Shed Security (long)

JDGREEN4ME · Dec 11, 2004

Due to increased fuel cost and the novelty of dragging a trailer w/tractor and all needed tools 500 miles round trip wearing off we are looking to put a shed on our property. Would like to be able to leave the tractor and/or Gator there from spring to late fall. This would mean we could make weekend work trips with the wife's Honda (35 mpg) as opposed to my F250 (8-10 mpg towing). I know there isn't any such thing as "theft proof" but just wondering what some of you have done to slow up or curtail the "honest" criminals? We now have some land cleared and a construction driveway in looking to get some sort of fence/gate combo up. Thought we would eliminate windows and standard door and just go with the garage door or the swing out doors to cut down on entrance points. Any ideas or experiences would be most helpful, thanks.

Freds · Dec 11, 2004

A motion sensor alarm in the garage might scare off a would be thief. They can be battery operated and an animal won't set it off if it's inside.
I would certainly make sure your insurance covered the contents of your proposed building, especially without you actually living there. Got any good neighbors within sight?

shvl73 · Dec 11, 2004

Do you have access to a metal shipping container? I would think it could be made more secure than a shed.

LMTC · Dec 11, 2004

A shipping container would necessitate them coming back with a torch, and/or other serious tools. Nothing will stop them if it is isolated. Some thieves are just too brazen. A friend uses solar powered motion-detector lights. Not sure where he got them, has had them about three years and continues to say they were a great investment....I think he had app. $80 in each back then. How about a hidden motion detector digital camera? I understand such setups can be put together for a couple hundre$$....I know we bought a 2mp Nikon Coolpix 2100 for $119 this summer and it is more than adequate. Aim it at the main vehicle access/egress. Turn the flash OFF, so they never see it. WITH the motion detector lights, you will get a picture(s) of the culprits if they do try (or succeed) that could be worth far more than the investment involved in stting it up.

Serious chain through wheels w/ serious lock to prevent even rolling either one would further slow down a thief. As might removing one front wheel and tossing it in the trunk of the Honda, leaving the axle on a jackstand. Perhaps 10 minutes work, but good security....now they have to go find a front wheel or enough guys to carry the tractor....and even with your 4115's relatively light weight, it would take 8 strong guys.

TBAR · Dec 11, 2004

( A shipping container would necessitate them coming back with a torch, and/or other serious tools. Nothing will stop them if it is isolated. Some thieves are just too brazen. A friend uses solar powered motion-detector lights. Not sure where he got them, has had them about three years and continues to say they were a great investment....I think he had app. $80 in each back then. How about a hidden motion detector digital camera? I understand such setups can be put together for a couple hundre$$....I know we bought a 2mp Nikon Coolpix 2100 for $119 this summer and it is more than adequate. Aim it at the main vehicle access/egress. Turn the flash OFF, so they never see it. WITH the motion detector lights, you will get a picture(s) of the culprits if they do try (or succeed) that could be worth far more than the investment involved in stting it up.

Serious chain through wheels w/ serious lock to prevent even rolling either one would further slow down a thief. As might removing one front wheel and tossing it in the trunk of the Honda, leaving the axle on a jackstand. Perhaps 10 minutes work, but good security....now they have to go find a front wheel or enough guys to carry the tractor....and even with your 4115's relatively light weight, it would take 8 strong guys.

)

Excellent suggestions. I use almost all of them.

TBAR

Cliff_Johns · Dec 11, 2004

( A friend uses solar powered motion-detector lights. )

Don't forget that by adding things like motion detector lights and the like, you can just attract attection to the shed that theives might not notice otherwise. What's more, sometimes it just gives them something else to steal. Maybe they can't get to your tractor, but losing $50 worth of motion detector lights every couple months could add up.

It does seem like the shipping container idea is a good one as long as it isn't too easy to pull up, load the container and drive away with the whole thing, tractor, container and all.

Cliff

slydog · Dec 11, 2004

Ive got a logging chain wrapped around the rear axle and chained around a tree, plus I remove the rotor and battery. I'm hopeing this is deterrent enough. Plus mine is well hidden at the top of my property.

Ken

SPIKER · Dec 11, 2004

Lots of good ideas, also think a good size chain link fence is a great deterant. something that requires a lock removal tool which is very noisy a Stainless Steel and or case hardened type one. all way around the shipping container. if it is too much work they will give up and try an easier target. Otherwise might as well leave it open then no one will ever bother it. lol

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Mark M

LMTC · Dec 11, 2004

My friend has his motion detector lights on the top of poles set in the ground....they are probably 25' high, with screen around them. Nothing is perfect, but it would take a gunshot or a 30' ladder to get to them. And he focuses them on a narrow range and on the building, so it is less likely animals will set them off. But you are correct in that they could give the site away. I was assuming there is some sort of drive/approach that does that anyway.

Next favorite....sign that says "GUARD SNAKES---Do You REALLY Want To Find Out If I'm Kidding?" Small print under this says "For EMT use--proper antivenin is Crotalidae Polyvalent (Equine), standard for Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. Please be cautious if you haven't accounted for all six."

JimR · Dec 11, 2004

It's hard to leave anything around on vacant property any more. Someone will steal it no matter how hard it is to get to it. My project barn and house are 200 yards from where we live. I'm there almost everyday doing something to the place. A few years ago some bas-ard broke into the shed area thru a window and stole my Makita miter saw, sawzall, portable hand saw and rechargeable drill. It rained that day and I stayed home. We never got the jerks, They even left prints on my portable table saw that they tried to fit thru a window. My only wish was that I might have caught them. They wouldn't have made it out unharmed. I would look into chains, chain link fence, motion lights, pull a front wheel off as mentioned and hope for the best. I'd even go as far as to booby-trap the place. But that would get you into big trouble if you killed a crook that broke into it. Go figure that one out.