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Old 07-10-2012, 07:40 PM   #41
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Sounds like a possible INSIDE job.
Hmm. Video? Yes what about that This is sad.
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Old 07-10-2012, 07:57 PM   #42
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Every once on a while a thread will start about a stolen Airstream. More often than I personally like to see. But most quickly evolve into potential ways, good and bad, to protect against a theft. All good info. I just wonder how often the op actually gets their trailer back. Or can we ultimately just kiss our babies good bye once they disappear from the lot. Anyone tracking the recoveries? I sure hope this one comes back home!
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Old 07-11-2012, 07:38 AM   #43
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Originally Posted by casa3805 View Post
Every once on a while a thread will start about a stolen Airstream. More often than I personally like to see. But most quickly evolve into potential ways, good and bad, to protect against a theft. All good info. I just wonder how often the op actually gets their trailer back. Or can we ultimately just kiss our babies good bye once they disappear from the lot. Anyone tracking the recoveries? I sure hope this one comes back home!
There was one stolen off a dealer's lot in the northwest that I think was recovered. That's the only one I can recall that was actually recovered.

The fact is, with the size of this community, we may be in really good shape - there are a couple thefts reported here each year, but given how many members there are, I wouldn't be surprised to find it's a very low rate.
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Old 07-11-2012, 08:17 AM   #44
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With poor odds of recovery, we need good replacement insurance policies as a standard accessory for our Airstreams.

doug k
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:10 AM   #45
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Originally Posted by casa3805 View Post
Every once on a while a thread will start about a stolen Airstream. More often than I personally like to see. But most quickly evolve into potential ways, good and bad, to protect against a theft. All good info. I just wonder how often the op actually gets their trailer back. Or can we ultimately just kiss our babies good bye once they disappear from the lot. Anyone tracking the recoveries? I sure hope this one comes back home!
I was actually wondering the same thing! I've seen quite a few threads similar to mine, and you rarely see a resolution posted.

My personal opinion, from my dealing with the police and the insurance company so far, is that the system is pretty much resigned to the fact that it's gone and insurance will just pay out.
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:01 AM   #46
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When you factor in the cost of a tracking GPS ($200-$400) plus annual tracking service ($240/yr.), it may be wise to just up the insurance to cover an agreed replacement cost.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:53 AM   #47
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I don't remember seeing any Airstreams recovered except for the one Skater mentioned.

Ours stays on our property and cannot be seen from the road, so I don't worry too much. But if it were visible or stored, I'd think about removing wheels—at least 3 of the 4. That is a real pain when you want to use it every few weeks or every month. Chaining the tongue is the next solution but if they have a battery operated grinder, it can be gone in minutes.

I wonder where they go? If they don't fit in containers, I suppose you could box one for overseas shipment.

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Old 07-11-2012, 01:36 PM   #48
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Don't know if they make these for trailers, but my Interstate has a Viper alarm system, that I'm very happy with.

Viper makes an interesting module for their alarms, but I don't have a smart phone and so can't use this particular feature (yet); if a break-in occurs, in addition to sounding an alarm at the scene, the smart phone module will auto-dial your smart phone to tell you about it, no matter where you are. Just the thing for folks who can't store their rigs at home, so you can call in the break-in to the police as it occurs. It will even tell you exactly which sensor went off, whether it was a glass-break sensor, a tilt sensor, whatever.

An interesting thought would be to get an alarm with a smart phone module, and no alarm siren, so the thief doesn't know he's set off an alarm, but you do know.
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Old 07-11-2012, 05:20 PM   #49
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GPS Tracking

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Where does one buy a GPS tracker?
Here is one source for tracking by GPS: SkyLink Google mysky-link
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Old 07-13-2012, 06:57 AM   #50
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I don't remember seeing any Airstreams recovered except for the one Skater mentioned.

I wonder where they go? If they don't fit in containers, I suppose you could box one for overseas shipment.

