I had a 14' tandem axle dump trailer stolen about 2 years ago. Last week I spotted at a local recycling place and called police. Police impounded the trailer as it had been registered at the DMV as a "home built" trailer. The person it is currently registered claims he bought it legally and swears it is his. I am 150% sure it is my trailer since I recognized all the little details and modifications that I had done to it.
When I bought it, I noticed someone at the factory had spelled a very specific word on one of the frame rails underneath the dump box with a wire feed welder and the thief took a grinder to it and erased it.
My question is: is there any way to bring out this word so that I can prove to the police with out a doubt that this is my trailer? (i.e. x-rays, etc.) The detective handling this case said they can bring back VIN numbers on stolen engines, serial numbers on guns, etc. that have had these numbers ground off.
I tow my trailers with my F350 6.0 and would love to get my trailer back!
Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help!!
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2004 F350 CC LB w/ 5.5" Fabtech lift w/ 35x13.5x20 Mickey Thompson ATZ's on Moto Metal 954's
2008 Tahoe 26FS Toyhauler
2007 KTM 525 XC
2004 KTM 65 SX (son's ride)
2004 F250 5.4 w/ 8' utility bed
2008 F350 5.4 SRW chassis w/9' Royal utility bed
The VIN numbers should be stamped on the trailer. If it has been ground off this is a clear indication that it was stolen.
While this seems logical, the courts need evidence. In theory, I could grind the VIN off my own trailer...without "stealing" it.
__________________ Since 7/14/08.....'01 Ex Ltd 7.3 PSD, Juice w/Attitude, S&B intake, 4" turbo back, RAS, Exhaust Brake/TC Controller (New to diesel, new to Ford)Towing a 7500# TT most of the time
Maybe the thief was not so smart and did not even grind it off. There should be some evidence linking the trailer back to the manufacturer. Often the police don't investigate these kind of crimes thoroughly.
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2000 7.3 Power stroke turbo,165k miles. Bull dog tuner. Air raid cold air intake.
As long as the welded letters had some penetration into the base-metal, you or the police should be able to make them re-appear. One method that could be used involves polishing the surface and using a special etching compound to define the edges of the weld metal from the base metal. Some information on the process is in the following link; What etchant do I use for ... ? - AWS (welding) Code Issues FAQ - Eng-Tips
wow sweet story if you get it back good luck
try this if nothing else paint and a large flat file and maybe the welds will be higher still (not fully ground off)
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88 F-250 body,550 rear frame setup, 7.3 idi, back up camera, class 5 bumper hitch welded to frame and gusseted, front mount hitch and off road lights,93 front clip, headache rack, 37" humvee tires, ac power converter,factory buckets from quadcab, power windows and locks,cobra 29 cb w/ 102" whip, high lift jack behind seat, toolbox for the junk, visor, running lights, huge front bumper, oba,
in progress western style mirrors, holset turbo, airhorns, and some other goodies
Two years and you may get your trailer back, pretty cool!
Did you collect on an insurance claim on the trailer? If so you may have to buy your trailer back from your insurance company. If you didn't have insurance on it which in MN if not hooked to a vehicle it would need it's own policy you should be able to get it back if proven it was yours.
Got a couple 14ft dump trailers and if either one was stolen wouldn't be happy.
The guy who had the trailer will be questioned as to how he got it. More than likely the police won't spend a ton of money on investigating the crime unless they suspect it to be a big theft ring. The guy who's got the trailer now could have bought it not knowing it was possibly stolen.
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Acid can bring a ground off serial number to the surface. Something to do with the stamp making the metal more dense or something and the acid works on the softer metal. Should be the same for a weld.
The VIN numbers should be stamped on the trailer. If it has been ground off this is a clear indication that it was stolen.
All of the trailers that I have bought only have a sticker on the A-frame part of the chasis with the VIN, GVW, tires size, etc. It might be different in other states.
Another detective who works for the same police dept. told me that they would be contacting the Department of Justice for methods available to bring out this word from the metal. We'll see what happens
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2004 F350 CC LB w/ 5.5" Fabtech lift w/ 35x13.5x20 Mickey Thompson ATZ's on Moto Metal 954's
2008 Tahoe 26FS Toyhauler
2007 KTM 525 XC
2004 KTM 65 SX (son's ride)
2004 F250 5.4 w/ 8' utility bed
2008 F350 5.4 SRW chassis w/9' Royal utility bed
Two years and you may get your trailer back, pretty cool!
Did you collect on an insurance claim on the trailer? If so you may have to buy your trailer back from your insurance company. If you didn't have insurance on it which in MN if not hooked to a vehicle it would need it's own policy you should be able to get it back if proven it was yours.
Got a couple 14ft dump trailers and if either one was stolen wouldn't be happy.
The guy who had the trailer will be questioned as to how he got it. More than likely the police won't spend a ton of money on investigating the crime unless they suspect it to be a big theft ring. The guy who's got the trailer now could have bought it not knowing it was possibly stolen.
Made a claim but was denied because it was not hooked up to my truck, it needed its own policy in order to be covered while on it's own.
The guy who had it claims he bought it from one of his emloyees and only has a bill of sale, no title to it, (yeah, sounded fishy when I heard it).
Believe me, the police are doing their best on this, I can't go into specifics, but it pays to know people in the right places sometimes.
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2004 F350 CC LB w/ 5.5" Fabtech lift w/ 35x13.5x20 Mickey Thompson ATZ's on Moto Metal 954's
2008 Tahoe 26FS Toyhauler
2007 KTM 525 XC
2004 KTM 65 SX (son's ride)
2004 F250 5.4 w/ 8' utility bed
2008 F350 5.4 SRW chassis w/9' Royal utility bed
wow sweet story if you get it back good luck
try this if nothing else paint and a large flat file and maybe the welds will be higher still (not fully ground off)
The welds were completely ground off from what I saw. I am going to do a little experiment. I will weld some letters onto a thick piece of steel, grind them off, and try some muriatic acid and see what happens! Thanks for the ideas guys!
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2004 F350 CC LB w/ 5.5" Fabtech lift w/ 35x13.5x20 Mickey Thompson ATZ's on Moto Metal 954's
2008 Tahoe 26FS Toyhauler
2007 KTM 525 XC
2004 KTM 65 SX (son's ride)
2004 F250 5.4 w/ 8' utility bed
2008 F350 5.4 SRW chassis w/9' Royal utility bed
Maybe you had some tires put on back when you owned it and possibly they could be traced back to you? Or maybe the axles have serial numbers on them and they could be traced to the original builder? Did you buy the trailer new? Just shooting in the dark here....
Hope it all works out for you. I always stamp my drivers license number or VIN into almost everything I own, and put it somewhere where it would be a pain in the butt to grind off or otherwise deface.
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Stolen Trailer Found!!
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