Lockbox ideas?

[Randy99CL]

Stuck this here because it will be a home-built project. Seeking ideas and discussion from the Horde.

I'm shopping for a pickup for light off-roading, hunting and hauling. (Currently own a two-door sports coupe).

The crime rate here is terrible, maybe the worst in the nation. If these low-lifes see something worth $10 in your truck they'll break your window to steal it.

I'm designing and planning to build a security box for my guns.

1. Welded steel plate, bolted down. Hidden locks.
2. Holding at least 4 long guns with pistols, ammo and accessories.

Two possible positions: bolted to floor in extended cab. Covered with mats or carpet to camouflage box from windows. Preferred position, out of the elements. Design depends on height of driveshaft hump in floor.
Alarm system wired to vehicle doors a plus.

Second option would be box bolted to floor in bed, right behind cab. Waterproofed, welded heavy gauge steel (or aluminum). Tonneau cover over bed so box not normally visible. Hidden locks; designed to be hard or impossible to open with hammer and pry bar.

I will add a second alarm system to truck, something I have done before. Hidden motorcycle battery for alarm system and powering electric solenoid locks inside gun box. Box will have no visible external hasps or locks or way of prying it open.

Ideas, comments?

[mdewitt71]

I would just spend the money and have one installed that is already made by reputable companies... but, that is me.
Truck Vault
GunSafe
Guardian Safe and Vault
Bedsafe

That is just a few that I have seen and dealt with in the past, lots out there and most have warranties.

[Randy99CL]

I would just spend the money and have one installed that is already made by reputable companies... but, that is me.
Truck Vault
GunSafe
Guardian Safe and Vault
Bedsafe

That is just a few that I have seen and dealt with in the past, lots out there and most have warranties.

Hey, Thanks! I actually didn't think of checking to see what's already available.
I had considered looking into those over-bed tool boxes to see if they could be modified but I've heard that most of those are not hard to break into.

[NugginFutz]

Randy,

Your financial situation not withstanding , I’m in agreement with mdewitt on this. I personally know some people who have had their vehicles either broken into or stolen. Two ended up losing firearms to the criminal population. With that in mind, if I had to leave a firearm in an unattended vehicle, I’d want the best, most secure protection I could afford.

It sounds to me like you’re looking at two separate investments. One, for a credible automotive alarm and two, for a substantial locking truck vault. The alarm is easy, due to the abundance of viable choices out there.

The vault / lock box / storage bed container needs to be something you can covertly retrieve your weapon(s) from. No sense in advertising weapons to any casual observers. By my way of thinking, this eliminates anything involving the truck bed.

Since my vehicle has tinted windows, I can be reasonably discrete when I access my weapon, should I have to temporarily leave it behind. (And, yes, I know there is a contingent of people out there who insist on avoiding any businesses where you were not permitted to bring your weapon, thus eliminating the need for locking up your weapon. I don’t have that luxury.)

Randy, I don’t know your background, but you probably already know that fabricating your own security box can get quite expensive, especially if it is going to be used to store multiple items of various dimensions. I think you’re going to have to weigh the cost differences between bolting down a store-bought solution versus creating and customizing one of your own.

[VASCAR2]

Most times these crimes are where the perp sees things to give him reason to believe something valuable warrants breaking in. I never put any stickers or decals on my vehicles, particularly indicating I was in LE or hunting Firearms related. Tool boxes on the bed is a invitation as tools are valuable and anything locked indicates there is something to steal.

Keeping anything of value out of sight helps but if you have a very nice vehicle the perp might be interested in stealing the vehicle as much as the contents. Unless you have a phone alert system with your vehicle alarm the thief will have time to steal any contents that aren’t in a vault. People in my area are so accustomed to hearing car alarms they rarely call the police. If your in a high crime area you might consider a security camera that has a view of your vehicle (especially if parked outdoors).

Another option to consider if you have a extended cab truck with tinted windows is an overhead mount like big sky. These mounts are located where perps aren’t accustomed to finding valuables. The weapons can be secured with covered pad locks where bolt cutters can’t be used. You can also use hidden electrical switch release as long as the wires aren’t visible.

A drug addict may not be to particular how valuable an item is to break into your vehicle. Radar detectors and GPS devices, loose change and a few hand tools is enough to tempt many thieves. You park a dirty vehicle next to a clean waxed new vehicle and most perps will look at the new washed and waxed vehicle first.

[Sticks]

^^^^^^^On track.

I've had 3 vehicle break ins. One was my work service truck. 2 guys Cleaned out the left side of my truck (GMC5500 with Crane service body) in 10 minuets....while I was in the shower. Clipped me for $15k. I know this because it was on my security video. Guess what? I filed a police report and that was the extent of LEO on the matter. Even when I found my MIG welder on Craigslist and notified the police, it was across town, they did not want to make the drive.

My pickup got hit and the cab looked like the FBI with a search warrant. Completely tossed and everything not screwed down was everywhere (still missed my emergency $20). All they got was my $100 radio and my mag light. At least they were nice enough to do an actual uninstall rather than rip the dash apart. Did not even bother with an insurance claim, just another police report.

Bottom line is if you are in a high crime area, and vehicle break ins are common, it's gonna happen to you. You can only make things so secure. At some point they will just steal the vehicle and open the lock box at their leisure elsewhere.

You have to weigh the value of the item against the repair damage cause by someone trying to get it.

