Someone Stole My Car & Trailer

[Ehansen5]

*******UPDATE    THE TRAILER AND CAR HAVE BOTH BEEN FOUND AND RETURNED SAFELY*******************

 

Thank you to everyone for sharing this and helping to get the word about it.  It was located and picked up yesterday afternoon with all law offices being notified.  Also thank you to everyone for the suggestions regarding the safeguarding of both of these moving forward.  I will certainly be implementing a few of them.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, 

 

I have the unfortunate news that someone today stole my 24' Haulmark enclosed trailer which inside was my 1927 Chandler touring car.  This is THE car.....not like the car...the car

 

This happened 5/10/2020 between the hours of 2 and 7 PM outside of Buffalo NY 

 

I am asking anyone who sees this to please keep this in the back of your mind when looking through eBay, Facebook, and Craigslist

 

There are only 2 of these cars that we know about currently and it is right hand drive.  You cannot mistake this car.  Thank you in advance for anyone who make keep an eye open so that i may get my car back!

 

The trailer is a dark red / maroon Haulmark 24' enclosed, tandem axle trailer.  Heavy duty axles and tongue as wells as sway bars and tow hitch.  There is an attached winch in the front of the enclosed portion.  The attached is NOT the trailer, but as close as an image i could find

 

 

Please call the Brant Police Department at 716-549-4040 with any information

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ehansen5 (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Location?

[Ehansen5]

Sorry....that certainly should have been added.  Outside of Buffalo NY

[Guest Mark McAlpine]

I'm very sorry to hear about the theft and hope the police find your car and trailer soon and unharmed.

[Laughing Coyote]

Sorry to hear this. Do you have pictures of the trailer that can help identify it?  Color? 

[Ehansen5]

24' Haulmark tandem axle

 

Maroon

 

Diamond plate chip guard and fender well.  side door and full drop back door.

 

Unfortunately no pictures.....b/c.........its a trailer  😃  closest thing i could find on the ol' interwebs is attached 

[JRHaelig]

That's a rotten deal for sure.

 

Thieves were probably expecting construction equipment or little quads or something. 

 

On the positive side they likely don't want a Chandler.  To them it's not only the wrong stolen item, it's not even a "good one".

 

That's to your advantage.  Hit the papers and local TV.  Tug any heartstrings you may have dangling.  Turn yourself into a little girl with a lost puppy.

 

Reach out to the classic car dealers with a heads up.  They scour the internet all day every day as part of their mission.

 

Can you work with your insurer to get a reward authorized?  Emphasize that it's cheaper than a loss.

 

Good luck to you.

[Dandy Dave]

Thieves of this magnitude should be hung by the neck until dead. Pisses me off to no end. Sorry to hear and will keep an eye open while looking around the web. Also by chance on the road even though I'm at the other side of NYS.  Dandy Dave!   

[Mark Wetherbee]

Also adding some police contact and flooding Facebook is a good idea. Old car people can get the word out very quickly across the country. Good luck, she is a beautiful car and will hopefully get found!

[Morgansdad]

I will definitely be on the lookout for both in North Carolina. Sorry for your loss. Hope we get it back unhurt.

[edinmass]

Sad and sick......sorry for your loss. 

[padgett]

Lojack for trailers ?

[edinmass]

7 hours ago, padgett said:

Lojack for trailers ?

Yes, they are available. Not terribly expensive. Even with all the locks on the hitch, I run a cable through three wheels and lock them also. The best option is to always park something in front of the trailer. Unfortunately this is more common than most people realize. 

[erichill]

Suck, They wont even know what to do with the car. Hope you eventually get  it back. Rare cars, I have a 1919 Chandler.

[29 franklin]

So Sorry about this. I posted on Facebook also. Hope you get it back. 

[gossp]

9 hours ago, padgett said:

Lojack for trailers ?

