Inovative anti-theft ideas?

[FULLPULL]

The fuel shut off trick works good on a deisel my dads was setting on top of his loading shute two foot from the top out of fuel try gitting a 62 ford super major started after it runs out of fuel he he .

 

[PILOON]

For any magneto powered tractor all you need to do is ground out the 'P' lead and that'll discourage the amateur thief.

On Aircraft we often mounted 'bogus switches' in the pannel to cut out the starter relay.
These switches while in plain view on the pannel would be labeled with some obscure function, (ie; ejector, emergency locator, gyro compass etc etc)

Now days insurance companies refuse coverage unless heavy equipment has a boomerang installed. (That is a GPS based tracking unit)

On my tractor the key broke off in the tumbler before I purchased it so there is no key.
I simply use a stubby screwdriver to turn the switch on.
Now no crook equipped with a master set of keys can key start it as no key fits in!
I figure that will complicate his life.

Also my tractor is parked 10 feet from my bedroom window.
Best protection at this time is the fact that it is presently -26 deg celcius and the block heater switch is inside the house.

 

[jpm]

rich he's a cane corso ( itailian mastiff ) their smaller than a bull but more agressive if not keep in control
moss he's happy,when mad his eye's get bloodshot red
back on topic: a big mean looking dog is as effective as all the anti-theft other devices because a determined theft will get their prize

 

[slowrev]

Slowrev.. a few gator clip wires and you can almost hotwire anything.

Soundguy

If you know what you are doing
Most thieves I have known of are not too bright.

and yes you pretty much can't stop an intelligent determined thief.

 

[MossRoad]

Hi MossRoad- I'm interested - did you ever have a "genius" try to steal it with their own battery or are you just hypothesising? Interested, is all (ie how many bad and determined people are out there?)

There is a very nice neighbor that lives across the road from our property. She called the cops because is was late at night, the lights were on on my tractor and she hadn't seen it move for quite a while and thought it was odd and maybe I was hurt. The cops called my house, I told them I had the battery for the tractor in my garage. Cops went to property. Didn't find anyone there.

Week later same thing happened but it was a different person that called the cops. So, my guess is either someone was trying to start it or it was lights from someone else's vehicle out in our field.

The neighbor across the road is pretty sharp and has been around farming most of her life, so I have no reason to think she's mistaken and really appreciated her calling the cops. They do a good job of keeping an eye on things, as does the Conservation Officer. Three C.O.s for 5 counties and he happens to drive by at the same time someone is in our lane cutting wood. He checked them out and let them go, once he determined they were my wife's parents.

 

[N80]

I don't think there is anything you can do to stop a determined thief. A TBN member recently told us that his tractor was stolen by a guy who came with a wrecker truck and a trailer.

I don't mean to offend anyone but I don't think dogs scare anyone but casual theives. One shot and the dog is out of the picture. I know of at least one German Shepherd that met that fate. Thief shot him in the head. For someone who says hey, look, there's a tractor, wonder if I can start it, then a dog might work, but so would a chain, etc.

I turn the fuel shut off to off. I leave it in gear (won't crank in gear) and I leave the PTO lever engaged (won't crank with pto on). These measures would stop kids or a local dirtbag, but wouldn't slow a dedicated tractor thief at all. I do worry about such things making the casual thief mad leading to vandalism.

In any case, I think the most important measure is theft and vandalism insurance.

 

[swines]

Without knowing the specifics of your tractor.. if it is just a simple relay to energize the starter solenoid, then a set of jumpercables and 2-3 gator clip wires would probably allow someone to start that tractor and drive off with it.

I have started allmy tractors, from a gs 46 ford 2n thru my 2002 NH 7610s diesel ( with a few safety interlocks ) without keys on multiple occasions. Neither took much more than a ball or wire to do so.. or more than 5 minutes .. unfortunately..

Soundguy

Nope - tried it just for fun. Without the starter relay - tractor doesn't start. If you can get to the back of the key switch (with jumpers) you might get it started. Not very practical as thieves don't want to spend that much time diagnosing the problem to get it started.

If you want to play that game - then the easiest thing for the thief to do is carry a starter relay to match the tractor. But, again, they'd first have to diagnose the problem. Is it a dead battery? Dead starter, bad solenoid, bad switch, etc.

