Tractor Theft

Never really thought about it. My insurance company has my serial numbers but don't know if that would be enough. 

Ask your county sheriff for a universal ID number then engrave that along side the serial number and a couple other places. Its set up to show your county by some digits and your state and your individual ID number. Its good for tools and machinery and traceable all over the US. I also added a sign to my farm that announces everything of value has an identification number and stuff has stayed better since then.

Gerald J.

stamp the last four #s of you SS# or 1st six of your D/L # under the the tractor some where. maybe a flat spot on the bottom  bell housing or rear end.

to bad you can't put up a trip cord ... at the thieves door.

Fellow had a skid steer stolen here and he was able to ID it because he had welded his
SS number on the bottom of the bucket.

inscribe your name under the valve cover. ???

I mount a lot of game cameras 15 foot off ground, I guess they could shoot them. takes 2 people to change batteries and cards. also have video backup with recorder in vault.when we were at gathering in Kansas in 2000 was talking with some people and they had unhooked tractor and trailer in field where everbody was parking and somebody backed up and got both.

Acdiesel wrote: inscribe your name under the valve cover. ??? dan

make sure you have the the VIN#. and model/make and any personal descriptors you may have of any piece of equipment. that includes any numbers or letters or welds or bent/broken items on it.  tractors are no different than cars or trucks or trailers or anything else that is stolen. pics do help, but only if/when it's found. now the minute you have found that your piece of equipment has been stolen, contact your local law agency to come do a stolen report. do not disturb the area where it was last sitting, don't touch stuff that ay have been moved getting to that piece of equipment. don't disturb tracks outside or inside of foot prints, tire tracks, finger prints, palm prints.  when contacting local law...wherever the item was stolen is who you contact, not necceserly where you live! if it's stolen in the country notify that law agency, if stolen in the city notify that agency. there are different agencies for this purpose, this will save you precise time and frustrations. after a report and investigation starts, make sure you ask for the case number, this will save time for you and the law agency down the road. as soon as the report has been taken and signed, the law agency will have that item  put into the national crime info computer. NCIS/NCIC. then if it's ever discovered or suspicious by law enforcement they will run that VIN# and be able to tell if it's stolen within minutes. and anytime any of you go to buy anything motorized, you should take down the VIN# and ask any law enforcement agency to run the VIN# thru the crime computer for a stolen check. this normally does not cost anything except your time/travel. but may save you a lot of money, and embarrassment of having a stolen item in your posession! personally I have helped recover one tractor off a consignment sale, and one skid loader off craigs list, and 2 trailers off word of mouth for sales, and one power tool off a garage sale. and by law, any item with ground off or missing VIN#'s are to be confisticated by law enforcement. so if you know where a serial number plate is supposed to be on anything and it's not there....report it!  you can't believe how much stolen stuff is sold on auctions of all types, the thieves want a mostly safe way to make money, if it's a good running/working item they'll usually put it on some type sale, if it's a piece of equipment, they usually take it to a scrap yard.  

who did you torque off MACK?

Last 4 only is all I'd use.....

Local junk yard marks it's big items and was able to identify an item that reappeared when the thieves brought it to the yard to try and sell it. The idjits brought it to the same guy they stole it from to try and sell it back to him! Stupid is as stupid does.

Salvage yards also mark parts so they'll know their parts if say someone buys a engine and then tries to bring back their old engine they replaced and say its the engine they bought and it wasn't any good.

Our local sheriff recommends mounting cameras where they'll catch a license plate #.  Never give away your social security # or driver's license #.  Just another thing the thieves can sell or use to steal your identity.  Look at a sheriff's car's license plate.  Ours start with 059.  That's our county code.  The use your name.  EX:  IL059Hauter.  That's easy for law enforcement to track.