Protecting my new transporter trailer - wheelclamp?

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 20 Oct 2010, 13:07

hmm just given me an idea there Paul.. if I fitted one to my gate, and made the geofence very small.. then I may get a text when someone has opened the gate before they get to taking my spanners, motorbikes etc..

KP · Post by KP » 20 Oct 2010, 19:42

Two very deeply dug in ground anchors and no wheels are what i would do

The electric one sounds good though

Maybe 50,000v @ 50ma ???

Alec B · Post by **Alec B** » 20 Oct 2010, 20:34

Not knowing the location of the trailer so this may not be very helpful but what about electronic security. I've fitted cable loops in the past linked to an intruder alarm so if the cable is cut or unplugged it sets off the alarm,I've used this on garden machinery and motorbikes etc with good feedback. Again this is only good if the trailer is kept outside your house or at a workshop/garage with some sort of monitored alarm. Good luck in whatever you do bl**dy pikeys.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 20 Oct 2010, 21:02

How about an electric fencer with a concealed switch that only you know where? may even be legal.

If you could dig a hole beneath it and concrete in an electric winch to pull it down from where you can't get at it, fit remote socket to to which you can apply 12 volts to release it, and, install a very loud alarm as close as possible to the trailer, I'm sure you could get one loud enough to make it very unpleasant to work near it.

Peter

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 20 Oct 2010, 23:59

John

I don't think GPS would work on a gate. You need a bit more movement than that. If it did work, you'd be right on the limit of it's resolution, in the noise floor of the system. It might not be reliable, failing to trigger, or giving false triggers. If you've got a satnav, you can switch it to display coordinates, and then try mounting it on the gate to see if you can get a reliable change of coordinates as the gate opens. If the coordinates do change, it will probably be just the last digit doing a "plus or minus one" change. I doubt that you can program a Geofence of one digit, but I don't know for sure.

A switch would be better for a gate. You could probably still link the switch into the GPS unit, so it sent you a text message when activated. Check if it's got a suitable trigger input on the GPS. You could protect the switch wiring in steel conduit and have extra "anti-tamper" wires to detect somebody cutting the wire. The other alternative is a PIR unit, to detect intruders walking into your yard. You might be able to link this into the text messaging system as well.

Paul

Post by **DHallworth** » 21 Oct 2010, 08:20

We had a £4000 Ifor Williams tilt bed trailer stolen last year.

It was only 2 years old and hard barely been used. Not being used much was it's ill fate really as it meant it spent most of it's time in the same place.

They cut the chains off our gates, broke the hitch lock on the trailer and towed it away.

When we replaced it we bought a better hitch lock, it now gets kept out of sight blocked in by 2 cars, a tractor and a LWB sprinter. It's now also right beside the house so if anyone tried to get near it everyone in the house and the dogs would hear them.

We've also insured it this time.

These people are the scum of the earth.

Worst bit about when ours was nicked we were told by the local farmers who did it, it's the same guys who were taking all the farm equipment locally. We passed this information onto the police but they weren't able to help as there was no evidence.

I got told where the trailer was so, apparently it was in a big recycling yard about 30 miles away. When I went to look I was greeted by around 10 guys who didn't look like they were about to ask how I was!

It sounds like you were really unlucky Andrew, I would of thought a car on the trailer and a car attached to it would of put them right off!

David.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 21 Oct 2010, 11:20

Paul, of course my idea wouldn't work

I was clearly being a bit dopey yesterday

will hook up the PIR's to some lights but as the parking is so far from the house, I need a way of sending a remote signal as I cant see the light to well..

What I first thought was using a spare camera, and hooking that up to the Linux PC, the idea being that it records only when movement is detected

I can run a cable the distance to the parking area ok.. will investigate..

John

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 21 Oct 2010, 12:05

addo wrote:Break your routine - leave it where you did the other one and it won't last.

Xac wrote:At the end of the day though Andrew, if they're determined then they'll nab it an there will be nothing you can do about it.

