Member III
The unfortunate reality of life is that no matter where you go, on a long enough time line your unattended rig is likely to become the target of feral humans. Making it more difficult for them to pillage my vehicular accouterments is one of my ongoing concerns.I don't leave anything more exposed than is necessary, and I don't do it for any longer than is necessary.
Which brings me to where I am now. When I mounted my light bar(KC Pro6) I have to say I was somewhat shocked at the ease with which it could be removed. Basically, just loosen two 13mm nuts and the entire light bar lifts off. We're talking 10-15 seconds tops and in reality a pair of channel lock pliers or small crescent is all that is required and the biggest part of a $1200 light bar now "belongs" to someone else.
KC does sell a set of "light locks", which are simply a set of tamper resistant nuts to replace the oem13mm hex. This is better, but still offers very little resistance, and does nothing to address the critical flaw, which is the fact the mounting hardware sits in a saddle, a slotted tab. So if you can loosen those two nuts even a little, or judiciously apply a hammer, again the bar lifts out and is gone.
My solution is to drill a second hole and using a variety of stainless components secure the bar to the mount in a more tamper resistant fashion.
I used an 80HS 316SS roller chain connecting link, that I pressed the pins out of:
Then I used some 18-8 stainless 5/16-18 break away tamper resistant nuts, 17-4PH (precipitation hardened) bolts 3/4" long, some corrosion resistant flat washers, and proprietary tamper resistant M8 nuts (also stainless) to replace the 13mm hex nuts
And this is what that looks like installed:
I also replaced the oem fasteners that mount the bracket to the vehicle with 18-8 tamper resistant torx fasteners.
Can it still be got? With time and tools yes, but you won't just walk up to it and take it in seconds like it came.
If anyone is interested I can post links to the parts and give a more thorough installation break down.
Which brings me to where I am now. When I mounted my light bar(KC Pro6) I have to say I was somewhat shocked at the ease with which it could be removed. Basically, just loosen two 13mm nuts and the entire light bar lifts off. We're talking 10-15 seconds tops and in reality a pair of channel lock pliers or small crescent is all that is required and the biggest part of a $1200 light bar now "belongs" to someone else.
KC does sell a set of "light locks", which are simply a set of tamper resistant nuts to replace the oem13mm hex. This is better, but still offers very little resistance, and does nothing to address the critical flaw, which is the fact the mounting hardware sits in a saddle, a slotted tab. So if you can loosen those two nuts even a little, or judiciously apply a hammer, again the bar lifts out and is gone.
My solution is to drill a second hole and using a variety of stainless components secure the bar to the mount in a more tamper resistant fashion.
I used an 80HS 316SS roller chain connecting link, that I pressed the pins out of:
Then I used some 18-8 stainless 5/16-18 break away tamper resistant nuts, 17-4PH (precipitation hardened) bolts 3/4" long, some corrosion resistant flat washers, and proprietary tamper resistant M8 nuts (also stainless) to replace the 13mm hex nuts
And this is what that looks like installed:
I also replaced the oem fasteners that mount the bracket to the vehicle with 18-8 tamper resistant torx fasteners.
Can it still be got? With time and tools yes, but you won't just walk up to it and take it in seconds like it came.
If anyone is interested I can post links to the parts and give a more thorough installation break down.
