For many people, spring starts when the clocks roll forward an hour on the second Sunday in March. But while the start of daylight saving time brings lighter evenings, research shows that crime rises after the springtime clock change, with theft of vehicles, the contents of vehicles, and vehicle parts all increasing significantly. Those are the findings of smart home company Vivint, which examined FBI crime data from 2017 to 2021. If you own a trailer, considered a vehicle by the Federal Highway Administration, these statistics might shock you.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to protect your trailer is to use a GPS tracker that attaches to its various components. With the latest real-time location insights, you can take quick action if someone tries to steal a semi-trailer, tractor-trailer, RV, or motorhome from your premises. Learn more about GPS and trailer theft in this edition of LandAirSea’s spring theft prevention series.
Why Does Vehicle Theft Rise In The Spring?
While Vivint didn’t explain why vehicle crime increases during the spring and summer, there are various theories. Perhaps vehicle owners spend longer away from their homes and workplaces when evenings are lighter, allowing criminals to steal cars, trucks, trailers, and other assets from their properties. Or maybe more theft occurs because people are more likely to vacation during this time of the year. Whatever the reason, you must prevent property theft and safeguard your trailer.
There are many reasons criminals steal trailers, regardless of the time of the year. Unlike conventional motor vehicles, trailers are less likely to have alarm systems and other technologies that alert owners of theft. In various industries, trailers might be loaded with valuable goods that need to be delivered to customers and clients, such as construction materials and consumer products. Criminals have stolen trailers with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of items inside, making trailer theft a lucrative crime.
GPS And Trailer Theft: How To Protect Your Trailer In The Spring
With property theft rising in the spring, it’s time to take action and protect your trailer. Some of the best ways to do this include:
- Locking up your trailer when you’re not using it
- Parking your trailer in a secure parking area, preferably one on your property, rather than the street
- Using a hitch and a wheel boot lock
- Investing in an alarm system
While all these methods can prevent someone from stealing a trailer, you won’t be able to find out where your trailer went if a criminal steals it from your home or your business. Only a GPS tracking device will provide you with the relevant information to locate your stolen trailer and recover it quickly.
The Benefits Of Using GPS For Trailer Theft
There are various advantages of using trailer GPS devices to prevent theft:
Receive Notifications When Your Trailer Leaves Your Premises
GPS devices use a technology called geofencing, which lets you create a virtual boundary around a real-world location. When an item attached to a GPS unit leaves that boundary, you can receive an instant notification on your smartphone, alerting you to its whereabouts.
Say you attach a GPS device to the ceiling of your trailer, where it is unlikely to be noticed by a thief. You can create a geofence around the location you keep your trailer, such as your home or business premises, and receive notifications when your trailer leaves that area.
Identify The Exact Location Of Your Stolen Trailer
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a system of more than 30 navigational satellites that orbit the planet. These satellites continuously send out signals to receivers in GPS devices, allowing you to pinpoint the exact location of whatever item the device is attached to within several inches. GPS trackers like those manufactured by LAS provide more location precision than GPS-enabled smartphones and other technologies, helping you accurately identify your trailer’s whereabouts, no matter how far it has traveled.
Recover Your Trailer
In the event of theft, you can monitor your stolen trailer as it moves from your location to another and try to recover it. You can view the trailer’s whereabouts in real time or view historical information that reveals its final destination and travel to that location. Alternatively, you can pass real-time or historical location data to law enforcement, which can try to recover your trailer and find out who took it. LAS devices with ShareSpot technology let you share location information with whomever you like through a simple mobile app, helping you recover your asset quickly.
Support Insurance Claims
If you can’t recover your vehicle, you can submit location information generated by your GPS tracker to your insurance company. This evidence will support your claim and prove that someone stole your valuable from its original location, helping you receive the funds you need to purchase a new trailer.
GPS trackers for trailers are also useful for situations other than theft this springtime. For example, you can place trackers in a fleet of unpowered trailers and monitor employees who use them to transport materials and consumer products to customers. For as long as the trailer is attached to a motor vehicle, you can learn how long it takes drivers to reach their destination, how many stops they take on the route, and whether they violate speed limits. LAS devices provide speed alerts that you can use to improve driver safety.
GPS And Trailer Theft: Where To Place A Tracker
There are various locations you can place a GPS tracker in a trailer. You’ll want to conceal your device as much as possible so thieves can’t find it. Here are some places to hide your tracker:
- Under the trailer
- On the ceiling
- On the rear bumper
- On a pallet or other item inside the trailer
- Under a seat (in a recreational vehicle)
- Under the carpet (in a recreational vehicle) — don’t step on it!
What Are The Best Devices For GPS And Trailer Theft?
These are the GPS trackers from LAS that prove useful if someone steals your trailer this spring:
LandAirSea 54
The LandAirSea 54 with Sharespot is waterproof, dustproof, and small enough to hide in any trailer. It comes with industrial-strength magnets that attach to various trailer components, helping you track your vehicle and share location information with friends, colleagues, law enforcement, and your insurance company. Other features include speed alerts, geofence alerts, battery alerts, InstaFence, and a dark mode.
LandAirSea Sync
LandAirSea Sync connects to the OBD II port in a motor vehicle, helping you keep track of any unpowered trailer that’s attached to it. You can also connect it to the OBD II port in a powered trailer like an RV. If someone steals your trailer, you’ll receive an instant notification. Because it attaches directly to an OBD II port, Sync doesn’t require any batteries, saving you money over time. Other features of Sync include geofence alerts, speed alerts, and arrival and departure notifications.
LandAirSea Overdrive
LandAirSea Overdrive boasts a battery that lasts up to four times longer than the 54, making it a good choice for trailer owners like you. Attach this waterproof and dustproof device to the outside or inside of your trailer with its internal magnet and generate real-time location information. Other features of Overdrive include battery alerts, fence alerts, speed alerts (if your trailer is attached to a motor vehicle), and a dark mode.
Not sure which LAS product to use with your trailer? Contact LAS to learn more about GPS and trailer theft.
Why Choose LAS?
LAS has developed and manufactured GPS tracking surveillance technology since the early ’90s. The company provides GPS units to multiple industries, including law enforcement, border control, construction, and the military. Some of the benefits of purchasing GPS trackers for trailers from LAS include:
- First-class customer support
- Simple installation and activation
- Online guides and tutorials for setting up and troubleshooting your device
- Pay-as-you-go pricing on select products
- No hidden costs
- Products are up to 80% cheaper than other devices out there
Final Word About GPS And Trailer Theft In The Spring
Research reveals crime increases after the clocks roll forward in March, making it imperative you protect property like expensive trailers. Tracking devices are the easiest way to safeguard semi-trailers, tractor-trailers, RVs, motorhomes, and other powered and unpowered vehicles this spring because you can identify their real-time location thanks to GPS technology. LAS trackers are covert, lightweight, and simple to use, making them a security must-have this season and throughout the year.
Get tracking! Order a GPS tracker today and identify the location of your trailer at any time, or email [email protected] for more information about GPS and trailer theft.