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  1. #1
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    Has anyone ever had their roof top box broken into?

    The Thievery thread made me think about posting this. Has anyone had a Thule or Yakima box successfully broken into? Where? How?

    I may be back into a more "urban" living environment, and I'm wondering if I should even put the Thule Box back on, and leave my stuff in it if I do. It's been my ski storage up here for 3 years. I think it would have to be massacred with a crowbar to be a successful heist.

    And I'm not talking about the Lower East Side or the Bronx. I'm not stupid.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    The Thievery thread made me think about posting this. Has anyone had a Thule or Yakima box successfully broken into? Where? How?

    I may be back into a more "urban" living environment, and I'm wondering if I should even put the Thule Box back on, and leave my stuff in it if I do. It's been my ski storage up here for 3 years. I think it would have to be massacred with a crowbar to be a successful heist.

    And I'm not talking about the Lower East Side or the Bronx. I'm not stupid.
    weld that thing shut if your headed to canada
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

  3. #3
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    you know...to get into a thule box...all you have to do is look at the lock, see the serial number stamped right there on the lock, write that down, go to thules's site on the internets, order a key with that serial number...and you're in. You can even have the key overnighted.

    No requirement to own or verify proof of ownership of a box to buy a spare key. Think about that.

    If you're gonna leave stuff in it overnight you value...I'd throw a chain and padlock around it...

  4. #4
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    Thules and Yakimas are pretty flimsy. The only one that I know that is really quite tough is the old packasport cargo box. It was a fiberglass box with a kryptonite style key system (circular) It would be really loud to smash that box open, louder than breaking itno the car for sure. The plastic boxes can be cut open fairly easily.

  5. #5
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    well....

    (1) I'm not concerned with the knowledgeable Thule thief. I don't think that they really exist on a practical level. (except for dirtbags in ski towns) I'm much more concerned with the dumb ass quick move thief, who has no clue about serial numbers.

    and

    (2) I have a Thule Vision from about 6-7 years ago, and the simple yet effective sliding rod lock system pretty much locks the sucker down so that one would have to spend some loud time to get it somewhat open. I don't think anyone above a violent junkie type would bother, if they don't know what's in there. These people don't ski, and can't get rid of the stuff quickly in, say, Newark.
    Last edited by Benny Profane; 11-17-2006 at 08:03 PM.

  6. #6
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    These people don't ski, and can't get rid of the stuff quickly in, say, Newark.
    i bet they could get rid of it in no time and get enough money for it to get whatever they need to get high for a little bit.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jumper Bones View Post
    you know...to get into a thule box...all you have to do is look at the lock, see the serial number stamped right there on the lock, write that down, go to thules's site on the internets, order a key with that serial number...and you're in. You can even have the key overnighted.

    No requirement to own or verify proof of ownership of a box to buy a spare key. Think about that.

    If you're gonna leave stuff in it overnight you value...I'd throw a chain and padlock around it...
    Holy shit, on my way to write down that number, keep it in a safe place, then prontply drmel off the serieal number.
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  8. #8
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    Yup, even though Bozeman isn't exactly thug central, it's one of those places I'd seriously think about taking the skis back inside every night, instead of leaving them in the box. Wouldn't be the first pair of skis stolen...

    Just don't lose that serial number. I lost my key, and that's how I got my replacement key - and the whole reason I've figured out how easy it is to get them.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    These people don't ski, and can't get rid of the stuff quickly in, say, Newark.
    One of my boys had his WRX stolen in Newark. Two weeks later he's driving in a new WRX with the insurance money he got from the claim. He finds himself at a corner just north of Ironbound when a guy approaches his car asking if he needs WRX parts. Sure enough, the guy was offering parts from his stolen car. Cops couldn't do shit about it though

  10. #10
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    I'm betting you could probably pull a smash and grab job, just bash a hole in one of the ends and slide the skis out.


