Securing Grand L5030

[5030tinkerer]

The post "When Strangers Show Up" got me thinking more about securing my tractor. I am building a home on a somewhat secluded acreage and have no choice but to leave the tractor pretty well unprotected - in a fully enclosed canopy, but not locked up. What have others done to prevent theft of their tractor or its implements? I noted that the keys on my friends Grand L5030 work on my tractor no problem - not exactly comforting either. Is there some locking solution that others have used? Thus far, I have a hydraulic scraper blade, the quik tatch 72" bucket, a set of forks, and the BH90 backhoe with both an 18" and a 36" bucket. Basically lots of money sitting in an empty field a whole lot of the time. Am I just out of luck until my house is dried in?

 

[MX5000]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The post "When Strangers Show Up" got me thinking more about securing my tractor. I am building a home on a somewhat secluded acreage and have no choice but to leave the tractor pretty well unprotected - in a fully enclosed canopy, but not locked up. What have others done to prevent theft of their tractor or its implements? I noted that the keys on my friends Grand L5030 work on my tractor no problem - not exactly comforting either. Is there some locking solution that others have used? Thus far, I have a hydraulic scraper blade, the quik tatch 72" bucket, a set of forks, and the BH90 backhoe with both an 18" and a 36" bucket. Basically lots of money sitting in an empty field a whole lot of the time. Am I just out of luck until my house is dried in? )</font>

If I had to leave my 2005 Kubota MX5000, backhoe, and rear blade in a field, I think I'd price out renting or buying one of those metal shipping / storage containers and using it as a garage. If the thieves want your stuff, they'll get it. Make sure your covered with insurance too. I don't think I could leave my stuff at a different location like that, but if I did have to, I'd make it as hard to steal as possible. If they really wanted it, cutting the lock off the door with bolt cutters or torch would take under one minute. I'd even look into fabricating a hinged plate to cover the tractor ignition that I could weld on the tractor and put a padlock on that. I'm guessing anyone could go to a kubota dealer and buy a key to your / my tractor for under five dollars.

Howard

 

[dknarnd]

You could always block it up and pull some wheels off....most likely the front ones would do the trick.

 

[texasjohn]

How sneaky do you want to be... and how much trouble are you willing to go to to get your tractor in runnable conditon again when you want to use it. I break down the security issue as follows... the more of these you implement, the harder it is for somebody to get the tractor... and the harder for you to get it running again.

Fix it so it won't start:
no key in it

change out key lock to a non standard one

remove battery

insert battery cutout switch and key... $6 at harbor Freight

jigger the electronics so it thinks it is in an unstartable condition such as.. PTO ON, CLUTCH NOT ENGAGED, SEAT NOT OCCUPIED

shut off diesel valve

run dry... put air in the fuel lines

bobby trap it with a siren/tape recorder that will sound off when it recognizes that the tractor is being tampered with in an unauthorized way. Tape recorder should say that the local police/sheriff has been notified by radio that a theft is in progress and they have said they will be there in 5 minutes. (we know this will not be true.. but will the thieves?)

When I was married, my best man booby traped our car at the motel... when we came out the next morning and started the car, there was an amazing whistle sound that got increasingly shrill and ended in a huge puff of smoke from under the hood... some sort of "firecracker" that was set off by hitting the ignition.... certainly got the attention of all in the area and might scare away mischief makers.... I don't know if such a device is still available.

Fix it so it is difficult/impossible to pull up on a trailer

fluid in tires makes it heavier

remove front wheels/tires

chains thru holes in front wheels, chain them together

chains thru holes in rear wheels, chain them together

park in location, if possible, where a tow vehicle can't get to it... a gully... between trees, extreme slope for tow vehicle, etc.

extreme weight on ground engaging implement, dig it in deep, 3ph max down, locks thru 3ph pin holes, not lynch pins.

locks thru 3ph link arms... not the pins it comes with

set brakes really hard and remove orange handle and decals indicating how to set the brakes.

If you have a FEL, engage it into ground so it lifts tractor off ground almost all the way... but not obviously... use the FEL travel lock to prevent relieving hyd pressure with joystick... this is hard to figure out how to engage/disengage, even with the manual.

 

[stevenf]

You go John what a great list, Tinkerer I can only add to John's list, figure out something integral to the tractor that is not a major PIA and take it with you, ignition switch is not approriate evn if you get it rekeyed how may wires do you have to connect to make it run two or maybe three, I can start your tractor faster then you and I've never looked at a grand reach under dash grab the wires twist together all but starter wire vruuum, see ya. I can't think of all the stuff that would disable it if it weren't there but there is a bunch even the water seperator turn off valve remove bowl put in glove compartment leave, not great because they have time and all they have to do is connect the fuel lines and their off, take something electronic for the best results because its hard to wire around and they won't have a replacement widget to reinstall. Locking it is HMM! battery powered Dremel, fiber reinforced cutoff wheels and I can cut them off as fast as you can lockem. Removing a tire, even one has merit but mine weigh hundreds of lbs PIA. Good luck in your search for something to take with you (not switches).
Steve