Security & Theft Best way to protect Tractor from Theft?

[JakeBrake]

I would be grateful for some recommendations on how to best secure my Tractor from being stolen off my Farm. I've never owned a tractor before now and don't know if I need to buy a steel building to lock it in or just keep it under a covered shed and lock to post or what?

For five years I have kept my tractor chained to a post in a large covered shed. It is well out of sight from the public road. For the first few months I worried a lot, but now that the new has worn off the tractor, I don't worry nearly as much. It is fully insured and if it is stolen or vandalized, so be it. We live about 35 miles from the property.

Besides, DW's (Dear Wife) great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents are all watching out for us from the family cemetery on the property.

 

[rgood]

I wouldn't rely on Insurance - I hear a lot of stories of people making a claim and then their policy is DROPPED - It's also a hassel many times to get your money - They have more lawyers and more fine print than you can possible read.

 

[two_bit_score]

What is this GPS device you mention? Is it sold under a brandname and what are the specifics? How is it installed, how difficult is it, what cost, where are they sold, and how easy is it to detect, etc. Please tell me more. Could it be installed in a 4-wheeler also? How is it activated after a theft and who has the technology to track it to its location. Are law enforcement agencies comfortable with its use (or would I need to get a heavily armed posse of friends to stage a raid!) Thanks for any info.

I don't know what the poster was referring to for $100 but I know law enforcement is very comfortable responding to Lojack. It's a little more than $100 but not that much.

 

[two_bit_score]

I wouldn't rely on Insurance - I hear a lot of stories of people making a claim and then their policy is DROPPED - It's also a hassel many times to get your money - They have more lawyers and more fine print than you can possible read.

What difference does it make if you are dropped after it's stolen, as long as they pay?

When you buy the next one get the insurance through the dealer on purchase.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

few weeks ago, during one of our big snows, someone had a skidsteer stolen, was recovered sitting in a driveway due to the lojack in it. The homeowner said a friend had left it there after cleaning his driveway for him.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I wouldn't rely on Insurance - I hear a lot of stories of people making a claim and then their policy is DROPPED - It's also a hassel many times to get your money - They have more lawyers and more fine print than you can possible read.

Well here's a set of GOOD INSURANCE sories to balance the horror stories you have heard.

There's good and bad insurance. I had a trailer stolen 8K worth and insurance bought me a new one. Thieves broke in my warehouse and took tools, the insurance said they needed receipts to replace the tools, little did they know I had receipts going back 15 years so they paid me 26K in new tools.

I bought a used 60kw Generator at auction for 10K used it for 15 years and it was already 5 years old, one day I turned it on and it caught fire. I was about to sell the generator as scrap but then figured I'd call and see if it was covered - it was. They paid me 35K for a new one.

 

[The Haymaker]

Probably this one, although it's really not "GPS", but a radio transmitter:




LoJack Car Security System for Stolen Vehicle Recovery

Or you could do it for free, with a minimal initial investment, both in money and cranial horsepower.

In the "ham radio" world, we have access to APRS. It uses a gps, modem, and radio to digitize gps info and send it over rf. The setup can be made small, with even the largest fitting into an ammunition can.

Here's my pickup.

Here's my tractor trailer, though it won't be moving until Monday morning.

 

[rgood]

What difference does it make if you are dropped after it's stolen, as long as they pay?

When you buy the next one get the insurance through the dealer on purchase.

Right - That is "If They Pay" and a lot of times "If" they pay they find a way to not give you the full value - Not to mention the Paperwork/Arguing hassle and the loss of your time - And the loss of the ability to use the machine while you wait.

One of the things the insurance company is going to look at is "Did you take due diligence in securing and protecting the item from theft - Did you have a locked gate, a locked door - Was it Out of Sight from the road etc - I realize those things won't keep a thief from stealing it if they want it - But those things also will keep an insurance company from Paying You.

 

[JimWalch]

Or you could do it for free, with a minimal initial investment, both in money and cranial horsepower.

In the "ham radio" world, we have access to APRS. It uses a gps, modem, and radio to digitize gps info and send it over rf. The setup can be made small, with even the largest fitting into an ammunition can.

Here's my pickup.

Here's my tractor trailer, though it won't be moving until Monday morning.

tell us more haymaker
what do we need to set this up?

 

[Mike Costello]

that's pretty cool. Anyone have any experience with one of these types of devices? I don't see a dealer listed in my area. You would think this would be ideal for a tractor that is left unattended in a remote area (like mine) Like other's have said, if someone wants to steal it, it would be hard to deter them. Mine is behind a locked gate and not visible from the road, but everytime I go there, I drive up hoping it's still there. My only security is that I have insurance. Same for my four wheeler.

Just to show the audacity of thieves, last week my Mom and Dad (who is a retired police chief) were attending the receiving of friends at a local mortuary, for another police chief who passed away. Of course every policeman, judge, lawyer in town were there, along with a police car with blue lights on directing traffic outside. Some lowlife walked into the mortuary among all of these people and stole my Mom's purse and then stole her car. Luckily he crashed it a mile away and was arrested. What nerve! Thirty years ago, the police would have administered some streetside "justice", but in todays politically correct age, they carefully carried him to the hospital for a free nights stay. His only physical ailment was that he was wasted on drugs and alcohol.

The same sort of thing happened at my father's funeral. While standing next to my father's casket in the foyer of the church, I noticed a guy dressed in ratty clothes pass by who didn't belong there. What he had done was get information and time of the funeral off the prayer handouts so his cohorts could burglerize my father's home while we were gone. Fortunately, they were scared off by an alert babysitter at a house next door.
I worked as a police volunteer at the time, so I duely noted everything and passed the word. They were never caught, but no one else got victimized at family funerals in my home town either.