Hello Guys
I just finished recovering from a bad week. Last week I had all my power tools stolen out of my jeep. Whoever did it got into the cab and took apart a plywood box to get to them. Lost quite a bit there. Anyhow what are some ideas for keeping tools safe. I now take everything (not too much at the moment) out of my car in the evening and put it inside my garage. My car just isn’t secure enough for me to leave stuff in. What are your opinions?
AJH
Replies
Capital punishment done medeivel style for theives and all that deal with their proceedes.
Pike several of their heads in your front yard or use them as hood ornimaents.....
Here fishy fishy....
Problem is these guys were pros (if you can use that word on people like them) they knew what they wanted and were gone in no time. No fingerprints. And the police don't really do a thing. Nor insurance.
Speaking of insurance does anybody know of a way to get a policy that covers your tools, but isnt' strictly a contractor's policy?
AJH
If you catch one or more be bone chilling crude....
Vehicle rider policy. Do a seach for insurance policies here. Lots of good info.
I've been there. Just lost my Rol-aire, Bosch TS and 12"SCM with all the goodies...
Here fishy fishy....
on the insurance note... good luck. I recently tried to get some sort of insurance to cover the roughly 4 grand locked in my boxes, no dice.
if you find anything please post it back
Neil, you send me 5 thousand dollars tody.
Another 1000 every month from now on...
And I will guarantee to replace your 4 thou worth of tools if they are stolen.
Heck, I'll replace them even if you give them away.
If I survive, I have survived.
But if I have enriched someone else's life, I have succeeded.
quittintime
Allstate has a policy. I just talked to my agent yesterday about it.
I know the prices will be differenet but could you give me a few of the details of the plan you were able to get and the cost ?
Hey CAG,
I've got coverage for $7000 worth of tools for $160 a year. Pretty short money all things considered. It's part of my liability policy though. Not sure what it would cost to just cover tools without the liability. Call whoever insures your truck and see if you can add something that way. They may want to see commercial plates on your truck (not sure if you have 'em). In my case it was cheaper to insure my truck AND trailer on a commercial policy than it was to insure just my truck on a regular policy.
One thing my insurance company never mentioned to me was that you need to keep a VERY detailed list of your tools with serial #'s, brand and model #'s, and estimated value. I went so far as to take a few pictures with the trailer open and the service body opened up with everything visible.
diesel, I'd pay twice that for coverage, but no one seems to be offering it, I tried to get it and roll it into my reg auto insurance, no dice. I called several of the companies in town...
I'm going to look into a small contractors plan and see what the cost would be, and look some more...
I know it's out there, just haven't been able to find it in my area.
The quote I was given was $420 for $15,000 of tools for theft, $550 for one million of liability. I haven't really shopped around so I don't know how good or bad these prices are.
I just lost my saw and CAG says he just bought one.... I wonder???
Here fishy fishy....
what's wrong with the idea of a cheap contrcators policy with a good tool rider?
That ... plus a good car alarm.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
about 800 bucks for a basic contractors, plus the rider around here.
I don't do side work as of yet, so that seems steep for me.
That's more than I pay for $1mil liability and all my additional riders ...
Keep looking ... I'd guess U should be able to find something for $300-$400 ....
I pay right around $600/yr .... includes "limited roofing".
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
ARIELH15-
That is such a bummer. I feel for ya. I can relate in that I've had stuff ripped off before but never a total like what you had. Definitely not a good feeling.
I don't have anything to share about keeping tools safe except that there have been numerous threads in the past regarding such.
Unfortunately it happens often enough that I'm sure some here will be able to offer advice.
What are your opinions?
As Jeff suggests, alarm. Electronics work and are very inexpensive. They keep me sleeping soundly. You could even have one transmit inside to you.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
i bought one of those job boxes 2'x2'x4' holds a lot of stuff,the first thing i put in the bottom was 4-80lb bags of ready mix. probably weighs a total of 600 lbs with tools etc.. i think it would stop the kids but if someone has a torch it might as well have a sign on it that says help yourself. i've thought about a alarm on the lid. sorry about your luck,but whatever you do don't reload the car they know to watch it now.larry
No way you can keep your tools in a jeep, or in a plywood box. One of my carpenters used to keep all his stuff in a Volvo station wagon... kind of like a rolling exhibit of tools for all to see. The blanket that half covered everything did little good.
