Paranoid or reasonable to lock up a portable mill overnight

Satamax · August 18, 2012, 02:19:47 PM

Louie, you have a swingmill?

Easy solution, get a 20' shipping container, put wheels underneath, and store your mill in there overnight. I think this could be a good solution. Even better, take the wheels inside, and atach to the ground from the inside with some kind of ground screw.

Meadows Miller · August 21, 2012, 09:38:39 AM

Gday

I know a bloke who packed his Lucas and tools in a container every night with Me I have always just taken the head unit of the tracks and taken it home with me it only takes a couple of min and its safe and it also saves setup time in the morning ;)

Regards Chris

Thehardway · August 21, 2012, 01:18:41 PM

You are not paranoid, just cautious. I was neither and now my mill is gone, stolen out of a gated community that is regularly patrolled and curiously no-one saw anything. My next mill will wither be taken home or secured well enough to make it not worth the effort or time prohibitive and having it insured.

It's a shame that we have to have a mistrust of fellow mankind but for some the temptation is just too great.

MReinemann · August 21, 2012, 05:55:48 PM

And for the earlier post

QuoteTheir idea is if they can't have it, neither can you

I'll bet dollars to donuts that I am sure which party they vote for in the next election.
[/quote]

Brilliant minds must think alike. Same thing I thought when I saw that first quote.

rmack · August 21, 2012, 08:37:18 PM

Quote from: beenthere on August 17, 2012, 11:34:03 PM
For less than $1k, you can buy an iPad and just leave it with the mill. Then locate it with the GPS as we read about on another thread here today by Bandmill Bandit.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,53586.msg878419.html#msg878419
Cheaper and the thieves may just take the iPad and leave the mill alone. :
In the meantime, can keep records, etc. on the iPad, take pics, use the internet, and a few other things. (Just can't take it home with you. )

Just a thought.

And for the earlier post
QuoteTheir idea is if they can't have it, neither can you
I
I'll bet dollars to donuts that I am sure which party they vote for in the next election.

Yes indeed, there are those who see outright thievery as the purest form of free enterprise... :

[/quote]

mikeb1079 · August 21, 2012, 09:45:09 PM

speaking as a man who just had $500 worth of tools stolen from his back porch WHILE I WAS INSIDE EATING DINNER i have to agree with the notion that the best you can do is just to make it harder for the thieves. some good ideas on here with the gps/ ipad/ etc.... keep thinking and let us know what you decide.

there's nothing worse than stealing another person's tools!

QuoteI'll bet dollars to donuts that I am sure which party they vote for in the next election.

:

gimme a break man sheesh :

Magicman · August 21, 2012, 10:16:53 PM

I had the receiver hitch stolen from my truck and it was parked in front of the Police Station.

slider · August 22, 2012, 07:26:09 AM

I'm like you louie,just don't feel easy about leaving my mill out in the boondocks.I sometimes leave a big log on it with the head rig all the way to the front.Last big job i just removed the hitch and kept it with me .If i am using my boom truck i just clamp the grapple on to the mill and lock the truck.it's still a bad feeling al

terrifictimbersllc · August 22, 2012, 07:31:28 AM

Not paranoid. Clamp a log on it. Put the head at the front which makes tongue weight very high and chain it there. Take the fuel and water tanks with you.

Misfit · August 22, 2012, 10:40:42 AM

QuoteI'll bet dollars to donuts that I am sure which party they vote for in the next election.

:

gimme a break man sheesh :

[/quote]

Agreed. Can we keep the political opinions to ourselves? There's nothing more divisive than politics and religion.

Magicman · September 03, 2012, 03:49:50 PM

Here is what AT&T uses to secure their portable generators when they are left unattended at remote locations.

Slingshot · September 03, 2012, 08:03:46 PM

That's what the traffic cops use in Louisville when they happen on to a
parked car that has a whopping bunch of parking tickets outstanding
against it. I have seen them downtown on cars. Not a welcome sight
for the car owner. smiley_turkey_dancing

________________________________

Clean Image · September 04, 2012, 10:14:55 AM

My mill is stored almost 800 miles away from me...I cover it up in a tent and take off the wheels to at least make it a challenge if someone decides to go after it. >:(

This could also work...many banks started removing those nasty dye packs from the "bait cash"(which had a habit of exploding without reason) and replacing them with Lowjack devices. They stick them in the ATM's too for those brilliant minds who think wrapping a tow chain around a machine and dragging it back to their house is a good way to get beer money ???

http://www.lojack.com/

sigidi · September 08, 2012, 05:11:42 AM

what a coincidence we have a similar themed thread goin on our Aussie forum at the moment.

For my Lucas Mills over the years, I've done as Meadows Miller has, I take the power head home on the back of the ute, I leave the mill frame setup and also leave the bobcat out at the mill. I leave the key in the bobcat in case it needs to be moved while I'm not there too ;D

But in the past if I have been in an area, I get a feeling about, I've slept in the sawdust between the rails and used the engine carriage as 'one end' of my tent. it serves many purposes this way, one I don't have to break the mill down and set it up in the morning, two I don't have to pay for a motel or something, three I get to wake up early with daylight and get to work quicker ;) ;D 8)

Knute · September 09, 2012, 09:52:59 AM

Mine has been parked in my woods at the same site for 2 years with no trouble, but I always think it could be a problem. Just to much trouble to move it every day. Always cover it with a tarp every night just to protect the mill from the elements.

Meadows Miller · September 10, 2012, 12:12:43 AM

Another trick is to put large logs around the mill then you mill them the next day ;) You need a loader for that though I have done it afew times in the past

sigidi · September 10, 2012, 05:46:10 AM

Imagine putting 5-6 30" dia logs around the mill, then catching some guys on tape through the night trying to lug the mill out over them only to find they did something like left the lights on the ute while they where doin it and flattened the battery on the ute bahahahaha - good one Chris

terrifictimbersllc · September 11, 2012, 11:14:36 AM

Reasonable to be paranoid.

MartyParsons · September 11, 2012, 11:53:00 AM

Hello,
We dont hear of many stolen mills. We do have a newer LT40 Super with all the Copper cut off in the shop. Yes all the wiring was removed. The did not take the battery or any other big dollar stuf. I would guess the copper was worth about $ 100.00. The new wiring will be way over that. One harness is $ 500.00. They even cut the hydraulic lines expecting them to be copper? The mill was locked in a steel building. They pulled the steel sheets back and got in.

Marty