Trailers in lay-bys with the doors open

[TimmyWimmyWoo]

Hi haulage folk!

Most days I drive past trucks that are parked in lay-bys with one of the trailer doors open. Is this just to show opportunist thieves that they aren't carrying anything while the driver rests?

[daveparry]

YES!

[TimmyWimmyWoo]

Thanks, just curious! I spend four hours driving each day to get to work and back; I end up noticing things and forgetting to ask about them on PH...

[truck71]

Either that or someone robbed the entire contents in the night and left the door open!

[rumple]

If you have a curtainsider a lot of knobbers will slash the curtain rather than open the doors to look, its getting more and more common unfortunately.

[iva cosworth]

When my curtain got quite badly cut one night in South Yorkshire on A1,the container driver

parked in front of me drove off in the morning with a door open !

Don't know if driver left it open to show it's empty or whether my potential thieves

took a peek inside.

[cossy400]

Or if they are intelligent thieves that patrol Leicester Forest North services.

I parked there, couldnt swing open the drivers side rear door so did the passenger side.

Woke up in the morning to a slashed curtain.

Parked in various laybys and had no bother at all.

[Harvey Mushman00]

Thats the general idea, doors open, trailer is empty.............low life scrote moves on, well thats the theory!!

[Triple4]

I'm in the Days Inn Hotel at Leicseter Forest East and have been since Monday and see guys in a Navara slashing the side of a foreign lorry.
Someone else seen them and shouted but they kinda just got in the jeep sat for a bit then drove away. The reg was off the front as well I'm assuming to avoid the ANPR as you enter the services.
Absolute horrible bds.

[MJK 24]

Triple4 said:

I'm in the Days Inn Hotel at Leicseter Forest East and have been since Monday and see guys in a Navara slashing the side of a foreign lorry.
Someone else seen them and shouted but they kinda just got in the jeep sat for a bit then drove away. The reg was off the front as well I'm assuming to avoid the ANPR as you enter the services.
Absolute horrible bds.

I've stayed there before. Noisiest hotel in the whole wide world. You may as well pitch a tent on the hard shoulder!

[Pet Troll]

I appreciate the thought behind leaving a door open to show an empty trailer, but isn't it counter productive? Surely then a closed trailer is almost a guarantee it's full of stuff?

[bigwheel]

Pet Troll said:

I appreciate the thought behind leaving a door open to show an empty trailer, but isn't it counter productive? Surely then a closed trailer is almost a guarantee it's full of stuff?

You don't park up with a value load in a lay-by or vulnerable area.

[Munter]

I wonder how much it would cost to make curtains which contain a layer similar to stab proof vests. A "mesh" between 2 layers of the standard material used.

Either that or a double skin with fluid lubricant and skin irritant in between should sort it out. Not being able to stand or hold anything, and feeling like your skin is on fire should make their life tricky.

[bigwheel]

Some curtains are used that are laminated with wire mesh half-way up or kevlar.

[maffski]

These trailers are all full or Romainians, they leave the doors open because none of them want to be the last to our jobs/benefits/nhs - I read about it in the Daily Mail*

*In case of humour failure, it's possible I'm not being serious. Some of them are from Bulgaria.

[GC8]

bigwheel said:

Some curtains are used that are laminated with wire mesh half-way up or kevlar.

Very interesting. Are they completely slash proof? Wiring the curtain for a sounder isn't difficult, but the wires will fail long before the curtains life is over. Maybe in infrared sensor would work, although it wouldn't save the curtain itself, they may stop if they realise that they wont be able to transfer the load undetected.

[bigwheel]

Think of the wire mesh like medieval chain maille. Good protection against Stanley type boxcutters and pocket knives.
Remember the pale blue Omega fleet many years ago? And Norbert Dentresangle cutainsiders.

[Pints]

GC8 said:

Very interesting. Are they completely slash proof? Wiring the curtain for a sounder isn't difficult, but the wires will fail long before the curtains life is over. Maybe in infrared sensor would work, although it wouldn't save the curtain itself, they may stop if they realise that they wont be able to transfer the load undetected.

By the sounds of things, these lot aren't bothered about being detected. They just don't want to be caught. Giving them a round of shot from a double-barrel would put them off though.

[wavydave13]

maffski said:

These trailers are all full or Romainians, they leave the doors open because none of them want to be the last to our jobs/benefits/nhs - I read about it in the Daily Mail*

*In case of humour failure, it's possible I'm not being serious. Some of them are from Bulgaria.

[grumpy52]

some times it's just vandals.
My company asked the other week why I never used lay-bys ?
They didn't like the reply .