This is such a great story, I've moved it out of the Classifieds (originally Titled: Looking to buy an Ollie)

[angler]

My 2008 Ollie (hull #27) was stolen 2+ weeks ago, and I'm really bummed out. Starting the search for a replacement and happy to look at any used model that I can continue to pull with my Nissan Xterra (rated tow weight 5,000 lbs). If you are selling or know of an available one, please let me know.

[SeaDawg]

I am so very sorry to hear that. This is the first stolen Oliver I've ever heard of.

I'll watch for you. I remember your posts from the old days. (2008-9). I'm totally bummed out for you.

[Katjo]

3 hours ago, angler said:

My 2008 Ollie (hull #27) was stolen 2+ weeks ago, and I'm really bummed out. Starting the search for a replacement and happy to look at any used model that I can continue to pull with my Nissan Xterra (rated tow weight 5,000 lbs). If you are selling or know of an available one, please let me know.

I’m so sorry!😢

Where was it stolen? 

[Patriot]

@anglerWow..😔This is the first time I have read about an Oliver being stolen. It’s sad to hear about your news. I hope that you are made whole by your insurance company and that the thieves are caught and swiftly brought to justice. If I see or hear about an Oliver for sale I will PM you with information. 
If and only when you are comfortable doing so would you consider sharing the details of how this theft occurred?. This information could really help other owners with situational awareness, as well as step up of additional security of their Olivers. If you have not already done so, I suggest you inform Oliver TT of this theft as well. 

Hang in there, stay positive, surely good will over come evil. 

Patriot🇺🇸
 

 

[Ollie-Haus]

This seems pretty high risk for a thief. Probably don't realize how rare the LE1 is and that we are a well connected community. It has no scrap value, and using it regularly in public would be very risky. Maybe it will turn up and somehow you will get it back. Unfortunately if it does it will probably be way down the road. 

[angler]

Hoorah. Ollie lives! Stolen rig returned!  Police found it behind a stolen tow vehicle behind a locked gate (locks cut) in a rancher's field less than a mile from the police station.  It was stuck in the mud and two people who had been living in it had gone out to get a friend to help them get out of the mud when the rancher arrived, and the thieves raced away.  Police didn't catch them, but they did find identifying evidence (jail release papers) and opioid detox meds from the jail pharmacy for one of them. Of course, most of my gear was stolen, and a lot of their stuff was in it. Thank goodness for the fiberglass inner hull which will make it much easier to clean/sanitize.  There's work to do: negotiating with insurance, broken off stabilizer jack to replace, spray paint on the hull, stolen spare tire and fiberglass cover, destroyed door lock, wrecked entry stair and scratches on the hull, plus cleaning, fumigating and replacing contents, but we will be on the road again this spring and summer.

So here's my question: fourteen years in my driveway in a big city, and never messed with before. Reasonable quality hitch lock and motion detector lights.  What all do you folks recommend as security systems. You can bet I am paranoid, and short of trying to build an enclosure, what do you folks do to keep your beloved rigs safe?

 

Thanks, Angler, Hull #27

470257C6-C213-48CD-8B61-9549EEBF0A7F.heic 502D75D4-929A-499C-A8A7-E01237E6022A.heic

[Guest]

Congratulation on the recovery of your Oliver!

We have this hitch lock. I believe several owners on the forum have purchased this type of lock. 

 

Good luck!

Kirk

[topgun2]

Congrates on getting your Ollie back.  With a bit of work and help from the insurance company, it will look like new in no time.  If it were mine I'd strongly think about now being the time (with the insurance help) to do a ceramic coating.

Besides the lock that snakeriveridaho mentions above, there are all sorts of wheel locks and big chains that can go through the wheels and/or axle to attach the Ollie to something even more solid.  Unfortunately, if someone really wants to get it - they will.  All you can really do is have good insurance and try to slow them down a bit.

I'm sorry that you have had to go through this but I'm also happy that you have got your Ollie back!

Bill

[John and Debbie]

49 minutes ago, snakeriveridaho said:

Congratulation on the recovery of your Oliver!

We have this hitch lock. I believe several owners on the forum have purchased this type of lock. 

 

Good luck!

Kirk

I have the same lock and also use a collar lock while towing.

John

[Ollie-Haus]

My gut said if the thief planned to use it they would get caught. Great news that it's been recovered. I'm sure it's unsettling that these people have abused it but anything can be fixed and made new again. Congratulations!!

[John E Davies]

That is great news, I fixed your pics, HEIC files are not supported.

One super method of securing your trailer would be to buy a hitch dolly, and swing it around backwards when you park it long term. I don’t think most thieves would even consider taking it if they couldn’t hitch up easily.

Good luck.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by mossemi
Rotate photo

[Mike and Carol]

Wow!  So glad you’ve recovered your Ollie.  I’m sure you can correct what they messed up.  It’s good to have a happy ending to this.  Mike

[bugeyedriver]

So glad your Ollie has been found.  Yaaay for MUD!  Looks like they wanted to paint her silver and disguise her as an Airstream. Haha. 