My truck has Weatherguard side boxes that lock, and when I get a minute I'm going to have my welder fab up a couple of brackets that let me lock a piece of pipe across the doors so they can't be opened even if the locks are pried. For jobsites I have Knaack chests with rotary tumbler locks that aren't easy to drill out. Even so, if anyone gets alone with this stuff it's easy enough to cut with a jigsaw or a torch. But the casual car stereo thief ain't gettin' any of it.
If you have tools, you need to invest in lockboxes. In most places you can't even safely stop to pick up lunch with a few tools on the seat or in the back.
Worked on a house once where the site shed had a battery powered alarm in it. If you didnt get to it in time OR forgot the code ( like we did ) the screaming was loud enough to make your brain turn to jelly. VERY uncomfortable to be near. It only cost $70
I am considering something similar for the tool trailer I am building. The louder the better. If it damages the scumbags ears.....perfect. The box is to be made from freezer panel. 2 inch thick foam with steel sheet both sides. Not impossible to get into, but after hacking in would the screamin' be worth it? Me thinks not.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Last year, one of my helpers was on his way home after work.
He was stoped at a red light, whan all of a sudden about 3 punks ran up to his truck and grabbed all his tools out of the back ! He gave chase but they were too fast and knew the neighborhood.
http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/police/tips/operatid.html
the above is an example
lot of police depts participate
u engrave an id number on your things
police likely to provide stickers that say u are participating
makes things harder to fence since they are marked
painting them hot pink doesn't hurt either
contact your local police to see if they participate, they will loan an engraver.bobl Volo, non valeo
Now that truly sucks. No way to prevent that other than have everything locked up ALL the time.
I hate the idea of needing to be that paranoid in order to keep my own gear.
I am fortunate with where I live. The pickup is never locked at home, nor is the workshop. If the weather is good I have tools and materials all over the thing.
The downside is when it rains all tools have to be in the front with me. The trailer will carry the tools soon, but will never be left on the job. All of my gear goes home with me at the end of the day.
As for murdering the thieves. Nah, too quick an easy. I would make sure the armhole walks with a limp for the rest of his miserable life so he is constantly reminded what a dirtbag he is. :-)
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
I save all my old broken power tools. When they crap out I clean them up and put them on a shelf in my garage next to all the other shiny broken tools. Go ahead and clean me out, I keep the good stuff elswhere.
If someone wants your equipment enough, they'll likely get it. But after two such experiences, I opted for making them easily identified by writing down all the serial numbers and pin punch markings locations. I'll take a punch and grind it sharp then mark my tools with three or four punch marks per tool near the serial # where tool wear won't affect it. Pawn shops are required by law to disclose every item they receive to the police with pertinent #'s and information on who does the pawning. I'd rather the cops catch them since I'd murder them, which I might be tempted to do when they got out anyway.
I do not think it counts as murder, believe it falls under justifiable homicide, or mercy killing, or purifying the gene pool.
Cleaning up the gene pool....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
I've frequently thought about wiring up some kind of converter and connecting it to my tool box. That way, when the theiving scum tries to steal my tools, he gets a nice shock and maybe even knocked out. But there would most likely be days where I'd forget to turn it off before I grabbed my tools. ZAP!
I've been robbed 3 times, so I'm still thinking of ways to get revenge.
I got enough ideas to write a book.....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
I've got lots of ideas, too. Unfortunately, most of them are either illegal or unethical.
Yeah I know.....
If only a few examples could be made...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Old story... store owner in Florida gets robbed by thief coming thru the skylight. He installs a metal grille and connects it to power. Thief is killed. Either the thief's estate sued and won or the owner was found guilty of murder, can't remember which. Sounds like if you kill your tool thief you need to dispose of the body too.
