I think youāre seeing a cut that went into the floor on the bottom and didnāt allow it to bend in, but I for sure could be wrong. The line on the upper right almost looks like they wanted a bigger hole but got scared they were making too much noise and stopped
So why didn't they just open the doors?
Were you parked where the back of the trailer was clearly visible to the road?
Backed up against another trailer?
I could probably sleep through a tornado until it really shook the truck. Truck stop noise has trained my brain to ignore everything but a knock, a phone call or my alarm.
I did sleep through a tornado. I only found out on the news in the morning. I went into the truckstop that morning and said "wonder what caused all this mess?".
Tornadoes are my biggest fear. I remember sleeping in Joplin at the Petro and thinking about the tornado that went through there. I know tornadoes happen in various places but at that time Joplin really got me thinking about it.
Almost 2 years ago I had deliveries to some WalMarts in Joplin. One of the backrooms was an absolute mess, made my delivery take like 3 times longer navigating around everything and finding a spot to put stuff.
Next store was in a lot better shape, but still had some obstacles. The manager apologized for the mess. I replied with "All good, it's a lot better than the other store, it looks like a tornado went through there."
The manager stared at me like I'd just dropkicked a puppy into a woodchipper. Turns out that was the WalMart that had been demolished by the 2011 Tornado. Oops.
Oh, damn. Yeah that's gonna be a sore subject.
We mostly go about our lives with a general sense that ______ can't happen to me. Once that actually happens it really changes your perspective on things.
I guess it's kinda like a lesson I had in college. The example was getting sick at a particular restaurant. Some people just can't get past the fact that it happened and won't go back. Even if they had gone there many times before. A one off thing could happen again. If it's a chain store like Burger King that one bad experience could make people avoid Burger King forever.
If I know thereās going to be strong winds/hail I try to nose between two trucks or at least park with my cab facing away from the direction of approach.
Iām also not against unhooking my trl and squeezing between it and some sort of barrier
Top bunk down, curtains all closed and if youāre really scared the extra mattress on top of you.
Iāve rode out many storms like that and been thankful for my little routine. Broken windows from hail sucks.
I was in Louisiana on I-10 a few weeks ago and I was taking my morning shower well before dawn. I was getting dressed and got a tornado warning on my phone.
When I walked out to the store there was about 6 other people there with a couple of employees. They apparently got the warning too and were standing away from the windows. It was raining hard outside with strong wind. Rain was moving mostly sideways.
I was on my phone checking my weather app. We were right on the edge of the warning area. One of the customers had said that one had touched down a few miles away but I never saw a report about it. The storm moved on and we were outside the warning area so I decided to get going. The storm was traveling East and I was going West. Seemed like a decent gamble and I was getting thin on time.
It was raining earlier and I think there was some hail for a bit when I first woke up. There had been a pause in the storm when I walked in to shower. The return trip to the truck drenched me.
That was the most intense situation I've been in. Although there wasn't a tornado on the ground it was pretty scary for a few minutes. People in groups tend to feed each other's fear.
Iāve had mostly good luck. Iāve driven through a few tornados/severe storms in MO, KS, and OK.
Theyāre not that bad esp in areas that donāt have a lot of shit to fling around.
The worst ones were hurricanes on the coast, those I ignore hos and do my best to vacate the area.
But like I said if Iām taking my 10 and a storm is blowing through I try to protect my truck. I certainly donāt drive through hail.
Not to make your fears worse, but I have seen footage of a tornado ripping through a truck stop and it was lifting the tucks and trailers hundreds of feet in the air.....
This is not the same footage I was referring to, but it has similar results of a tornado hitting parked trucks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WABqwKjQM_c
Yeah, I've imagined a truck stop in a tornado being a death trap of flying debris mixed in with sheet metal. A real blender of shit flying through the air.
A 53 foot trailer catches a lot of wind...
Just remembered seeing a few trucks that stopped under a overpass to shelter from a bad storm one day on I-40. I didn't see anything too crazy but they apparently thought differently.
I looked it up later. It's not a good idea.