From the bitter experiences of friends, the quotes above are the reality of the situation. All you (or any of us) can do is to make property as difficult to steal as possible. Removing wheels or hitches is pointless - the pikeys do proper reconaissance (by someone who will later have a perfect alibi for the time/date of theft) and come suitably equiped. All you can do is make it too difficult/noisy for the theft to be worth the risk. I know of a case where a very smart 2-3 year-old Mercedes 7½T recovery truck was stolen from a really secure compound. Heavy-duty hydraulic equipment was used to force gate and post apart until the welds tore out of the 6" square post! Then the truck's immobiliser was expertly by-passed by someone with very specialist knowledge/skills. The truck completely vanished (almost certainly to the Middle East according to the police).

[EDIT] Conspicuous lights and cameras seem to be very effective deterrents. WiFi connection to the camera? Make sure everything is way up out of reach or buried. It's not unknown for long handled pruners to be used to cut/mangle suspended cables and/or break camera mountings (you get the idea).

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 21 Oct 2010, 13:08

John

Somebody used to sell a halogen light with PIR detector which also sent a radio signal to a remote alarm unit. It was a few years ago that I saw it. I can't find it now. I think it might have been in the Argos catalogue.

Paul

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 21 Oct 2010, 13:17

Here's an example of what I'm thinking of:-

http://www.scldirect.co.uk/security-lig ... -pack.html

It's not the same as the one that Argos used to sell. This one looks a bit posher.

Paul

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 21 Oct 2010, 14:11

thanks Paul that looks interesting

KP · Post by KP » 21 Oct 2010, 15:07

The AA had a spate of thefts of their specialist 7.5 tonne lifters a few years back. One of their drivers was telling me that a good few went missing around the country all over the course of a few days.

The camera footage just showed people walking into the depot and 5 minutes later a machine driving out. Never seen again.

There are people who go out to the middle east now to find high value cars and bring them back as the police over there only go get them if you point them out to them

jimleshed · Post by **jimleshed** » 21 Oct 2010, 17:43

If I had to protect something like that I'd make up a custom solution.
Something like this (off the top of my head)

Get a big post with T bar on top (say like an old metal lampost).
Arrange a socket for it in the ground, so it will drop in.
Arrange solenoid actuators to lock it in, with a trench dug to power them, and a remote switch "somewhere", preferaby indoors/out of sight.
Make sure solenoids are opened by power, not opened by lack of power (if you see what I mean)

Park trailer over the socket, power the solenoids, put in the post (through the trailer bodywork with a suitable hole made if required), remove power from the solenoids. Post now locked in the socket. The only way you can get trailer is by lifting it off the post (which is difficult cos of the Tee bar) and height of the post. If the post is thick enough it will take ages and lots of noise to cut through.
Removing power wont release it. digging up the post/socket is difficult cos of the trailer in the way.

(copyright JLS)

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 23 Oct 2010, 19:47

I'd love to fry the bastards with a zap of white light but chances are I'd end
up doing it to myself in a half asleep stupor. I've become somewhat an
expert in how wheelclamps can be circumvented by spending hours on
Google and whilst I now have one that is used by DVLA and Councils etc
believe the only sure way to protect a nice car transporter trailer from
being stolen is either:

A] Don't have one

B] Make it as impossible (and therefore inconvenient to myself too) to get
the thing past 3 immobilised cars, a locked door and a nearby neighbouring
flat with 3 neurotic dogs.

I'd consider a movement sensor camera but am a significant distance away
to react should I even manage to receive the signal showing the scumbags
taking everything.

I recall life never being so cut throat and complicated even 10 years or so
back. This country of ours is broken irretrievably. I want out but don't think
I can take all my cars to New Zealand etc...

Andrew

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 23 Oct 2010, 20:26

The links I posted earlier for GPS trackers could well be clones. The original GPS tracker was made by Xexun, so if you're interested in getting one, you might want to search for a real Xexun one.

Paul