Dam Thieves.

[312King]

Im doing a job by ohare airport here in chicago at a hotel. I come to the job this morning. My bucket and Frost tooth are missing. I had the frost tooth in the bucket locked against the track. So someone Started the machine put the bucket and frost tooth either on a truck or trailer and Left. Brand new 48" central FaB bucket MY frost tooth. WTF. I dont understand how no one at a hotel woke up and heard **** Going on. And they odviously planeed it out because they had a cat key. WHere is this world going.

 

[Dirtman2007]

It's amazing what some people have the balls to do in broad public. Man that was a costly loss. Does your machines have a master power cutoff switch on the batteries? I know my Excavator has a power cut off switch on the batteries that you can switch off and remove the key to make sure the machine does not go anywhere. That's just another bad reason for one key fits all machines.

 

[312King]

No yeah it has a master key. I hardly shut it off I thought it would be safe. I have our track skidsteer there Im glad they didnt take it. The hotel is saying there insurance will cover it but I dont think they know how much a bucket and frost tooth is going to cost.

 

[CabbageThe1]

Thats a bunch of BS, I agree with Dirtman2007; "It's amazing what some people have the balls to do in broad public." Its getting to the point were nothing is safe anymore, not even your M&M's Sorry Quick story I had a Huge bag of Peanut Butter M&M's that I was keeping in the loader they are having me run at my internship to snack on because I dont get a break for lunch....or dinner for that matter. Anyway Door was locked before I left and came back the next day and the door had been forced open, for a bag of M&M's! (Latch was broken but you still have to really pull, and at just the right angle to force it open) Nobody else that I work with touched the machine because I was the only one there! Its getting really bad, I mean come on M&Ms! Stupid Kids..... :my2c

You could alway sleep in the machine with a shot gun..... J/K

 

[312King]

Thats a bunch of BS, I agree with Dirtman2007; "It's amazing what some people have the balls to do in broad public." Its getting to the point were nothing is safe anymore, not even your M&M's Sorry Quick story I had a Huge bag of Peanut Butter M&M's that I was keeping in the loader they are having me run at my internship to snack on because I dont get a break for lunch....or dinner for that matter. Anyway Door was locked before I left and came back the next day and the door had been forced open, for a bag of M&M's! (Latch was broken but you still have to really pull, and at just the right angle to force it open) Nobody else that I work with touched the machine because I was the only one there! Its getting really bad, I mean come on M&Ms! Stupid Kids..... :my2c

You could alway sleep in the machine with a shot gun..... J/K

Man wouldnt that be awsome tint the windows on the machine sit in there with a shot gun. Those dirtbags open the door. And there staring down my shotgun barrel. Ohh what I would give.

 

[CabbageThe1]

Glad I could help.... LOL

 

[Dirtman2007]

Man wouldnt that be awsome tint the windows on the machine sit in there with a shot gun. Those dirtbags open the door. And there staring down my shotgun barrel. Ohh what I would give.

Then they would sue you and take all your equipment... Like you said "what is this world comming to."

 

[CabbageThe1]

They can only sue you if they live...... J/K

 

[Vantage_TeS]

It's amazing what some people have the balls to do in broad public. Man that was a costly loss. Does your machines have a master power cutoff switch on the batteries? I know my Excavator has a power cut off switch on the batteries that you can switch off and remove the key to make sure the machine does not go anywhere. That's just another bad reason for one key fits all machines.

Those master keys are universal as well. Taking it out would stop the majority but I know I've got a bunch in my glove box along with several cat ignition keys.

Most of the older stuff only uses master keys anyways, for example 16G graders or any of the D series scrapers.

There's not really much you can do if someone REALLY wants whatever you have. My friends company had a light plant/genset (minus the wheels) keeping a circle of machines warm. They had it completely corraled with machines. Someone came with a picker truck and plucked it from the middle. Not sure what they did after that since it had no wheels on it, so I guess they brought a trailer too =p

They parked the D11 with the blade holding the locked doors of our C-can (metal storage container). Someone climbed up the blade and dropped down between the blade and the doors, cut the lock and stole a bunch of cans of hydraulic oil.

Then they parked the grader sideways and leaned the tire right on the lock. Couple weeks that worked ok and then someone came with a torch and cut the side off the C-can and took a 2" pump and a 3" pump.

After that I almost ran outta fuel for the 385. Usually I have just over half a tank by the time they come tp fuel me for the day. Extra 500 liters which was sort of odd, but I had just started ripping out some heavy rock so didnt think much of it. Then the next day all 4 rock trucks ran out of fuel 6 hours before they are normally due for a top up.

We ended up getting a couple light plants and security for overnight. Worked like a charm (until we finished the site and moved out all the gear, someone came back that very night and stole the light plant!!!).

 

[Deere9670]

Im doing a job by ohare airport here in chicago at a hotel. I come to the job this morning. My bucket and Frost tooth are missing. I had the frost tooth in the bucket locked against the track. So someone Started the machine put the bucket and frost tooth either on a truck or trailer and Left. Brand new 48" central FaB bucket MY frost tooth. WTF. I dont understand how no one at a hotel woke up and heard **** Going on. And they odviously planeed it out because they had a cat key. WHere is this world going.