In the industry I am currently in, management has had me do some interesting things to the doors of bumper pull, semi trailers, and conex storage containers to keep them from getting in. The criminals just up their game and either cut a door in the side, or use heavy equipment nearby to rip the doors off.

Bottom line is, if this is going to be your daily driver, don't keep high dollar items in it.

When you go a huntin' it's unlikely you will be looking for deer or antelope in the hood so you should not have to worry about it being broke into while you are scouting or sleeping (if at a hotel, bring the crap inside).

If you keep the coupe, use that as your daily driver if you want to keep the truck nice. Leave it parked at home, and I dare say the doors unlocked (fewer broken windows and gouges in the paint from prybars) and the engine disabled (I can give you about 30 different ways to do that). Word will get out that the nice truck on the block is empty don't bother. Your home is what needs to be secured.

If you must....if the truck is a 4 door/crew cab, the back seat may not be designed to fold forward, just the bottom folds up. With mine, I unbolted the seats, and trimmed off the hooks in the back to make the seat back come unhooked at about 85% of the bottom seat being folded up, and it requires a bit of pull - it does not just fall forward. Hard to explain, but when the bottom folds up, the seat back rises up, then back down again as the bottom reaches the max fold point. Any how, that made the room behind the seat available for thin type things. One could easily put an old style pickup back window gun rack there and store 2 rifles.

As far as car alarms, put the siren inside the cab where it's hard to get to. Especially the smaller piezeo (?) ones that will make your ears bleed. If they are going to break in, and know nobody pays attention to the car alarms, at least make it unpleasant while they are rifling the interior.

[A5BLASTER]

I say pack up and move would be the best idea.

[Lastrites]

For ext cabs that have seats that flip up the valuts that mdewitt listed are made to fit and it would take more that few minutes for a theif to gain access. I attempted to mod my Ram 1500 back seat to fiip forward as Sticks mentioned, but after I got back in there there really wasn't enough room for a rifle as it was pretty darn tight, a bit of wasted effort but was worth the try.

[Sticks]

I say pack up and move would be the best idea.

DING DING DING!!!!



WINNNER!

For ext cabs that have seats that flip up the valuts that mdewitt listed are made to fit and it would take more that few minutes for a theif to gain access. I attempted to mod my Ram 1500 back seat to fiip forward as Sticks mentioned, but after I got back in there there really wasn't enough room for a rifle as it was pretty darn tight, a bit of wasted effort but was worth the try.

Huh. Mine is a Ram 3500 Crew Cab - 2014. Tight but doable. I checked out of curiosity.

[Sixoeight]

I would be too paranoid in an area like you suggested even if I was towing fort Knox behind my truck. Obviously you should do whatever you feel comfortable with but personally I would want to keep my long guns home and a pistol on my waist where I can keep track of it.

Having worked as a metal fabricator it is true that no safe is unbreakable, some are just better than others for those who break in unprepared.

[Randy99CL]

Thanks for the responses!

No I'm not going to move, doh! I spent much of my savings moving out here from NE Ohio. This is an amazing place to live in most ways and I love it here. I researched as much as I could but the crime statistics are worse than I realized.
Crime is the only negative there is here. The weather is the best in the US (no flooding at 5200 ft) the food is incredible, the culture fascinating. No winter, you can ride bikes and shoot yer guns year-round. The scenery is beautiful everywhere. Cost of living is low. No I'm not moving.

My first car was stolen less than a year after I bought it and I learned the lesson. I know lots of things you can do from a hidden switch that disables the ignition to a one-way valve in a brake line that locks the wheels. I'm not worried about the truck being stolen.
And I will add an alarm with those ear-bleed loud sirens in the cab.

I'm not keeping anything valuable in the truck overnight. The lockbox is only for traveling with my guns; to the local range or the trip into Texas to hunt hogs or to the Whittington Center or Arizona or Utah or wherever.
Thieves are opportunistic and fast and you can get hit in the parking lot of a restaurant in broad daylight.

I looked at some of the links and saw prices close to $2Gs for some of those.
I'm a retired machinist who can weld and use a plasma cutter. I draw with CAD programs on my computer.
Sheet steel isn't expensive and I can design and make some boxes for a couple hundred bucks.

EDIT: I'm looking at 10+ year old trucks that look their age. Nothing special, not worth stealing. I want an extended cab, not a 4-door.

[Sixoeight]

Ah okay, I was imagining you were keeping them in there 24/7. In that case you could certainly make a heavy duty box in the cab to help reduce the risk. Even just having them hidden under the seat would be a huge benefit as they wouldn't see the valuable score through the window. If you search online you will find examples of this option done by others. I don't remember where but I have seen diy solutions a couple of times online. Shouldnt be too difficult with your skill set.

Also consider a DIY magnet lock. The beauty of magnet locking is that the entire mechanism can be inside and anyone not familiar with your design will have no idea how or even if the box can be opened. You can't see any weak points or even where the hinge is if it's done right. Then you keep the magnet somewhere hidden under the dash or on your person (but keep it way from your phone!)

[Lastrites]

DING DING DING!!!!



WINNNER!




Huh. Mine is a Ram 3500 Crew Cab - 2014. Tight but doable. I checked out of curiosity.

Mine is the quad cab that has the short back doors, oh I could drop a hand gun in there with no problem but thats about it. Darn back seat is tight against the cab wall with some undulations that make a rifle pretty much a no go, disappointed to say the least I was hopeing for just a bit more space.