Travel trailer stolen!

[clutch]

I hope it will be found in one piece. I really hate thieves.

[rwilley]

Wow. Sorry to here this. I've seen hitch locks on trailers around here but only heard of work trailers being stolen. It makes me think about a hitch lock for my 5th W.

[AndrewClay]

That really sucks. I think we need the middle east approach to property crimes, cut their #$%^ hands off.

[edowsfamily]

sorry to hear what happened. did you have thief insurance on it? i was not going to get insurance on my 2012 22FB but i did just in case something like this should happen. i sure hope it is recovered.

[Quahog]

This really chaps me. I'm sorry to hear you've been the victim of some scumbag(s) who feel it's ok to take from others rather than work for their own. One thing your misfortune does though is heightens my awareness. I'm going to beef up my coupler lock and I might even carry a big chain for the wheels.

I keep our TT at a good storage lot with high fences, on-site security, lights, cameras, and keypad entrance but what about when you're out camping and you decide to go off for the day? Dang... and I used to think I was going overboard when I would chain my motorcycle trailer to the steel tie-downs!

[Lady Ann]

I am sorry to hear that not only is this stressing out you, it also ruined your son's birthday. I cannot think of a thing that will make that part okay.

I hope the insurance makes good. I also hope those that did this are found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Please give your son a hug from our family and wish him a happy birthday.

[Albertaguy]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I would love to catch someone who steals from me .......... but that's another story. I like the idea of a GPS locator but would like to find one that works using lithium batteries so that you don't need any sort of power and they would last for up to 5 plus years regardless of weather. We use lithium batteries in security systems in the oil patch here in Alberta in remote areas. They may be available but I have not done a Google search to confirm.

[poohbear]

Sorry for ya!I just hate thieves.we are also in the selfstorage business and have cameras.I had a vandalism incident a few years back and my wife & I could both id the punk(small town,everybody knows everybody) but the local "barney fife" we have said just not good enough facial photos to use.He called the guys name when he drove up by the design of his "tag" he sprayed painted on our buildings.
There are some pretty inexpensive "real time" gps tracking systems availible and considering how much we have invested sounds like a good idea if you have to rent storage site.
P.S.:no offense to the many hard working men/women in LE.Our small town just seems to hire police that need to be doing something else.

[Flytyer]

I have to wonder what in the world some one would do with a stolen TT. Parting it out seems like more work than what it is worth, Might as well get a real job..
I never really heard of TT being stolen in my 60+years. I must not get out that much...

[David472]

Very sorry to hear this news. I hope they catch the ones responsible, but if it’s anything like here, even if brought to court, they will get off with a slap of the wrist. I’m sure your son will be very sad about no camping for the birthday weekend. I do hope you had insurance coverage, but that won’t cover the emotional loss.

[Forgvn77]

Sorry to hear that happened! We'll pray for your family and that justice would come to those that stole your trailer. We'll also pray for a quick and intact recovery or swift action by the insurance company to provide you with enough to purchase another.

[cbaka27]

I keep checking back for an update on this. Did you see anything new on the videos? I assume the police are involved? What did your insurance company say?

[Wyotraveler]

It will be interesting to see if it was actually stolen or somebody loaned a TT to someone and the borrower got the wrong TT in error.

A little off subject but I was getting ready to pull out of a RV park and had a lady jump in my truck and tell me she didn't know I was going to pull up to the office so fast. I said excuse me, you're in the wrong truck. She still didn't look at me yet and said don't kid me like that. Once she turned her head and looked, you should have seen the look on her face. She sat there and apologized for about 5 minutes. Mistakes do happen.

[familybonding]

WOW! I don't know what to say to make the situation better, but I hope for the best for you. Please keep us updated.

[SecretCoveDave]

Hey Ranger, I wonder if any JOF member in the area could loan you a TT for a birthday sequel?

[Ladywendolyn]

I think the GPSchip,is something to consider if a trailer is in public storage

[Ranger431]

Sorry for the delay between updates, but I was up until a little after 1:00am last night watching about 7 hours of surveillance footage (the guy that worked there was kind enough to stay and allow me to watch the footage).

Here is what we found out:

At 12:14am Wednesday morning a black pickup truck drove directly to my TT. Either he knew the closest camera was out of service or got VERY lucky, because where he parked was also obscured by a motor home.

He worked on the TT for 14 minutes - from what it looked like on the video he was removing the Hensley Arrow. I found no parts left on site, but on the video of him leaving I couldn't see the struts or any other parts of the HA.

As he left, you could not see a license plate, which is too bad. However it looked to be a late model Chevy pickup, crew or king cab. Looked to be black, but on a black and white IR camera it could have a very dark blue. He also had tinted windows, alloy wheels and black trim strip along the bottom of his truck.

This definitely wasn't an accident, after all who pulls in, disassembles a hitch a little after midnight, and takes a trailer in error?

So far, I haven't been too thrilled with the police work of the Knox County Sheriffs Dept. either. I told them I had located the exact time of the theft and found it on the security footage, and he didn't even seem interested to look at it. Basically I got the impression that their strategy is to issue a report number for insurance purposes, register the VIN, and hope they stumble upon it. He told me they found one that had been left along the highway once, but most of the time they just "disappear".\

I understand the police have a lot going on, but in this case the guy had done prior planning or had inside knowledge - you would think they would see if any employees or people that store other things there drive a truck that matches the description or looked at other footage to see him scoping things out.

As for the insurance company - also not terribly thrilled. Was told the contents were only covered unless it burned or was struck by lightening, but not theft. Doesn't sound right to me, so I am researching. They are calculating value now, less depreciation, so I should have that info by Monday. Also have to wait 2 weeks to see if it turns up, which seems reasonable. I also know it's their job, but asking questions like "am I employed" (yes), "are the payments up to date" (yes), "have I ever filed theft or stolen property claims before" (No) and other questions basically asking if I was behind this. These sound like questions they should ask when taking out the policy, not making a claim. But as I said, they are reasonable questions - just not in my current state of mind.

Anyway, I also have a GAP policy, so even if they kill me with depreciation, I at least won't be upside down. I am also hoping my homeowners policy will cover contents.

So, it's basically wait and see right now. We'll try and do something special for my son's birthday like either going to see his grandfather and go out on the boat, have a sleepover with his friends and/or maybe go to look at other campers.

Sorry to sound overly negative through this, it just really irritates me - not to mention I got to bed about 2:00am and had to get up today at 4:30am to hit the gym before work, so I'm kind of cranky. The important thing to remember is the kids (all 6 of 'em) are healthy and "things" can be replaced.

And I can always dream that I will someday see my camper at a local campground (and I know just how to recognize it due to some very subtle "character marks") and I can meet the guy that took it - let some of my past job training come into play. Although I really hope I'd have the presence of mind to call the police.

[jtcrash]

Sorry to hear about your TT being stolen, I never though about that happening. I will have to figure out a way to secure mine.

[Ranger431]

All I can tell you is, if I had to do it over againI might have went with two large sections of chain through the wheels on each side, but really don't think it would have mattered, as he came with tools, and spent about 15 minutes getting things ready, so a few snips with bolt cutters wouldn't have mattered. I guess all you can do is make your camper less conveinent than others, and hope someone isn't partial to the model / style you have.

[SecretCoveDave]

Cheers to your attitude during a difficult time. I wonder if storage places had a liscense plate cam at the gate ?
Dave