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1:22 am and I heard a very loud noise outside my window and knew immediately what was happening. I grabbed my phone, dialed the PD and went for the balcony. Sure enough, a couple of dirtbags parked next to my Isuzu NPR storage truck and one guy underneath it with a battery operated sawzall. I knew that they were going to be out of there in less than 30 seconds, so rather than wait for the PD to come minutes after the fact, I yelled "COPS ARE ON THEIR WAY!". The guy jumped up, said "sorry" to me and quickly drove off.
If your area hasn't been hit with this scourge of converter thefts, you're next.
The NPR trucks have 2 converters on them, and will fetch $500 or more on the black market. The cost to replace each one is over $1000, and the muffler guy I talked to said they were backordered 4 months. Luckily I caught this guy after only making one cut, so the muffler shop could easily weld the cut back together.
I had the muffler guy weld a stainless cable around the cats and through the frame, and also had weld a steel rod to the muffler pipe on each side of the cats. Now the bad guys will have to spend a lot more time cutting through the steel rod, cables and the pipe. The thieve's job went from a 30 second procedure to a few minutes, all very loud. I can't make it impossible, but I can slow them down.
If you're not aware, catalytic converters have palladium and platinum in them, which is what they're after. Prius vehicles are especially desirable, as they too have 2 cats and more of the precious metals in theirs. As I waited for the muffler guy to get to my truck, he was working on an E-250 Ford van that had it's cat cut out too. I talked to neighbors up and down the street, 5 other cars had their cats removed that night.
I know many of us have trucks parked outside our gates overnight, this is something you should be aware of. You might want to be proactive and get your cats secured or caged, much cheaper than replacement.
(save the comments about a gun, or an electrified truck, or some manner of slow and painful death. It's just a thing, I'm not going to jail for producing a weapon or booby-trapping the truck)
If your area hasn't been hit with this scourge of converter thefts, you're next.
The NPR trucks have 2 converters on them, and will fetch $500 or more on the black market. The cost to replace each one is over $1000, and the muffler guy I talked to said they were backordered 4 months. Luckily I caught this guy after only making one cut, so the muffler shop could easily weld the cut back together.
I had the muffler guy weld a stainless cable around the cats and through the frame, and also had weld a steel rod to the muffler pipe on each side of the cats. Now the bad guys will have to spend a lot more time cutting through the steel rod, cables and the pipe. The thieve's job went from a 30 second procedure to a few minutes, all very loud. I can't make it impossible, but I can slow them down.
If you're not aware, catalytic converters have palladium and platinum in them, which is what they're after. Prius vehicles are especially desirable, as they too have 2 cats and more of the precious metals in theirs. As I waited for the muffler guy to get to my truck, he was working on an E-250 Ford van that had it's cat cut out too. I talked to neighbors up and down the street, 5 other cars had their cats removed that night.
I know many of us have trucks parked outside our gates overnight, this is something you should be aware of. You might want to be proactive and get your cats secured or caged, much cheaper than replacement.
(save the comments about a gun, or an electrified truck, or some manner of slow and painful death. It's just a thing, I'm not going to jail for producing a weapon or booby-trapping the truck)
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