Not a good month

[Bob&Karen]

The month of May hasn't been good to the Tipton clan.

On May 6th, our first Boston Terrier, Winston, died unexpectedly at 6.5 years of age. He started having seizures at 3:00 am and despite getting him to the emergency vet clinic quickly, they were never able to break the seizure cycle.

As if that wasn't bad enough, at some point the following weekend, our TM was stolen from the fenced, security gated storage lot! We had planned on camping this past weekend, so I went to the lot on Wednesday to get one of the propane tanks that needed to be filled. Imagine my surprise when all I see are the wheel chocks!:new_Eyecr

We have filed with our insurance company (State Farm) and are hoping for the best. We bought the TM new last year in early June. We just hope that we come out good enough to buy another soon. The TM was just what we had been looking for and we won't be happy with anything else.

Now, we are looking at some type of security system for our next one. Does anyone have any ideas? We've been looking at GPS tracking systems, considered the swing-away tongue, etc., but are not sure what may be best. What about the tire boots? Will something like that fit a TM? I know they're kinda pricey, but if they work, it would be worth it...

Thanks for letting me vent a little,

Bob

 

[Bob&Karen]

Yeah, we towed it in and parked it. And, I believe that the contract says that they basically have no liability. Thing is, the lot is pretty well lighted and you have to have a security code to both enter and leave the lot. When the police met me there to fill out the report, there were no signs of forced entry - someone has a code.

Our biggest concern right now is what the settlement from the insurance company will be. We would really need payoff + down payment as we now don't have a trade-in that we weren't looking to trade in to begin with.

Guess we'll just keep our fingers crossed for now and hope for the best.

Thanks, Leon

Bob

 

[Leslie & Nick]

Sorry to hear about Winston. We've been through similar situations and it is not easy I know. You feel very powerless at times like this. But you have two more pups, and I hope they will fill the void you're feeling. I'm sure they miss their buddy too!

State Farm will replace the trailer for you - I don't think you have much worry there. My thinking is that if some low life wants your trailer badly enough he'll eventually get it. I feel best when the trailer is sitting in my garage, but that is not always possible. When I have to leave the TM somewhere other than the garage, I remove the swing away hitch and take it with me, or lock it in the trailer. My thought being, that at least this will make it a little harder to steal. Apparently the hitch can't be totally removed on the new TMs with the swing away hitch, so don't rely on this idea with a new trailer.

There have been a lot of postings of late about security and various anti-theft devices. Unfortunately I think most devices can be defeated one way or another if the thief wants the trailer badly enough. I wish I knew of a foolproof deterrent myself. Good luck!!

Nick

 

[Bob&Karen]

Thanks, Nick, and yes, Toby and Jackson have gone a long way towards filling the void left by Winston. Because we have them, we've kinda had to 'function', so to speak.

I wish we could keep the camper at home. Unfortunately, our driveway comes off the road so steeply that it's not possible. We had a pop-up with a 14' box prior to the TM, and the rear bumper would drag so much that there was a brief period where the TV was going up the driveway, the rear bumper on the camper was dragging, the the camper tires were actually off the ground! No way I could get even the smallest TM in my driveway without causing damage...

We'll keep looking into means of securing a camper - naive us just thought that 'Hey, it's inside a secure area so everything's OK.' Well, THAT'S not true. I'll look through some of the security posts and see what I can come up with.

Thanks again,

Bob

 

[PopBeavers]

I have sometimes thought that it would be nice if someone made a motion detector that would call your cell phone if there is too much motion. This assumes that you are close to the trailer at the time is is "severely bumped".

 

[Bob&Karen]

Wayne,

I'm gonna check into a GPS-based theft prevention device. Have been doing Google searches and find them for autos and commercial 'fleets' - they provide tracking info and also allow you to predefine an area (probably via GPS coordinates) that when the vehicle leaves that area, you are called to see if it's an 'authorized' move. If not, the police are called and led to the vehicle by the locator device. Probably expensive, but sounds nice....

Bob

 

[Travler-TMO]

This is what I use to secure mine when we travel Gorilla Guard 2" Coupler Lock
Gorilla Guard trailer coupler lock made by Fulton for 2" coupler

They make them in different sizes........this will atleast slow them down. You can find them @ www.towshop.com

 

[Bob&Karen]

Thanks, Travler - That's certainly something to look into. I've been trying to locate GPS anti-theft devices and the issue that I'm finding is that most of them run off AA batteries and that only gives about 4 weeks of monitoring before changing batteries. I have found some that can be hardwired in but are more expensive. I'm not sure which way to go at this point. I do, however, have some time before making a decision as we have just started the insurance claim process.

Thanks again, all...

Bob

 

[PopBeavers]

An inexpensive LoJack for trailers that did not kill the trailer batteries would be nice.

 

[Doug W.]

Wayne is right, if you do not have AC power to the TM, the GPS will drain the TM battery. We use GPS with a laptop and 802.11 and cellular wireless when not in the location the company trucks park. We have a device that cuts the battery power when the battery voltage drops to a certain voltage. For some trucks, that is less than 4 hours. I have seen many solutions, but they only slow thievies down. If they want it, they will get it.

I also have the driveway problem with my lower driveway where I park the TM. The first solution was to change from my WDH receiver to a normal receiver. My receiver hitch on my van is low, so I need about 4 inches of lift for the TM. My old tent trailer (800 lbs empty) only needed about 2 inches of lift. Add the extra weight of the TM and that drops the tongue of the TM about 3 to 4 inches which of course raises the back of the TM. It is a hassle doing that before and after each trip to get it in and out of the driveway, but I like having it at home. It would still scrape for about 4 to 6 inches. I solved that by placing a 2x10 in the transition of down to flat and now I do not scrape at all.

 

[Bob&Karen]

OK - regarding the battery drain issue... I'm really considering the solar panels on the next one. That "should" keep the battery charged in storage, correct? Also, some of the units I've been looking at go 'inactive' after a period of time and will activate upon movement of the trailer. Also have a 'geofence' setting that allows it to be set to call me if the camper moves outside that geofence area. Prices are running in the $400 - $500 range. Kinda pricey, but I'm beginning to think that may be our best option. I'm not sure I trust the wheel boots after reading some of the other threads, and the "good" ones are comparable in price to what I'm considering.

BTW - I've started a website for our wonderful Boston, Winston, who died unexpectedly a week before our camper was stolen. I will be trying to update it regularly. If you feel so inclined, there is a video I made posted there - just click on the video link & make sure your sound is on. Winston loved everybody and loved attention from anyone. The URL is:
http://home.comcast.net/~winstont

Keep the ideas coming,

Bob

 

[Goodyear Travels]

So sorry to hear about Winston's passing. My wife and I had to let go of a 14 yr old GS named Cuno about a year ago. He was a dear friend and guardian of our family. Everytime the tears welled up in our eyes -- we'd light a candle beside his picture and ball -- to honor his life and to remember the joy that he brought to us. We went through a lot of candles. It appears that you have other Bostons who will attempt to fill the little hole in your hearts left by Winston. I'm glad that they're there for you.

And if I had to store our 2720sl -- I'd take the swing hitch home in my trunk. Our swing hitch is double pinned and can be easily removed. I think it weighs about 40 lbs or so. I'd also use heavy cable between the two, white-spoked wheels. I think that most would-be-theives would then look for an easier target. Make you new trailer even more perfect for your RVing needs than its predecessor. I've always believed that the greater the sorrow -- the greater the hidden gift. It just takes seeing eyes and a loving heart. I'm guessing that you have both.
Peace, Eric