently from rig to rig. It seems that since he cant offer a simple bolt-on part few are interested.
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I don’t think that it’s people aren’t interested. If a person has to go to his shop to get it done it eliminates much of the country. If there was a way for him to know if say a certain number of years had no changes to the 350 or 450 he could offer a generic fit. That I’d be interested in, driving 2500 miles to have one fitted isn’t an option. Unless of course I was driving thru on a trip etc.
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If there was a way for him to know if say a certain number of years had no changes to the 350 or 450 he could offer a generic fit. That I’d be interested in, driving 2500 miles to have one fitted isn’t an option. Unless of course I was driving thru on a trip etc.
Ditto!
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A rude awakening !
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2023/02/17/california-man-run-over-while-allegedly-trying-steal-catalytic-converter/
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So sad. Ha.
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That’s a great way to thin the Herd!
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That’s a great way to thin the Herd!
Maybe someone can adapt a vibration sensor switch to automatically retract the leveling jacks.
Set jacks to armed ✅
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Crime rates are skyrocketing to record levels. And Catalytic Converter Theft is just one facet of a widespread phenomenon not receiving coverage. State Farm Insurance releases press information that needs to be circulated as one example of how out of control the claims for catalytic converter thefts have become.
Acording to the Press Release the company's claims increased 1,171% in a two-year period. In 2019, the company paid $4.6 million for 2,535 catalytic converter theft claims across America. In 2021, it paid a whopping $62.6 million for 32,265 claims. In the first half of 2022 State Farm has received over 23,000 catalytic converter theft claims.
The data from the most recent 12-month period indicates that the ranking of the top 5 states in catalytic converter theft is currently led by California - with more than 2 out of 10 (24.5%) claims being filed in the Golden State- followed by Texas -with roughly 1 out of 10 (13.58%) of these claims- Illinois (3rd), Washington (4th) and Minnesota (5th).
Multiply those statistics by the number of companies specializing in auto insurance and the arithmetic product is probably unimaginable and should be receiving a lot more attention.
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Why would anyone expect it to receive any attention when laws are only enforced at random? I’m surprised police even bother. Prosecutors and judges do nadda. We even had a case where 2 illegals were caught with over 60,000 fentanyl pills and were let out without posting. Then somehow the courts were surprised when they didn’t show up for their court date. I don’t recognize this country from the life we had from say the 70’s thru 2010. We’ve lost all sense of reason. We hold people currently alive responsible for things that took place 160 years ago but don’t hold anyone responsible for crimes currently taking place. It’s as close to a definition of insanity as I can think of.
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This isn't a political forum, but I most strongly agree with Joseph and leave it at that.
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Don, I made no mention of politics, only of what’s transpiring across our country in countless states. As far as offending anyone. I hope the entire country gets offended soon and somehow we save our country. We have lost our way.
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If they want to stop this the EPA could make it a federal crime to unlawfully remove federally mandated emissions control equipment.
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We don’t need the EPA to get involved. That would only create bigger federal bureaucracy. We have plenty of laws on the books. Adding more will not do a thing. How about we start by enforcing the laws we have? What a novel idea!
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(exactly)
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Joseph,
I agree you said nothing that was specifically about politics. I wanted to, but didn't. And as I did say... I agree with you.
To the others,
It's already against the law to steal and its against the law to tamper with mandated pollution controls on vehicles.
Don
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Don, I apologize if it came off as I was snapping back at you , not my intent. I was just trying to keep it from sounding like I was coming from a political stance. I guess my thought is when protests are called mostly peaceful where women are raped, buildings are burnt, business destroyed and people are killed how can anyone not see were on a lost path. (Regardless of party choice)
Again, Don my sincere apologies. I re read my post after your reply and it does read like I’m snapping back at you. Not my intent.
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Joseph
👍
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Tracking back to the original thread..the Feb 2023 issue of FMCA magazine, Page 22, has a product description for a Catalytic Converter Antitheft Device for $54.99 from Fast Guard Alarms. Looks like it is sound-based as in 113 decibel alarm. Anybody have any experience with these? Might be a lower-cost option to the very secure hardware item first described above.
Hank
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I did install a Fast Guard Alarm underneath our 2910D. The only issue is remembering to activate the alarm via the remote. I attached the unit using the zip ties and not directly onto the exhaust pipe. I installed the unit off the chassis near the catalytic converter.
Dave
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Dave,
Thanks for the info. I will order one and have my grandson in law crawl under there to attach it..:). I wonder if anyone here has actually experienced a converter theft..?? I might ask on a couple other web sites also.
Hank
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Dave,
I assume you bought the one labeled High Clearance on their website. It is actually cheaper than quoted in FMCA magazine. Thanks.
Hank
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I didn't think an alarm was the best solution. It wouldn't take any time for a saws-all to quiet it and it could be a pain going off at wrong times.
I decided to go with the catstrap as it looks fairly easy to install. It looks like even if they get the converter cut off a portion of the catstrap would remain indicating it had been stolen.
The catclamp looks fairly easy to install as well but I saw some installations where cables were hanging down. That looked like it would catch on stuff.
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Just got through installing the CAT STRAP. Bought the RV kit which has the layers of spring steel rather than cables inside the sheath. It does not take the shape of the exhaust system willingly. But with the help of a bar clamp, think I got a reasonable installation. In hindsight, I probably should have waited to paint it till after the straps had bonded to the bare steel rather than the painted CAT, but at least it LOOKS like I don't want my CAT stolen. The heat shields are welded to the CAT so instead of cutting them off, I routed the straps outside the shields top and bottom. Not ideal but ... :-[
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2 or 4 hands installation? What’s the weight of the dual strap rv kit?
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CALCRUISER: I did it myself (so two hands) but wouldn't say it was easy (I hate working on the ground under vehicles). All told with getting the parts (Home Depot and 3 Auto parts stores because 31/2" muffler clamps are not stocked in high quantities), getting the RV in the air, installing the straps, painting and engraving, it l took the better part of a day. I started by securing the straps in the front and working my way back. Used bar clamps to get good contact where necessary , strapped or muffler clamped it down and then move back to the next section. It felt like spring steel layers inside the sheath so it did not bend and take a set. The hardest part was at the front of the CAT where the flange is only a few inches away so getting it clamped down between the flange and the CAT tight enough so I could get the nuts started on that muffler clamp, not fun. Couple of disappointments in the kit are the SS ties they provide which I didn't think held very well (unless I did them wrong) and the spacers they provide for between the muffler clamp and the pipes did not fit around the strap. I'm pretty sure they are made for the cable straps they sell for other applications. I did not use the spacers and added their straps only in between the hose clamps that were actually doing the work. Regarding weight of the kit, I'm not sure really but do remember when I first picked it up thinking "not as heavy as I thought it would be" . Guessing maybe 5 pounds for the whole thing?