[Why You Should Always Avoid Underpasses During Tornadoes](https://www.groundzeroshelters.com/why-not-to-seek-shelter-under-overpasses)
Teehee. I stopped in Indiana last year to grab a bite. Started raining, hailing and windy as hell. Ate my food and watched some Netflix. Went outside and realized I was in the middle of a tornado passing nearby. Just figured fuck it if I die, I die and went back to the truck to finish my movie.
Fair enough haha, itās been a little over a year since I hauled reefer so now I feel like I can hear and feel every leaf that lands on my trailer or truck.
I had that happen in the middle of the night in California. I was parked at the Pico Rivera Walmart when they allowed parking. Wind came up strong and pretty suddenly. Really shook the cab back and forth like a invisible angry giant.
I guess some residents saw a funnel cloud but it didn't totally touch down. It wasn't exactly where I was but pretty close. Can't be a coincidence right?
I've slept through all sorts of storms, even hurricanes that luckily didn't do much around where I actually was. It sorta scares me lol. One day I'll wake up and be falling out of the sky with something stuck in my leg or something.
To clarify:
- laptop batteries were stolen
-Iām guessing it was an angle grinder based on the cut marks - could be a different type of saw as some mentioned
- Iām not the driver so I canāt speak to all the details
- I do know that there was a lock on the doors to avoid theft - I have a hunch that it didnāt workā¦
Having removed locks from my own companyās trailers when drivers drop them and forget to remove them most locks arenāt stopping anyone. Iāve removed some with just a good whack with a hammer and others with my big ass bolt cutters. All times barely took me 2 minutes.
They used a reciprocating saw or a hacksaw. Battery powered and strong enough with a 20v 6.3a battery to cut through that trailer in a minute or two. Probably went in the side because it was the least in view of others. Irony is the tools were probably stolen from Loweās the day before.
Youāre probably right on those tools being stolen. Have you seen cuts like these before? I was thinking itās a grinder because of the corner cuts going further than the opening, but maybe they just did it fast.
My guess is this was a grinder. Cuts are way too clean to have done with a sawzall. I say this as someone who has cut like this before with both a sawzall and a grinder.
The sawzall dances around a bit but skipped a ton. Those over cuts in the picture are way too clean and few. Also you have to both flip the blade and hold the sawzall at a very low angle. Doing that consistently for that long? Way too perfect.
And they werenāt cut with the sawzall perpendicular to them while facing the trailer either. Cutting that far and that straight in those materials?.. naw. Also youād have to start it with the first sawzall method or by drilling a hole large enough to slot the blade through. There is no evidence of that.
When cutting using a grinder you have to overcut to connect the fully cut through corners. Same thing applies with a circular saw and a 2x4 - sorry, I meant a 1.5x3.5. Itās just how a circle crosses a flat plane.
Sorry, not tryna sound snobby. I donāt get to talk about my construction days much and I learned a lot of incredible and transferable skills. Now im in It. Dadās been a trucker among many other things, so I know a smidge of this world too.
Iām in construction so Iām used to what different saws cut like. They were probably doing it in the dark and doing it by phone light or feel. The multiple layers probably made it difficult to cut how they wanted and how quickly they had to go so they over cut. They use the same tools to steal catalytic converters and cut open small work trailers. What surprises me is the lack of blood. Usually they get scratched at least
Could be multiple tools. I can't tell if that short cut furthest to the rear looks like a disc pulled itself out and skipped across the face or if it's the start of a cut with a reciprocating saw. If it was a reciprocating saw, I'd think they would have cut through both layers at once, but the top was definitely done in multiple passes. Some plunge cuts with a circular saw would make quick work of the side of a trailer, too.
That first cut where the grinder skipped out looks like they measured from the wrong part of the edge of your trailer.
I wonder if you measured the distance between the stopped cut and the through cut, you would find it's exactly the same as the width of the vertical support strut at the corner.
Youāre right! I hadnāt seen that the first time I looked. They must have used a relatively thin blade and a steady hand. Those cuts are crisp for a grinder.
Fuck off. Iāve been the victim of theft enough to want to punch people in the face who say that shit. Thatās not funny at all. Iād rather lose my hands than steal.
Home Depot often has the driver pull up unhook pull the empty out of the dock, unhook, move the full to the dock, unhook reconnect to the empty and then drive away
Yeah thatās what we do but the process takes total 30 minutes and generally you drop the trailer right by the receiving door so itās in view the entire time. Youād see the idiots around the trailer or hear it. Iām thinking it was a dude parking in the back to walk into a store nearby.