Milwaukee tools makes a hockey puck sized device that you can hide about anywhere and track through an ap. I believe a pair of them cost a hundred bucks.  You can find one zip tied to the bottom of a whole lot of service vans and come with the added benefit of keeping guys honest on personal use of the company vehicle.

[Joe in Canada]

I have a Wells Cargo and the one good feature is the end of the tongue comes off with the hitch. Actually used for height adjustment. Would have to be a tow truck  to take it away or have an assembly to replace it. When not in use the hitch is put away and not perfect but a piece of mind. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Posted for you on FaceBook.

[wayne sheldon]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

Unfortunately this is more common than most people realize. 

 

Unfortunately, this is VERY true. I have known a few people this has happened to. And yes, a lot of time the trailers are stolen to become meth labs. About year or two ago, one in Califunny, the car was found abandoned behind some trees off a side road off of a nearby highway (I never heard if the trailer was found).

Just a few years ago, a long time good friend was fortunate to recover most of his EMF. Another friend of his found his headlamps for sale on Craig's List. He set up a "buy" and notified the police. The seller was not aware (friend and the police believed him) that the lamps were stolen. The seller was very cooperative and provided information leading to most of the car (less radiator and a few other brass pieces. It was almost a year after the theft, and the thieves didn't know what to do with the car, but thought it might be worth something and hung onto it, selling bits and pieces when they needed a couple bucks.

 

Another suggestion is to paint some clearly identifiable image or number on the roof of the trailer so that it can be spotted from the air. Have photos of the trailer and the roof.

[lump]

I have multiple trailers, and have had 3 stolen over many years of ownership. ONE I recovered, three states away from my home. 

 

I looked into devices like "Lojack," to try and stop this problem, AND hopefully put some thieves behind bars. The purchase cost is not too bad. But the thing only works if you pay a monthly service fee to a company which monitors it for you, and reports it to you every time it is moved. The fee is not too bad...(maybe $35 pre month, IIRC?). But multiply that times 7 or 8 trailers, and it quickly adds up. 

 

Further research revealed that the devices I was looking at probably would not work if the trailer was moved inside a building...especially a building with a metal roof. 

 

In my experience, the thieves only took trailers which did NOT have prominent graphics on the sides. Our trailers with the names of our events and/or companies have never been bothered. The trailers we lost over the years were very plain, and looked like every other trailer on the road. So we have started plastering graphics on the sides of our enclosed trailers. If your trailer is just for private personal use, you could easily put your own name and an email address on the side, and take photos to keep on file. This might be enough to discourage thieves. 

 

Another tactic I now employ is to remove wheels when the trailers will be sitting for a while. Of course a determined thief could show up with their own wheels/tires, mount them, and be on their merry way. But this takes TIME, and time is the enemy of a thief. And to make it a little tougher, I jack the trailer up high enough to remove the wheels, but then place it on stands which are TOO LOW for mounting other wheels. A thief would have to hitch their trailer, then jack it up, bring their own tires/wheels and lugnuts, then mount everything, and then lower it down and drive away. Of course they can do that. But there are SO MANY other trailers sitting around our area...most unlocked and easy prey. 

 

OH, I mentioned that I got one trailer back. The story is that I had bought it used from an out-of-state owner, who had used it in a business that he no longer had. We used it for a year or so, and then suddenly it was gone one morning when I got to work. Thieves had cut through the heavy steel cable I had woven through the axles and tongues of several trailers, and were gone. Then about 2 years later I got a phone call from a mechanic about 500 miles away. He had been on a service call to fix the wheel bearings of an enclosed trailer at a residence, but when the work was finished, the trailer owner had slipped back into his residence, and refused to answer the door. The mechanic thought he smelled a situation in which he would never be paid for his work. So he began to gather documentation. First thing, he looked a the serial number tag...and was shocked to see that the VIN had been scratched out completely. Now he was sure something was fishy! Then he noticed a company name and phone number neatly stenciled on the side of the frame by the tongue. He dialed the number and found out it was from an out-of-state business, which had sold out long ago. That former business owner found his old notes, and called me to ask if I no longer owned the trailer he had sold me. Of course, I told him it was stolen, and that was that. Within several weeks, I was on my way to recover my stolen trailer, which had been impounded by the police. 

