Stolen in Sussex BJ trailer...

[dikko]

Just passing this on, you never know...

Trailer is a 1994 Brian James A-series complete with front mounted tyre rack and marine ply center floor.

It was stolen Sunday 8th July around 8am from Patcham.

Witness said a young, dark-haired, average height & build lad driving a, "Small, white box van, like an old shape Transit Connect" was working on it, presumably removing the hitch lock.

Please contact me on 07710 230 892 or Brighton Police on 01273 404000 quoting crime # 1246 if you have any info.

[Tim Falce]

Try looking round the local pikey camps.

[Al Weyman]

Good luck!

[historic racer]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Try looking round the local pikey camps.

Easy advice to give out but how many pikey camps have YOU looked round ? none I suspect unless you enjoy rides in an ambulance ! One of our horses was marked during the night by the pikey's to be stolen ( wont give away how I know what to look for as it gives me an edge on them ) so we had to move it , had to keep an all night guard on it till it could be moved. Thats unfortunately what you are up against, with most things stolen to order, our horse could have been anywhere in the country within 12 hours.

[Tim Falce]

Where did I say it was easy advice? You can always look from the road, our local ones are quite visible. If you see anything then notify the police so they can tell you to phone your insurance company up.

[wolfhound]

Keep an eye on all the relavant web sites that sell second hand stuff I have found items stolen from me that way.

Some trailers that are stolen in thte UK find their way to this side of the Irish Sea and there is a trade in goods going the opposite way.

Keep an eye on this site http://www.donedeal.ie/find/trailers/for-sale/Ireland/.

I know that Ifor Williams keep a register of stolen trailers but I do not whether there there is one for Brian James trailers. If you see anything suspicous on this side of the Irish Sea PM me.

[Adam43]

Good advice. Mine turned up on ebay the day after it was stolen. Check there.

[zefarelly]

Will keep an eye out my side of town, just glad mines locked away in the garage these days.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Where did I say it was easy advice? You can always look from the road, our local ones are quite visible. If you see anything then notify the police so they can tell you to phone your insurance company up.

My mate had his and his boys motocross bikes nicked so they went to look at our local pikey camp, lo and behold one was being ridden around the site.
He phoned the local cops and was told quite blankly that they couldn't do anything about it as they had been warned by the local council not to keep "harassing" them as it would cause more trouble than they have at the moment but would put it on record !!!!!!!!
It would seem to me that "crooks"have more rights that the "normal"general public
WTF is going on !

[Al Weyman]

No its not that its just when it comes to dealing with 'travellers' especially those that dont go nowhere the old Bill are spineless (although having been intimidated by these people myself in the past I dont blame them for this) and will not go in unless accompanied by armed back up and I got that from a high ranking officer in the armed unit. They wont call up armed back up for a stolen motorcycle or trailer, all you can do is like me and Zef keep the things under lock and key and out of sight or they will walk trust me.

[vjay48]

I was in my local trailer dealer recently,he told me one of the simplest items to slow the thief down as well as chains,clamps etc was the simple ball in the lock. I know that if someone sets their mind to steal it they will do it and insurance is the best bet and the premium on mine is not to bad. The ball in the lock slows down the guys who come fitted with a ground down tow ball,they can get your trailer hitched despite the triple lock,lash it to the tow bar with ratchet straps and drive off.

[zefarelly]

Multiple choice . . . .

Q: If you hired a plane and Napalmed the local pikey camp, would anyone notice or care?

Answers;

A: No
B: probably not
C: hell no, you'd get a gong.


I go out of my way to keep the yard clean and tidy as they're like magpies, now everyone locally knows to do the same they don't bother driving down the back road anymore. I even keep my scrap indoors!

[Al Weyman]

Ground down ball I never thought of that one I will buy one of those ball locks, I have a bulldog clamp but it doesnt fit the 10" wheel all well and those BJ supplied things that go on extended wheel studs are a complete waste of time, I forgot to undo it once and it immediately sheared off and I never even felt it happen behind the V8 Dayvan.

[zefarelly]

I've got a lock in the ground, inside the lock up, so even if the scum get in they'll have a job. also have a post to put in as well

[Al Weyman]

Mine is parked in my yard behind locked gates which has a locked van parked in front of them and the van has the latest electronic immobilser fitted as required by insurance company (its a nickable Dayvan).

[vjay48]

I keep ours in a secure caravan park, £220 per year,i live in a flat with no garden, insurance accepted with triple lock stipulated by underwriters,i did notice that insurance was void to any with a previous claim.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by vjay48

I keep ours in a secure caravan park, £220 per year,i live in a flat with no garden, insurance accepted with triple lock stipulated by underwriters,i did notice that insurance was void to any with a previous claim.