This area is bad man. My buddie had a skid steer bucket stolen from his shop. It had to have taken 4 mexicans to pick that sucker up tooointhead What makes me mad is that I know they just took it to the scrap yard, and got away with it without any questions. The scrap guys were going crazy around here the last few weeks, but now that the price has dropped, mabey the theft will slow down. My other friend had some punk kids light his ag tractor on fire and burn it to the ground. He bought a new one and put all really tinted windows on it and he sits in it with a shotgun, waiting for them to come again!

 

[mikef87]

Then they would sue you and take all your equipment... Like you said "what is this world comming to."

Work hard, get sued, Welcome to America

 

[Lashlander]

My buddie had a skid steer bucket stolen from his shop. It had to have taken 4 mexicans to pick that sucker up tooointhead

I take it you saw them? Or are Mexicans the only ones that steal in your area?

 

[OCR]

The gravity of the situation:

They had it completely corraled with machines. Someone came with a picker truck and plucked it from the middle.

Are you sure???

If this happened at about sun rise... It could be laying in the weeds... just off
site!!!


OCR

 

[Vantage_TeS]

It was over xmas break last year. Wide open basement site down town. Was there on a friday, then came back monday and it was long gone. Nothing was moved either! All the cords and stuff were still there, just the genset wasn't haha.

 

[OCR]

The gravity of the situation:!!!

Whoops, that was supposed to be a joke, Vantage_TeS....

From the Burning Question thread.... below...

Also (next question?) he mentioned the moon and its gravitational pull making the equipment lighter and the ground less dense!!!!????

You need to read it, to understand... LOL


OCR








The moon dropped it when the sun came up... I know... Bad.

 

[special tool]

Work hard, get sued, Welcome to America

That's correct.

Want a good laugh?
Look in your yellow pages under "attorney"....see how many of those bastards are in there!!!!

 

[stock]

Would seem to be a very big problem all over ,as an old hand said to me once a lock only keeps an honest man out.On one site I was on when they chouldn't steal anything they vandalised all the equipment.
Another tale for you years ago we were working on a live motorway at night when a lowloader pulled up the driver walked up to the shift foreman gave him some documents to say that a 30ton machine that was only 6weeks old was recalled by the manufacture on a safety issue and to bee piped for a breaker, so he went down with the truck told the excavator driver to load it and when done to call it a night and to be in again the following evening (a Friday) the machine was loaded with a brand new breaker and escorted off the site.
On hand over the foreman told the dayshift that the machine would be back that night and what had taken place,we arrived in that night and no excavator/breaker and again the following night ,so Monday they rang the suppplier who knew nothing about any recall,they the police who had seen the lowloader pulled it over gave them a ticket for not permit and escorted the truck off the motorway and to the best of my knowledge that was the last that was seen of that truck and load.

On a final note from personal expierience I have found that most thefts are by exemployees who know the system that all sites use,and very little to the oppertunist thief

 

[Reuben]

Did anyone ever read that article in "Equipment World" magazine. Titled "HOT IRON". IT was really Good. They had a EX equipment thief write in anonymously about how he used to steel equipment. He had all kinds of stickers for his truck from different equipment Co's, same thing with uniforms, same with work orders etc. He would go get the serial numbers off the machines he planned on stealing and show up during normal work hours show the super the work order load it up and head for the border. He said he never ever stole after normal working hours. He even had a cop escort him through heavy traffic when he was stealing a piece. Very very brazen

 

[AtlasRob]

Frightening statistics

This is from the front of the Equipment Recovery News and while aimed at UK & Europe manufacturers have a global customer base

http://www.ter-europe.org/

‘Institutionally indifferent’ to equipment theft
Equipment theft is up 2%, the cost of equipment theft is up 11% and yet still all the equipment associated industries appear to be unable to see the herd of elephants in the room.
How can it be that you can start a £50K machine with a Swiss Army knife or a bent nail? Why are there no integrated immobilisers on equipment? Shouldn’t tracking devices be fitted as standard? Why is it that sites have the security of a wet paper bag? How come no one checks whether a used item is stolen before they buy, sell, auction, finance or insure it? Why don’t insurers know what they are insuring when it comes to plant and equipment? Shouldn’t this crime be more of a priority from the Home Office to the police, after all it pumps £1M/week into the coffers of serious organised crime?
Have a look at the chart on page 9 of TER’s 2008 Equipment Theft Report which compares Your Car with Your Equipment – read it and weep.
There’s still a lot to do to address this crime. END QUOTE.

It is up to us that operate in this industry to do something about it. How many owners of plant & equipment that frequent this forum have added or specified additional security systems to thier equipment? and how many have bought stuff whether a Stihl saw or excavator and know that they didnt check as thoroughly as they should have done to make sure the seller was the owner ?

I dont expect confessions just think about it.

 

[CascadeScaper]

Did anyone ever read that article in "Equipment World" magazine. Titled "HOT IRON". IT was really Good. They had a EX equipment thief write in anonymously about how he used to steel equipment. He had all kinds of stickers for his truck from different equipment Co's, same thing with uniforms, same with work orders etc. He would go get the serial numbers off the machines he planned on stealing and show up during normal work hours show the super the work order load it up and head for the border. He said he never ever stole after normal working hours. He even had a cop escort him through heavy traffic when he was stealing a piece. Very very brazen

I read that entire article, it was good stuff. He said that if he saw any equipment with weird antennae's or "James Bond stuff" as he so put it, he wouldn't bother. He also said if the iron was lined up at night that would deter him a little as well, although as you say he was one to use fake work orders and swipe them right under everyone's nose.