I hate thieves !

[joeeye59]

Isn't there a product on the market that sends you a text message to your cell phone or pager telling your vehicle is being broken into? Of course this is no good if your far from where you parked your machine for the night to catch them.

But lets face it 98% of the time the person who broke into your machine knows who you are, and the best time to break in, and you most likely know them, you may have hired them at one time and they left on bad terms with you.

Depending on the size of the population you live in there are chances you can figure this out who took the batteries, it's always the thugs, the people who know the business, knows you or of you, and has to be familiar with the machine.

If the thief's like to hang out at a few of the local watering holes chances are you can catch them, thief's like bragging, they are also good at getting someone mad at them enough to where they rat them out to the police or to you, but that's most likely to happen if you post a small $100.00 reward right in the bar.

You'd be surprise how easy it is to catch these people, but thats only if it's not one of them cases where the guys were traveling far from their home town on the hunt.

Make sure you file a report with the police, because with any luck the thief's are dumb enough to pawn the batteries, or if you really want these people caught, check the few local area parts stores for anybody who recently came in looking to buy batteries.

Post back if you install some kind of security system, I'd like to know what you did.

 

[ddigger]

My work area is far to big and populated for any of your ideas to work, plus as a one man show its sure not anyone I have hired or fired. Around here they smash the batteries for the lead to recycle. We did file a police report as I was not the only machine targeted that night, but that's as far as the police will take it. I was able to get permission to park in the adjoining land owners drive behind locked gates for the weekend, I should finish the job Monday or Tuesday then on to the next one. I did strap a game camera on my boom when I left on Friday and parked in such away that my battery box was crowded into some blackberry bushes. As far as an alert to my phone even if I had something like that like so many of my jobs, its about an hr away, and police response time is no faster than I could get there either. Good thoughts though and thanks for the reply.

 

[joeeye59]

Thats too bad with where we park our machines sometimes we have to worry, especially someone like you who travels far covering huge section of well populated areas of the State. If it's not the kids throwing rocks at the glass, it's someone taking parts off of them... I'm surprised with the Heavy Equipment Industries knowing these kind of problems have existed for such a long time that companies like Cat and JD have not yet designed right into each machine actual OEM storm panels as a common option be standard that locks right into place with ease to cover the glass, from rocks and storm debris flying around.

And to design key items like the battery box as well as some other key items that are often stollen be designed with security measures into place. I'm sure it can be done as new models come out. perhaps a factory rep will read this and we'll soon see this happen. wishful thinking lol....

 

[watglen]

My Dodge 2500 disappear this afternoon.

My hired guy parked it in the shed at 3, locked it up, and locked up the keys.

The truck was gone at 8pm.

Has massive company logos plastered all over it. My name in massive letters.

Takes some serious balls if you ask me.

Theft is so rampant anymore, nobody really gives a crap except the victim, and then only for a while. What are you supposed to do?

The truck was definitely nothing special, not by a long shot. I only got it a couple months ago. Bought the cheapest work truck I could find and afford. **** me off!

 

[CM1995]

My Dodge 2500 disappear this afternoon.

That sucks!

 

[oarwhat]

I hate thief's and vandalism! I caught the kids last time!!!! I park snowplow equipment behind a mall. Every now and then they get the urge to bust stuff up. Well these kid left tracks all over, busted windows, ripped out wires, stupid S***! It took awhile but as I crossed this lawn following the tracks, two kids are looking at me out a window with there jaws dropped. BINGO. I yell I caught ya and the disappear. It was perfect. These kids where like 11 years old it's nuts! The cops said do you want to press charges I said hell yea! I want the word to get out. He talked me out of it but did scare the crap out of them and there mommies. Parents paid for damages that was a first.

 

[oarwhat]

Another time I had a locked garage with mostly spare tools and a pickup parked in it. They broke in loaded my pickup with all the tools and took off. The cops and insurance company gave me a hard time about leaving the keys in the truck. I'm like WTF it's in a LOCKED garage. I got the truck back when a buddy calls a week later and says whats your pickup doing a this apt building? Did one your guys move there? At least I got the truck back.

 

[Jlillie2]

And the worst part about it, is some methhead probably sold it for scrap. (That would be the first places I'd be checking.)
At the College where I work, our facilities guys caught some punks pulling the copper down spouts off from an OCCUPIED building.... How did they catch them you might ask? Well, the meth heats took off running into the woods to escape. (That part was good thinking, can't really fault them there.) The problem was, they left their van, with half of the bent up down spouts, and their freakin' wallets on the seat. And even with all of this, its still been dragging on in the court system. So much for speedy trial.... I could have had that case done and over in an hour, even counting the time it took to find them in the swamp.

 

[DoyleX]

Thieves have been taking everything lately. I always put a hidden ignition cutout somewhere. Park in a puzzle and out of main sightlines. Most times theft is a opportunity crime. Make it harder for them and they will move to a easier target. Im definitely going to make them earn it if they want it.

 

[Jlillie2]

Yup, secondary measures are always a really good idea. A friend of mine first day on the job site, and asked the owner what measures they were to take to secure the cats. "Oh, we just take the keys out of them." My buddy wiped out his personal collection of keys, (As back in those days they all used the same key) and fired up the guys machine right in front of him. So as much as I dislike the new machines with the keypads, I can see why they are out there....

 

[watglen]

This has gotten really interesting. You learn something new every day.

