Enclosed Trailer Stolen and Recovered

Well, the unexpected happened. Our enclosed trailer was stolen from a secure storage facility, it was properly secured as well and it occurred within 24 hrs of being parked between loading. I figured I'd share our experience for those who are considering purchasing a trailer and may be unfortunate enough to go through this type of negative event.

As we returned to our trailer spot the following day, I was on the phone with the property manager in regards to placing one of my classic truck projects temporary on the property between blasting and body work. As my wife pulled up to the slot, my heart sank seeing an empty space. I asked the property manager where our trailer was out of shock, she relayed in shock and disbelief "it's gone?" I immediately notified the local police department and an officer was sent out. He didn't seem to concern and relayed to me that trailer thefts were on the rise and storage units were prime pickings. Wow, wish I had known before hand *sigh*. Received a theft report, and proceeded to notify our insurance company.

Trailer stolen on the 22 or 23rd of May (theft discovered on the 23rd and reported), trailer found in a subdivision in a different city on the 25th of May 2018 but we were not notified. Left church on the 27th of May and later received a phone call that it was recovered with a number to call for information. Attempted to call but was informed it was a holiday weekend to call back on Tuesday the 29th of May 2018 to receive any information about the case. No information received until original Police Department informed us on the 30th to recover trailer with $303 fee from tow yard, along with a few other negative remarks. Sadly, the trailer was emptied of 95% of everything of value. The value of items taken continues to rise. Someone has a set of SS wheels, double bubble screens, panels, power tools, and so much more.

NOW..the reason I post is to try and help other forum members that may be hauling items and take it for granted that it is only a 24hr trip or less. Please keep an inventory of your enclosed trailer contents. From every tool, to every blanket, tow strap, etc. Make sure that you understand your insurance coverages if you have changed agents or had policy updates or changes. Your trailer may be covered on it's own policy, or on the policy of your tow vehicle. NOW, think about the coverage of the contents that you carry, if you're not careful they may only be covered under your homeowner's policy (or renter's policy) if you don't carefully specify this when purchasing a policy. This could have you filing a claim two routes if not careful. I have owned this particular trailer since 2012 without incident. I'd prefer to have all of our possessions back, as some were really special and were only going into our storage temporary as we did some remodeling. The plans that I had for powder coating my extra wheels and taking notes from STYLN and others who'd posted in the DIY may have been wasted at this point on those wheels..but I have the knowledge they shared.

I will be dropping the trailer off for repair, hopefully, tomorrow and perhaps it won't be totaled out with the damaged that was done. With all things good and bad that happen I know that God has a plan. Yet I'm still human and can't stand a "THIEF"!

Mods on hold for a bit but we'll recover from this loss as we always do. I hope this thread can help someone else who may need a little reminder when seeking policy coverages...trust me, there's not much more I could do in the department of security. I'm thinking about seeing if the hitch lock company will pay the $10k they advertise LOL

Quote from Ghost

It is all but impossible to stop a real thief but for the dumb thieves you can install a security system and separate tacking system very economically. The tracking system can be programmed to allow the unit to be moved about inside an invisible fence that you determine the boundaries of. There are lots of possibilities.

BTW: Sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope they caught the thieves and punish them to the fullest extent of the law.

Yes sir, and would you believe the battery failed?!?!?!? Talk about the stars lining up against me on this one. The second tracker that I had installed on the exterior I had removed the day prior as my intentions was to put the trailer up for sale that weekend! I jumped the gun and it proved to be very costly. If I had left well alone, the backup would have done it's job and I would have known immediately it was leaving the area unless the thieves had discovered it. Ghost, I've always run these systems on my motorcycles, trailers, riding lawnmowers....like you said cheap and economical. Amazon sells quite a few these days, before that eBay and Alibaba LOL

Quote from adventure4me

Sorry to see this! I'm always curious as to what types of lock or locks you had on the trailer. As a fulltime RVer, I see a lot of posts of stolen travel trailers on FB. Hope they can catch whoever stole it!

The doors had BRINKS highest rated circular locks that limited the ability to get a bolt cutter or other cutting device in place. Let's just say it appears that some type of plasma cutter made butter out of those from the marks left behind...no door locks found with the trailer. The pin lock for the hitch appeared to be cut on site as it was tossed near the trailer....so the coupler lock was probably taken as a trophy after they made easy work of it! A buddy of mine thought removing his tires was the way to go.....thieves showed up with tires and lug nuts and rolled off with his trailer!! Time to push for more spaces on the military installation to decrease chances of theft! It won't do away with it but it cuts down on the chance of it happening. You just suffer damage from those backing into your trailer and lying about it LOL

Quote from lrobbi

Damn @Zorasmiles ... This is sad news, I am glad you did get back. I can't imagine if mines was stolen...GRRRRRR thefts should loose a hand...or two.