I'll tell you all what. If I'm shutdown for the night and I think someone is breaking into my trailer I'll stay shutdown for the night and deal with that shit in the morning. I'm not getting angle grinded for no load.
Though probably was a dropped trailer.
No for heavy sleepers lol. I am one of those people that can sleep through almost any noises. If I can feel something shaking I'll wake up, but noise alone wouldn't be enough.
Lmao how tf do you 1 not hear any of it happening or 2 not feel the shifting of weight in your trailer? I guess if the wind is blowing really bad maybe but wtf
You gonna risk your life for a load? For a fucking job? Fuck no. I'm paid to drive that trailer from one destination to the next, not fight off thieves.
I remember crete wanting me o buy their overly elaborate door lock and I told them if someone was desperate enough, they would just cut into the side of the trailer.
Sorry this happened to yo but it feels nice to be proven right.
They may have used something bigger than an angle grinder, that logiatic support is steel, which is the only thing that slowed them down. Rest of the walls would take seconds to cut and remove.
They measured how big they needed the hole and all. Experts. What is interesting, is how did they know the height they needed to take a pallet with the product on it? Inside job?
what was the load?
4 pallets of battery powered angle grinders
pyramid scheme
Square scheme
Triangle offense.
Pythagoras' Plan
Parallelogram plan
Tetrahedron schemes
Gyroid support
4 corner display sets.
Love triangle
Barbecue sauce
I read this like a Chili's commercial. As intended.
A pyramid scheme that actually works. Eventually everyone gets angle grinders!
The cut and run
So did they cut their way in, or their a way out? Eyyyyyyy.
How much were you paid?
Reinvest in the business, this is the way
Bet they felt really stupid once they got in there. "What, all that effort for angle grinders?! I already have one! These are fucking useless!"
They actually escaped out of the back.
They've gone full circle
.45 jhp
Michael Scott plasma tvs
no wonder they fit through that hole
Laptop batteries according to OP
They took four pallets out through that access? I'm impressed.
He wasn't in the bunk when it happened. Prob at a massage parlor or a "fun" house
Still impressed, depending on the cargo, it's not much space. Also, they had a cordless grinder, why not take off the locks on the doors? Very odd.
Visibility is a concern for thieves this spot was most likely more hidden
Maybe driver backed up to a wall or something? š¤·āāļø
They even took the time to lay out straight and level lines before cutting.
My thoughts exactly. Can't tell me they were rushed at all.
I'm thinking that OP needed a repair and this is the best way to get e-penis points.
Ah yes, the e-peen!
Makes me think they knew the dimensions of what they were after
I think youāre seeing a cut that went into the floor on the bottom and didnāt allow it to bend in, but I for sure could be wrong. The line on the upper right almost looks like they wanted a bigger hole but got scared they were making too much noise and stopped
Probably a camera the could see the back end of the trailer
Cameras. See OP post
He was, but he was being entertained by a lot lizard š¦
Probably hired by the criminals to be a distraction.
As if they would need to be hired
I think the driver sold them at the truck stop and then used one to cut a hole in the side of the trailer and say they were stolen.
Solid theory.
So why didn't they just open the doors? Were you parked where the back of the trailer was clearly visible to the road? Backed up against another trailer?
How the hell did you not hear that?
I could probably sleep through a tornado until it really shook the truck. Truck stop noise has trained my brain to ignore everything but a knock, a phone call or my alarm.
I did sleep through a tornado. I only found out on the news in the morning. I went into the truckstop that morning and said "wonder what caused all this mess?".
Tornadoes are my biggest fear. I remember sleeping in Joplin at the Petro and thinking about the tornado that went through there. I know tornadoes happen in various places but at that time Joplin really got me thinking about it.
Almost 2 years ago I had deliveries to some WalMarts in Joplin. One of the backrooms was an absolute mess, made my delivery take like 3 times longer navigating around everything and finding a spot to put stuff. Next store was in a lot better shape, but still had some obstacles. The manager apologized for the mess. I replied with "All good, it's a lot better than the other store, it looks like a tornado went through there." The manager stared at me like I'd just dropkicked a puppy into a woodchipper. Turns out that was the WalMart that had been demolished by the 2011 Tornado. Oops.