( and as I am typing this the phone rang, it got even more interesting)

Turns out there is a system of thievery established on the local native Indian reserve where Indian towing companies charge insurance companies for towing abandoned vehicles.

So what happens is the vehicle is jacked and rushed to the reserve where the Provincial police have no jurisdiction. The Indian police are in charge there, the OPP have to stay off the reserve if i understand things correctly.

So the vehicle is driven to the reserve. They may even go in groups and jack a 3 or 4 vehicles to make a good round trip of it. The vehicles are parked somewhere out of the the way, but still on the road. Taking it off road and destroying it is rare. They may grab the stereo or other small bits and pieces and leave. Usually the tires and rims go too.

The next day the local cops find the stolen cars, sometimes several parked all in one place. They call a local tow company to bring them in and impound them.

The tow company sits on the vehicle for a while, racking up impound charges. After a month or so, the vehicle is reported found. Your insurance company gets the call.

By that time the vehicle is written off. The insurance company has to pay to get the vehicle back, and towed to somewhere where it can be fixed.

Or the insurance company has written it off, and the towing company is allowed to keep the vehicle, and turns it around for sale as a recovered vehicle.

The towing company splits the proceeds with the actual thief, and system goes on and on.

Sounds like the towing company can get $1500 out of a lower value vehicle. If its worth more, they impound it a little longer so the impound charges are sufficiently high such that the insurance company allows them to keep it. They can then sell it for whatever its worth and net whatever they get.

What is neat about the whole thing is the thieves no longer part the vehicle out, or operate a chop shop. They don't burn or wreck the vehicle. They simply grab it and deliver it to the reserve, where it falls under the umbrella of the Indian police and towing companies.

---------------------

Before I typed all the above, I called the farm equipment shop I work with. The lead mechanic is a good guy, and confirmed the above story, and that the exact same thing just happened to his truck a month ago.

He said he would call a nearby auto shop/recovery company (Leny's) to tell him to keep his ears open. Leny goes to the reserve several times each day to pull cars out that have been "found"

He said every stolen vehicle on the reserve ends up going through one big towing company up there. Every vehicle that is ever recovered comes from that yard.

He called me back 30 seconds later because apparently Leny had heard on the scanner that 4 vehicles were found this morning, in a group, and one of them was a big white dodge. Wheels gone.

---------------------------


This entire system hinges on the fact that the OPP can't go on the reserve to investigate. It's as if the reserve is another country.
As far as the Indian cops are concerned, they are finding and towing abandoned vehicles. Its an enormous scam and nobody can or wants to do anything about it. Everyone wins in this system except the original owner, and anyone paying auto insurance premiums.


I may have the truck back, but I may not want it back either. If it was found with a bunch of other vehicles, then it is likely fine mechanically.
Time will tell...

 

[Jlillie2]

Wow, that's a drag. Even if you do get it back, if its missing rims and tires, it will probably cost more to restore it to drivable condition than it will be worth. If you can confirm any of this, I think the people to talk to might be 16X9 or some other TV program that specializes in stuff like this. It might not help you, but it might go a long way toward stopping this. What a crappy situation....

 

[wilko]

Anything I would like to say is culturally insensitive, and I'm supposed to be ashamed of myself.

 

[Jlillie2]

Wrong is wrong, there are bad people in any nation, none of them are exempt from all laws....

 

[watglen]

Thi

 

[CM1995]

Well I got hit sometime this weekend, not near as bad as others but still frustrating. Pulled up at the pit this morning and was fueling the track hoe when I glanced over and saw the plastic top holder for the batteries laying on top of the machine. Immediately I knew my batteries were gone.

Lucky for me when they pried the locked door open they didn't break the lock or bend the panel. It's one thing to be out $220 for two new batteries and a jumper but I had 3 hired trucks set up to be at the pit at 7, this was 6:30. So two batteries cost me 3 trucks sitting for an hour while I go get batteries and hook them up. All in all it was $500 up a wild cat's ass first thing this morning.:guns

 

[still learn'n]

CM1995 did they cut the cables and hold down clamps to? We had 3 or 4 machines on a job last summer and the just cut the batt cables the hold down clamps and took off! plus another contractor that had 3 or 4 machines on site had theirs stolen to. What do they get out of batt? somebody told me for making drugs????

 

[CM1995]

Luckily they just took the two batteries and the jumper cable between the two and didn't cut the copper pos/neg leads on the machine. It could have been a lot worse. Either they got $2-5 a piece as scrap or sold them as used batteries to someone.:beatsme

I was madder than a hornet this morning and would have gave them some lead if they were still there.

 

[ddigger]

Well, it must be a full moon or something, I showed up to find the windows in the door smashed out. At least they didn't break the windshield.

 

[joeeye59]

It seems like it's coming down to welding your battery box in place, if your worried about where you park your machine from time to time, or it seems like every year your getting your batteries stollen, go ahead and weld the battery box shut some how, rig up some kind of set up with extra metal if you have to so you won't ruin your machine if it's still in nice shape. like set up a strap going around the box.

I'm sure we're all smart enough to figure out some kind of set up to rig it so the batteries are behind welded panels ands its no big deal to cut the welds when replacing or servicing the batteries.

My Bro-in-law was always getting his motor stollen to his cement mixer, now that I think about it, it would have been nothing to have welded the engine block to the frame of the machine.

And if someone hits your machine and brought their own cutting torch, then chances are you know the guy.