That's what Sawzalls are for.
Yeah, or maybe you know a guy with a tree shredder.
I moved out of Brooklyn,NY two years ago, best thing I ever did. Back there I lost 2 cars and 2 vans. One of the cars had about 1000 dollars of hand tools in it . One of the vans was filled with custom furniture and tools. A shop breakin added 2000 more in losses. Now I live on a small road 10 miles from a town in MA. It is very safe here, and I am buying tools like a drunken sailor. Moving to the right place is the best theft prevention.
my Dad had a similar idea to stop the neighbor kids from climbing 8 ft up the stone wall .. to climb over the 3ft cyclone fence ... to go thru the gate ... as their short cut.
I forget what he wired it to ...
it did give a nice shock.
right after he promised Mom it was all just for show ... he plugged it in!
Only took about 2 weeks before he could unplug it ...
worked pretty quick.
he wired in an alarm siren .. so it'd never go off ...
his story was gonna be ... it's a homemade-fence alarm that musta got a short?
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I hate thieves-
i have been hit four times- last one was recent. my trim guns walked off- found them in a local pawn shop- guy wouldn't tell me who brought 'em in- banged his head off the counter and put the fear of me in him- he gave up a name... cops are watching.
time before i caught the bastards with my tools in their hands and they headed off to the hospital after we discussed their transgressions...
i ain't very tolerant
I've been robbed 3 times, not quite to your level. Two of the robberies were in so-called "nice" neighborhoods. On one of them, I was working on a wrap around porch where my van weasn't out of sight for more than 5 minutes at a time, and the scum still managed to get away with several tools without me seeing anything.
I've never had the opportunity to express my displeasure with any of the low-lifes that have cost me money and aggrevation. Maybe someday I'll have that chance. At least its something to look forward to.
my brother has a painting business in syracuse ny.told me he was spraying a 3 story apartment building outside. compresser in the truck lots a hose run out .round the corner way up high the gun quits workin.yep scumbags stole the compressor un hooked the air hose and all the other assorted tools in the truck.big balls for a little crack rock me thinks.dont know why i cant spell compresseor tonight lol st paddys day maybe?
Edited 3/18/2004 2:55 am ET by bud
ROFLMAO
Nice one. I like your style.
Every now and again we get theives who target peoples cars while they are away in the bush. Usually the location is miles from anywhere. So, coming out of the bush after several days and finding your gear gone and a car that likely wont go, dark,raining etc........not funny.
These dirtbags go unopposed until some hunter types catch them in the act. Last ones I heard of got the beating of their miserable lives. The hunters then went to the cops and informed them that these morons kept "runnin their faces into our rifle butts"......cops went to see the thieves in hospital and quietly congratulated the hunters on a fine job.
I love it when that happens. :-)
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
When at home, they are locked in the shop with German Shepherd guarding them.
They are transported to the job site in a truck.
Smaller hand tools are generally left on the job site in a metal box which is pry proof but not torch proof. No tools stolen yet.
Larger equipment is stored in a metal storage container towed on site and locked up.
I have insurance, and I require the homeowner to carry insurance and I get the policy number.
If the house is vacant, well, a whole new scenario takes place. If I am the only contractor, and have the full bevy of tools, table saw, router table, compressors, etc., then I try to store all in the metal container AND have someone staying at the location in a trailer. The job is bid accordingly.
I will not leave major equipment at a vacant house. If necessary, I will pack it up every day if I have to and take it back to the shop, and bid the job accordingly.
Other than the occasional employee thief or subcontractor thief for handtools and small electric tools, haven't been hit yet. And won't let it happen.
I buy nice s h i t , and would rather pay more and work harder to avoid the thieves.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Boris,
Dogs work well. In the late 70's/ early 80's when I was a working rock musician ( and compiling all those photos that cause my children to howl with laughter), our tour manager procured a Vietnamese trained attack Doberman who spent nights locked in the equipment truck.