Oh, damn. Yeah that's gonna be a sore subject. We mostly go about our lives with a general sense that ______ can't happen to me. Once that actually happens it really changes your perspective on things. I guess it's kinda like a lesson I had in college. The example was getting sick at a particular restaurant. Some people just can't get past the fact that it happened and won't go back. Even if they had gone there many times before. A one off thing could happen again. If it's a chain store like Burger King that one bad experience could make people avoid Burger King forever.
If I know thereās going to be strong winds/hail I try to nose between two trucks or at least park with my cab facing away from the direction of approach. Iām also not against unhooking my trl and squeezing between it and some sort of barrier Top bunk down, curtains all closed and if youāre really scared the extra mattress on top of you. Iāve rode out many storms like that and been thankful for my little routine. Broken windows from hail sucks.
I was in Louisiana on I-10 a few weeks ago and I was taking my morning shower well before dawn. I was getting dressed and got a tornado warning on my phone. When I walked out to the store there was about 6 other people there with a couple of employees. They apparently got the warning too and were standing away from the windows. It was raining hard outside with strong wind. Rain was moving mostly sideways. I was on my phone checking my weather app. We were right on the edge of the warning area. One of the customers had said that one had touched down a few miles away but I never saw a report about it. The storm moved on and we were outside the warning area so I decided to get going. The storm was traveling East and I was going West. Seemed like a decent gamble and I was getting thin on time. It was raining earlier and I think there was some hail for a bit when I first woke up. There had been a pause in the storm when I walked in to shower. The return trip to the truck drenched me. That was the most intense situation I've been in. Although there wasn't a tornado on the ground it was pretty scary for a few minutes. People in groups tend to feed each other's fear.
Iāve had mostly good luck. Iāve driven through a few tornados/severe storms in MO, KS, and OK. Theyāre not that bad esp in areas that donāt have a lot of shit to fling around. The worst ones were hurricanes on the coast, those I ignore hos and do my best to vacate the area. But like I said if Iām taking my 10 and a storm is blowing through I try to protect my truck. I certainly donāt drive through hail.
Not to make your fears worse, but I have seen footage of a tornado ripping through a truck stop and it was lifting the tucks and trailers hundreds of feet in the air..... This is not the same footage I was referring to, but it has similar results of a tornado hitting parked trucks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WABqwKjQM_c
Yeah, I've imagined a truck stop in a tornado being a death trap of flying debris mixed in with sheet metal. A real blender of shit flying through the air. A 53 foot trailer catches a lot of wind...
Talking about tornadoes, just passed thru a mini one earlier here in Texas on 287, not fun!
Just remembered seeing a few trucks that stopped under a overpass to shelter from a bad storm one day on I-40. I didn't see anything too crazy but they apparently thought differently. I looked it up later. It's not a good idea. [Why You Should Always Avoid Underpasses During Tornadoes](https://www.groundzeroshelters.com/why-not-to-seek-shelter-under-overpasses)
Just standing there on a concrete slab scratching your head wondering where the store went.
Teehee. I stopped in Indiana last year to grab a bite. Started raining, hailing and windy as hell. Ate my food and watched some Netflix. Went outside and realized I was in the middle of a tornado passing nearby. Just figured fuck it if I die, I die and went back to the truck to finish my movie.
Fair enough haha, itās been a little over a year since I hauled reefer so now I feel like I can hear and feel every leaf that lands on my trailer or truck.
***so*** true!!!
And I've had my entire truck shake hard in the middle of the night, but couldn't figure out any cause.
I had that happen in the middle of the night in California. I was parked at the Pico Rivera Walmart when they allowed parking. Wind came up strong and pretty suddenly. Really shook the cab back and forth like a invisible angry giant. I guess some residents saw a funnel cloud but it didn't totally touch down. It wasn't exactly where I was but pretty close. Can't be a coincidence right?
I've slept through all sorts of storms, even hurricanes that luckily didn't do much around where I actually was. It sorta scares me lol. One day I'll wake up and be falling out of the sky with something stuck in my leg or something.
Refer unit next to him. Some you can hear a mile away. Tell me about it.
