Brazen trailer thief

[jhynesrockmtn]

A friend had his trailer stolen in broad daylight by a professional. This isn't a repo situation. He is very well off and got this trailer in a trade years ago from me. It had locks on it, they just winched it up on their rig. His shop is in a very high traffic area. How is a common car hauler worth the risk? Hoping the pics his security cameras grabbed will help. Thieves suck! If our good friend Bruce was still alive I'd suspect a well thought out prank!

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the early 1980s one of our local PCA members had a new 930. He had a fancy alarm on it with a pager system that would alert him him the alarm went off. This was all before smart phones and the internet.

Anyway he was out and about on a Saturday and remembered that his anniversary was two days away. So he stopped at the mall to get her a present. He parked in a safe spot, looked around and locked it up. About the time he got to the store in the mall his pager went off. He ran outside to see the vehicle the size of a UPS van drive off with his car alarm going off inside in the back. They had poured diesel fuel on the ground, tied the winch on, and yanked it up the ramp with the tires locked up. Gone.

He of course called the police, and then his insurance agent. The car was gone, and he never saw it again. He collected the insurance but was still out a lot of money. They were not collector cars back then just used cars.

[Jims5543]

The house across the street from me had been sitting in foreclosure for 10 years.

About 4 years in it started looking really bad.

One day 2 men pulled up in a large white van, backed up to the garage door and robbed the place of all its appliances.

No masks nothing that would indicate they were up to no good, they even waved to my wife as she drove past.

They acted like they belonged there and no one batted an eye.


About 3 weeks later a realtor checked on the house and discovered it was robbed, she knocked on our door since we live across the street, and asked if we saw anything suspicious. My wife told he no, nothing suspicious at all, then remembered, "Oh, there were the two guys in the moving van". Realtor lost it on my wife, like we are the neighborhood security. LOL!!

I hope all the bad karma in the world hits those men, but I have to say, respect for smiling and waving and acting natural.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Back in the early 1980s one of our local PCA members had a new 930. He had a fancy alarm on it with a pager system that would alert him him the alarm went off. This was all before smart phones and the internet.

Anyway he was out and about on a Saturday and remembered that his anniversary was two days away. So he stopped at the mall to get her a present. He parked in a safe spot, looked around and locked it up. About the time he got to the store in the mall his pager went off. He ran outside to see the vehicle the size of a UPS van drive off with his car alarm going off inside in the back. They had poured diesel fuel on the ground, tied the winch on, and yanked it up the ramp with the tires locked up. Gone.

He of course called the police, and then his insurance agent. The car was gone, and he never saw it again. He collected the insurance but was still out a lot of money. They were not collector cars back then just used cars.

I had the same type of system on my RX7, people saw my key chain and wondered what it was, I explained if someone tried to steal my car it alerts me so I can run out and get beat up too.

[dad911]

Jerry - Was trailer connected to a vehicle?

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by dad911

Jerry - Was trailer connected to a vehicle?

It wasn't. He stores it with a hitch lock and I believe wheel locks in front of his shop.

[dad911]

I'd get that pic all over the local facebook.

[URY914]

Chains don't even slow people down these days. A battery powered grinder with a cut-off blade will cut through them like a hot knife thru butter. Best thing to do is take the wheels off. PITA but safer.

[dad911]

Thinking about it, I would also email a copy of that pic to any local towing/flatbed service in a 30 mile radius. Someone will recognize that truck.

[Porchdog]

I'm surprised that they bothered to chain it down. They must have been watching the site and there was no one around to question them.

I have a buddy who does repo's for a local bank. When he has one that he thinks might get contentious he picks it up and hauls it a quarter mile or so to a safer spot before he chains it.

[URY914]

Surprised he even put it on the bed. Must have been a tongue lock on it.

[jhynesrockmtn]

It is all over facebook and this isn't a large town. The owner is well known and a very community involved. A retired police officer has responded that he has arrested a tow truck operator who lives nearby with a similar rig in the past. I think this guy is going to be sorry he picked this trailer to steal.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Update - The trailer owner was able to track down the tow company through the pics and they say they picked it up by mistake and will bring it back. His retired cop friend is crying BS, says that is common if they are caught and wants to follow up. That if it was a repo it would be easy to check the vin and license plate to verify they had the right rig. He has apparently busted tow operators for this ploy in the past, maybe this same guy.

[911boost]

Sounds like a line to me.

Oooops, my bad! If they get caught.

How would one go about selling that when its stolen? Not like a car you can chop....

[speeder]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Update - The trailer owner was able to track down the tow company through the pics and they say they picked it up by mistake and will bring it back. His retired cop friend is crying BS, says that is common if they are caught and wants to follow up. That if it was a repo it would be easy to check the vin and license plate to verify they had the right rig. He has apparently busted tow operators for this ploy in the past, maybe this same guy.

I sure hope he got the cops involved. That's a theft charge right there, handcuffs and everything. I cannot come over and take your stuff and just say, "oops."

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by 911boost

Sounds like a line to me.

Oooops, my bad! If they get caught.

How would one go about selling that when its stolen? Not like a car you can chop....

Easy to change the serial numbers on a trailer. It's been awhile, but when I knew something about this, in some states trailer registration is way too lax.

[flipper35]

In WI, under 3000# does not need a VIN or to be registered. I am sure other states vary.

[Dantilla]

In my experience, Washington State doesn't enforce trailer licensing.
While my flatbed trailer always had current registration, I never put the plate on the trailer.
When I bought cars from an insurance auction, they must be inspected by the state patrol before getting a title/registration.
I would show up at the State Patrol inspection station with the car on the trailer with no plate. They never looked at the trailer.

Friend of a friend has a landscaping company with a fleet of utility trailers, says he never registers them. Saves quite a bit every year, never been questioned.

[speeder]

Yep. Trailer registration is not a big deal. All of mine are currently registered but I could probably have a 2015 sticker on them and no one would ever notice.

[jhynesrockmtn]

This is a quote from one of the trailer owners friends who has gotten involved on FB. He is a retired local cop or state patrol.

Still call me have i will have wsp detectives go look at the paperwork that's a common answer when the get caught.
Their drivers are supposed to check the Vin and license plate