Gene
I like to get pretty far off the beaten path here in Missouri. I've seen several trailers (a few airstreams) way back off in the woods, along some gravel roads in the southern part of Missouri. I would guess they are used for "deer camps" just used for a week or two per year. My guess is you could park one way off in the woods and it would never be checked.. I imagine most states have pretty remote areas that are seldom seen by outsiders.. From what I hear, those "hunters" certainly not hunters, but poachers, don't bother with seasons, licenses, any regulations. Why worry about title to their hunting cabin..
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Old 07-13-2012, 10:19 PM   #51
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I'm so sorry to hear about this - such a misplaced sense of entitlement these thieves seem to have! A 2009 FC belonging to a member of the OR Unit was recently stolen, from a secure storage facility which required access code(s).
I LOVE the GPS idea and yes, am thankful for Insurance. For those of you with Vintage AS be sure to provide your insurance company specific costs associated with your restoration/renovation so that they insure for the true value.
Again, so very sad to hear the news
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Old 07-14-2012, 10:18 AM   #52
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I'm so sorry to hear about this - such a misplaced sense of entitlement these thieves seem to have! A 2009 FC belonging to a member of the OR Unit was recently stolen, from a secure storage facility which required access code(s).
I LOVE the GPS idea and yes, am thankful for Insurance. For those of you with Vintage AS be sure to provide your insurance company specific costs associated with your restoration/renovation so that they insure for the true value.
Again, so very sad to hear the news
Mona
Insurance is very important, of course. I'd just caution people to be cautious about paying for some types of extra coverage. In some cases, an insurance company will gladly sell this to you, but it's almost on a dollar for dollar ratio to the coverage you are buying.

For instance, I recently raised the deductibles on my two cars to $1000 from $500. On one of my vehicles, this amounted to a $500 year savings. So, they were charging me $500 per year for $500 worth of benefits. On the other car, it amounted to $300 per year savings. Still not the greatest value for money.

It will all vary from company to company, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Just be sure that the extra coverage is worth the money. It may make better financial sense to "pay yourself" and put money away in a contingency fund.

There can be other quirks too. My company will pay out if my AS isn't recovered within 10 days. That may be a little too quick for some people. Especially if you live somewhere that such a theft won't actually be too high on the police priority list. Also, my insurance company seems more focussed on suing the storage lot for recovery of some of the pay out than they are on recovering the trailer.

Or, depending upon your circumstances they may devote more time to investigating potential insurance fraud than they will to recovery of your AS.

So, if you're really focussed on getting your PARTICULAR Airstream back the realities of the system are a little depressing to say the least.

Another lesson I've learned is to keep receipts, or make an inventory of everything your furnish your AS with. Luckily, we hadn't used it yet this season so it was pretty bare bones inside. However, we're still out the money that we spent on linens, some small appliances, kitchenware, a mini bbq, etc.

Those small things add up. In some cases, your RV insurance is liable to pay for them (assuming you have an inventory), in other cases it might be your home insurance policy.
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Old 07-14-2012, 11:24 AM   #53
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All good points about insurance Toronto. Now that insurance companies care more about their stock price than the insured, you have to be very careful. Sorry to hear it is as difficult in Ontario as in the US.

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Old 07-23-2012, 11:44 PM   #54
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Could somebody generate a PDF with the critical information and maybe a photo? That way consistent correct info can be distributed to several police agencies by the members here.
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Old 01-26-2014, 05:37 AM   #55
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Some states (Alabama for one) are surprisingly easy to register a "vintage" vehicle of any type. Anything older than I think 1978 doesn't need a title, just a bill of sale. Hand written, no witnesses or notary is fine. Kind of scary.
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Old 01-26-2014, 06:34 PM   #56
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For those "DIYers" (which there are many in the AS community), here's an interesting idea to create your own "LoJack" - basically an old smartphone with a minimal phone plan, then use a "find my phone" feature to locate the trailer. I haven't done it but I'm thinking about it. Here's a link to the idea:

Build Your Own LoJack Clone for a Fraction of the Price
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