What we've found in 25 years of doing high-end security work for a variety of government and private clients, is that if a thief can't steal a piece of equipment, or break into a building in a short amount of time - they'll go some place else.

Oh, yeah, and then at my place they have to get past two gates with high security (Medeco, concealed shackle) padlocks. Yep, if they'd only thought to bring their battery operated plasma cutter, they could get through the locks.

At some point, you have to figure they're going somewhere else because you've made getting the equipment or breaking in too time consuming and/or tool intensive.

 

[Mith]

All my stuff looks like junk, and there is so much rubbish piled up all around it its a mission to get to the other side of the workshop to open the doors
Oh and if they do get anything started, the cload of oil smoke is probably enough to disorientate them

 

[1948berg]

Shown this before, arranged the right way it will stop most thievs for a long time, if they are not prepared for it.

 

[N80]

What we've found in 25 years of doing high-end security work for a variety of government and private clients, is that if a thief can't steal a piece of equipment, or break into a building in a short amount of time - they'll go some place else.

I'm sure that's true, but the amount of time a thief is comfortable with is going to be relative to the situation. My tractor stays on a piece of property way out in the sticks and I don't live there. Traffic on the country road that its own is probably zero from about midnight to five a.m. on weekdays. So anyone with a pair of bolt cutters, a trailer and a come-along could have my tractor even if I applied all of the ideas listed above.

Same is true for the farms in the area and they have been hit in the last year. On any given weeknight they've got a good solid five hours to get their work done without any chance of running into anyone else.

The local sheriff says that some of these thieves do this for a living. They check out local, remote farms and steal whatever they can (one local farmer lost 6-7 saddles, aircompressor, 4 wheeler, and other stuff) then they head to another part of the state, unload the stolen goods then hit _that_ part of the state and then head for somewhere else in a circuit. Hard to beat a professional like that. The suspect in question had his own trailer for hauling stuff off.

I realize this is very politcally, and maybe morally, incorrect, but if some local farmer could catch one of these guys in the act and drop him, then that farming community might get a reputation for an area not worth the risk of being in your theft circuit.

The OP asked for innovative ideas right?

 

[john_bud]

and yes you pretty much can't stop an intelligent determined thief.

Problem is most "intelligent determined" thieves already have their law degree and have found politics. Why steal from one person one at a time, when you can steal from all teh people all the time?

And, no method will stop a dedicated thief with a trailer and a winch. 2 minutes and they are gone.


However, for the stupider thieves. A simple ball valve or two that lock the steering cylinders in place.



While they are higher maintenance and prone to getting lost, invisible barkless attack dogs are good. Got an extra one in the cage, for sale if'n yer interested....


jb

 

[Soundguy]

I'm curious as to what type of tractor you have that a significant amount of 'copper' can't be used to bypass a missing relay. It's not too difficult to simple decide which wires need grounding, which need 'open' and which need power'. True that a 'rushed' or 'dumb' criminal won't go for it.. but someone with electrical or specific tractor experience might get it. or are we talking a 'solenoid'. 2 different things.. if solenoid.. then I can see some difficulty.. That just menas they have to pull it off, if geared. if hydro.. then.. well.. it's relegated to the rollback.

Soundguy

Nope - tried it just for fun. Without the starter relay - tractor doesn't start. If you can get to the back of the key switch (with jumpers) you might get it started. Not very practical as thieves don't want to spend that much time diagnosing the problem to get it started.

If you want to play that game - then the easiest thing for the thief to do is carry a starter relay to match the tractor. But, again, they'd first have to diagnose the problem. Is it a dead battery? Dead starter, bad solenoid, bad switch, etc.

What we've found in 25 years of doing high-end security work for a variety of government and private clients, is that if a thief can't steal a piece of equipment, or break into a building in a short amount of time - they'll go some place else.

Oh, yeah, and then at my place they have to get past two gates with high security (Medeco, concealed shackle) padlocks. Yep, if they'd only thought to bring their battery operated plasma cutter, they could get through the locks.

At some point, you have to figure they're going somewhere else because you've made getting the equipment or breaking in too time consuming and/or tool intensive.

 

[Soundguy]

I like the locked steering cyl idea. I guess you could also abb a hy bypass to sump on the main hyd pump, and kick that. Thus no implement lift.