    I never thought about getting keys. And if I remember correctly they're relatively cheap, wouldn't take much to order a different keys and just walk through a ski area parking lot
    For sure, you have to be lost to find a place that can't be found, elseways everyone would know where it was

  11. #11
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    our old box had the lock cylinder broken off. Just the cap of it, then the rest just sort of fell off. you could stick a screw driver in and unlock it easy. we used it like that for years.

  12. #12
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    I once watched a chick remove a locked Thule rack from a car with her bare hands; some other retard lost the key. The girl was pretty impressive. The security of the Thule rack was not....

  13. #13
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    So has anybody every had there box broken into? If so please post when and how they did it, I'm curious to know.

    The beauty of a box is that its pretty much impossible to tell if something is in it or not - so I have always assumed that the convenience thief is probably going to look elsewhere. Anyway, so far thats been my experience. I've never had my box broken into, but I do empty it whenever I am in a situation where I think a hard core dirt bag might find it worth his time to gamble on my box.

  14. #14
    bklyn is offline who guards the guardians?
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    I had my box broken into once in the trunk of a car.
    The thief had skills.
    I'm just a simple girl trying to make my way in the universe...
    I come up hard, baby but now I'm cool I didn't make it, sugar playin' by the rules
    If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from, then you wouldn't have to ask me, who the heck do I think I am.

  15. #15
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    I've got one of the old-school Thule 600 monster boxes from the mid 90s - bought it when I was 17 and got my 1st car - thick plastic and super burl lock parts. From the newer boxes I've seen customers bring back mangled, I don't care how old my rack gets, I'll never "trade up."
    Quote Originally Posted by doughboyshredder View Post
    If you're not standing on the fucking traverse with your thumb up your ass you wont get checked.

    dumbfuck.

  16. #16
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    Well? Anybody even know of one that was broken into or trashed?

  17. #17
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    Ouch!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jumper Bones View Post
    you know...to get into a thule box...all you have to do is look at the lock, see the serial number stamped right there on the lock, write that down, go to thules's site on the internets, order a key with that serial number...and you're in. You can even have the key overnighted.
    Now I know how to get my new spats! Thanks for the 411 on thievery...

    I have had a box for a couple of years and haven't ever had any trouble but I think it is just simply based on luck like, "out of sight out of mind"
    Quote Originally Posted by SpinalTap View Post
    I'm really troubled by whatever pictures the Don had to search through to arrive at that one...

  18. #18
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    Learn how to lay up fibreglas and reinforce the inside of yer box. Do up a couple layers and nobody will be getting in there without some type of lectric tool.

  19. #19
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    I've left shit in mine for weeks, unlocked. I don't see it as much of a target because people tend to like to know what they are trying to steal before stealing it. If you're not driving an Audi or something else that is nice, and not in a high crime area, I don't see a thief putting himself at risk to break into a "mystery box".

  20. #20
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    Ask Summit, he steals the whole box right off somebodys rig in the parking lot.
    Last edited by BlurredElevens; 11-18-2006 at 08:10 PM.

  21. #21
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    /\/\/\/\/\/\

  22. #22
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    [QUOTE=Spdfrk43;998041 I don't care how old my rack gets, I'll never "trade up."[/QUOTE]

    Me, either.
    It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

  23. #23
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    The box I am using now I bought from someone after it had been broken into. His boss owned and lost he keys, so they broke into it. They more or lesss pried the thing open. Broke one of the hinges, one of the latches, the whole lock mechanism and lock housing and caused a small crack on the lid above where the single lock is.

    So I go on-line to find out what parts I need to get from Thule, call them and the guy tells me he can't send me any of the lock parts because I am not a dealer. He sends me the hinge ($25), then finds me an old latch (in Germany, NO charge!), then tells me he will send me the rest of the parts I need as a sample (NO charge!). So the broken box box cost me $75 and the parts $25.

    GREAT customer service from Thule, the guy apparently really had to do some searching to find that latch in Germany, he originally told me it wasn't available anymore, then searched on his own until he found one then called me.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nohillsnearby View Post
    Me, either.
    Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
    Henry David Thoreau

  25. #25
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    bump for the weekday cube drones

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