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DavidThomas Loyal user 240 Posts |
Several years ago I had a trailer stolen with major illusions. Mendoza slicer, etc. It was fortunate that it was parked in my warehouse facility behind a locked gate.My insurance is replacement value and I am covered within 100 feet of the exterior walls. The 150 k ck paid for new stuff, but the year of time to actually rebuild was a business loss.
Question, how are you dealing with traveling whether in Trailer or truck to cover a loss? For the last few years, I have used common carriers which do cover content, but with my tours coming up, transprtaion will be in house. the real exposer in my opinion is overnight parking of truck or trailer on the road. This means 8 hours or so or unsupervised time. Thanks
David Thomas
TheWorldofMagic.com |
jeffl Regular user 109 Posts |
I can't offer "real experience" or compare different vendors' products, but it would seem like you might be looking for something like this:
https://www.dewaltmobilelock.com/ Maybe someone else could take care of comparing this to competing products, sorry I just don't know them that well. |
DavidThomas Loyal user 240 Posts |
Thanks for this....I already have LoJack and a Fleet tracker on my trailer.but those don't alert me if there is an issue. It may be a few hours before I notice. The unit you sent may solve that as it has a phone call option if the alarm goes off. I am going to look into this...
David Thomas
TheWorldofMagic.com |
gimpy2 Special user 960 Posts |
Not magic but in my contractor days I had several trailers with lots of expensive tools inside. Used hardend steel hitch locks and baked them up to the shop wall so the doors wouldnt open. Took the wheels off sometimes.
You hear about magic getting stollen on here often. I always wonder if a theif would be as likely to steal a trailer or trunk full of magic if they knew what it was. I wouldnt think it would be very easy to turn into cash. Seems like I remember somebody putting decals on a traier to discourage anybody from stealing it. Dead animal recovery service or something like that. Good luck with protecting your stuff, I just cant stand a thief.
Gimpy
www.gimpysmagic.com |
Mike Thornton Regular user Canton, MI 109 Posts |
Ask your agency for an Inland Marine Policy, that should cover your items on the road.
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chmara Inner circle Tucson, AZ 1911 Posts |
Apocryphal story here -- It is said that one magician labeled his trailer live performance animals kept in trailer, including POISONOUS SNAKES. It apparently worked for him.
I was either lucky or anonymous enough not to be have robbed. I wish I could say the same from breakage of props by stage hands and other performers who were curious or careless.
Gregg (C. H. Mara) Chmara
Commercial Operations, LLC Tucson, AZ C. H. Mara Illusion & Psychic Entertainments |
jeffl Regular user 109 Posts |
Right, the product category "mobile alarm with tracking" is a bit newer and I feel much better suited to your situation than a simple tracker. You could augment that with one or more local-recording dashcams (I see them all over for as low as $20, the "tamper-proof" variety runs a bit more but what you need depends on how cleverly you install it), you can't "guarantee" you'll get a pic of the culprit but so long as the trailer is recovered you've got a shot at it, if you succeed then the only thing a thief is going to get away with is a ticket to the hoosegow. I agree you should get an insurance policy specifically for this but you should be able to find a carrier to write something pretty inexpensive if they take into account that you're this well prepared.
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DavidThomas Loyal user 240 Posts |
Hey everyone all are giving great input. Before I utilized common carriers I had an inland marine policy. I will look back into it but issue was the extreme cost. it was running 8 k year. Also after the loss I had it took almost a year for settlement and time to get props rebuilt.
With LoJack and the fleet tracker phase one is completed. I am very interested in the Dewalt system Jeffl sent. It seems to have a tamper alarm, vibration setting, tilt setting that sets alarm off, with the greatest feature of all. It can be monitored by a Alarm Company that will call me if the alarm goes off. Just like monitoring systems do for the home. That is a big step forward as my fear has been, if trailer is stolen and I don't notice until hours later.
David Thomas
TheWorldofMagic.com |
Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
How much would it cost to hire an off-duty cop like movie grips use? Also, on the road maybe find a parking lot that has security.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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DavidThomas Loyal user 240 Posts |
Hi Pete,
For example we just finished a show at the Anaheim convention center. I am based in Oklahoma City. Show was on a Friday morning. We left OKC on Tuesday. Planning where you will stay the night is always played by ear. Ended up in Albuquerque that night, the next in Barstow then onto the convention hotel. The hilton did not have a flat lot, so we ended up next door at the Sheridan which did have a secure lot. We had a great night at Magic Castle....what a treat...great meal....Jody Barron was a great show. I have know him for years, but this is the first time to see him perform live. On the road we always look for the hotel clusters in the best areas of a town. Usually a Hampton Inn. Average days out for us is 4 to 5 nights. I think it would be hard for us to do the off duty cops, but that is a good thought. I
David Thomas
TheWorldofMagic.com |
jeffl Regular user 109 Posts |
So yes I was advocating augmenting a tracking alarm by adding a cheap local dashcam because it's cost-effective. That's still true but take a look at the features of the following high-end dashcam if you're more of a "gadget freak" or are willing to pay a bit more for the state-of-the-art and want to watch live video even if your vehicle is actually on the road already (it doesn't appear to do GPS tracking by itself though so you'd still need the aforementioned alarm to get it all):
https://owlcam.com/ |
DavidThomas Loyal user 240 Posts |
Jeffl,
I want to thank you again for recommending the DeWalt Mobile Lock. I now have two units and they are the PERFECT security system for on the road performers like myself. I sleep so well now when in hotels.
David Thomas
TheWorldofMagic.com |
Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
When I was on my first national tour I had a 60' rig so no one was stealing it as I was in it at night. LOL. I hated hotels so the RV/tour bus was the way to go. I am currently not doing any year long national tours so its truck and trailer and hotels. I usually park under a light and have a lock on the trailer so that it can not be put on a hitch so there is no way for them to hook it up. I guess when it is hooked up to my truck they could steal the whole thing but with my name and face and logos all over the huge trailer its a moving billboard so I doubt someone would want to steal something with basically a bulls eye on it. my insurance covers the trailer and contents as long as it is hooked up to my truck.
although I do like this dewalt mobile lock and will look into that as well. be safe on the roads.
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
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