Again.. as we have all said. A prepaired, smart, determined theif with a winch or rollback will get it.

Just look at repo people. I've witnessed heavy equipment being repo'd from another contractor that was working on one of our job sites.

Kinda neat seeing a huge wrecker pull up at lunch, 2 guys scramble around for about 30 seconds, while the driver lines up and , and then the wrecker pull down the street before anyone can get over there. That's like 3 determined, experienced theives, and less than a minute, in broad daylight, and a hugy piece of equipment. ( rubber tired.. not tracked, in this instance). I think a large piece of tracked equipment may have to be a 'dealer' recovery type thing...

Soundguy

Problem is most "intelligent determined" thieves already have their law degree and have found politics. Why steal from one person one at a time, when you can steal from all teh people all the time?

And, no method will stop a dedicated thief with a trailer and a winch. 2 minutes and they are gone.


However, for the stupider thieves. A simple ball valve or two that lock the steering cylinders in place.



While they are higher maintenance and prone to getting lost, invisible barkless attack dogs are good. Got an extra one in the cage, for sale if'n yer interested....


jb

 

[N80]

My dad was in law enforcement all his life. One day he and his partner were walking out of their office into the back parking lot to go to lunch. At the far end of the parking lot they saw a guy trying to get into another agent's car. When the guy saw them coming (both of them armed) he did not run away, he simply worked a little faster and before they could get to him he had the radio (some type of law enforecement unit) out, hopped the back fence and was gone. You almost have to admire that level of cool and talent.

 

[HappyCPE]

When the guy saw them coming (both of them armed) he did not run away, he simply worked a little faster and before they could get to him he had the radio (some type of law enforecement unit) out, hopped the back fence and was gone. You almost have to admire that level of cool and talent.

I grew up with some kids that wanted for nothing. Yet they stole, vandalized and generally raised cain. They did it for the adrenaline rush. I don't think you can stop that type of person. You take reasonable precautions, then have the insurance company deal with the rest.

 

[slowrev]

Umm, my tractor shed has a burgler alarm. Raises all kinds of heck! Strobe on top of the building and a siren. It is battery powered, so cutting the AC power has no effect Plus it is only a hundred feet from my bedroom and my shotgun...

 

[Soundguy]

The shotgun.. now that's a permanent deterrent. I'm all for that kind of an anti-theft device!!

Soundguy

 

[swines]

You can stop any thief - it's a matter of how much money you want to spend.

You can make it so that they can work for hours to try and get in and get nowhere. But, the cost to do that is easily in the six figure range. Also, every solution has to be site engineered to block all avenues of entry.

At one site we're designing K-50 barriers into the approach road. Those are barriers that can be hit by a 50,000 pound vehicle traveling at 55 MPH. The barriers retract into the surface of the pavement for ingress/egress by authorized vehicles.

I suppose, if you brought a D-6 or D-8 with you and spent some time you could dig up the foundation. If that is the case, then we would design a series of barriers of different types into the approach road and probably use some type of barriers at the perimeter.

If you ever have a chance to look at the Corps of Engineers Physical Security Manual - you'll soon get the idea that site enhancements can be made so that stopping vehicle ingress/egress can be done ... but, the price...ooooh yeah, like in some cases $3K - 5K per linear foot of perimeter.

But, as we're fond of saying..."All it takes is cubic dollars."

 

[the_sandman_454]

You could get some "inert" claymore mines and set them up at appropriate places around the tractor with some fake trip wires strung up. I'm not sure how legal it would be but with inert stuff I wouldn't think there'd be much they could do about it. Then again in this day and age of legal stupidity and general litigiousness, it's hard to say for sure. I can say that such a thing would certainly deter me...

 

[JRobyn]

Can't even use the shotgun deterrent anymore! There's a news spot today about the farmer who is being prosecuted for having a shotgun when he attempted to prevent some lowlife from pilfering fuel from a neighbors property. The shotgun wasn't even loaded, and the lowlife is defending the farmer! The prosecutors have decided to be lenient and reduce the felony assault charge to two misdemeanors of "pointing a gun" and "disorderly conduct". Sheesh!

Gas thief defends vigilante farmer - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com