Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself

LEADERS EDGE · 6/19/08, 9:47 AM

I read stories all of the time of parts being stolen. It's unfortunate that these things happen, but throughout the entire time I have been racing, there have been thieves around to either steal your whole rig or steal a small item here or there.

I feel for the Thomas family as I know how hard it is to get parts and how expensive they are. Over the years, we have also had items stolen from time to time.

Some things to think of when building a new car or after you purchase one:

1)Many parts come with Serial#'s on them. Shocks,Rears,Pumps and Steerings almost all have #'s on them. Take the time to take the numbers off them and keep them for records. If you get something stolen, you can give the numbers to the various vendors(i.e. Advanced Suspension for shocks) or rebuilders(i.e. Leaders Edge or Sprint Mart for Rearend Rebuilds or K.T. for Steering Rebuilds)

2) If it isn't marked;Mark it. Mark your tools and items such as wheels and hubs.

3)Never leave your stuff in the trailer. I know that space is a premium, but nearly every person I know that leaves their parts in the trailer have had something or everything stolen. No matter if they are at their home or at a fenced in location. I had one customer who lived at the end of a long road,all by themselves, with only one way out and they had their trailer stolen while watching T.V. The rural areas are getting as bad as the urban because of the Meth trade.

Please don't think that I am judging because I too had to learn some things the hard way, but if you had $50,000-$100,000 cash you wouldn't leave it in a semi-secure situation. You would have it in the bank or a safe. While I understand that space is a problem, leaving parts in a trailer is like tempting fate. Especially in this town.

If the Thomas family has the numbers or description of any of their items,post them and that way people can look for them at swap meets or know what to look for. This is a small group of people and while you can't reach them all, you can reach quit a few from these message boards.

Doesn't the trailer have the outline of some old decals that where on it?

Wallsracing · 6/19/08, 11:24 AM

i remember reading about some modified teams getting all the sutff stolen during east bay....why dont the teams drivers owners have the top of the trailer rig etc lettered with drivers name,owner,etc....so they can see it from the air...if i remember right the guys that has stuff stole at eastbay were racing the same day b/c they had located it from the air....i notcied saturday night at eldora that TSR had mopar on the top of the trailers.....just a idea guys

LEADERS EDGE · 6/19/08, 11:30 AM

That is a great idea. Shouldn't be all that expensive either.

I spoke with Kevin to get an idea of the type of wheels and helmet because I am emailing my customers who live on the border of Indiana to tell them what to look for.

He said that the wheels where Weld's and the Helmet is a flat Black Impact that has his intials, "K.T." on the face under the shield.

That trailer is kind of noticable because of the"Ghosting" he mentioned because they took some decals off of it and it left their image in the sides and door.

6/19/08, 12:02 PM

All good suggestions. Two other things you might want to consider doing is either video taping a walk through inventory of what you have or using a digital camera to photograph your inventory of parts and tools. If items have serial numbers or identifiable engraving, make sure you include close ups of those.

Insurance companies and law enforcement will be greatly aided if they have such video or photo documentation. Obviously, don't keep the only copy of that video or photo documentation with the items themselves. Try and keep them in another site locked up.

c47 · 6/19/08, 4:36 PM

quite a bit of stuff that is being stolen out here has been ending up sold as scrap due to the "no questions" policy the scrap yards have taken letely.
a friend who owns a dirt mod had his garage broken into a couple weeks ago and anything that was aluminum or steel and not bolted down was taken. they got 12-15 aluminum wheels, 10 steel wheels, ect...but didnt touch stuff like helmets, tools, tires, motor parts...just what they could turn over quickly and for a decent return.
we have had the same thing happening on jobsites where wires are cut and taken and entire electrical services...brand new and not even turned on yet...are cut down and stolen.
so....when looking for stuff that is missing, dont just assume it is going to the flea markets or ebay...put the word out to the highest paying scrap yards as well....

Onlydirt · 6/19/08, 6:06 PM

Serial numbers can be listed in a national database...NCIC and IDACS (Indiana only) THen if we donut eaters come into contact with it we can run the numbers and get it back to the right owner. Serial numbers are a very important to a personal inventory. There is even software available to help.