 

Once in a RARE occasion, the bad guys get what is coming to them! 

[nick8086]

Will not help if someone want to take it.. I have them on 24 x 7  while on vacation... 

 

It will email mail my phone..  They are indoor door or outdoor..

 

I could live stream a feed when my house cleaner in the house when I was in Florida to my phone.. . 

 

 

[8E45E]

8 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

Just a few years ago, a long time good friend was fortunate to recover most of his EMF. Another friend of his found his headlamps for sale on Craig's List. He set up a "buy" and notified the police. The seller was not aware (friend and the police believed him) that the lamps were stolen. The seller was very cooperative and provided information leading to most of the car (less radiator and a few other brass pieces. It was almost a year after the theft, and the thieves didn't know what to do with the car, but thought it might be worth something and hung onto it, selling bits and pieces when they needed a couple bucks.

Yes, I remember that one: 

 

Craig

[8E45E]

7 hours ago, lump said:

In my experience, the thieves only took trailers which did NOT have prominent graphics on the sides. Our trailers with the names of our events and/or companies have never been bothered. The trailers we lost over the years were very plain, and looked like every other trailer on the road. So we have started plastering graphics on the sides of our enclosed trailers. If your trailer is just for private personal use, you could easily put your own name and an email address on the side, and take photos to keep on file. This might be enough to discourage thieves. 

There is a car owner with a trailer here who's relative owns a sewer & drain cleaning business.  For a laughable $18 a year (case of beer), he advertises his business on the sides and rear of it.  I won't go into details of the graphics painted on it showing plugged and overflowing plumbing fixtures, and a hungry sewer snake eagerly devouring sh!t in a cutaway of a plugged sewer line.  But so far, that seems to work at keeping the miscreants away from it.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

30 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Yes, I remember that one: 

https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/48366-stolen-car-alert-1911-emf-posted-from-another-board 

and:

30 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

 

Craig

 

[kgreen]

38 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

There is a car owner with a trailer here who's relative owns a sewer & drain cleaning business.  For a laughable $18 a year (case of beer), he advertises his business on the sides and rear of it.  I won't go into details of the graphics painted on it showing plugged and overflowing plumbing fixtures, and a hungry sewer snake eagerly devouring sh!t in a cutaway of a plugged sewer line.  But so far, that seems to work at keeping the miscreants away from it.

 

Craig

I could only imagine a business like radioactive clean-up specialties would work as well.

[caddyshack]

Sorry for your loss.

I have tried many types of prevention and some mentioned in this post sound promising. I use trail cams and Ring security devices. Both use day and night vision with great clarity. Both are motion activated. Ring has instant notification with visual capability on your cell phone. Floodlights and siren are turned on automatically. Some notifications might get annoying (spiders, moths, birds, bats, deer, etc. etc.), but if it prevents a theft it has more than paid for itself. I have found a few trespassers to be pretty bold in checking out my property over the years. Nothing stolen so far, but the videos are archived. Stay safe my friends.   

[keithb7]

This is very unfortunate. Sorry to hear about your loss.

 

On a related note for those reading along. Every vehicle has a simple, very cheap, highly effective, anti-theft device. The relay panel. The one under the hood. If I am leaving my truck, especially if I have a trailer hooked up, in a vulnerable area, I get into the panel. Pull the starter relay and the fuel pump fuse. Put them in your pocket and walk away assured your truck will be there when you return. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[ted sweet]

13 hours ago, gossp said:

Milwaukee tools makes a hockey puck sized device that you can hide about anywhere and track through an ap. I believe a pair of them cost a hundred bucks.  You can find one zip tied to the bottom of a whole lot of service vans and come with the added benefit of keeping guys honest on personal use of the company vehicle.

one i see only has 100 ft range?

