Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum. I am about to purchase a new JD 50hp machine and will be keeping it in a rural location. I have been going back and forth on how to secure it from theft.
I checked into insurance and it is $250/year for a 14K machine through my insurance company which seems very high (I plan on shopping around more next week).
So, I have been trying to figure out how to best secure it. I thought about all the usual ignition/starter/fuel disable schemes, until I talked a fellow at a dealer who basically blew all my theories.
He told me that a person from my home town had just had his tractor stolen with a bunch of disable stuff in place. I asked him how and he told me the thief fed it ether through the intake and got it to fire enough to get it on a trailer, while shorting from the battery to the starter terminal (bypassing any anti-theft circuits on the starter side or fuel system side).
So, after hearing this, I realized that there is no way to disable the fuel or ignition system (besides maybe taking the starter home with you). Not to mention the risks of someone just winching it up without starting it.
So, I have come up with some ideas to prevent theft. I was hoping folks could provide some feedback as to whether or not I would be wasting my time:
1.) Park it in the woods, out of sight from the road.
2.) Rig the back and front tires out to row crop width to keep it from easily being loaded on a standard lowboy trailer.
3.) I designed a bracket made out of 1/4" plate that will securely hold the front axle in place. The brackets will look like an upside down "L" and allow the tractor to be backed into place. The "L" will have another hinged "L" piece that will lock into place with a standard lock. The trick will be that the 2nd hinged piece will have a 1/4" plate protection box where the lock will be that only has a hole big enough to insert your fingers and key to unlock it and loop it in and out of the catches within that box (that way the lock is protected from bolt cutters, grinders etc). The whole assembly will be anchored in concrete that goes several feet deep. That way, the thief will basically have to bring a torch to the site to cut through the brackets (will have one on each side of the front axle between the wheel and engine).
Any opinions on my ideas?
Thanks,
Joseph
I am new to this forum. I am about to purchase a new JD 50hp machine and will be keeping it in a rural location. I have been going back and forth on how to secure it from theft.
I checked into insurance and it is $250/year for a 14K machine through my insurance company which seems very high (I plan on shopping around more next week).
So, I have been trying to figure out how to best secure it. I thought about all the usual ignition/starter/fuel disable schemes, until I talked a fellow at a dealer who basically blew all my theories.
He told me that a person from my home town had just had his tractor stolen with a bunch of disable stuff in place. I asked him how and he told me the thief fed it ether through the intake and got it to fire enough to get it on a trailer, while shorting from the battery to the starter terminal (bypassing any anti-theft circuits on the starter side or fuel system side).
So, after hearing this, I realized that there is no way to disable the fuel or ignition system (besides maybe taking the starter home with you). Not to mention the risks of someone just winching it up without starting it.
So, I have come up with some ideas to prevent theft. I was hoping folks could provide some feedback as to whether or not I would be wasting my time:
1.) Park it in the woods, out of sight from the road.
2.) Rig the back and front tires out to row crop width to keep it from easily being loaded on a standard lowboy trailer.
3.) I designed a bracket made out of 1/4" plate that will securely hold the front axle in place. The brackets will look like an upside down "L" and allow the tractor to be backed into place. The "L" will have another hinged "L" piece that will lock into place with a standard lock. The trick will be that the 2nd hinged piece will have a 1/4" plate protection box where the lock will be that only has a hole big enough to insert your fingers and key to unlock it and loop it in and out of the catches within that box (that way the lock is protected from bolt cutters, grinders etc). The whole assembly will be anchored in concrete that goes several feet deep. That way, the thief will basically have to bring a torch to the site to cut through the brackets (will have one on each side of the front axle between the wheel and engine).
Any opinions on my ideas?
Thanks,
Joseph