Security of Your TM

[B_and_D]

On Saturday we were talking to our neighbors who have a fairly new storage facility in Central CA. They said that at their facility, each individual storage user has a unique user code and that there is a video camera at the code entry point. So, if someone enters a code to get in, they would know whose code it was and also have a video of their entry. It probably records the time of entry too, but I'm not sure about this.

Apparently not all storage facilities are created equally. I did not know this until this past weekend.

Even though this might help in the recovery of the TM and criminal prosecution in case of a theft, if it's gone, it's gone; and it's better to keep it from being gone if you can.

I would be so sad if someone stole our TM; we couldn't replace it for what the insurance company would pay us.

I would be so sad if someone stole our TM; we couldn't replace it for what the insurance company would pay us.

Most insurance companies I have dealt with will sell you a policy for "replacement value" rather than "depreciated value" if you're willing to pay the extra in premiums. Our TM is insured for what we paid for it.

Originally Posted by Freedom;37949 [COLOR="Red"

Most insurance companies I have dealt with will sell you a policy for "replacement value" rather than "depreciated value" if you're willing to pay the extra in premiums. Our TM is insured for what we paid for it.[/COLOR]

We have talked to a company (RVAmerica Insurance) that has a full replacement policy for less money than we were paying State Farm. Same deductible, etc. We're seriously considering it.

Bob

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by SneakyFrog

I really liked the simple heavy duty chain idea that someone mentioned in the other thread....

Hmm. a "simple heavy duty chain" which can withstand MY bolt cutter isn't cheap or readily available. (No, a heavy duty chain for lifting 20,000 lbs is not the same thing as a tamper resistant chain in which the loops are hardened from cutting attacks AND still "soft" enough to prevent shattering under Sudden, hard hits.) Because hardened steel is brittle, prone to break via the "freon"+sledge hammer type of attack, you really need it constructed with a hard outside (to prevent hacksaw and bolt cutter attacks) but a much softer core (to hold the hardened steel intact when it's faced with a sudden, heavy impact). Nearly all of the sub-$200 chains which can withstand my bolt cutter will break under my sledgehammer, because they're built cheap, hardened all the way through.

Yeah, along with my grinding and drilling stuff, and chain cutter, I have a 20-pound sledge hammer AND I know how a swing it. Even worse, (for a chain), I do own a separate and unsharpened "splitter head". (Kinda like a slightly dull axe head.) I'm attacking some rocks which I don't like in our yard-- and even the granite boulder is gonna submit. If I were a thief, I would be your WORST NIGHTMARE.

Lotsa cheap chains consist of hardened steel all the way through, or hardened in the core-- these aren't good. (Hardened in the core I just cut or saw the outside first, then smash the core.) You need soft, flexible core with hardened outside. And a good lock, built the same way. If you're buying more than 6 feet of the good stuff, you're lookin' at way over $200.
- - - - -

BTW, for hardened chain users: You can be VASTLY more secure by arranging your connected chain and it's connection points, so that I can't get links all the way down to the ground. (If I can set it on top of a bit of hardened steel plate which I brought for this purpose, with the plate on the ground, the power of my swing doesn't get dissipated into "soft" TM tires and suspension, or "soft" ground ). Don't let me get a solid hit!

[Bill]

If someone really wants to steal your car, you can't stop him.
If someone really wants to enter your house, you can't stop him.
I suspect that the same thing is true of your TM. If a professional thief really wants it, you can't stop him. But in general, thieves don't want your TM - they are too unique, too easily identified, to be easily fenced, or to be stripped and resold as parts.

It seems to me that our job is twofold.
1. Make theft hard enough for the thief that he goes to the next house/car/TM.
2. Make theft hard enough for him, and DOCUMENT IT, that your insurance company will have no hesitation in paying off your claim.

Bill

[B_and_D]

If you have a 1997 TM in almost mint condition, like ours, I can't imagine that the insurance company would be willing to pay enough money to replace it. They would probably pay us a third of what it would cost us to find a good, used TM in the same shape as ours, within a month. Plus, we would have to shop for it, drive to get it, and risk the cost of gas and lost wages to check it out, and have to drive again if the first try wasn't replacement quality.

I guess if you have a newer TM, the replacement policy would work; but it wouldn't be worth it for us.

I bought an adjustable locking cable as a minor theft deterrent. I ran it through the wheel and through the square iron frame to prevent wheel removal. I locked it behind the wheel to make it harder to pick, and cinched it tight to make it harder to cut. I'm happy. It's about $19. Here' s a link to a product description if you are interested. LINK