[edinmass]

You can buy a solar powered gps unit for the roof. It tracks whenever the trailer is moving, and checks in every 6 hours. Will also give you real time location as trailer is moving. The location is stored in an app on your phone or iPad. Unit is 300 dollars and 18 dollars a month service for monitoring. It has a seven year battery. You can also set it up to charge when the trailer is connected to the tow vehicle. Since I often have crazy expensive cars in my trailer we run a cellphone hooked to a large battery. Works fine. Usually I leave an iPad hidden in it now. I can track the iPad anywhere, and I have a spare device while on vacation/tour. Most often, I use the wife's phone or iPad. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[1937-44]

  I hope you get your car and trailer back soon and in good condition. I have shared your FB post, hopefully others will as well and they can catch these POS!

[1937hd45]

A hydraulic bollard in the home driveway parking area between  the axles should keep it there. Bob 

[mike6024]

I shared it on North East Stolen Vehicles

 

https://www.facebook.com/NEStolenVehicles/

 

[JACK M]

As for the advertising on a trailer.

I got pulled over while doing a friend a favor,.

He had a race (show) car parked in a shopping mall in a city a couple of hundred miles from home to promote a race in that area.

I took his trailer up there to retrieve the promotion car.

On the way back a state trooper pulled me over and we had a talk about the advertising on trailers.

Turns out that the advertising  is furthering of business interests.

Therefore the trailer becomes commercial, this requires DOT certified driver with DOT certification and a health card.

Fortunately I was in a fair mood that day and played real dumb as I was only doing a favor for someone else.

We talked about hobby (race car)(horse shows etc.) advertising of coarse and he pointed out that there is a payline at these events so qualifies "further endeavor of commercial interests".

He didn't site me but weighed me and checked that my truck was rated as was the trailer to haul that weight.

I wondered why he followed me for twenty miles or so to light me up right at the scales.

I do know that often there will be bill boards so to speak on trailers that have nothing to do with the advertised business.

I asked a guy about that at a truck stop once, he said that he is indeed within the commercial requirements and sells the advertising space on his trailer to some Harley dealer. He said it covers much of the costs of his trailer maintenance.

 

[gossp]

22 hours ago, ted sweet said:

one i see only has 100 ft range?

I am seeing the same thing now, since you mentioned it, but am certain they had something using a gps signal on the market. Others do at least. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by gossp
Autocorrect is evil. (see edit history)

[edinmass]

5 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

A hydraulic bollard in the home driveway parking area between  the axles should keep it there. Bob 

 

 

Thats the exact same unit we have at our shop. Unless Godzilla rips off the roof and tosses the car down the street......they ain't going anywhere.

[edinmass]

5 hours ago, JACK M said:

As for the advertising on a trailer.

I got pulled over while doing a friend a favor,.

He had a race (show) car parked in a shopping mall in a city a couple of hundred miles from home to promote a race in that area.

I took his trailer up there to retrieve the promotion car.

On the way back a state trooper pulled me over and we had a talk about the advertising on trailers.

Turns out that the advertising  is furthering of business interests.

Therefore the trailer becomes commercial, this requires DOT certified driver with DOT certification and a health card.

Fortunately I was in a fair mood that day and played real dumb as I was only doing a favor for someone else.

We talked about hobby (race car)(horse shows etc.) advertising of coarse and he pointed out that there is a payline at these events so qualifies "further endeavor of commercial interests".

He didn't site me but weighed me and checked that my truck was rated as was the trailer to haul that weight.

I wondered why he followed me for twenty miles or so to light me up right at the scales.

I do know that often there will be bill boards so to speak on trailers that have nothing to do with the advertised business.

I asked a guy about that at a truck stop once, he said that he is indeed within the commercial requirements and sells the advertising space on his trailer to some Harley dealer. He said it covers much of the costs of his trailer maintenance.

