Locking your tractor

[RoperGuy]

Hello, I've recently moved in town and will have to keep my lawn tractor out behind the house. Trying to come up with a way to make it abit more secure any ideas would be appreciated, so far I'm thinking of digging a hole and concreting a length of chain in the ground

 

[gfp55]

That would be a good idea and any other means of making it harder for someone to walk off with your tractor. Maybe a shed with a good lock, a dog. Good luck and keep us updated on what you come up with.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Removing a front wheel will make it hard for kids or junkies to run off with the mower.
Nothing will stop a determined thief.
Chains can be cut in a few seconds with a bolt cutter, battery powered angle grinder etc.
High powered tools that make our job easy also make thieves job just as easy.

A remote powered camera works well with a sign to warn off lazy thieves or catch determined ones.
I had to install them to get insurance.
I did not bother to put up the ugly signs because I don't believe in advertising the shop might be a good place to plunder.
One local family found out the hard way what happens when some one puts photos of their adolesent children doing a break & enter in a very public place for all to see.

The police can not use them in evidence as there are no warning signs but they can be used in an investigation or to obtain a search warrant and if the local plod is up to speed they just get it to search for stolen goods so even if my stuff is not there they can nick them for other unexplained goods and use that as evidence.

 

[Tombstonebilly]

My friend who had his stolen drilled a hole in the gear handle and locks it in reverse so its not very easy to move he also put a rod through the front wheels it will take a lot of work to take this one:wink:

 

[gundog]

If someone enters your property and commits a crime of any kind, the police most certainly can use the photos as evidence. No need to have a warning sign.

Removing a front wheel will make it hard for kids or junkies to run off with the mower.
Nothing will stop a determined thief.
Chains can be cut in a few seconds with a bolt cutter, battery powered angle grinder etc.
High powered tools that make our job easy also make thieves job just as easy.

A remote powered camera works well with a sign to warn off lazy thieves or catch determined ones.
I had to install them to get insurance.
I did not bother to put up the ugly signs because I don't believe in advertising the shop might be a good place to plunder.
One local family found out the hard way what happens when some one puts photos of their adolesent children doing a break & enter in a very public place for all to see.

The police can not use them in evidence as there are no warning signs but they can be used in an investigation or to obtain a search warrant and if the local plod is up to speed they just get it to search for stolen goods so even if my stuff is not there they can nick them for other unexplained goods and use that as evidence.

 

[gainestruk]

If someone enters your property and commits a crime of any kind, the police most certainly can use the photos as evidence. No need to have a warning sign.

Bertsmobile1 is from Australia, so must have different rules than we have.

 

[KrashnKraka]

Bertsmobile1 is from Australia, so must have different rules than we have.

Confirmed.
What's more putting up images in a public place is actionable, in some States
here, both civilly and prosecution wise.
Theives and mental cases got lots of Rights here(.au)... often more
than the Good Guys...particularly if it is proven the 'offender' is nuts.

You need two dogs and high res cameras, 24/7.
And a normal low childproof fence, gates always shut, not locked and
no signs. Signs make YOU liable, in some cases.
The fence is only a legal thing, so nothing fancy required.
Magnetic selfcloses work well.
The cameras are there to protect YOU when the 'offender' claims your dog
jumped a fence to bite him/her.
One dog they will distract while doing their crime, so you need a backup.
Now, not just any dog... you do not need to feed Rotties but two alert well trained
dogs - one with sharp hearing - and you got tools the majority of thieves wont
consider taking on. You will never stop nutcases.

Don't ask how I know all this, but take it to the Bank... the info cost me thousands.
Not to mention having to relocate. Which really is the only answer, long term.

A very good friend of mine had his > 90KG MX racer taken from his lawnlocker
where it was chain bolted to the floor. A security system and 6' metal fence was
walked through, no problem. The police had one question "you insured arnt you"?
We recovered the machine, partily stripped, at a wreckers yard some months later.
My friend never recovered the loss or any justice.

Trust that helps some.

 

[packardv8]

My friend who had his stolen drilled a hole in the gear handle and locks it in reverse so its not very easy to move he also put a rod through the front wheels it will take a lot of work to take this one:wink:

Nothing will stop a determined thief.

My mower was heavy to push with the tranny in neutral, but the thieves pushed it, wheels locked, for 120'.

jack vines

 

[bertsmobile1]

yes you will find different laws re evidence in almost every state in every country, Even between authorities.
A photo with no warning sign is considered evidence for things like vandalism of council ( town ) property.
But the same photo can not be used if the vandalism was done to State or private property.

The most use I get from my photos is to convince the useless delivery companies down here that a driver never came to the gate so it is their responsibility to send the items to me.
The local electricity company has been extorting $ 50 /year because they clain they could not access the meters to read them. Camera put that to bed as well.

On tractors, the front wheel removal works wonders but as stated before noting will stop a desperate junkie from financing his next hit.
( around 80% or more of property crime is to finance drugs

 

[Earthquake Landscaping]

As noted, nothing will stop a truly determined thief, but slowing them down enough make it not worth while raises the odds that you`ll still have your mower next week.

Here`s a couple for you...

Get a post hole digger, and dig a post hole. pour in a bag of `post crete`and water, but sink the biggest piece of chain you can afford in it as you pour in the cement. Make 2 wooden ramps about 8 inches high. When you park the mower, arrange the ramps on one side and drive up so that the mower deck is forward from the base of the chain. Reach under and flip the chain around the blade shaft. Back down the ramps, and reach through the discharge chute to get to the chain. Pull the chain around the shaft and throw on a lock. Take the ramps back in the house. If you get it right, it`s almost impossible to get at the chain to cut it. You can get a grinder through the discharge chute, but there`d be no way to hold the chain. you can`t get both arms through the discharge chute, and you can`t lift the mower up to get at the chain.. If you`re flexible, you don`t need the ramps.

2nd way ... as above, but no ramps. You need to have a machine that has somewhere that you can reach through and pull the chain up from the ground ( or use a hook ) and get a lock on it where it`s around the frame, but there isn`t room to get a grinder or bolt cutters in.