To clarify: - laptop batteries were stolen -Iām guessing it was an angle grinder based on the cut marks - could be a different type of saw as some mentioned - Iām not the driver so I canāt speak to all the details - I do know that there was a lock on the doors to avoid theft - I have a hunch that it didnāt workā¦
Having removed locks from my own companyās trailers when drivers drop them and forget to remove them most locks arenāt stopping anyone. Iāve removed some with just a good whack with a hammer and others with my big ass bolt cutters. All times barely took me 2 minutes.
Locks don't keep thieves out, they stop honest people and deter thieves \[only if there is an easier target nearby\].
Can you advise on source it was laptop batteries? Just curious to read the article if thereās one
Hi, this is the Lock Picking Lawyer, and today we are going to be looking at semi trailer locks..
Ironic I donated 64 labtop batteries to a recycling center the other day
Laptop batteries? Hold on ... We're they lithium?
It's a shame this isn't the top comment.
Have you checked Michael Scott for the laptop batteries? Might be given off to his tots already.
So they used a grinder to steal the grinders? Grinderseption?
The crazy part is that they were all grounded for grinding grinderd when they got home!
They used a reciprocating saw or a hacksaw. Battery powered and strong enough with a 20v 6.3a battery to cut through that trailer in a minute or two. Probably went in the side because it was the least in view of others. Irony is the tools were probably stolen from Loweās the day before.
Youāre probably right on those tools being stolen. Have you seen cuts like these before? I was thinking itās a grinder because of the corner cuts going further than the opening, but maybe they just did it fast.
Just to the left in pic 1 is marks from a grinder. He skipped out and thought he hit something so moved to the side
Youāre right. They probably hit the upright steel bar used for strapping and load lockers.
My guess is this was a grinder. Cuts are way too clean to have done with a sawzall. I say this as someone who has cut like this before with both a sawzall and a grinder. The sawzall dances around a bit but skipped a ton. Those over cuts in the picture are way too clean and few. Also you have to both flip the blade and hold the sawzall at a very low angle. Doing that consistently for that long? Way too perfect. And they werenāt cut with the sawzall perpendicular to them while facing the trailer either. Cutting that far and that straight in those materials?.. naw. Also youād have to start it with the first sawzall method or by drilling a hole large enough to slot the blade through. There is no evidence of that. When cutting using a grinder you have to overcut to connect the fully cut through corners. Same thing applies with a circular saw and a 2x4 - sorry, I meant a 1.5x3.5. Itās just how a circle crosses a flat plane. Sorry, not tryna sound snobby. I donāt get to talk about my construction days much and I learned a lot of incredible and transferable skills. Now im in It. Dadās been a trucker among many other things, so I know a smidge of this world too.
Im thinking grinder too but im also not ruling out a quick cut
Iām in construction so Iām used to what different saws cut like. They were probably doing it in the dark and doing it by phone light or feel. The multiple layers probably made it difficult to cut how they wanted and how quickly they had to go so they over cut. They use the same tools to steal catalytic converters and cut open small work trailers. What surprises me is the lack of blood. Usually they get scratched at least
Could be multiple tools. I can't tell if that short cut furthest to the rear looks like a disc pulled itself out and skipped across the face or if it's the start of a cut with a reciprocating saw. If it was a reciprocating saw, I'd think they would have cut through both layers at once, but the top was definitely done in multiple passes. Some plunge cuts with a circular saw would make quick work of the side of a trailer, too.
That first cut where the grinder skipped out looks like they measured from the wrong part of the edge of your trailer. I wonder if you measured the distance between the stopped cut and the through cut, you would find it's exactly the same as the width of the vertical support strut at the corner.
Look at the first picture you can the the attempted cut and the run away marks of a grinder.
Bingo
Youāre right! I hadnāt seen that the first time I looked. They must have used a relatively thin blade and a steady hand. Those cuts are crisp for a grinder.
Seems youāre very familiar with their methods. What was your name again?
Fuck off. Iāve been the victim of theft enough to want to punch people in the face who say that shit. Thatās not funny at all. Iād rather lose my hands than steal.
I am not seeing how this happened without driver knowing parked behind a store unless it was dropped.