6/19/08, 6:41 PM

I know you can protect a vehicle by having a GPS device installed. If it gets stolen they know right where it is.

http://www.lojack.com/

6/19/08, 9:47 AM	#1 Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
LEADERS EDGE Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 980	I read stories all of the time of parts being stolen. It's unfortunate that these things happen, but throughout the entire time I have been racing, there have been thieves around to either steal your whole rig or steal a small item here or there. I feel for the Thomas family as I know how hard it is to get parts and how expensive they are. Over the years, we have also had items stolen from time to time. Some things to think of when building a new car or after you purchase one: 1)Many parts come with Serial#'s on them. Shocks,Rears,Pumps and Steerings almost all have #'s on them. Take the time to take the numbers off them and keep them for records. If you get something stolen, you can give the numbers to the various vendors(i.e. Advanced Suspension for shocks) or rebuilders(i.e. Leaders Edge or Sprint Mart for Rearend Rebuilds or K.T. for Steering Rebuilds) 2) If it isn't marked;Mark it. Mark your tools and items such as wheels and hubs. 3)Never leave your stuff in the trailer. I know that space is a premium, but nearly every person I know that leaves their parts in the trailer have had something or everything stolen. No matter if they are at their home or at a fenced in location. I had one customer who lived at the end of a long road,all by themselves, with only one way out and they had their trailer stolen while watching T.V. The rural areas are getting as bad as the urban because of the Meth trade. Please don't think that I am judging because I too had to learn some things the hard way, but if you had $50,000-$100,000 cash you wouldn't leave it in a semi-secure situation. You would have it in the bank or a safe. While I understand that space is a problem, leaving parts in a trailer is like tempting fate. Especially in this town. If the Thomas family has the numbers or description of any of their items,post them and that way people can look for them at swap meets or know what to look for. This is a small group of people and while you can't reach them all, you can reach quit a few from these message boards. Doesn't the trailer have the outline of some old decals that where on it?

6/19/08, 11:24 AM	#2 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
Wallsracing Senior Member Race Count This Year: 54 Race Count Last Year: 37 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,925	i remember reading about some modified teams getting all the sutff stolen during east bay....why dont the teams drivers owners have the top of the trailer rig etc lettered with drivers name,owner,etc....so they can see it from the air...if i remember right the guys that has stuff stole at eastbay were racing the same day b/c they had located it from the air....i notcied saturday night at eldora that TSR had mopar on the top of the trailers.....just a idea guys

6/19/08, 11:30 AM	#3 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
LEADERS EDGE Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 980	That is a great idea. Shouldn't be all that expensive either. I spoke with Kevin to get an idea of the type of wheels and helmet because I am emailing my customers who live on the border of Indiana to tell them what to look for. He said that the wheels where Weld's and the Helmet is a flat Black Impact that has his intials, "K.T." on the face under the shield. That trailer is kind of noticable because of the"Ghosting" he mentioned because they took some decals off of it and it left their image in the sides and door.

6/19/08, 12:02 PM	#4 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
Gregg Obst Posts: n/a	All good suggestions. Two other things you might want to consider doing is either video taping a walk through inventory of what you have or using a digital camera to photograph your inventory of parts and tools. If items have serial numbers or identifiable engraving, make sure you include close ups of those. Insurance companies and law enforcement will be greatly aided if they have such video or photo documentation. Obviously, don't keep the only copy of that video or photo documentation with the items themselves. Try and keep them in another site locked up.

6/19/08, 4:36 PM	#5 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
c47 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 416	quite a bit of stuff that is being stolen out here has been ending up sold as scrap due to the "no questions" policy the scrap yards have taken letely. a friend who owns a dirt mod had his garage broken into a couple weeks ago and anything that was aluminum or steel and not bolted down was taken. they got 12-15 aluminum wheels, 10 steel wheels, ect...but didnt touch stuff like helmets, tools, tires, motor parts...just what they could turn over quickly and for a decent return. we have had the same thing happening on jobsites where wires are cut and taken and entire electrical services...brand new and not even turned on yet...are cut down and stolen. so....when looking for stuff that is missing, dont just assume it is going to the flea markets or ebay...put the word out to the highest paying scrap yards as well....

6/19/08, 6:06 PM	#6 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
Onlydirt Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 912	Serial numbers can be listed in a national database...NCIC and IDACS (Indiana only) THen if we donut eaters come into contact with it we can run the numbers and get it back to the right owner. Serial numbers are a very important to a personal inventory. There is even software available to help.

6/19/08, 6:41 PM	#7 Re: Stolen Parts/ Ideas to Protect Yourself
aceace Posts: n/a	I know you can protect a vehicle by having a GPS device installed. If it gets stolen they know right where it is. http://www.lojack.com/