 

 

The old shove it up your axx for money deal. I drive a plain white truck and trailer.....and its 22K GVW.....and private non commercial plates. Drive right past the scales every time. I have been stopped twice in 400K miles. I just tell them I am on vacation with my family, carry a copy of the federal DOT rules for occasional recreational use, and just don't open the trailer door.......ever. Yup it pisses them off. They bitch about everything. I show them my state inspector license, explain to them I am legal in ALL lower 48 states. They bitch and complain......and I go on my way. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Robert Street]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

 

The old shove it up your axx for money deal. I drive a plain white truck and trailer.....and its 22K GVW.....and private non commercial plates. Drive right past the scales every time. I have been stopped twice in 400K miles. I just tell them I am on vacation with my family, carry a copy of the federal DOT rules for occasional recreational use, and just don't open the trailer door.......ever. Yup it pisses them off. They bitch about everything. I show them my state inspector license, explain to them I am legal in ALL lower 48 states. They bitch and complain......and I go on my way. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed have you noticed Maryland scales signs. Yep you are required to get checked at a Maryland scale with your rig!  As am I. But I always get Greenlighted on I-95 and I-70/68 but get really the business at a scale on the shore.   I could write a book about my Maryland scale problems

Robert

[Robert Street]

6 hours ago, JACK M said:

As for the advertising on a trailer.

I got pulled over while doing a friend a favor,.

He had a race (show) car parked in a shopping mall in a city a couple of hundred miles from home to promote a race in that area.

I took his trailer up there to retrieve the promotion car.

On the way back a state trooper pulled me over and we had a talk about the advertising on trailers.

Turns out that the advertising  is furthering of business interests.

Therefore the trailer becomes commercial, this requires DOT certified driver with DOT certification and a health card.

Fortunately I was in a fair mood that day and played real dumb as I was only doing a favor for someone else.

We talked about hobby (race car)(horse shows etc.) advertising of coarse and he pointed out that there is a payline at these events so qualifies "further endeavor of commercial interests".

He didn't site me but weighed me and checked that my truck was rated as was the trailer to haul that weight.

I wondered why he followed me for twenty miles or so to light me up right at the scales.

I do know that often there will be bill boards so to speak on trailers that have nothing to do with the advertised business.

I asked a guy about that at a truck stop once, he said that he is indeed within the commercial requirements and sells the advertising space on his trailer to some Harley dealer. He said it covers much of the costs of his trailer maintenance.

 

that has all of the signs of a Maryland stop. Actually I sorta agree with him that advertising on our trailers does put you into DOT territory   oh if you do travel Maryland read the scale stops signs carefully as all of us car haulers must stop for inspection 

robert

[lump]

Just putting your own name and the name of your favorite collector car, car club, or etc does not constitute advertising for a business, however. And those kinds of graphics are a real pain to remove (ask me how I know!) It's certainly one way to slow down the thieves. 

[edinmass]

Since Federal DOT regulations do NOT require my rig to have DOT numbers, and I do NOT have commercial tags, and the truck and trailer are registered to me, I am EXEMPT according to Federal Regulations, and since every state in the lower 48  has adopted the Federal DOT regulations there is no reason for me to stop. Motor homes don’t, camper trailers don’t.... they are all exempted by the same statute. Yes, I carry a copy with me. In Vermont I had an over aggressive State Police officer who just kept trying to bust my balls. He was trying to do the math on my tires to see if it was possible to ticket me based on too low of load carrying capacity. My trailer is rated for 21k, and my tires are rated for 26k. In the end he complemented me on my equipment, and the extra safety items I was carrying. When he saw the rental agreement I had for a house on Lake Champlain that was 3k for a week, he thanked me for spending money in his state. He did imply I was a “below the radar” hauler. I refused to open my trailer door, even though the car inside was registered to me. It’s still America......regardless of all the different jurisdictions trying to jam us up for money. Just like half the BS we are having shoved down our throat with this pandemic. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)