Friday morning I opened the garage door to find my truck gone. I was ready to go to work but that wasn't in the cards until I had called the sheriff's office and filed a report for a stolen truck, talk about a shitty way to start a Friday.

As luck would have it a guy I work with was driving by an apartment building early Friday afternoon and saw my mud covered truck in a parking spot at the apartment. Other than a dirty truck there was no damage, stole my prescription sunglasses that will be no good to them and stole my phone holder/charge but left me a nice Verizon charger for my phone and iPhone charger along with some nice Italian driving gloves that fit my wife nicely! Cops took for evidence finger prints and a sweatshirt and dew rag with Blonde hair on it that wasn't mine.

So here's the lessons learned. My wife and I have for 25 years now left our spare keys in each others vehicles. Comes in handy when you need to get something out of each others vehicle while your at work or need to switch vehicles without entering the other persons work. Sometimes I'll be outside working and can open my truck with the combo and grab her key to move her car out of the way if I need to do something in the driveway. Worked great for 25 years.

What I'm guess happened is delinquents were checking for open doors to vehicles to perform petty theft. The rear passenger door lock on my truck has been sticking and not always locking. My guess is when I locked it up Thursday night I forgot to check to see if that rear door was locked. Thieves were able to open the door and find my wife's key in my center console, opened up her door, found my key in her center console and decided to take my 4x4 truck with mud tires for a joyride on the Eglin Range and then they dumped it in the morning when it got light outside. We've had our keys reprogrammed by the dealer so if the thieves try and use them again to access our vehicles the alarms will sound and ignitions will be disabled. We will no longer be storing our spare keys in each other's vehicles, lesson learned. We live in a nice waterfront neighborhood, I've always locked my doors even though I assumed we had a pretty safe neighborhood, lesson learned!

Our house has no windows that face towards the driveway but it is well lit. I will be investing in a camera system and driveway alarms. I was lucky this time.

stolen from inside a locked garage? did you leave the garage door opener in another vehicle?

glad you got it back in one piece, and left no guns inside.

Truck was parked in the driveway. I always go out through the garage so when I opened the garage door Friday morning there was an empty parking space where my truck was parked the night before! I did have a garage door opener in my truck that they did not take thankfully. I had six long guns and a couple of pistols packed and sitting in the dining room ready to go to the hunting camp Friday afternoon but I know better than to leave firearms in a vehicle unless I have a way to secure them. That was one of the first questions the cop asked me when I gave him a description of my truck and told him there was a Gulf Coast Gun Forum sticker on the back window!

A doo rag with blond hair in it huh? Glad you got your truck back

Bright side I guess is you got your truck back with no damage just dirty.

I've never had anything like this happen and if anything it's a wake up call. If anyone has a any good input on Camera Security Systems please fill me in on the ins and outs of them. I've been researching online for wireless systems but seems most of the outdoor systems have to be wired. I'll have to wait until it cools down to go in the attic to wire them if I have to go the wired route. I thought be this day and age there would be good wireless cameras for outside your home.

Sorry to hear this, glad you got it back.

Viking1204 said:

I've never had anything like this happen and if anything it's a wake up call. If anyone has a any good input on Camera Security Systems please fill me in on the ins and outs of them. I've been researching online for wireless systems but seems most of the outdoor systems have to be wired. I'll have to wait until it cools down to go in the attic to wire them if I have to go the wired route. I thought be this day and age there would be good wireless cameras for outside your home.

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Don't do wireless .. if you want something reliable.. cameras have came along way but the wireless ones are garbage .. you still have to run a power wire

I agree with Gatorcountry823
I have both wireless and hardwired cameras and the hardwire is much better.

The wireless continually has reception problems caused by numerous things, roof over hang, lawnmowers running near by etc. The wireless photo sometimes rolls.

The hardwire is clear and even at night with a few lights around it works great even the colors come out brighter.

Besides most have to have power wired to them any way so you'll still have wires showing.

Thanks guys, I'm looking into the POE (Power Over Ethernet) systems out there since I work in IT and have a lot of experience working with Ethernet cabling!

wow neighbor, I am so glad you got it back so quickly! I am jammed up in the garage but I leave room for both of our trucks no matter what in fear of someone stealing ours.

I live in a stupid neighborhood Frank that doesn't allow you to have a shed in your yard which means I have to store my riding mower and all my other lawn equipment items in the garage so no room for the vehicles. This was something I missed in the covenants when I built my house there. Eventually I'll get it sold and move into FWB city center with a bigger yard I can have fenced in and a nice shed in the backyard.

Oh man that is a bad deal, I did not realize that. At least you got it back and not having to deal with a lost or destroyed truck

Yeah I can't believe how lucky I was to have a co-worker drive by the area it was ditched in and notice it! I just ordered a pretty nice security camera system, the details are my other thread. I live on a corner so one of my cameras will cover part of my driveway and the entrance to our neighborhood which is a dead end street, coming in and going out I'll have a good picture of any vehicles that turn into our neighborhood and drive by our street on Parish!

Great I will start driving by daily and waving!! Maybe even sit on the corner and have a beer on my tailgate! lol

Bad situation but you got lucky. Did you get the key sets back? Are ALL the keys there? A lot of people with with Classic cars, hot rods and soft tops add a hidden kill switch or fuel pump power switch.

LOL Frank, that's funny!

I feel fairly safe. My truck sits in my driveway every night. However it sits about 40yds from a ECSO deputies green and white Tahoe. I am aware that is no guarantee . . . . . BUT . . . . . a security light is on the pole across the street. I also have a motion sensor controlled light on my garage eve,and a game camera on the eve of my second garage.
We have had some unlocked vechs gone thru in the next neighborhood over,but we have been lucky so far. --- SAWMAN

No, unfortunately neither my wife or I got our key sets back but we did go immediately to the dealers and have the keys and vehicles reprogrammed. If the thieves decide to come back and use the keys to manually open the doors since that's all that will work with them the built in security system in both vehicles will go off and the ignition will be disabled.

I live 3 miles West of Hurlburt near Frank! Cops said including mine there have been 5 vehicles stolen in the area and more in Navarre. 4 of the 5 West of Hurlburt were recovered without damage, only one damaged was involve in a high speed chase and they caught the guy!

I was concerned with your house keys. Do you need to change house locks?