As a dog lover, I didn't like the fact that this was an obviously damaged animal. He had been trained (among other things) to go absolutely nuts at the sight of a flashlight beam, and attack.
I never reconciled my concern for the animal, but it was kind of nice to wake up at a motel in Tempe and find the equipment truck door rolled up, lock cut, bolt cutters on the ground, blood on the ground, all of our equipment in place, and a peaceful Doberman waiting to be praised.
Theft is a violation, and I hope that the people that were trying to steal our equipment spent time in the hospital for their attempted violation.
Best,
skipj
Skip:
You made me laugh today.
Thanks so much.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
We often store material locked in an import/export container (20 feet). But outside of items which can get banged around in transport, we store no tools there. We make a big show of loading up all our equipment every day and taking it all back to our store-room. It means an extra few minutes every day for the crew to load up and put away, but we haven't been ripped off since we started doing this. We used to leave major tools in houses - locked - where work was in progress, until we showed up one morning to find someone was hip to where the key was hidden. The neighbors knew nothing, the police were not interested, and it is impossible here to insure tools. If they are to be insured on the jobsite, you must provide a guard! And if they're locked up in your shop, you have to have all sorts of special precautions: locked cabinets, alarm systems, certified blessings by the chief rabbis, etc.
So if tools are dear to you, lock 'em up in the house every night!
The storage container is a good idea! do you have a class-A and rig to transport it to the site?
My Uncle told me one of those containers is in very short supply right now. I forget what he said people had found a use for it doing, but it was a legitimate thing that improved efficiency in someone's business so demand soared but the different sizes/types only have so much supply.
What I've never figured out is, are there boats full of empty containers sailing to china every day? We're importing so many bulky finished goods, cheap stuff, and what we ship them is expensive not so bulky stuff or raw material that is not containerable.
remodeler
We ship them lots of scrap metals and scrap cardboard so that they can make the cheap tools and put them in boxes and send them back to us (not kidding...)
"Anyhow what are some ideas for keeping tools safe."
Ariehl,
As stated from others, alarms really can help, but IMO, people ignore them ESPECIALLY in high crime areas. So make your's unique.
Best one I ever saw used a CO2 bottle with a solenoid attached to an old horn from a locomotive. There is no way with that going off an ear shot away from the thief, that he's going to stick around. Not to mention all the CO2 vapors.
Jon
I feel you pain. Been ripped off a bunch of times, inner-city Chicago. Held up at gun point once. Moved to a small town and everything changed. People return stuff. Don't lock their doors.Say hello to strangers on the street. Took me years to stop being so parinoid.
Anyway, Knaack boxes are good,can be defeated with chisel and small sledge. Those big shipping containers are good. Weld a section of 3" pipe around the hasp area so you have to drill the lock(not so easy). Most thieves don't carry break-in tools with them, they use what is at hand. Don't leave them anything to use!
Alarm, hook it to a pager. They are your tools. The neighbors don't want to risk their lives for your stuff.
Get involved in neighborhood watch.
Get to know the cops in your area. Buy them a beer or two off duty. Your best bet. Most cops I knew in Chicago were frustrated by the fact that when they manage to catch a theif they were released fairly quickley.
Harpo
I'll tell ya one thing...
It starts at an early age.
Our nieghbor's baby-sitter's kid was playing with my son last weekend in his room and now my son can't find any of his favorite Pokemon and Yugi-oh cards.
And his newest gameboy game is missing.
The week before my son came home complaining that this kid was swearing like a sailor.
Makes you wonder what kind of parents the kid has.
Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
Life is is never to busy to stop and pet the Doggies!!
GO ORANGEMEN!!!
I finished a project a while back in a very low income neighborhood. It was amazing the number of people who asked me for work. I talked to one seriously because I had the gut feeling it would be a situation of they'd half-azz work an hour and then we'd be fighting about how much I'd owe him, and I was curious if I was right. This guy had no tools, no transportation, wanted above prevailing unskilled labor rate.
