quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
Yes trailers have VIN numbers on them.
What an idiot.

Vehicle Identification Number, Number

I don't know if there is a VIN per say on this particular trailer.I didn't see a license plate on the trailer so most likely it is able to have a lifetime license on it which is just a sticker you put on the tongue frame. Has a number and a bar code on it. You just buy the license once and don't have to renew and it's even transferable. I would guess they are traceable to the original person who registered it. Trailers above this weight do have a VIN or serial number and are registered to the state like other vehicles and are issued actual plates which you have to renew. If it's resold the new owner has to transfer the title.

We have them here in Minnesota if the trailer is under 3000#. I'm surprised they haven't done away with that yet and make you renew it every three years like they do your boat, UTV and ATV's. I shouldn't be giving Walz any ideas.

There was a rash of trailer thefts around my general area a couple years ago. When they got a finally got a lead and investigate they found 17 trailers at the guys house!

I try to keep my 3 trailers mostly out of sight and chained with a substantial log chain to a tree, but in reality that probably does little to nothing.

Love happy endings!

What a douche. Glad he got what he deserved. That trailer looks exactly like a mini version of mine. I would have been super excited this this guy's shoes.

Why you should airtag anything of value on wheels.
I've seen where contractors airtag their equipment then go hunt it when it disappears.

quote:

I didn't see a license plate on the trailer

One would assume the perp took it off and threw it away, as it could clearly ID the true owner thru DMV records.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Why you should airtag anything of value on wheels.
I've seen where contractors airtag their equipment then go hunt it when it disappears.

Friend of mine does site work around Birmingham. Air tags his equipment. Had some Mexicans steal a skid steer. He tracked it to a location and went over there. Called the cops and asked them to come there and help deal with it. They said no.
He explained that he was going to get his equipment back one way or the other and it would be a lot better if they came because it was going to get ugly real fast.
They showed up PDQ and he got his skid steer back and the thieving sobs got arrested.

Kinda off topic buy in the late 60’s a guy I worked with crashed his custom El Camino, his being drunk probably was a factor in his surviving hitting a bridge abutment.

Anyhow, a couple of friends and I went to the gas station it was towed to. Insurance company was dragging their feet on paying it off. They don’t have a defined impound lot, just cars behind the building.

So, we’re looking at it, guy working there about our age (mid-late teens) comes up and asked us if we were interested in buying any parts from it. I asked him “What about the wheels and tires?” which were fine, now sitting on blocks.

The kid starts rattling off stuff they took off the car like the Holley carburetor and said “Well the insurance company hasn’t paid off on it and they guy that owns it lives across town, he’s not going to know who stripped it!” My friends with me are not saying a word, they’re wondering what I’m up to.

So I said to the guy “I’m going to call my buddy, he’s going to be real interested in this Camino since it’s his! I also said “Not bull********, his name is XXX”. The guy turned absolutely white in the face and breaks off running to the front of the station, I yelled “In the car now!” to my friends and we got out of there fast.

Got down the road a couple of miles, hid my car and got on a pay phone and called him. Yeah,mkt got ugly for the gas station owner what I heard between the cops, the insurance company and my friend going after him.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

I didn't see a license plate on the trailer

One would assume the perp took it off and threw it away, as it could clearly ID the true owner thru DMV records.

Some states don’t require registration or working lights like Oklahoma. Just the tow vehicle must be registered in Oklahoma. As long as you don't leave the state your ok.

Nice. It is amazing how brazen these thieves can be.

Around these parts, 90+% of the trailers on Facebook Marketplace have no paperwork, they all say in their listings "It's simple to register as homemade".

Which always leaves me thinking... "If it's so simple, why didn't you do it?"

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:

Vehicle Identification Number, Number

All VIN Numbers should be registered with the Department of Redundancy Department.

I have three trailers in my driveway. Various sizes, number of equipped axles, and GVWR for different tasks.

A former coworker had a really nice aluminum trailer stolen from his driveway while he and his wife attended a party.
There were other parked personal vehicles in the driveway when the trailer was stolen.
So the thieves may have seen the couple leave their home. Waiting? Watching?
That aluminum trailer was never recovered.

While being chained up doesn't keep a trailer from being stolen, it does require a trailer thief to be dedicated and determined.
All of mine are chained to immoveable objects.
Cutting heavy chains is noisy and time consuming, or with an oxy/acetylene torch, extremely visible and noisy at night.
SO FAR, my precautions have kept my trailers where they belong. In MY driveway.

PEWAG security chain is serious stuff. Square cross section, not made from "round" wire as is typical of regular chains, case hardened surface immune to bolt cutters & hacksaws.
You cut PEWAG chain with a grinder or oxy/acetylene torch.
VIRO locks are pretty damn tough also.

I have additional security measures on my 40' Hi-Cube shipping container at the recreational property.
Yes Sir, some more PEWAG chain and VIRO locks please!

Link: https://www.uscargocontrol.com...pewag-security-chain