So did my niece,she kept her caravan in a secure indoor caravan emporium.
It was ram raided and her's and another one the same model were nicked.
The only thing you can do is make it awkward to take, even using a ball lock won't necessarily work as you can unbolt the complete hitch and chain or ratchet strap the trailer/caravan to the getaway vehicle.
We have resorted to taking all the wheels off and putting on locking nuts so even if they bring wheels they would have a job.

[Al Weyman]

On an old trailer I had years ago worth sod all I noticed someone had started unbolting the hitch I always wondered what that was all about I thought they were after the hitch which was pretty useless.

[wolfhound]

I have been told some trailer theives have there own draw bar that fits over the existing one, so they do not have to bother with the existing ball hitch locks.

This allows them to make a quicker getaway and they can deal with the locks later.

[GORDON STREETER]

Lets face it anything is "nickable" if someone wants it, you can only slow them up. In this day of battery powered drills and angle grinders anything is possible.
One of the old farmers near me years ago used to leave a live electric fence set up on his Land Rover wherever he parked it as he had a few tools nicked out of the back in the past. He left it in Tunbridge Wells street and an inquisitive traffic warden wondered what the ticking noise was. He soon found out when he tried to look in the back

[Paul D]

As has already been said, if these scumbags want something bad enough, they'll find a way of getting it. All you can really do is make it as unattractive as possible for them to have a go, and hopefully they'll p*ss off and look for one that's not as secure.

If you're in a position to keep stuff like trailers out of sight, this is probably the best thing you can do. A couple of years ago, I had a nice PRG tilt-bed that was too wide to fit up my side driveway and round the back, so I had to keep it on the front, in plain view. It was kept there for at least a couple of years without any hassle - always had a lock via a built-in barrel lock in the hitch head so it couldn't be hitched to a vehicle. These are a good deterrent, as I once lost the keys to another trailer with the same type of lock, and it took a locksmith about an hour to drill it out, making a lot of noise in the process. Scumbags don't like hanging around or making a noise, so I reckon that's a good type of lock. Wouldn't, of course, defeat the determined scumbag with a ground down ball or similar, as mentioned earlier.

Anyway, I digress. One night, I caught a couple of said scumbags trying to nick this trailer off my front drive. Fortunately for me, they were more Laurel & Hardy than master criminals, and they hadn't even noticed the lock, and were merrily trying to hitch it to a tow bar - and no doubt wondering why it wouldn't attach - when I spotted them. They were gone by the time I got out there, but it made me paranoid about it happening again. So I sold it, and now have a narrower trailer with the wheels underneath the bed which fits round the back in my yard behind locked steel gates and not visible from the road. And touch wood, never had any problems since and I sleep better at night knowing they'd have to move a modern, alarmed and immobilised Audi before getting the locked steel gates open and then extracting the trailer out of an entry way it only just fits through, and all without making enough noise to risk waking me up!

I really hope you find the scum that took your trailer, and I advise getting someone nasty to do something nasty to them! But I'm sure you'd just be happy to get it back if it came to that.

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by Paul D

. All you can really do is make it as unattractive as possible for them to have a go, .

I sold the TVR and kept the Cortina . . . job done

[Al Weyman]

Old Irish guy over the road who is into shotgun hunting told me he rigged up the side doors of his van when he lived in Ireland out in the country with a device that took a blank shot gun cartridge and if the door was opened it fired off the cartridge waking the neighbourhood and frightening the *rap out of the thieves. You wouldnt get away with that or the electric fence ploy over here now. In South Africa where I was staying in a farm house they had lasers scanning the yard (not lethal just motion sensing) bars on all the doors and windows and secondary barred doors between rooms downstairs, also alarmed up and our host slept with a loaded revolver under his bed. The whole perimiter was wired with live electric fencing which not lethal would ruddy hurt all the same. The ploy of the thiefs was to short out the wiring to see if was activated and if it wasnt switch on go for it. You often find something against the wiring in the morning. Its worse there thats for sure. After the last breakin they also employed a guard and had huge electric gates and kept the place totally shut down at night.

[GORDON STREETER]

I wonder if you can fit a tracker to a trailer as some are pretty pricey,have they got a built in battery or do they have to be sparked of off the vehicle ?
A mate of mine that builds golf courses/football/playing fields etc is forever getting his plant nicked and has to have them all fitted with trackers for insurance. He gets some of it back when it's found in the UK but some has turned up in Spain/Malta one digger was found in Barbados !!!!!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I wonder if you can fit a tracker to a trailer as some are pretty pricey,have they got a built in battery or do they have to be sparked of off the vehicle ?

Yes you can........

They have battery with 3 year life. This can then be renewed. Only problem is hiding it on an open trailer. Easier on a shuttle.