Anyway one guy who pestered me every day was an older guy trying to sell me stuff. Like a screen door. And I knew it would be the screen door of the vacant rental across the street, or something like that. It irritated me. He and I finally got into it because this cracker m@therf&&**r (his words) wouldn't give him no cash for nothing and he was dead drunk. Fortunately I didn't see him after that.
But the rental house next to mine had the section 8 tenants rounded up and hauled away one night by the police. The neighborhood kicked the door in and robbed it.
oh well.
remodeler
I have worked three jobsites like that (everybody in the world stopping by for work, trying to sell stuff, one home invasion 2 doors down from my site) where I kept the 9mm on my belt. Never again. To me, some jobs are worth turning down.
Edited 3/19/2004 8:42 am ET by ProBozo
To me, some jobs are worth turning down.
Got that right when you can watch them from a window walking out of their way so they can nonchalantly glance inside your truck as they stroll by.
If I do it again there'll be hazard pay involved.
I'm going to try to post a picture of me and my best form of theft prevention.
an unnatural act with a German Shepard???
:)
You look like that cleanser advertisment from the 50s.... Mr.Clean.
dieselpig,
You two snoozin on the couch works as protection?? Hows that work?? Ive got three of those protection policies. Have prevented thiefs from taking tools out of my truck twice that I know of. Stupid, stupid thiefs. Its kinda scary seeing a pack of dogs attack.
Only problem now is that my dogs think they deserve a raise in their pay.........extortionist's.
m2akita
I dunno.
That dog looks awful scared...
If I survive, I have survived.
But if I have enriched someone else's life, I have succeeded.
quittintime
Got that right when you can watch them from a window walking out of their way so they can nonchalantly glance inside your truck as they stroll by.
Great lead for one of my favorite stories ...
Working a rental rehab in a bad naighborhood we spent many a day in ...
I'm upstairs framing something ...
stop working and do my by then standard thing of taking my water break by the window to watch the van ... I see a coupla crips take that long ... slow ... cruise buy the van to take a look see thru the windows ...
I yell out ... What the F you MF'er looking for in there ... U loose yer car keys or something in there?
Head crip scowls ... then smiles .. and flashes a prybar ...
We're right across the street from the police/fire station. Broad day light ...
He heads to the driver side door ... the pass side is against the curb on my side ...
Guess he figures he can smach and grab before I can get thru the apt and down the stairs ...
In a flash of genius I remember I'm holding a framing gun in my right hand ...
The windows already open ... why not?
I pull back the foot and start shooting 16d's at my van roof and the street.
Tried to get one og the guys that was still on the sidewalk but he took off ...
Guy with the pry bar yells .. What the F and starts running down the middle of the street. I tried to hit him ... but my aim iwht a nail gun just ain't that good over that distance?
But this time ... just a few seconds .. one of the cops comes out to see what all the yelling is all about ...
He sees two black kids running down the middle of the street MF'ing me ...
and sees me all Rambo-like in the window holding a framing gun aimed at them.
He yells up at me ... I yell back reminding him if he was doing his job I could actually safely park across the street from the police station ...
The guy who we were working for owned the only income generating business in that town ... the mayor and cops just left him alone ... and all the cops knew me and my Dad were more trouble than we were worth ... so he just yelled some more then went back inside.
I've had fond memories of the Paslode Powermaster Plus ever since ....
Ahh ... life in the big city ... gotta love working a block from the housing projects.
Same neighborhood ... probably 20 yrs earlier ... my older brother ... about 15 at the time ...was coming back from the morning coffee run ... at the apartment back gate .. some guy tried to mug him ... he thinks quick ...and tosses the whole tray of steaming hot coffee into the guys face ... then runs into the jobsite ...
Out of the site come my Dad and his workers all swinging framing hammers at the guys head as they chased him down the alley. He got away ... and the rest of the coffee runs went just fine.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
70s BachmanTurnerOverdrive: 'Takin' Care of Business'
Read that story to my pop. Laughed a big one.