"The" Al Bradham
Member
October of 2007 I had a trailer mounted 10kw generator stolen from my house. Curiously, the responsible party (still unknown) thought it capable to steal not only this, but also another generator and a 150 gallon fuel tank, all three of which were chained together. “Who could possibly steal three trailers at one time?” I thought. The thief backed up to the 10 KW, hooked it up, and then took off, dragging the other two trailers down the street. About ½ mile away, this caravan of stolen equipment broke apart leaving one generator and the 150 gallon fuel tank in the road. The police were called by my neighbors to investigate. When they got there, the police followed the skid marks back to my house and called me. I filed a police report and started looking for the missing generator. I offered a $500.00 reward but nothing ever developed.
3 ½ years later…
I had to make an hour long trip to check out buying another generator, yes another one. While on my way I spotted what looked like my stolen generator at a pawn shop. I turned around to check it out and sure enough it was mine. You ask how I knew it was mine, well let me tell you. All my equipment is lettered or wrapped. This small generator had been lettered. The thief removed the lettering but did not bother buffing it out or repainting and you could still see my logo in the paint.
A few phone calls to the police, a meeting at the pawn shop, and voila! My generator is home.
Ok, what did I learn? After the generator was stolen, we put together a book with pictures and all info about every piece of equipment we own. Info includes color, style, serial numbers, and anything else we found pertinent. We did this for two purposes: insurance coverage and to help police on, heaven forbid, any future stolen equipment. Today, the first thing the manager at the pawn shop asked for was the serial number of this generator. I didn’t have this information available, but, luckily, my previous lettering was still visible. However, if it were to happen again today to any of my equipment, I would not need to rely only on luck.
So, I thought this is a nice little story. It does pay to live right and say “Thank You” for what you have been given (or returned).
3 ½ years later…
I had to make an hour long trip to check out buying another generator, yes another one. While on my way I spotted what looked like my stolen generator at a pawn shop. I turned around to check it out and sure enough it was mine. You ask how I knew it was mine, well let me tell you. All my equipment is lettered or wrapped. This small generator had been lettered. The thief removed the lettering but did not bother buffing it out or repainting and you could still see my logo in the paint.
A few phone calls to the police, a meeting at the pawn shop, and voila! My generator is home.
Ok, what did I learn? After the generator was stolen, we put together a book with pictures and all info about every piece of equipment we own. Info includes color, style, serial numbers, and anything else we found pertinent. We did this for two purposes: insurance coverage and to help police on, heaven forbid, any future stolen equipment. Today, the first thing the manager at the pawn shop asked for was the serial number of this generator. I didn’t have this information available, but, luckily, my previous lettering was still visible. However, if it were to happen again today to any of my equipment, I would not need to rely only on luck.
So, I thought this is a nice little story. It does pay to live right and say “Thank You” for what you have been given (or returned).
