The problem with Big Rigs, and heavy equipment in general!

In 2005, Big Rig tractor trailer theft was at an all time high when reported to the National Crime Information Center. Organized crime rings are the driving force behind big rig and heavy equipment theft. With no security offered by the factory on most big rigs, drivers are faced with the huge risk of having their tractors stolen. In most cases tractors are worth 100K while the cargo behind it is more towards a half of a million dollars. National statistics show that this is a huge problem and it is getting worse. Reports to Insurance Services Office, Inc. shows and increase of up to 20% in the value of big rig trucks every year since 1999 and they show theft as the most common cause of loss for big rigs.

The most worrying statistic for owners, operators and insurers is that as little as 10-15% of stolen bigrigs ever recovered.

Stop worrying, and get the Ravelco Anti Theft Device now!

 

Heavy Equipment Theft is On The Rise!

There were more Backhoes, Bobcats, Bulldozers, Cranes and Front End Loaders stolen in 2005 according to the National Crime Information Center. Heavy Equipment is being stolen and taken across the borders to other countries where our insurance companies will not even bother to look for them…and who pays for this? You do when your insurance costs sky rocket!

 

The Problem of Heavy Equipment Theft

1. Insurance companies are getting to the point that they don’t even want to insure heavy equipment any longer because it is so easy to steal. Some national surveys have suggested that the total figure could be as much as $2 billion each year in losses and indirect costs, such as rentals, downtime, wasted management time and project overrun penalties. Perhaps the most worrying statistic for owners and insurers is that as little as 10% of stolen heavy equipment are ever recovered.

2. Unfortunately most heavy equipment within the same make and model range have the same key… This is not a mistype, heavy equipment owners know this and rest assured thieves know if they have the key to one, they have the key to all and they will not hesitate to use it. You can test this theory by going to eBay and doing a search for “Caterpillar Key”. You will quickly learn that nearly every for of heavy equipment uses a single key, and you can get it online, for just a few bucks.

 

Why do thieves steal Heavy Equipment?

The answer is simple. The reward for the thief far outweighs the risk taken. Heavy equipment often has little physical machine or site security, is valuable and is easy to sell. The low recovery rate is a clear indication of the low risk for a thief. If an item is recovered, an arrest may not be made. Where an arrest is made, a conviction may not be secured. Even where a conviction is secured, the penalty is likely to be light.

 

What makes it so easy to steal Heavy Equipment

The first problem in equipment recovery is the time lapse from theft to theft discovery. A car theft will be discovered hours, if not minutes, after the crime. A Heavy Equipment theft on a Friday night might not be discovered until Monday morning. Equipment owners with larger fleets or multi-site operations may not discover the theft for days, weeks or, in some cases, months. This gives the thief a ‘window’ of opportunity when any investigation by law enforcement will not find a theft report. This is a particular problem because suspicious activity such as moving equipment at a strange time of day or on ill-suited transport is most likely to occur during this ‘window’. The gap between autos and equipment widens further when the availability of data is considered.

 

Here are some very interesting stories from our Big Rig and Heavy Equipment customers . . .

“In October of 2004, we had two of our FREIGHTLINER rigs stolen, the thieves drove them right through our wrought iron fence! That wasn’t bad enough but one of our lowboy trailers was ferrying a $545,000 BACK HOE, and the other had a $165,000 DOZER on it. The trucks were found a month later in Mexico, sadly the backhoe and dozer are still missing. After we installed your Ravelco Anti Theft Device in all 23 of our trucks . . . not one piece of equipment has been stolen! The police said there is an active theft ring in Mexico doing this to heavy equipment in Arizona and New Mexico. Unfortunately, we still have had two theft attempts but they could not steal our trucks. This letter is to just say thanks. We have had anti theft devices installed on our trucks before that just interrupted the key or the starter but they were easily bypassed. Even our own employees could do it. But, since your Ravelco system disables the engine’s computer system it has proven itself effective to us.” - Paul T., Flagstaff, Arizona

 

“Approximately 4 months ago, we contacted your company and purchased only 4 of your Ravelco Anti Theft Systems for our KENWORTH trucks. When they arrived the owner looked at them and said for us to install and test them on the older trucks only, because to be honest with you they didn’t look like much in the box. Boy, were we surprised!, after following your installation instructions our own shop mechanic couldn’t start the KENWORTH truck. When our owner saw this, we immediately ordered 54 more Ravelcos. I know this letter is short and sweet but I just wanted to say thanks for keeping our trucks safe and to give us the comfort of knowing our trucks will be there exactly where we parked them.”- Tommy C., Kansas City, Missouri

 

“Thanks to the Ravelco, for saving our three Bobcats and two CASE 580L front end loaders (backhoes). Having a rental company for the last nine years we have had all kinds of equipment stolen. In can honestly say that in the past year (since we installed the Ravelco) not one vehicle has been stolen from a jobsite. I am sure your Ravelco system has stopped the thefts.” - D. S. Starchy, Dallas, Texas

 

“We had our entire fleet fitted with your Ravelco system. We tried 6 different types of systems before yours. We even tried one that kept the truck running but it would shut down if someone other than the owner tried to drive it. Sounds good on paper but what a piece of crap. We had nothing but problems. The Ravelco is so simple to use and our drivers can finally have a good nights sleep, knowing that in the morning their rigs will still there.” - Butch H., Provo, Utah