City kids do not leave keys in vehicles. . . It’s different out here...

[lman]

Lock your stuff every time. Especially at the Gas Station. Your Insurance Company will ask.........

I was a Police Officer for 30 years and I probably lock and secure keys more than the regular Joe. I remember one morning we got a call of a stolen vehicle from a gas station. The victim had left his engine running with the doors unlocked and a 17 year old kid had jumped in and took off. He was able to get the manual transmission in 1st gear but that was the highest gear he got. It wasn't hard to catch up with him, however he did manage to get up to about 50 mph in first gear. I doubt that it was good for the car, but hopefully the victim learned a thing or two.

 

[awbokkel]

few years ago the brother had a guy that decided he needed to borrow his tractor to get his stuck truck off the railroad tracks so walked into the yard took his tractor mean while train came by the conductor thought the train hit the truck so train stopped ... meanwhile this guy decides to try and go around the train and flips the tractor ..... so brother is on the volunteer fire department gets the page train hit truck and tractor flipped gets up goes out to try to drive down his lane radios the other guys he cant get out says he will try and go around the train .... drives for a little bit along the tracks says he found the tractor holyf@#@!#%%$ its mine ...... so insurance wouldnt cover it because of the key was in the tractor ive got a picture of the tractor upside down ill find it and post

 

[gdrew]

My key is in my HST tractor 24-7, same with lawnmower, truck, car and I never lock doors on the house and get frustrated if/when my wife does. My property is fenced and both driveways have gates. Lots in my area average 1 to 5 acres in size with a few larger chunks for farming and patches that haven't been developed yet. Costco is a 25 minute drive away and people live on top of each other in that community. I feel very fortunate living where I do and maybe one day I'll regret not locking up but for now I'm happier not having to remember where the hell I put the keys lol.

 

[Tbone07]

Some of you must not own property in the "country", if you think it's really any different in the "country".

We don't even lock the doors on our property anymore. They'll just get kicked in and we'll have to buy and/or fix another door. We've had chainsaws, shotguns, TVs, toasters, microwaves, etc all stolen out of our cabin. They were even cutting the cords off our appliances for the scrap copper.

None of the thieves have the truck/trailer to steal anything large like a tractor. They'll just pick off the little things.

 

[houska]

At our property, there's Out Front and Out Back. Out Front is 200 yards from the road. There's recreational cottages around, so I wouldn't be surprised someone swoops through at some point and grabs what they can. So we lock vehicles and equipment Out Front, and keep items of value in a locked shipping container.

Out Back is 2 miles down a forest road from there. Through a gate that's locked when we're away. We assume miscreants will see stuff locked Out Front, and not be keen to walk for miles to verify whether we also lock stuff there. We don't. If they decide to do reconnaissance, I expect they'll change their mind half-way, when they pass the previous owner's derelict RV, whose door is also locked -- but hanging off its hinges.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I hide my equipment keys, though not so well that I can't find them myself I'm at that age, or getting to it, anyway. I can buy my own Christmas presents and be surprised when my wife puts them under the tree.

 

[Bill the Elder]

We only lock our house at night while we're all sleeping. Only out of paranoia, no one's ever been on my property at night (to my knowledge).

Tractors and small stuff get the keys left in them. All road-going vehicles get left unlocked, but the keys do come inside. Easy to find and use if someone wanted to try.

I have friends who live in the city come over to hang out or play outside, and they step out of their cars and then lock them with a beep as they walk towards me or the house. I can't help but ask "what the heck is wrong with you" each time. They usually just shrug and leave them locked.

We lock our doors at night so I can have extra time to get my little friend out of the night stand. My only concern, since we live in a small straw bale house, is losing my hearing if I have to discharge a round in said little house. Ouch

 

[DJ54]

I live 25 miles from Columbus, OH. There's kids as young as 11 stealing cars. Yesterday, an 11 y.o, and 2, 13 y.o.'s were arrested for car theft. Police arrested them and took them to a "reception center" for mental health evaluation, and to get them some help. It's not a locked facility. They made the great escape, and were arrested a few hours later, for stealing another car. They broke a window out, and had tools to steal that car. Doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out adults are behind this teaching them the ropes, and know kids won't get jail time. Here's the story from a local TV station. Police arrest 3 juveniles in stolen vehicle for 2nd time in same day

 

[Tony H]

As more and more people are moving from big cities to rural areas it will become a problem. If someone wants to steal it your right keys fit multiple machines and you can buy groups of keys at auctions. Kids joy riding is a different story and if they get hurt you could be liable. The courts call leaving the keys in an attractive nuisance.

Amazing the owner is a fault because a non owner took your vehicle. "you left the keys in it so you tempted them" I hate this 'new math' where the criminal is not responsible for their actions.
I heard that recently a mail truck was stolen. The postman turned it off, hopped out to run a package up to the door..
He's in deep poop. I guess the thief is not to blame. Crazy world

 

[HAR]

Never saw a 5 in the tree, but the old Saabs had 4 in the tree, my mother had one in the early 70s. Wasn't really designed for people with large hands, the wiper switch was also a stalk on the RH side of the column and was easy to bump while shifting. Taught my sisters how to drive stick on it.
Car also had free wheeling, which is difficult to describe unless you've driven one with it.

While a bit off topic, my father sold, and our family drove SAAB's since 1959. I finally took my eleventh and last SAAB, all manual transmissions, off the road last year only due to rust. Originally 3 on the column, they added the SAX-O-Matic which allowed a clutchless shift. Later the 4 on the column and finally stick shift. SAAB's had the little 'quirky' but very convenient feature, that when the key was removed, the car was locked in reverse. Free wheeling was a feature all USA bound SAAB's had up until 1973-74. It was a great gas saving feature. Rolling down hill, let off the gas, the engine would go to idle, as the transmission was basically disconnected from the engine. Just give the throttle a touch, and it would reengage. Downside, no compression breaking. However, the little lever to the right of the gas pedal , you could push with your toe, would disengage the free wheeling and you would have engine compression again. If you do not think that you understand free wheeling, consider a bicycle. Without free wheeling, you could not coast a bicycle down hill without the pedals continuing to go around. They were great cars, and SAAB had a ton of automotive firsts that other manufacturers copied. Most of my SAAB's retired with 250K or more on original engines, transmissions, and clutches. All died due to Vermont road SALT. Only 3 were ever traded in on a new one.

As for keys and manual transmissions, I could not agree more.

Remember the manual on/off switch with a push button start? So simple!

KEY FOBs are for whimps and idiots. Many of the new vehicles/FOBS do not have an optional 'key' for manual door entry. The same for starting. If the FOB battery is dead, so is your car. Do not dismiss the 'low battery' warnings, and God forbid if the car battery is dead. Two years ago, my wife's car had to be towed to a dealer due to a dead defective battery where the doors would not open.

As for manual transmissions, they are harder and harder to find. Automatic transmissions always shift too soon or too late, never shifting up or down when I would if I had a manual. This past weekend, I was hauling 10,000 lb loads of Vermont Gold" (maple sap) using a 2017 diesel truck with auto-transmission. Going down steep hills I had to engage the trucks "manual shift feature" to get engine compression that I needed to help going down hills. It was lucky that it had that feature. So, if you need to have a 'manual feature' why not just have a manual transmission?