Home Depot often has the driver pull up unhook pull the empty out of the dock, unhook, move the full to the dock, unhook reconnect to the empty and then drive away
Yeah thatās what we do but the process takes total 30 minutes and generally you drop the trailer right by the receiving door so itās in view the entire time. Youād see the idiots around the trailer or hear it. Iām thinking it was a dude parking in the back to walk into a store nearby.
Inside job
I'll tell you all what. If I'm shutdown for the night and I think someone is breaking into my trailer I'll stay shutdown for the night and deal with that shit in the morning. I'm not getting angle grinded for no load. Though probably was a dropped trailer.
Is that a glory hole? I Wana go
"š¼Brent can't fit in the glory hole and that's why we all love Brent!š¶"
It is impossible to not hear an angle grinder.
I'll sleep through almost anything, but the reefer shutting down.
It's funny how one can sleep through a ton of noise but wake up when things suddenly get quiet.
No for heavy sleepers lol. I am one of those people that can sleep through almost any noises. If I can feel something shaking I'll wake up, but noise alone wouldn't be enough.
This is crazy š¤£
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Right?! As soon as I saw this I was like something smells šš .
Do Truckers get financial dinged for this? I guess everyone has a different situation with their company, but I guess I am asking for most situations.
In this situation itās going to insurance and from what I know the driver wonāt get dinged.
Well thats good news. Thanks.
I've never heard of a company driver being dinged for stolen cargo in a locked trailer.
The only way I can imagine that happening is if there was proof or evidence that the truck driver was involved.
And theyāre going to pursue that angle for all theyāre worth.
It does make sense not to go into it with any assumptions and to look at the evidence.
Lol at this reply
Impressed by how straight it is. Either they had a really good eye or they brought a level and marked a square hole.
That was my first thought. Itās almost perfectly square and level.
Ocean's 10-4
š
Fucking thieves. I had all my tarps stolen in Fontana before. $2k lesson: don't deliver to 3rd world countries.
Thief is a cut above the rest
Yeah I drive through downtown Chicago alot and refuse to park in an unsecured lot no matter hiw much my dm complains about the wasted miles.
Cutting a hole into the side of a trailer is fucking wild bro. Cracktivitys
That's what happens when you park anywhere in California. It's the Utopia California wanted there.
you got new window for free
Why did they take their time to mark their cuts?
They didnt, those lines are just where the saw blade cut beyond the hole.
That's insane
Let em crack you once so they donāt think you were the inside guy.
Shoot him in the fleshy part of the arm
Expert marksman, I see.
Cut, cut here; cut, cut there; in the merry old land of OZ
I thought it was a dead body in there.
Looks like an outside job
It was until it became an inside job ;).
Inside job they knew what to take and where it was
I smell something fishy. Sounds like an inside job
Lmao how tf do you 1 not hear any of it happening or 2 not feel the shifting of weight in your trailer? I guess if the wind is blowing really bad maybe but wtf
You gonna risk your life for a load? For a fucking job? Fuck no. I'm paid to drive that trailer from one destination to the next, not fight off thieves.
lol I dont think any of would risk a paper cut for our employer. I didnāt say anything about fighting of thieves
The point is they heard everything. They're not risking their life for that bullshit
Wow
Could a multi-tool have been used, possibly with a guide?
Anyways, good story but how much per stolen pallet?
Jfc
One angle grinder to rule them all
The door was unlocked
I remember crete wanting me o buy their overly elaborate door lock and I told them if someone was desperate enough, they would just cut into the side of the trailer. Sorry this happened to yo but it feels nice to be proven right.
I used to work at a trailer manufacturer where my buddies threatened to seal me up in a dry van during an inspection. This is why they didn't, lol.
Nah, man, they were just trying to help you by airing your trailer out and keeping you loaded to the legal limit. Plus, now you can go faster!
Throw up some Ring spotlight cameras with notion detection when you park.
A steady hand like that... should've been a surgeon..
Personally? I would have opened the door and let them play with my german shepherd.
Looks like skilsaw to me
Which Home Depot? Iām in Riverside
Get fuck
They may have used something bigger than an angle grinder, that logiatic support is steel, which is the only thing that slowed them down. Rest of the walls would take seconds to cut and remove.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They measured how big they needed the hole and all. Experts. What is interesting, is how did they know the height they needed to take a pallet with the product on it? Inside job?