Fiberglass is a remarkably resilient product and with a lot of TLC, she'll be heading out to the fishing holes again, just like new.

 

[Patriot]

@angler

Glad that your Ollie has been recovered and you at least you can now work on getting it back ship shape. Naturally you will want to go through ALL your systems and determine the extent of ALL damage done. As for additional security measures you could consider high end  security cameras along with your motion sensor lighting. If a thief wants anything bad enough they will likely succeed. Short of removing the wheels during storage there are no 💯 guarantees that it won’t be stolen again. Possibly find a local indoor storage garage? Out of sight out of mind.

Again glad to hear your happy ending with your Ollie recovery. I hope that your insurance company does everything in their power to make you whole again.👍🏻

Patriot🇺🇸

[angler]

Hey Forum Pals,

I love all your comments. Thanks for the support, and it's great to have my rig back. Hopefully I will be on the road again in a month or so.  I have been looking at the Proven Industries lock that Snake River suggests.  My rig is about 30 miles away at the repair shop, so I can't easily look at it, but if my fading geriatric memory serves, it seems that the bulldog hitch is held to the frame by a single bolt. Does anyone know if the Proven Industries hitch lock covers this bolt or could the thieves simply unbolt the hitch and quickly attach their own to the rig.  It also looks like Proven Industries also makes a killer wheel lock. Any one have experience with it?

This theft has turned me a bit paranoid, and I have looked at a few videos of how easy it is to freeze (liquid nitrogen) or pick many of the low to moderately priced wheel locks.  I'd love to hear more people's thoughts on security.  Obviously the best is indoors and locked up, but I am not in a location where I can manage that.  Any one have experience with removable bollards in front of the rig?  I suspect that I will go with multiple items. Hitch lock, wheel lock or two, tracker, and perhaps pulling the pin to the brake locks so they are always on.  It's getting a bit over the top, but...

[dewdev]

I would hope that the Proven Industries lock and a wheel lock with stop most future thiefs.

Hopefully the person(s) who stole your trailer were the type of person that comes along once in a lifetime.

Asking the repair shop their opinion of what to buy might help.

[Nancy K.]

Wow, very sad pictures indeed, but so glad your Ollie has been recovered.  The thief was not too bright to carry around jail release papers...

[Rivernerd]

3 minutes ago, Nancy K. said:

The thief was not too bright to carry around jail release papers...

My Criminal Law professor in law school, Woody Deem, started each class session with the statement:  "Criminals are stupid."  He would then delight the class with real stories from his decades as the Ventura County California prosecuting attorney.

[Rivernerd]

21 hours ago, angler said:

I suspect I will go with multiple items, [including]...tracker

We have an Amcrest GPS GL300 tracker.  Whenever our Elite II is:  (1) away from its fully-enclosed storage shed next to our home, and (2) not connected to our tow vehicle, we turn the tracker on.  It requires a subscription fee, but we enjoy the peace of mind.  I have read anecdotal stores of such trackers being used by police to find stolen trailers.

In your shoes, I would leave the tracker on whenever it is parked in front of your home.

The tracker is in addition to two different kinds of Bulldog coupler locks, which we install when leaving the trailer at a campground unattended.

[Guest]

23 hours ago, angler said:

seems that the bulldog hitch is held to the frame by a single bolt

Our 2 5/16 bulldog is attached with two 3/4 in bolts. They aren’t covered by the Proven Industries lock. 

[dewdev]

The Proven Industries Lock does not cover either of the two bolts on the 2" bull dog hitch.

I never thought about that being a weak point for protection of the Oliver, but I guess it could be.

On the other hand, do thiefs carry a bull dog hitch to install on a trailer after taking off the one that is locked? I hope that they are not that determined or smart.

[Steve Morris]

46 minutes ago, dewdev said:

On the other hand, do thiefs carry a bull dog hitch to install on a trailer after taking off the one that is locked?

No, but any generic coupler could be attached. For that matter, I've mostly read of thieves simply looping the safety chains around a tow ball, and be gone!

[SeaDawg]

Thank you @John E Davies for posting the download photos. I couldn't open them.

@angler, I'd consult with Oliver on paint removal. Looks like  they were trying to turn your Ollie into an Airstream,  and ran out of time or paint.

So glad you were able to recover it. Best of luck!

 

 

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, snakeriveridaho said:

Our 2 5/16 bulldog is attached with two 3/4 in bolts. They aren’t covered by the Proven Industries lock. 

Yep - 

But, you can "bugger up" the nuts on those bolts so that they are very difficult to remove.

1 hour ago, Steve Morris said:

For that matter, I've mostly read of thieves simply looping the safety chains around a tow ball, and be gone!

Buggered bolts or not - if they really want it, they will find a way to get it.  For instance - bring a flat bed and drag the Ollie onto it and drive away.  😰😞

Bill

[TexasGuy]

So sorry this happened but glad you got your Ollie back.  I have hitch lock but have been thinking about throwing an AirTag somewhere  in the Ollie.  Might help find it faster if it ever goes missing and they are cheap enough to put a couple in the trailer.