Yep and perhaps the family jewels, so they will know the true value of what they have taken in life! Remember, your SS if parked in it will be covered by it's on policy if ever stolen but all the contents might be under your home owner's policy. That would be 3 claims. I definitely hope it never happens to you or anyone else in the Slingshot family!

When I secure our trailers (we normally secure the wheels as well--this was a hasty decision not to based on the fact that we'd return in 24hrs, as we did...along with zero history of trailer thefts with 4 at the moment) we understand that it is only a theft deterrent, not a guarantee that it can not be stolen. The same goes with our vehicles. They have alarms, some motion sensors, tilt sensors, etc. but they are only deterrents and if we're lucky discounts on our insurance LOL Watching the news last night there was a car dolly theft that a military veteran had rented from Penske. It was recovered in a subdivision where there was 3 stolen vehicles waiting to be transported, one a newer model Lexus! When my wife and test drove this vehicle a few months ago they raved about how this vehicle was virtually theft proof LOL Watching the news last night and seeing it lined up ready to be transported on a stolen Penske dolly reminded me that if you're not standing directly over it with a loaded firearm and willing to pull the trigger, anything can and will be stolen. If you don't pull the trigger, you're just a deterrent until someone calls your bluff *sigh*

As I stated if you're standing directly over it, depends on your state law and where the theft occurs. Everyone should know there state laws and any state they may be traveling to where they may be legally carrying a firearm. I don't advocate the taking a life..so please don't take it as such. Neither do I encourage a thief to take another's personal property without the consequences of local or state law.

As for the place having "very good security", I have not heard of any storage facility with zero thefts. If you find one, point me to it. Trust me, I'm not very happy with the theft of our trailer and the security you pointed out was part of the recovery process and actually will be part of the prosecution. The lot actually closes at 7pm reopens at 7am, I placed hands on the trailer at noon. Either someone with prior rental or current rental on the property had a hand in it. Sounds as if you may not be familiar with storage facility rentals but most rental contracts require that you carry your own insurance. I almost invested in a storage rental facility and it would be an absolute nightmare providing insurance rental contracts to everyone renting out a storage unit, RV unit, shop on property etc.

My post was to perhaps help others who might be considering an enclosed trailer purchase, as they may forget about what may be covered when acquiring insurance through their agents. For those who currently who trailers it was a friendly reminder to review their policies to make sure they are covered for their "contents" in case of theft and how they are covered. As I was recently doing feelers for a new enclosed trailer for the SS a few months ago, I noticed that there have been quite a few others.

Again it wasn't just a place I "parked it". Things happen beyond our control. There are so many thieves...some are lucky not to become a victim...but there are those like me lol I'm still blessed..no weapon formed...

Thanks @STYLN. You have echoed what family, friends, LEO's and neighbors have said for the last week. In fact, the trailer was parked in front of our home and it could have been much worse with my wife walking outside interrupting a theft in progress, or my neighbor who leaves early in the morning.. I'd rather them have stolen it away from my home...

Thanks for the offer as always STYLN!

@SlingLow so very true LOL Dead men or women tell no tales..hence why I avoid eye contact and don't talk back to my wife LOL

Actually, I'm very lucky to have USAA and State Farm as insurers. I'm sure in some areas I could reduce the cost but the customer service, professionalism and ability to process claims over 20 plus years have won us over. The wife loves USAA and of course State Farm has won me over. So, with more than enough vehicles, recreational toys, trailers, etc. using the two have allowed us to lower our bills by splitting between the two carriers. We're still able to get the multi-vehicle discounts (yes, they do stop the discounts as X amount of vehicles) by using the two. So, with no car notes, our insurance is our note we're happy to carry for times like these. They have responded as we thought they would--minus a little attitude from one telephone claims agent who was impatient as he sorted through the particulars but that was easily corrected. If we don't receive everything dollar for dollar that was in the trailer, we're okay with it. If we don't receive half of the value of everything, we're okay with it. We're just blessed that we have our lives and each other. The material things are just that. It's just another another opportunity for one of the biblical lessons to be placed into actions...as the bible reminds us that a man that is attached or in love with the earthly things can not be in love with God, for the things here on earth are temporary. As, we sat in the beginning of Vacation Bible School it was funny to hear the teacher of my particular class go over his lesson. In his lesson two of the things that were pointed out was man being given permission to eat meat and institution of capital punishment.... So, I was quietly reminded about taking of a life, and encouraged to eat a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich as comfort food LOL

@SlingLow now you know why I wasn't beating down your message box for the racks when you reduced the price for MV LOL